Decorah Iowa Home Inspections

Why should a homebuyer have a home inspection performed? When people selling a home have been living just fine in this house for years, you may think everything must be fine.
In Decorah, Iowa as in all cities around the country, homes are not what you may think they are.

Ask yourself these questions, "Why are the people selling?" Maybe they are taking a job in another city, maybe they are retiring to another state, maybe their family is growing and they need more space or maybe the home has problems and they just want to get a home with less problems.

So why do you sell a car? Because you like the newer model or because your car is getting old and you have to do more maintenance.

Considering the housing market today one must take into account the properties that are up for sale. Many people are losing jobs, many homes are in foreclosure, and these factors alone suggest that the sellers may not have been able to maintain the home properly or may have performed DIY projects that are not up to code.

Are you ready to hire a home inspector yet?

If so why not hire a home inspector that is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Ask the Decorah Realtors about ASHI Inspectors. ASHI inspectors follow a professional code of conduct and have a Standards of Practice in place, which goes beyond your inspection expectations.

A virtual inspection can be found on the ASHI web site or by clicking here.

Castle Home Inspection LLC is a member of ASHI and is available for inspections in Decorah, Iowa. Inspectors at Castle Home Inspection are certified by the State of Iowa for Radon Measurement and Time of Transfer Septic Inspection.

If your purchasing or selling a home in Decorah, Iowa you will want to contact Castle Home Inspection. Visit us on the web at http://www.castleinspectionllc.com/.

Northeast Iowa Natural Beauty

This past weekend gave us another beautiful Saturday to enjoy. I took a ride to Decorah, Iowa for some shopping and got more than I bargained for. My wife and I decided to take the scenic route through many of Northeast Iowa's sleepy little communities, what a treat. The short list included Lawler, Spillville, Ridgeway, Decorah, Calmar, Festina, Eldorado, St. Lucas, Waucoma and back to New Hampton.



This is a very scenic area. While driving through the rolling hills one can look out over the valleys or be gazing up at the bluffs. We encountered all types of wildlife, especially when we stopped at the DNR fish hatcheries.





Sure there were thousands of trout in the ponds and tanks.....

But something else caught our eye.




There was a Bald Eagle soaring in the afternoon sky looking for an easy meal. I wish I had my camera. Many of the visitors watched as the predator floated over one of the ponds and snatched up a yearling trout. As the Eagle flew off we spotted it's destination, a huge nest in a tall strong oak tree about five hundred yards from the hatchery. It's like living across the street from a favorite restaurant.


It is such a privilege to be living and working in Northeast Iowa. Great people, great scenery and fresh air.

Allow me to start off by saying welcome to my new blog. I am directing this blog to home buyers and sellers in Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Waverly, New Hampton, Charles City and Decorah Iowa.


Today’s topic is Radon the silent killer.

As a home inspector servicing the towns of Waverly, Cedar Falls, New Hampton, Charles City and Waterloo, Iowa I would like to remind people about Radon (Rn) and how often we find elevated levels of Radon in all areas of North East Iowa.

In recent home inspections in Waverly, Iowa radon test results have been as high as 125 pCi/L and in the New Hampton and Charles City areas as high as 340 pCi/L. This information is posted at the Iowa Department of Health.

When you consider the average levels for these areas as a small number of 8 to 10 pCi/L, one might think well that’s not very high, but what if your house was that 340 or 125 and you had children with a play room in the basement or lower level? Or maybe your rec room is in the lower level where you and your pets spend a lot of your time.


The state of Iowa mandates that anyone working on the mitigation of homes with radon levels above 30 must wear respiratory protection.


What are you wearing?


Castle Home Inspection has promoted radon awareness in Waverly Iowa and New Hampton Iowa in the past month. Many people just don’t understand the long term effects of radon. Radon is the number two cause of lung cancer and the number four cause of cancer death in Iowa.



It just seems to me that if someone was opposed to smoking cigarettes then they should be equally opposed to radon in their home and when visiting someone’s home, have you ever asked what their radon level was?


Where do you stand?