Termite and other inspections? (Millcreek, Tooele: houses, home inspection, legal)

[bdb5853]

How common are termites in Tooele county? Specifically the Stansbury Park area? We are having a home inspection done on a house we are under contract for and wonder if we need to add a termite inspection?

And I see there's a methamphetamine inspection you can have? What is that for? To check if someone in the house used meth? I've never seen that before.

What about radon? Is that something we should test for also?

The house is stucco. How common is that a problem with moisture/mold? Here in the midwest most people don't do stucco houses because of the moisture problems.

Just want to make sure we cover all our bases on the inspection.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Radon is a wise test to do. It used to take several days, not sure if there's a new version. I never worried about termites as I was told it's too cold for them.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[skibarbie]

I second Belle on the Radon test. We passed when we sold our house in Park City, barely, but the house we purchased over here in East Millcreek failed.
The Meth test is to detect if Meth was made in your home-I think-, not so much a user in the house. If it's not to expensive, I would do it for my own mental health.
We did not do a specific termite inspection but the house we are in now had termite damage. It was a small amount and the people we bought from had dealt with it when they bought in 2001. A good house inspector will see termite issues and let you know if they, the termites, are active or not...

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Yeah, when I remodelled and started using the basement I had to do radon remediation. It xan get expensive unless you are already ripping up the vasement.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[CCSLC]

Radon is a good idea, and it's an inexpensive and simple test to do. You can even reliably do it yourself with a kit from a big box store.

The climate of the Wasatch Front, contrary to local belief, IS hospitable to termites (I know, I had them in one of my houses). But it's not common here and probably isn't worth paying for if it's a newer home and the termite addition is expensive.

Methamphetamine residue testing is a very, very good idea!! Both methamphetamine manufacturing and USE will result in chemically contaminated walls, HVAC systems, carpets, etc. The difference is in the amount of residue present (cooking/manufacturing obviously leaves more residue). You do NOT want to end up in a house where someone has made meth, and you probably don't want to deal with the potential health effects (particularly on children) of even meth use residue. Even mid-range levels can cause sleeplessness, headaches, and respiratory problems.
You can hire a professional to test the surfaces of your home (be sure they do 3 locations in every room you're concerned about; many skimp and do only one per room); they will usually charge $100-120 for that. Or, you can pick up a free test kit from the local lab that analyzes the results, conduct the sampling yourself (it's not too complicated, just follow instructions carefully), and submit the sample to the lab yourself (~$45).
Be aware that if you hire a professional to do the meth test, they are legally required to report any result above the legal limit to the local health department and state division of environmental quality. The property will be listed as contaminated until it can be cleaned by a state-certified decontamination specialist. In cases of extremely high results, the local health department will close the property to entry until it can be cleaned.
In short, spend the $45 or $100 before you buy... it will save you a lot of headache in the future.