How to Read a Calgary Home Inspection Report by Severity

Inspection software often uses colours, icons or labels such as safety, major, repair, monitor and maintenance. Those labels reflect the inspector's reporting system, not a universal Calgary standard or a guaranteed cost band. Read the written observation, location, photo, implication, limitation and recommendation. Ask the inspector how the categories are assigned.

A missing handrail may be clearly urgent but inexpensive. Intermittent basement moisture may look less dramatic while carrying investigation, drainage, foundation, mould, finishing and insurance consequences. Severity is the combination of consequence, probability, evidence and time, not the visual prominence of the report box.

Sort findings into: immediate safety or active loss; urgent investigation before the contract decision; near-term capital work; routine repair; monitor with a trigger; and information or limitation. Give each finding one primary lane and note connected items. The purpose is to create ownership and timing, not to grade the house.

Immediate lanes include active leakage, unsafe electrical exposure, combustion concerns, significant structural instability or another condition a qualified reviewer says requires prompt action. Capital lanes include aging but functioning roof or mechanical systems. Monitor lanes need a measurable trigger, date and evidence source; monitor is not a synonym for ignore.

Write four lines for a material item: what was observed, what remains unknown, what consequence is plausible and what evidence would resolve it. Efflorescence, staining and elevated moisture are observations. The water source, duration, concealed damage and remediation scope may remain unknown. Keeping those lines separate prevents overconfidence and helps the specialist answer the right question.

Mark the evidence type: inspector observation, seller statement, permit record, invoice, claim record, instrument reading, specialist opinion or buyer assumption. Conflicts deserve more attention than volume. A receipt saying roof repair and visible mismatched shingles may both be true while still leaving scope and warranty questions.

Read grading, swales, downspouts, window wells, foundation cracks, basement staining, sump equipment, sewer history, attic frost and roof drainage together. Calgary's snowmelt, intense rain, freeze-thaw and landscaping changes can move water across systems. The City states that owners are responsible for maintaining positive drainage on their lots.

A one-time stain with documented repair and controlled drainage is different from active moisture plus negative grade and no records. Ask where water starts, the path it follows, what confirms the theory and whether a drainage, sewer, roofing, foundation or building-envelope reviewer is needed. Do not price paint before establishing the pathway.

Age changes probability and planning horizon but does not alone establish failure. Record installation date, observed condition, service and repair history, parts availability, efficiency, insurer or lender concern and replacement cost for roof, furnace, hot water, plumbing, electrical and other systems. A newer installation can still be deficient; an older maintained system can still be functioning.

Use age to build low, base and high ownership scenarios. Separate required action before closing from work likely during the intended hold. If the household cannot carry two plausible capital events in the same year, the combined reserve exposure may be more severe than either report comment by itself.

An inspector may be unable to access the attic, electrical panel, crawlspace, roof, garage, mechanical room or areas behind stored contents. The severity of the limitation depends on what could be concealed, the property's chronology and whether replacement evidence exists. A blocked newer attic with complete documentation differs from an inaccessible attic below a repeatedly repaired roof.

List the limitation beside the potential consequence and deadline. Request access, records, return inspection, specialist review or a contractual response where warranted. Never change unknown to satisfactory merely because the appointment ended.

A physical finding can have several severities. Aluminum wiring may require technical assessment, insurer acceptance, budgeting and future resale documentation. A deck issue may involve condition, RPR location, City compliance, permits and shared boundaries. A condo leak may involve unit repairs, common-property responsibility, corporation insurance and deductible exposure.

For each material item, identify who owns the component, who decides technical adequacy, what approval or record applies, who insures it and who pays under the available facts. The report alone rarely answers all five. Escalate to the appropriate trade, engineer, surveyor, City pathway, insurer, condo reviewer or lawyer.

For every red or amber item, record the next question, reviewer, appointment, access, deliverable, quote, decision owner and latest useful completion time before the contract notice deadline. Ask the inspector for same-day clarification on the few findings that can change the deal. Do not wait for a polished report to begin scheduling obvious referrals.

Set an extension decision before the final hours. If evidence cannot arrive, decide whether the remaining risk fits the buyer's written reserve and no-go threshold. Urgency should improve sequence, not force waiver. The contract and qualified advice determine the available response.

A buyer may rationally accept a material finding when the cause, scope, cost, insurance and reserve fit. Put the accepted work into a 24-hour, 30-day, first-season and three-year plan. Recheck active-damage areas and agreed repairs at possession under the contract, then preserve invoices, permits, photographs and warranties.

The report becomes valuable when it drives maintenance and future disclosure evidence. Unsorted PDFs disappear; a dated capital and risk register compounds. Record why the buyer proceeded, what remained unknown and what event triggers re-evaluation.

Last source review: July 30, 2026. Contracts, municipal records, licensing, insurance, property conditions and professional standards can change. Verify the actual property and decision with the licensed inspector, qualified specialist, insurer, lender, Alberta lawyer, real estate professional, surveyor, condominium reviewer or municipal service responsible for that answer.