Frank Lesh of Illinois USA
Frank Lesh of Illinois USA - 2007 ASHI President & Currently Interim Executive Director ASHI
Home inspections in the U.S. are an integral part of the home buying decision of most buyers. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) has been in the forefront of the home inspection process since 1976. No other home inspection organization in North America has been around longer or has a stricter Code of Ethics/Standard of Practice than ASHI.
As the president of Home Sweet Home Inspection Company I’m proud to have been an ASHI Member since 1990 and a member its Great Lakes Chapter since 1991.
By 1996, I saw an opportunity to expand my business into the nascent field of inspecting Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) buildings. This material is better known as Dryvit™ or synthetic stucco.
Not content with focusing only on inspection problems in the U.S., Don Nelson (former Freeman who sadly passed away last year) and I decided to expand our knowledge base by reaching across the Atlantic to the U.K. where we met with Court Assistant Mike Parrett, a world renowned expert in dampness and its often latent destructive power. Not surprisingly, some of the same problems occur on both sides of the Pond.
In 2006, Don and I became the first International Constructors of the Worshipful Company of Constructors, a London Livery Company. Before Don’s passing, we had discussed how to improve and expand relations between ASHI and WCC. As the recently appointed Interim Executive Director of ASHI, I see this as a golden opportunity to achieve that goal.
That’s a brief history of my professional involvement in the home inspection business. Now let’s touch on home inspections in the U.S.
Typically, the purchaser of a house, whether newly constructed or an existing house, hires a home inspector to report on the primary components of the house. In a nutshell, the inspector shall Inspect the:
1. Structural Components including the foundation and framing.
2. Exterior including the siding and trim, doors, windows, decks, porches, drainage, retaining walls, walkways, patio and driveway.
3. Roofing including roofing materials, flashing, roof drainage systems, chimneys, and skylights.
4. Plumbing including water supply and pipes, fixtures, drain, waste and vent systems and sump pumps.
5. Electrical including service drop, service entrance conductors, main disconnects, service grounding, conductors, overcurrent protection devices, amperage and voltage, location of the main disconnect and subpanels.
6. Heating including interior flues, heat exchangers, humidifiers, filters and solar space heating systems.
7. Cooling including central and through wall equipment.
8. Interiors including walls, ceilings, floors, stairs, railings, attics, doors and windows.
9. Insulation and Ventilation
10.Fireplaces and Solid Fuel Burning Devices.
There are of course, many other systems of the house that home inspectors may inspect. Such as, lead based paint, asbestos, mold, etc.
For more precise information on ASHI’s Standards of Practice go to: www.ashi.org
If you’d like to contact me directly, my email address is: Frankl@ashi.org 
Thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.
Frank Lesh
Interim Executive Director
2007 ASHI President
American Society of Home Inspectors
Direct (847)954-3182
www.ashi.org
