Midland Cottage and Home Inspections. The very first thing a person needs to know is what qualifications his inspector has? The Midland Home and Cottage inspector is a Certified Building Code Official by the Ontario Building Officials Association, The only home inspector to have this designation North of Toronto. Basically, this just means that, rather than the two basic courses that most “home inspectors” have, the Midland Cottage and Home inspector has over 13 recognised Ontairo Building Code courses. These courses are all over 1 week in duration and the applicant must obtain over 70% pass mark for each qualification. For a complete list of training and courses that the Midland Home and Cottage Inspector has obtained, please visit Qualifications
With over 3,000 paid home and WETT inspections our expertise is available to assure you peace of mind when purchasing a property. Every summer we inspect cottages from Rama to Tiny Beaches, Innisfil up to Midland and Penetang. Severn River, Kahshe Lake, Sparrow Lake, Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe are just a few of our common inspection areas. Our experience ranges from the $400,000 entry level cottage to the $2,000,000 dollar dream home.
Inspecting mulit-million dollar properties is not un-usual for us as we have inspected commercial properties for our corporate clients that vary from 1.5 million to 10 million dollars. These commercial properties are not an every day occurance but just to give you an idea of our experience and training, which you get the full benefit of when using our services.
We were the first company to bring Thermal Imaging to Simcoe County and we bring a fully equiped truck to all our inspections. We take our inspections seriously and would never think of showing up in a car with a fold up ladder. We bring 3 ladders to all our inspections, 30 ft, 24 ft and 12.5 ft, if you want a professional job then you must hire a professional.
Our cottage inspections start at $399.00 in the local area, prices may vary according to distance required to travel. Our home inspections start at $399.00 for a single residential home
If you require a WETT inspection we are happy to provide that service for you. Our fee for a WETT inspection during the Home or Cottage Inspection is $50.00 per unit.
Want some important information on inspections and maintenance of your home then do a search on our Tips Web Site, where you will find lots of money saving advice for home and cottage owners.
For the most qualified inspection and for free information and advice please feel free to call me at 705-795-8255 or Toll Free at 888-818-8608
All inspection services come with an un-conditional Money-Back Guarantee.
Ontario Building Code and Large Buildings
Most home inspectors take a couple of basic Part 9 Ontario Building Code courses as part of their education. The two courses taught by Georgian College as part of their evening home inspection course covers the basics of the building envelope and structural requirements of buildings under 600 m2, of residential or mercantile occupancies or being three stories or less in building height. Part 3 building inspections require a whole new skill set and qualifications beyond the scope of these part-time evening courses. These courses are typically only available in larger centers such as OBOA teaching facility in Toronto.
The Construction Type of buildings is very important when inspecting large buildings. There are two principle types of construction, combustible and non-combustible. Non-combustible construction must meet the criteria set forth in CAN4-S114 “Standard Method of test for Determination of Noncombustibility in Building materials.
Combustible construction has a higher flame spread rating and is usually limited to smaller buildings where fires can be more easily controlled by firefighters.
There are combustibles that are permitted in combustible construction and they are items like paper covering on gypsum, caulking, window sashes, wood trim and some fixtures.
Insulation is an example of a combustible product that must have a thermal barrier installed in order to be used in a building of non-combustible construction. The type of insulation thermal barrier is based on many items such as height of building, sprinklered, location (interior or exterior) and occupancy classification.
Fire separations refer to an assembly that acts as a barrier against the spread of fire or smoke and fire resistance rating refers to the amount of time it withstand before failing. Know what they are and being able to determine the FRR that is required is a very important part of inspecting commercial buildings. Any penetration of a required fire separation must be fire stopped or protected by a rated closure. Every occupancy has different requirements and may or may not require a fire résistance rating. Some fire separations require no FRR and are designed to hold back smoke.
Many vertical fire separations are penetrated by horizontal services such as plumbing, heating and electrical. This services must be constructed of approved material, fire stopped, enclosed in FRR shafts, protected by closures or fire stopped if constructed of an approved material.
Closures include doors, windows and fire dampers which all must have a FRR required by Ontario Building Code requirements. All hardware installed on closures in fire separations must be approved for use and be listed by recognized agency such as ULC.
This is the first in a series of articles being written on Large Buildings as defined by Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Ontario Building Officials Association. Visit for more information
