Here are some of the items your home inspector is likelty to inspect in a typical room.

Look carefully at the ceiling. Is it sheetrock, plaster, homosote, celotex, masonite, plywood, matched tongue-and-groove, or open joist? What are the acoustic ceiling tiles or suspended ceiling tiles made of? Your home inspector should be able to identify the material by its color and texture. Even if the tiles are painted, the color is sometimes visible at a seam. Brownish colors usually indicate compressed wood or cane fiber. White or gray can sometimes indicate asbestos fiber. In order to properly identify asbestos, you need a special asbestos inspector's license.

Is the ceiling or wall plaster/sheetrock cracked or loose? Is there peeling and flaking paint? Your home inspector should be checking for leak stains on the walls and ceilings. He is likely to pay special attention around windows, under roof eaves, around dormers, in closets, and adjacent to chimneys.

Sometimes your home inspector will be able to look out a window and see roof surfaces. He is likely to want to make a note of roof conditions visible from windows. Sometimes, your home inspector will want to interrupt a room inspection and climb out a window to inspect a roof surface if it is safe to do so.

Sometimes your home inspector will find sagging ceilings, in a lightly framed older home, for example. Your home inspector should be able to report to you his opinion on why the ceiling is sagging. The sagging can be caused by sagging ceiling joists and/or sagging strapping. Sometimes a sheetrock panel will remain sagged after old water damage dries out. Usually, it would be necessary to cut holes in the ceiling in order to see the condition of the ceiling structure. To my knowledge, cutting holes in walls and ceilings is beyond the scope of a typical home inspection. However, some home inspection firms offer this service for an additional fee and with permission of the owner.

Some wall cracking can indicate that the structure has shifted over uneven support since the plaster or sheetrock was applied. Door and window out-of-squareness is another clue that parts of the building are directly supported on support posts while adjacent parts are supported on sagging joist or beam spans. Is sagging like this a problem or is it normal? A home inspector can offer you an opinion on a matter like this based on experience looking at hundreds or even thousands of houses.

Your home inspector is likely to do a "heel-drop" test on sagging floors. However, your home inspector can find out a lot about a floor structure by simply walking on it. Most floors will bounce a little under a heel drop test. However, some floors bounce more than others and might require further investigation from underneath in the basement.

If the room has a cathedral ceiling, your home inspector should check the collar tie beam ends. The end fasteners are typically covered by sheetrock, plaster, or wood paneling. Your home inspector should examine the tie beam ends for gaps, paint lines, or cracks in the wall finish that indicate rafter spreading.

Although last on this page, the next items are no less important and should be included in the inspection of every room in the house. The windows and doors should be inspected. The heat source for the room should be found and inspected. Finally, electrical items such as receptacles, wall switches, and light fixtures should be found and tested.