What Is the First Thing
a Home Inspector Looks At?
Before I step through the front door, the inspection has already started. Here’s what I check first, and why it shapes everything that follows.
People picture an inspector walking through rooms with a clipboard. That’s not where it starts. When I pull up to a house, I’m already working. The exterior tells a story, and a lot of what I find inside traces directly back to what I see from the driveway.
Grading. Drainage. How the roof sits. Whether gutters empty away from the foundation or toward it. These aren’t minor details. They’re the conditions that cause the biggest problems in Portland homes. Spotting them early means I know where to look once I get inside.
So what’s the first thing I check? The site itself. Before the door, before the electrical panel, before anything else, I want to understand how this property handles water. That one question drives more of what I find inside than anything else.
Why the Exterior Comes First
The exterior walkthrough isn’t a warm-up. It’s foundational. A home that sheds water correctly (roof to gutter to downspout to soil sloping away from the foundation) tends to be dry inside. One that doesn’t? You’ll find it in the crawlspace, at the base of foundation walls, and sometimes behind finishes where nobody thought to look.
I walk the full perimeter of every home before I unlock the front door. I’m checking the grading and drainage pattern, the condition of siding and trim, wood-to-soil contact, window and door framing, the state of decks and steps, and how the downspouts terminate. I’m also noting anything that looks repaired: patched stucco, newer siding in an isolated section, fresh caulking at windows. Patches tell you where problems used to be. Sometimes they tell you where problems still are.
This isn’t a quick pass. It takes 20 to 40 minutes depending on the property size and how many outbuildings are involved. But it sets the agenda for the rest of the inspection. If I see soil against the rim joist, I go into the crawlspace expecting moisture. If gutters discharge right next to the foundation, I look carefully at the interior walls on that elevation.
Drainage matters more here than in most markets
- Portland averages about 36 inches of rain per year, most falling between October and April
- Clay-rich soils in parts of the metro don’t absorb water well. They hold it at grade level near the foundation
- Hillside lots in SW Portland, Lake Oswego, and West Linn add slope drainage complexity
- Many homes in the region have crawl foundations rather than basements, making underfloor moisture a primary concern
- Older homes (pre-1960s) often have original grading that has settled toward the house over decades
The Roof
After the site walkthrough, the roof is typically next. I walk it when conditions allow. Pitch, surface condition, and weather all factor into that call. When walking isn’t safe, I use a drone. Either way, the roof gets a careful look before I go inside.
I’m looking at field material condition (granule loss on asphalt shingles, moss or algae, cracking), flashing at visible penetrations (chimney, vents, skylights, where roof meets a wall), ridge and hip condition, and how gutters are installed and terminated. Improper flashing is one of the most common sources of water intrusion in Portland homes. It’s not always visible from the ground, which is why I get up there.
Roofing issues don’t always show up inside the house right away. A slow leak at a pipe flashing can wet framing for years before it appears as a ceiling stain. By the time you see it on the interior, the structural wood may already be compromised. Catching it at the source, at the roof, is exactly the point.
Grading and Drainage: What I’m Actually Looking For
Grading should slope away from the foundation at least 6 inches over the first 10 feet. That’s the standard. In practice, a lot of Portland homes don’t meet it, especially older homes where original grade has settled toward the house over decades, or where landscaping has piled up against the foundation.
How the lot drains toward or away from the foundation. The starting point for moisture analysis on any inspection.
- Moderate positive slope away from foundation: adequate, document for reference
- Flat grade within 10 feet of foundation: water will pond at the perimeter during heavy rain
- Downspouts discharging within 6 feet of the foundation without underground diversion
- Negative grade sloping toward the foundation: water is directed into the foundation and crawlspace
- Visible water staining or erosion marks at the foundation base
Siding, trim, and framing that sits close to or below grade. A primary entry point for moisture and wood-destroying organisms.
- Clearance between siding bottom and grade is tight but within acceptable range: note for monitoring
- Vegetation overgrowth against siding: traps moisture, limits air circulation, check for rot
- Dirt or mulch piled against the siding base: accelerates decay, attracts pests
- Wood-to-soil contact at structural framing or sill plates: direct rot and pest pathway
- Visible soft wood, paint blistering, or discoloration at base of siding: active moisture damage
Real Inspection Photos
What the Exterior Walk Turns Up
Real photos from Russ's inspection reports, taken on the perimeter walk before going inside.
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Stucco with no clearance to grade can wick moisture from the soil into the wall, and the rusted edge flashing at the base can fail. -
Plants touching the siding trap moisture, limit airflow, and give pests an easy path to the house. -
Soft, rotted trim at the base of the wall is the kind of exterior clue that points to where moisture is getting in.
Moving Inside: What the Exterior Already Told Me
By the time I unlock the front door, I have a mental map of where to focus. That’s exactly how the exterior sets the inspection agenda.
If I saw poor grading on the east side of the house, I’m checking that section of the crawlspace carefully for moisture, looking at the rim joist condition in that area, and checking interior walls on that elevation for staining or soft flooring. If there’s a patched section of stucco near a window, I’ll probe around that window frame for soft wood. None of this is guesswork. It follows directly from what I documented outside.
This is why I don’t rush the exterior. The first 30 minutes outside can save an hour of guessing inside, and it means the report is more targeted, not just a generic list of everything I looked at.
The Crawlspace
A lot of Portland homes have crawl foundations rather than full basements. The crawlspace is one of the areas I focus on most. And I enter every one that’s safely accessible. I don’t just stick my head in at the hatch and call it done.
I’m in there with a moisture meter, a flashlight, and a thermal camera. I check framing condition, vapor barrier installation, insulation, any plumbing or HVAC equipment in the space, pest and moisture damage, and overall ventilation. In Portland’s climate, crawlspace moisture is one of the most common findings on any inspection. Standing water. Condensation on joists. Early-stage fungal growth. Conditions that are fixable when caught early and expensive when they’re not.
If you want more on this, there’s a full post on crawlspace moisture in Portland-area homes. The short version: if there’s something wrong under the house, it affects everything above it. That space deserves a real look.
Thermal Imaging: Included on Every Inspection
Thermal imaging is part of every inspection I do at no added cost. I use it throughout, starting on the exterior and continuing inside.
On the exterior, it can point to possible moisture behind cladding that looks fine visually. Inside, it’s useful for spotting signs of possible moisture behind drywall, missing insulation in walls, and electrical components running hot. It doesn’t replace physical inspection. It supplements it. When a wall looks fine but the thermal camera shows a cold wet spot 4 feet up from grade on the north wall, that’s a finding worth documenting even if there’s no visible staining yet.
The inspection starts outside. Grading, drainage, roof condition, and exterior wall details set the agenda for everything that follows inside. An inspector who rushes the exterior is starting with less information, and that shows up in the report.
If you’re buying a home in the Portland metro or SW Washington and want to know what the inspection will cover, the buyer’s home inspection page has a full breakdown of what’s included. You can also look at sample reports to see how findings are documented.
Ready to schedule? Use the online scheduler or call directly. Military discount: 10% off the inspection fee for veterans, active service, Reserve, National Guard, and their families.
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