Thank you for your interest. Barrier Sciences Group is no longer accepting requests for home energy audits. To find a service organization for your area, please visit the NRCan list of energy advisors and service organizations for existing homes here.
Throughout the province of Ontario, new rules and regulations have been defined for those in the home inspection industry. Fundamentally designed to protect the homebuyer, the intention is to reinforce consumer protection, while ensuring that businesses and individuals adhere to higher standards in the home inspection industry. As such, home inspectors will be licensed, and will be required to meet minimum professional qualifications (relative to assessments and reporting).
With an improved business landscape, homebuyers and home-sellers will both benefit from high quality home inspections. As for individual home inspectors, added scrutiny will block untrained and unqualified individuals from contending with professionals who have credentials, expertise, and experience in the field. And since 65% of resale homes entail a home inspection, professional service is essential in ensuring accurate, reliable information, and viable recommendations.
Home inspectors are trained to assess the performance of a building structure. They provide an overall performance “profile” that allows a prospective homebuyer to better evaluate a potential purchase. But beyond reporting, home inspectors also recommend repairs and retrofits that will remedy specific weaknesses. A comprehensive home inspection should include everything from the structural integrity of the home to energy performance and energy efficiency throughout.
While there are circumstances when a homebuyer will bypass an inspection, an astute buyer will nearly always insist on a comprehensive home inspection. It’s simply an assurance that all things are in order, and will remain so for the long term. Actually, a high quality inspection protocol will benefit and protect everyone - buyer, seller and real estate agent. This is particularly important when performance symptoms are obvious, but the cause not so evident. Here, a highly qualified inspector will be ultimately successful in uncovering the source and cause of a performance issue.
For those who are selling a residential property, a home inspection could make a big difference in terms of house condition and even sale price. Needless to say, detecting performance problems at the pre-sale stage will avert the type of surprises that make for stressful situations. With a good home inspector, it’s possible to isolate the repairs and retrofits that will best improve the quality of the property. Indeed, having an opportunity to remedy problem areas will also have a positive impact on the selling price, since performance weaknesses will have been effectively addressed.
At Barrier Sciences Group, home inspection services are comprehensive and wide ranging – from assessment; to reporting; to recommendations; to repairs and retrofits. The BSG team meets the highest industry standards, and can accommodate the most challenging of project requirements.
In today’s real estate environment, whether buying or selling, it’s absolutely critical to expedite a home inspection by an accredited company. A cursory assessment just won’t do. A professional approach will ensure complete objectivity and provide solutions and remedies that are viable.
Barrier Sciences Group assesses a home’s performance from top to bottom. With high-tech tools and proven methodologies, BSG assesses the entire building structure - from structural integrity, to air quality, to energy performance. All of the relevant data will comprise an in-depth report.
When a home inspection has been completed, and a report has been presented, the BSG team can recommend remedies to address and resolve the problem areas in the home. This is particularly important when problem areas and weaknesses are obvious, but causes are not as evident.
In any home, the more comprehensive the inspection, the more chance of discovering the source and/or cause of a weakness. With BSG, every inspection is wide-ranging, with additional tests where required, and with inspection results that identify the most viable repairs and upgrades.
For those buying a property, a comprehensive home inspection is vital in determining the home’s performance quality and potential need for repairs or retrofits. Here, BSG uses an “incremental” approach to remedies, opting for the remedies that provide the best return-on-investment.
Keeping budget in mind, the “incremental” approach allows for the most cost-worthy remedies to be effected first. It’s a step-by-step process, with an eye on additional work, as performance goals are achieved. This approach allows only the most important, results-oriented work to be done.
Barrier Sciences Group provides only highly trained home inspection specialists. They specialize in building science, and thoroughly inspect both interior and exterior of a home. BSG highlights problem areas, performance deficiencies, and various issues that may well develop over time.
BSG inspections are impartial and objective – there is no room for assumptions or predetermined conclusions. BSG ensures that customers fully understand their assessment and report, as well as the scope of work that is recommended. Accuracy is at the forefront of every home inspection.
Home inspections can be instrumental when buying a home or selling a home. In some situations it could even affect a conditional sale, and often the final selling price of the home. Today, in a real estate market that can be impulsive for many, there is no alternative to a proper inspection.
The team at BSG does it right - from inspection, to reporting, to remedies. BSG provides a service that meets even the most rigorous of requisites. Inspectors are professional, offering topnotch assessments, with verifiable data, and with the most cost effective options to move forward.
With much more focus on home energy efficiency, the Ministry of Energy in Ontario is paving the way for rules and regulations that will prohibit home inspections being performed by un-licensed inspectors. At the moment, there are no mandatory qualifications for these home inspectors.
For consumers, government regulations will ensure standardized qualifications and competency pre-requisites for home inspectors. This will be of benefit to both home sellers and homebuyers, and will ensure that every home inspector delivers a complete, comprehensive inspection report.
Homeowners Canada-wide are eligible for the Canada Greener Homes Grant, announced on May 27, 2021. This new incentive offers up to $5,000 in grants for home efficiency retrofit renovations, plus a $600 reimbursement for pre- and post-work EnerGuide evaluations. Eligible retrofit scopes include home insulation, heating, doors, windows, photovoltaic solar panels, resiliency measures, and thermostats.
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