Gibraltar, Michigan
Looking for a Gibraltar home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Gibraltar, seven days a week. Home inspection reports come back in 24 hours.
Schedule your inspectionCall 734-331-3269
Services
For buyers, sellers, and homeowners keeping an eye on the place they already own. On new construction we also do pre-drywall inspections and 11-month builder’s warranty inspections. Our certified inspectors walk every major system in your Gibraltar home and tell you plainly what they found — then put it in a photo-rich digital report within 24 hours.
Following the InterNACHI Standards of Practice:
Included free with every home buyer inspection— and none of them require us to sell your information.
SatisfactionIf you are unhappy with your inspector on the day of the inspection, before you have seen your report, tell us and we will make it right — or you owe us nothing.
30-Day WarrantyA free 30-day Guard home warranty trial, negotiated for you with no obligation. Activate it whenever you are ready.
$100 OffThe buyer’s protection guarantee: if the first home we inspect for you does not make it to the closing table, for any reason, we take $100 off any further home buyer inspection within 30 days of the original.
Optional services at an additional cost — not part of a standard inspection. Tap one to see what it covers.
A camera down the main sewer line, watching its condition from the inside — roots, breaks, bellies and blockages no visual inspection can find. More about sewer scope inspections
The wood-destroying organism report VA buyers are typically asked to provide, on the federal NPMA-33 form. Carried out during the same visit. More about Veterans WDO inspections
Up to five air samples sent to an accredited laboratory, added to the same appointment rather than booked as a second visit. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Offices, retail, multifamily and warehouses in Gibraltar and across Wayne County. Know what condition a building is in before you sign — or stay ahead of problems in the one you already own. Reports in 24 to 72 hours depending on size.
Following the CCPIA commercial standards:
Commonly added to a commercial inspection at additional cost.
Commercial laterals are longer, older and carry more. A camera is the only way to see the condition of the one you are buying. More about sewer scope inspections
Air samples to an accredited laboratory, which matters most in buildings that have sat empty or had a roof or plumbing leak. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Add either to a Gibraltar home or commercial inspection, or book it on its own. We test and we never remediate, so there is nothing to sell you on the back of a result — the number you get is just the number.
Radon measured in house on a professional continuous monitor; mold samples to an accredited laboratory:
The other things worth testing while somebody is already there.
Carried out after remediation on the treated area and the areas next to it, to confirm what was found. More about mold inspection and testing
A damp basement can have several causes, and the buried sewer line is the one a visual inspection cannot check. A scope rules it in or out. More about sewer scope inspections
View a sample reportGibraltar housing stock
Gibraltar has roughly 2,182 housing units and about 64% of them are single-family detached. Homes built in a single stretch tend to wear out in the same places at the same time. That is why when somewhere was built is the first thing worth knowing about it.
The busiest stretch of building here was the 2000s: 605 homes, about 28% of everything standing today.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $181,700. There are around 425 manufactured and mobile homes in Gibraltar. Those are a different inspection — the questions are about the frame, the anchoring and the skirting rather than a basement.
None of this says anything about the specific house you are buying. It is the shortlist a Gibraltar home inspector works through in a home of this age, and every item on it gets photographed and written up whichever way it turns out.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Gibraltar was built
90% of homes here run on utility gas. Another 30 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Gibraltar is a city organized around water. It sits in the Detroit River watershed, it has canal frontage, and the City states openly that it has a history of flooding across the decades, with events possible any time from spring through fall depending on water levels, rainfall and even easterly winds.
What sets it apart is not that fact but how thoroughly the City has organized around it. It runs sirens keyed to a specific water level, closes entry to non-residents at named checkpoints during a flood event, issues orange flood tags two per household so residents can get home quickly, hands out sandbags free at City Hall, and has installed pumps at several high-risk points in the storm system.
It also participates in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which the City says shows up as a line item discount on residents’ flood insurance renewals for exceeding the minimum national requirements.
And two of its requirements land directly on anyone selling a house here. Gibraltar requires a sale inspection, and for waterfront property with a berm it requires a separate berm inspection by the City Engineer, because berm height has to reach a certain elevation.
The housing is a mix, with the largest single group — 605 of roughly 2,182 units — built in the 2000s, alongside 385 from the 1950s and 300 from the 1960s.
Before you buy
Selling and buying
The City’s building and safety page tells anyone planning to sell that an inspection will be needed to confirm compliance with fire system requirements such as smoke detectors, that a home may be required to be brought up to current code, and to plan ahead so necessary corrections can be made before closing.
It publishes the paperwork that goes with that: a sale of property application, a rental and sale housing inspection checklist, a separate dryer vent checklist, and an as-is affidavit for the purchase of a structure.
Then there is the berm inspection, which we have not seen anywhere else. For anyone selling waterfront property with a berm, the City requires a berm inspection carried out by the City Engineer, because berm height must reach a certain elevation. On a canal-front property that is a genuinely consequential requirement, and it is arranged through the City rather than privately.
One line on the page is set in bold and applies to every rental and sale inspection: water, power and gas must be on at the time of the inspection. That catches out vacant and foreclosed properties constantly, and it applies just as much to our visit as to the City’s — an inspection of a house with the utilities disconnected is a partial inspection, and we would far rather say so beforehand than write it in the report afterwards.
A buyer’s inspection is not the City’s inspection and does not clear a sale. It is engaged by you, reported to you, and covers the roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and the accessible interior in detail. On a property here you will generally want both, and both need booking early.
Water
The flood protection page is the most thorough municipal treatment of the subject we have come across, and it is worth reading in full before you buy anything here.
It explains what drives an event: water levels and their fluctuation, weather trends, a large amount of rain in a short period, and easterly winds. It also explains a second and more ordinary mechanism — heavy rainfall overburdening the storm sewer system, which backs water up in the roads. The City uses a bathtub-drain analogy for it, and notes that its water and sewer department has installed pumps at several high-risk points to help the system cope.
On preparedness it is specific. Sirens sound on the hour when water reaches a defined level above sea level. During an event, entry to the city is closed to non-residents at three named checkpoints and residents must show identification, which is why the police station issues orange flood tags, two per household, for quicker passage. Sandbags are free at City Hall, and residents can sign up for text alerts.
It also asks residents to conserve water during heavy rain and snowmelt — flushing less and delaying laundry, showers and the dishwasher — because cutting household consumption genuinely helps when storm water is threatening to overwhelm the system.
On insurance, the City is direct: homeowners and renters insurance does not typically cover flood damage, flood insurance is a separate policy covering the building, the contents or both, and a lender will generally require one in a flood zone. Its participation in the Community Rating System means residents see a discount applied at renewal. The City maintains copies of the flood insurance rate maps and studies for review, and points residents to the federal map portal to look up an address.
None of that is a home inspection question. We do not determine flood zone status, read a flood map, or evaluate a berm or a seawall. What we do report is what the site and the building actually show: the fall of the ground around the foundation, where downspouts and any sump discharge appear to go, and what the basement or crawl space shows about water that has been there before.
Waterfront work
If you are buying here with plans, three items on the City’s building page are worth reading before you make them.
The first is timing. For property in flood zones A or B, the City recommends applying early for a state permit where new construction or substantial improvement is anticipated, and notes that one can take two to three months to issue. That is a season, not two weeks.
The second is surveys. Fences, garages, homes, swimming pools, sheds, seawalls and docks may all require a certified property survey — and the City states plainly that mortgage surveys will not be accepted. If you are relying on the survey from your closing, you may need another.
The third is soil erosion. State law requires soil erosion and sedimentation control permits for certain projects, and the City highlights those within 500 feet of a body of water, which in this city is a great many of them. Those go through the county.
On a canal or waterfront property we pay particular attention to the things water reaches: how the ground falls between the building and the water, the condition of any accessible retaining structure from what can be seen, whether the lowest level shows evidence of past water, and how the sump and downspout arrangements are set up. We describe what is there. The berm elevation, the seawall engineering and the survey line belong to the City Engineer, a marine contractor and a surveyor respectively.
Two eras
The largest block of housing here is recent — 605 units from the 2000s — sitting alongside 685 from the 1950s and 1960s and 184 predating 1940.
On the 2000s houses the inspection concentrates on the first round of turnover. The original roof is at or past its expected life. Furnaces, water heaters and air conditioning from the build are being replaced now, with variable care and occasionally with venting that has not kept pace with a newer appliance. Window seals, caulking and exterior finishes are showing wear. Grading has settled since the build, which near water matters more than it does elsewhere.
Decks deserve a proper look rather than a glance on housing of that period — the ledger connection to the building, the flashing behind it, and the condition of hangers and fasteners.
On the 1950s and 1960s stock the questions shift to accumulated alteration: electrical service sized for a very different household and upgraded to varying depths, plumbing renewed in part leaving material transitions worth examining, roofs on their third or fourth covering, and foundations that have had seventy years of freeze, thaw and high water to contend with.
Across both, the lowest level is where the local story concentrates, and we spend time there accordingly.
The buried line
The sanitary line from the building to the main belongs to the owner, and in a low-lying city it lives in ground that periodically has a great deal of water in it.
That matters in a specific way. Groundwater finds any opening in a drain line, and a cracked or displaced joint that would merely be a slow drain elsewhere can take on volume here. It is also why the City asks residents to reduce household water use during heavy rain: what goes into the system competes with what is already trying to get through it.
On a house from the 1950s that pipe has been in the ground seventy years, and on a 2000s house roughly twenty-five — where settlement after backfill and poorly bedded pipe are the early-life risks. We will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Gibraltar laterals are generally made of.
A sewer camera inspection records what is actually inside: roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and a clear run where they do not. It is added to the same appointment rather than booked separately, and in a city with this much water in the ground it answers a question worth answering.
Alongside it we offer radon testing, mold inspection and testing — worth considering on any property with a history of moisture in the lowest level — and commercial building inspections to the CCPIA standard. You can read what our clients say, look through answers to common questions, see the City’s stormwater information, or get in touch about a specific address.
Local information from City of Gibraltar — building and safety, sale and rental inspections, and berm inspections · City of Gibraltar — flood protection, preparedness and the Community Rating System · City of Gibraltar — stormwater management program and watershed information. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Wayne County
Zone 3 is the lowest of the three EPA categories — the predicted average indoor level across the county is below 2 pCi/L. So Gibraltar is not where the state’s worst readings turn up, and we would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise. What a zone cannot tell you is anything about one house: 17% of tests actually run in Wayne County still came back at or above the EPA’s 4 pCi/L action level, which is about one in six. A zone is an average taken across a whole county, and no house is an average.
We place a continuous monitor for 48 hours and read the result on site — no mail-in kit, no lab wait. How radon testing works · Wayne County radon and inspection coverage
Zone from the EPA Map of Radon Zones. Elevated-result share from the Michigan Indoor Radon Program.
Why choose us
Five reasons people here pick us as their Gibraltar home inspector.
Family owned since 2009, more than 16,000 inspections completed and over 2,000 five-star reviews across Michigan. We also handle home buyer inspections, commercial building inspections, mold testing and radon testing.
We do not sell mold remediation or radon mitigation, so there is nothing to gain from a result that comes back bad. The number you get is just the number.
Radon, mold, sewer scope and wood-destroying organism inspections go on the same appointment as the home inspection rather than costing you a second morning.
Most people do, and it is the most useful hour of the whole purchase. Ask anything while we are standing in front of it.
InterNACHI and CCPIA certified, with four Certified Master Inspectors and National Home Inspector Examination passes on the team — none of which Michigan requires. The standards we inspect to are published and you can hold the work against them.
Including weekends, because inspection windows sit on closing dates and closing dates do not care what day it is.
Reviews
Ora from Trademark did an incredible job with the inspection and sewer scope of the home I am in the process of buying. He was very thorough, explained everything to me from the start, and made it all super easy to understand which definitely helped to put me at ease a bit more. Highly recommend this company!
Mariah HartmanWestland, MIJim was prompt and thorough during the mold testing. Clearly gave us an explanation about mold and testing process he was going to conduct. Testing was followed by a written report. I would recommend everyone use a third party to test mold, independent from the company conducting remediation work. I would hire Trademark again and strongly recommend them.
Alberto PicconeNorthville, MICowboy “Jim” just did Mold Testing in my parents’ basement. He was Professional, explained the what, how and yet of everything to my Senior parents. Our results came back super quick. He even referred us to the resources on the Trademark website for me to use to fix the leaky basement. It’s 1 stop shopping with Trademark.
Becky JohnsonWayne, MIWhat happens
Questions
Yes. The City states that anyone planning to sell will need an inspection to confirm compliance with fire system requirements such as smoke detectors, that a home may be required to be brought up to current code, and that sellers should plan ahead so corrections can be made before closing. It publishes a sale of property application and a rental and sale housing inspection checklist.
For homeowners selling waterfront property with a berm, the City requires a City Berm Inspection carried out by the City Engineer, because berm height has to reach a certain elevation. It is arranged through the City. We do not evaluate berms or seawalls.
Yes, and the City sets it in bold: for all rental and sale inspections, water, power and gas must be on at the time of the inspection. The same applies to ours — with the utilities disconnected, what you get is a partial inspection.
The City notes that homeowners and renters insurance does not typically cover flood damage, that flood insurance is a separate policy covering the building, the contents or both, and that a lender will generally require one in a flood zone. It also participates in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which it says produces a discount applied at policy renewal.
By looking the address up on the federal flood map portal, which the City links directly. The City also keeps copies of the flood insurance rate maps and flood insurance studies available for review. We do not determine flood zone status or read flood maps.
Plan for time. The City notes that fences, garages, homes, pools, sheds, seawalls and docks may require a certified property survey, and that mortgage surveys will not be accepted. For flood zone A or B property it recommends applying early for a state permit, which can take two to three months, and soil erosion permits through the county apply to work near water.
Sirens sound on the hour once water reaches a defined level, entry to the city is closed to non-residents at three named checkpoints with residents showing identification, and the police station issues orange flood tags two per household for quicker passage. Sandbags are free at City Hall and text alerts are available.
In low-lying ground, yes. Groundwater finds any opening in a buried drain line, so a cracked or displaced joint carries more consequence than it might elsewhere. A camera inspection documents roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and is added to the same visit rather than booked separately.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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Claim the Hero DiscountNeed a Gibraltar home inspector and not sure we reach you? Call 734-331-3269 and we will tell you.
From the blog
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Your local Gibraltar home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
