Saline, Michigan
Looking for a Saline home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Saline, 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 Saline 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 Saline and across Washtenaw 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 Saline 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 reportSaline housing stock
Saline has roughly 3,954 housing units and about 66% of them are single-family detached. Age is the most useful single fact about a house before anyone has seen it. It narrows down what is worth checking first, and it is why two places of much the same size can need quite different inspections.
If the town has a defining decade it is the 1990s, which accounts for 772 homes, around 20% of the housing stock.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $302,200.
Treat this as a starting list, not a diagnosis. A Saline home inspector checks these things early in a home of this age and then records what is genuinely there, which is often not what the era would suggest.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Saline was built
86% of homes here run on utility gas, and 36 still heat with oil. If yours is one of them, the tank is the thing to ask about — where it is, and whether it was ever buried.
Local knowledge
Saline publishes a one-page specification for dryer vents that is more detailed than anything else any municipality in this project has produced about a single component — and a dryer vent is one of the things we most often find wrong.
It is worth understanding why a city bothers. A dryer pushes warm, moist, lint-laden air through a duct. If that duct is too long, too ribbed, too full of tight bends, or held together with screws that catch lint, the air slows and the lint stops moving. It accumulates in a hot duct behind a wall. That is the whole mechanism, and it is why dryer vents start fires.
The City’s rules address every part of it: an 8-foot limit on the flexible transition piece, which must be UL-listed and must never be concealed; a rigid metal exhaust duct of at least 4 inches with a smooth interior; a 35-foot maximum run with 2.5 feet deducted for each 45-degree elbow and 5 feet for each 90; support at 4-foot intervals; joints assembled with the ends pointing the way the air flows; and metal foil tape or clamps only, because no screw may protrude into the duct.
And at the outside end: it must terminate outdoors, have a back draft damper, sit at least 3 feet from any building opening, and carry no screen or other lint-blocking attachment.
Almost every one of those is something an inspection can look at, and almost every one of them is commonly ignored.
Before you buy
The dryer vent
The City draws a clear line between two different pieces of ductwork, and the distinction matters because people routinely install the wrong one in the wrong place.
The transition duct is the flexible piece connecting the appliance to the ductwork in the wall. It may be no longer than a single 8-foot length, it must never be concealed in construction, and it must be listed and labeled to UL 2158A. The City adds a warning worth repeating: many retail stores sell flexible transition ducts that are not UL listed for use as a dryer vent. If you buy the cheap foil concertina at a hardware store, there is a fair chance it is not the right product.
The exhaust duct is the rigid run that may be concealed. Minimum 4 inches, metal at 28 gauge, smooth on the inside, supported every 4 feet. The 35-foot maximum length sounds generous until you apply the deductions: every 90-degree elbow costs 5 feet of that allowance and every 45 costs 2.5. A basement laundry with four right-angle turns has already spent 20 feet of budget before the duct travels anywhere.
Two assembly details separate a good installation from a bad one. Duct ends must be inserted in the direction of airflow, so the joint does not present a lip for lint to catch on. And no screws or fasteners may protrude into the duct — metal foil tape or clamps only. Sheet metal screws through a dryer duct are one of the most common defects there is, and each one is a snag point collecting lint in a hot pipe.
At the termination: outside, with a back draft damper, at least 3 feet from any building opening, and no screen. Screens on dryer terminations block lint by design, which is exactly the problem.
On a buyer’s inspection we report the visible dryer duct arrangement, the termination and its condition, and where the run is concealed we say so. It sits alongside the roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and the accessible interior — but it is a good example of the kind of small, cheap, genuinely dangerous defect that a walkthrough never catches.
The rental checklist
Saline runs a rental housing certification program under its ordinance, with biennial property maintenance inspections and a certificate required for occupancy of rental structures and units. It is a rental regime rather than a point-of-sale one — nothing here requires an inspection simply because a house is being sold — but the published checklist is a good list for any property.
Four items on it are worth singling out.
Sump pumps must be operational and not connected to the sanitary sewer system. That is a real defect rather than a preference: groundwater routed into a sanitary system loads it at exactly the moment everyone else’s sump is running too. We trace the discharge as far as it can be followed and report where it appears to go.
Hot water must be tepid at the tap and must not exceed 120 degrees, which the City labels a scalding danger. Water heaters are usually left at whatever the last person set them to, and a thermometer settles the question in two minutes.
Operable escape windows are required in sleeping areas, including basement sleeping areas where sleeping use is approved. That last qualifier matters: a below-grade room is a bedroom only if it has a proper way out and the use is approved.
And the furnace requires a safety clean and check by a licensed contractor, with the heat exchanger specifically named — alongside proper clearance from combustible materials at both furnace and water heater venting, and habitable rooms capable of 68 degrees.
The list carries some smaller specifics that show how thorough it is: a crawl space vapor barrier; walls free from bows, cracks, leaks and canting; non-absorbent sealed floor coverings in bathrooms and kitchens; ground fault protection where required, including on replacement outlets; grass no higher than six inches; and window insect screens required from 1 May to 31 October — a dated seasonal requirement we have not seen anywhere else.
Irrigation and backflow
If a property here has a sprinkler system, or you are thinking of adding one, the City publishes the most complete procedure for it we have found.
You can install a second meter measuring exterior water that will not drain to the sanitary sewer, so you are not charged sewer on water that goes onto the garden. The exterior water meters page sets out the sequence, and the order is not optional.
A plumbing permit must be obtained before the meter is installed. The application packet includes the meter fee, the typical installation, a backflow preventer test report and a list of certified testers. After installation, the Department of Public Works must be called to fit a remote reader on the outside of the building — and they need access inside to the meter to do it. Then a certified backflow preventer tester must carry out a test and provide the report to the Building Department before final inspection. Only then is the plumbing inspection scheduled.
The backflow test is the heart of it. An irrigation system is a connection between the drinking water supply and standing water in the ground, which is precisely the arrangement backflow prevention exists to control. A device that has never been tested, or was tested once a decade ago, is a device nobody knows the state of.
On an inspection we report the visible irrigation connection and backflow arrangement, hose bibbs and whether they carry vacuum breakers, and softener or treatment drains and whether there is an air gap. Whether a specific device satisfies the City’s program, and when it was last tested, is a question for the Building Department — and on a property with a sprinkler meter, the test report should exist.
The City is also part-way through a citywide water meter changeout, so a property may have a new meter, an old one, or an appointment pending.
The buried line
For all the detail the City publishes about ducts, meters and backflow devices, the buried lateral running from a building to the sewer main is the one component nothing reaches.
On a 1970s house — 721 units here — that pipe has been in the ground fifty years. On a 1990s house, thirty, with the landscaping planted at construction now fully mature. On one of the 460 units predating 1940, close to a century. Any of those is long enough for roots to find a joint, for ground movement to displace a section, or for a repair to have been made that nobody now remembers.
We will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Saline laterals are generally made of — and across a city with both prewar houses and 1990s subdivisions, more than one material is certainly down there.
It also connects to the checklist above. A city that requires sump pumps to be kept out of the sanitary system is a city that cares what is loading that system — and a cracked or root-filled lateral is another route for groundwater to get in, quietly, without anyone choosing it.
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 visit rather than booked separately. Alongside it, commercial building inspections follow the CCPIA standard for offices, retail, multifamily and warehouse property, and radon testing or mold inspection and testing can be added to a residential or commercial visit. Get in touch to talk through a particular property.
Local information from City of Saline — rental housing certification, inspection checklist and dryer vent requirements · City of Saline — exterior water meters, sprinkler meters and backflow testing · City of Saline — building and trades permits. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Washtenaw County
Zone 1 is the highest of the three EPA categories — the predicted average indoor level across the county is above the 4 pCi/L action level. What a zone cannot tell you is anything about one house: 38% of tests actually run in Washtenaw County still came back at or above the EPA’s 4 pCi/L action level. Zones are drawn around counties, not around addresses, which is why the only number that settles the question is the one from the house itself.
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 · Washtenaw 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 Saline 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
Mr. Cahoon was very thorough inspecting the home I am interested in purchasing. He explained everything clearly as he went along. Went above and beyond crawling into the very small crawl space! Thank you!
Amy CaragayYpsilanti, MII recently hired Trademark for a full home inspection on a new purchase, including sewer scope and radon testing. It was a phenomenal experience from beginning to end. Our inspector, Mitch, did a fantastic job explaining all the findings, and the digital report with photos and videos was superb. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.
Salina HamiltonOak Park, MIWe had Mitch inspect our prospective house and he was amazing. He was thorough, patient to answer my questions and provide feedback on what areas he would recommend having a follow up expert and why. The office was responsive and I was able to book multiple services to be done in the same visit (inspection, radon test, sewer scope).
Chris PlaweckiOak Park, MIWhat happens
Questions
The City publishes a full specification. The flexible transition duct may be a single length no longer than 8 feet, must never be concealed, and must be UL 2158A listed. The rigid exhaust duct must be at least 4 inches, metal at 28 gauge, smooth inside, supported every 4 feet, with a 35-foot maximum run less 5 feet for every 90-degree elbow and 2.5 feet for every 45. Joints go in the direction of airflow, with metal foil tape or clamps only and no screws protruding into the duct. It must terminate outside with a back draft damper, at least 3 feet from any building opening, and with no screen.
Because a dryer pushes warm, moist, lint-laden air through a duct. If the duct is too long, too ribbed, too full of tight bends, or held together with screws that catch lint, the air slows and lint accumulates in a hot pipe behind a wall. That is the mechanism behind dryer vent fires, and almost every rule in the City’s specification is aimed at one part of it.
No. Saline operates a rental housing certification program under its ordinance, with biennial property maintenance inspections and a certificate required for occupancy of rental structures and units. Nothing we found requires an inspection simply because a house is being sold. The published checklist is still a good list for any property here.
Not into the sanitary sewer. The City’s checklist requires sump pumps to be operational and not connected to the sanitary sewer system. Groundwater routed into a sanitary system loads it at exactly the moment every other sump in the neighborhood is running too. We trace the discharge as far as it can be followed and report where it appears to go.
The City sets a ceiling: hot water shall be tepid at the tap and not exceed 120 degrees, which it labels a scalding danger. Water heaters are usually left at whatever the last person set them to, and it takes a thermometer and two minutes to check in any house.
Only with a proper way out. The City requires operable escape windows in sleeping areas, and specifically an emergency escape window in basement sleeping areas where sleeping use is approved. Both halves of that matter — the window, and whether the use was approved in the first place.
Whether it has a separate exterior meter and, more importantly, whether the backflow preventer has been tested. The City requires a plumbing permit before a sprinkler meter is installed, a certified tester’s backflow test report to the Building Department before final inspection, and a plumbing inspection after that. An irrigation system connects the drinking water supply to standing water in the ground, which is exactly what backflow prevention exists to control.
Yes. The buried lateral is the one component no visual inspection reaches, and on a 1970s house it has been in the ground fifty years, on a prewar house close to a century. It is also another route for groundwater to enter a sanitary system the City works to keep clear. We will not guess a material from a build year. Putting a camera down the line documents roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and is added to the same appointment.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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From the blog
October 22, 2017
September 10, 2020
Your local Saline home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
