You are buying the house. I work for you.

Home inspections in Waukesha, Walworth, Jefferson and Racine counties. I walk the house with you before I leave, and the written report follows within 24 hours.

Schedule an inspection See a full report

Single family: $495 to $700
Report: Within 24 hours

From a real report

Rock bed and soil grade at an exterior corner, sloping back toward the foundation wall

Needs repairGrade sloping toward the building

The exterior site grading had areas of neutral or negative grade that sloped towards the building. This can allow rain water runoff to drain towards the foundation. Excessive moisture in soil supporting the foundation can affect its ability to support the weight of the structure, and can facilitate moisture problems in basements, crawl spaces and slabs.

Recommendation

Slope soils away from the structure, ideally with a 6 inch drop in elevation in the first 10 feet away, a 5 percent grade.

Solid wood mantel beam installed directly above a direct vent gas fireplace

Further evaluationMantle and fireplace clearances

A mantle has been installed above the gas fireplace. Direct vent gas fireplaces produce as much heat output as possible within the standards for combustible temperatures. Those standards allow combustible surfaces to reach 117°F above room temperature. With a room at 70 to 75°F, a mantle surface can therefore be expected to reach 187 to 192°F, and a solid surface is already very hot to the touch at 150°F.

Recommendation

Obtain the manufacturer's installation instructions and confirm the mantel clearance meets them. Where it does not, have a qualified fireplace installer reconfigure or replace the installation.

Every finding says what I observed, why it matters, and what I recommend. These are unedited from an actual inspection.

From recent inspections

What I actually look at

Four findings from real inspections. Every one was in plain sight. Every one is the kind of thing you walk right past unless you already know what it means.

Rainwater overflowing the front edge of a gutter beside a downspout during a storm — **Water**Rain pouring over the front edge of a gutter, a few feet from the downspout that is supposed to be carrying it. It only shows while it is raining, which is why it goes unnoticed for years. Concentrated roof water at the foundation saturates the backfill around it, and that is the most common contributor to basement moisture and to foundation settlement.

Electrical service panel with a sump pump crock and discharge pipe directly in front of it — **Access**A sump pump and its discharge line sitting directly in front of an electrical panel. Breakers have to be reachable in a hurry, and the moment you most need to shut power off is the moment something has already gone wrong.

Flexible foil transition duct connecting a clothes dryer to the wall vent — **Fire risk**Foil transition duct behind a dryer. It is UL listed, so it passes a glance, but most dryer manufacturers do not recommend it. It sags, it holds lint, and lint sits against heat.

Bent nail driven through the top flange of an engineered wood I-joist — **Structure**A nail driven through the top flange of an engineered floor joist. Nothing about it looks wrong, and almost nobody outside the trades knows the flanges on these cannot be cut, notched or penetrated. That is the part you are hiring out.

How it works

I inspect the house

Two and a half to four hours on site depending on size and age. I open the electrical panel, walk the roof when it is safe, enter the attic and crawl space where access allows, and operate the systems.

I walk it with you

Before I leave, we go through what I found while you are standing in front of it and can still ask about it. Most buyers come for the last hour. You are welcome for all of it.

You get the report

Within 24 hours, as a link you open on a phone or computer and share with anyone you choose. Significant findings sit in their own summary, so nothing important is buried.

Who you are hiring

Ken Robinson

I grew up in Waukesha County and started on job sites, working for a builder as a teenager and laying block and stone into my early twenties. For over a decade since, I have worked in property insurance technology, building the software adjusters use to identify damage and scope repairs.

That is how I inspect. I will not just hand you a list of defects. I will show you what each one means for the house and what fixing it actually involves.

Wisconsin Registered Home Inspector #4200-106. InterNACHI certified. The inspector who walks your house writes your report.

More about me

Ken Robinson, Lapham Property Inspections

Where I work

Based in Mukwonago

Serving Waukesha, Walworth, Jefferson and Racine counties. Regular service areas include Delafield, Oconomowoc, Hartland, Pewaukee, Eagle, East Troy, Waterford and Palmyra.

Properties outside these areas are generally accommodated. Travel charges, when they apply, are quoted at booking.

Your report is yours

Your name, your new address, and the condition of your roof and furnace are not sold to anyone. No lead brokers, no alarm companies, no insurance marketers, no contractor networks.

Worth saying out loud, because parts of this industry run on the opposite model.

What a Lapham inspection covers

A full residential inspection performed to the Wisconsin standards of practice for home inspectors. Two and a half to four hours on site, a walkthrough before I leave, and the written report within 24 hours.

Schedule an inspection

Scope

Systems I inspect

01 Roof covering, flashing, gutters and chimneys
02 Exterior cladding, trim, windows and doors
03 Grading and drainage
04 Foundation and structure
05 Basement or crawl space
06 Attic, insulation and ventilation
07 Electrical service, panel and branch wiring
08 Receptacles, switches and fixtures
09 Heating equipment and distribution
10 Cooling equipment
11 Water heater
12 Plumbing supply, drainage and visible venting
13 Interior walls, ceilings, floors, stairs and railings
14 Garage, vehicle door and safety reverse
15 Decks, porches and balconies
16 Installed appliances

I open the electrical panel, walk the roof when it is safe to do so, enter the attic and crawl space where access allows, and operate the systems.

How findings are labeled

Nine labels, so severity is never a guess

Every observation in the report is colored, numbered and labeled. The point is that you can tell at a glance what is a legal defect, what is a repair worth negotiating, and what is ordinary upkeep, without reading my tone of voice to work it out.

Defect is not a word I use loosely. It has a statutory definition in Wisconsin, and I apply it as written.

“Defect” means a condition of any component of an improvement that a home inspector determines, on the basis of the home inspector's judgment on the day of an inspection, would significantly impair the health or safety of occupants of a property or that, if not repaired, removed, or replaced, would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the component of the improvement.

Wis. Stat. § 440.97(2m)

DefectMeets the statutory definition above.
Needs repairWarrants repair but is not a health or safety concern and does not rise to a defect.
Further evaluationNot functioning as intended, or the condition could not be determined visually. A specialist needs to look.
MonitorDoes not warrant repair now, but should be watched.
MaintenanceRoutine ownership items. Servicing, gutters, filters.
Improve or upgradeNot a defect, but improvable for safety, efficiency or reliability.
DisclosureWhere I recommend the seller disclose more about servicing, repairs or construction history.
Inspection noteContext that is useful to a purchase decision but is not a defect, repair or maintenance item.
LimitationConditions on the day that limited the scope of the visual inspection.

Limits worth knowing before you hire anyone

What is not included

An inspection is a visual examination of what is accessible on the day I am there. It is not a warranty, and it does not substitute for one.

If something I see suggests a problem outside my scope, I say so in the report and tell you what kind of specialist to call.

Anything concealed behind finished surfaces, inside walls, or underground.
Septic systems, private wells and water quality testing.
Sewer laterals and underground drain lines.
Radon, mold, asbestos, lead and other environmental testing.
Pools, spas and irrigation systems.
Security, alarm and low voltage systems.

What the law keeps out of the report

Whether the house is a good buy. A home inspector may not report, in writing or verbally, on the market value or marketability of a property, or on whether a property should or should not be purchased. That decision is yours. My job is to make sure you make it with the condition of the house in front of you.
Code compliance. Whether an improvement complies with applicable regulatory requirements is outside a home inspection. That is a certified building inspector, a different credential and a different job.
Repair cost, method or materials. I name the trade to call and what needs doing. I do not price it, and I do not tell your contractor how to do it.
Anything obstructed. I am not required to disturb insulation or move personal items, furniture, equipment, vegetation, soil, snow, ice or debris to reach something. In a Wisconsin winter this matters. Where snow or stored belongings blocked access, the report says so as a limitation rather than staying quiet about it.
Equipment that will not run. I do not operate a component that is inoperable or that does not respond to its normal controls, and I do not enter an area or perform a procedure that risks damaging the house or hurting someone.
The future. No inspector can predict when a component will fail. Where I can tell you the typical service life of something, I will, but that is context, not a forecast.

Wis. Stat. §§ 440.975(4), (5) and (6)

Who I work for

You

My obligation runs to the person paying for the inspection, not to the agent, the seller, or the lender. I report what I find.

Schedule an inspection

See a full report before you book

This is the actual format you will receive. Not an excerpt, not a marketing sample from a software vendor.

Open the sample report Schedule an inspection

Orientation

How to read it

The report opens with a summary of the significant findings, then covers the house system by system. Every finding includes a photograph, a description of what I observed, and a recommendation.

The summary is grouped by label, so the repair conversation and the maintenance conversation never get mixed together. Your agent can build a repair request list directly from the summary section.

That grouping is not a house style. Wisconsin requires the summary page to list conditions labeled as defects, and separately to list components needing repairs, components needing further evaluation, items to monitor, and maintenance items, each cross referenced to the detail. Every finding carries a key like G1-1 that links straight to its full entry.

If the Defects box says none were identified, that is what it means. I do not pad it to look thorough.

Wis. Stat. § 440.975(3)(cr)

Summary structureIn this order

DefectsStatutory defects, or a plain statement that none were found.
Needs repairThe negotiating material.
Further evaluationWhere a specialist has to look before you decide.
MonitorWatch items.
MaintenanceOwnership upkeep, kept out of the repair list.
Improve or upgradeOptional, worth knowing.
DisclosureWhat to ask the seller about.

Ken Robinson

Owner and inspector, Lapham Property Inspections LLC. Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

I grew up in Waukesha County and moved back after college.

I worked for a builder as a teenager and spent my late teens and early twenties in masonry, laying block and stone. I learned how houses go together by putting parts of them together, and I learned which shortcuts show up five years later.

For over a decade since, I have worked in property insurance technology, building the software adjusters use to identify damage and scope repairs. Every day was building components: what fails, why it fails, and what it actually takes to put it right.

This is why I inspect the way I do. When I flag something in your report, I am not just naming it. I can tell you what it means for the rest of the house and what a real repair looks like. Buying a house is the largest purchase most people ever make, and most of them make it without ever being shown how the thing actually works. I would rather you leave the inspection knowing your house than holding a list you do not understand.

I am a Wisconsin Registered Home Inspector, number 4200-106, certified through InterNACHI.

Registration: Registered home inspector, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, #4200-106
Examinations: National Home Inspector Examination and the Wisconsin Statutes and Rules Examination, both passed
Training: Inspection Certification Associates, Elite program, completed
Association: InterNACHI member
Insurance: General liability and errors and omissions coverage in force. Certificate available on request.

The name

Named for the high ground

Lapham Peak is the highest point in Waukesha County. It carries the name of Increase Lapham, who arrived in the territory in 1836 and spent forty years writing down what this landscape actually was: its plants, its geology, its weather. He produced the first map of Wisconsin, and his insistence that careful observation could warn people about what was coming is why the National Weather Service exists.

That is the job here too. Look closely, write down what is there, and be clear about what it means for the person who has to decide.

How this works

One inspector per house, start to finish. Whoever walks your house writes your report and takes your call two weeks later when you have a question about something in it. No report is written by someone who was not there, and no finding is edited by someone who did not see it. That is the standard here, and it does not change as this business grows.

I do not perform repairs on a house I have inspected, and I do not refer work to contractors I have any financial arrangement with. Wisconsin bars an inspector from doing paid repair work on a property for two years after inspecting it, absent the owner's written consent given beforehand. I do not ask for that consent. The point of hiring me is that I have nothing to sell you afterward.

I work for your client. That is what makes me safe to refer.

Deals do not die from findings. They die from findings delivered badly. Everything gets reported, and it gets reported at the severity it actually is.

Get a client on the calendar Read a full report

What your client walks away withAnd what you get

Repair list

The summary separates statutory defects and repair items from maintenance and upgrades. Your amendment gets drafted from the report instead of retyped out of it, and a filter change never lands on the negotiating table.

A client who understands it

I walk the house with your buyer before I leave. What they see themselves, they do not panic about later from a PDF at 11pm.

The report is the differentiator, not adjectives about the inspector. Read one and judge it.

What you can count on

No handoffs

The inspector who walks the house writes the report and takes the follow-up call. Your client never receives a report assembled by someone who was not there. Calls returned the same day, within the hour if I am inside a house when it comes in.

A price before the call

The range is published on this site and the exact number is confirmed at booking. When your client asks what an inspection costs, you can answer instead of telling them to call around.

Report in 24 hours

Written the day of the inspection, delivered the next morning at the latest. Your client books online, signs the agreement and pays on the same page, and you get the confirmation.

The reputation question

Full disclosure, proportionate framing

Everything found goes in the report. That is not negotiable, and you would not want to refer someone for whom it was.

What is calibrated is the framing. A 30 year old furnace that runs is labeled for what it is, with a note about remaining life. It is not an emergency. Severity in the report matches severity in reality, and your buyer hears the same calibration in person that they read on the page.

Nothing is characterized as up to code or not up to code. That is a different credential and a fast route to a claim that lands on your transaction.
Materials and manufacturers are not asserted when they cannot be verified visually. The limitation is stated instead.
Recommendations name the trade to call. They do not estimate repair costs.
No referral fees in either direction. Nothing is paid for a referral and nothing is expected for one. In Wisconsin that is not a policy choice, it is a statutory bar on a home inspector paying or receiving a referral or finder's fee. If another inspector has offered you one, that is worth knowing about them.
No compensation from more than one party to a transaction. Your client hires me, and my obligation runs to them.

Wis. Stat. §§ 440.975(7)(d) and (e)

Your client list

Nobody solicits your buyer after closing

Inspection data is never sold or shared with lead brokers, alarm companies, insurance marketers or contractor networks. Your client's name, new address and the condition of their home stay between them and the report.

Worth asking of whoever you refer today. The answer depends entirely on what software they run on, and most inspectors have never checked.

Try one inspection

Send one client and read the report they get. That is the only evaluation that means anything, and it is the only thing being asked for.

Book a client

Schedule an inspection

Most inspections can be scheduled within a few days. Call if you need something sooner.

Call 414-394-5459

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Open the scheduler

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Before you book

Have the property address, the approximate square footage, and your target date. Square footage determines the price, so the quote you see is final unless the listing figure turns out to be off.

If you are not sure whether the property is in my service area, call. It usually is.

What it costs

Most single family inspections range from $495 to $700, depending on square footage, the age of the home, and travel distance. Your exact price is confirmed before you book.

Phone: 414-394-5459
Email: ken@laphaminspections.com
Online booking: Book directly
Service area: Waukesha, Walworth, Jefferson and Racine counties. Delafield, Oconomowoc, Hartland, Pewaukee, Eagle, East Troy, Waterford, Palmyra and surrounding communities.
Payment: Due at the time of the inspection.