Hi my name is Daniel and I became a member earlier today. I have been studying the 25 Standards every inspector should know and got done with the first part about electricity but I feel like I should know more. I know there’s How to perform residential electricity inspection course Should I start there before this 25 Standards?
What do you think the correct way to study and take the exams on here are?
Thanks for you time guys/gals.
If i remember there are base courses that InterNACHI recommends. I would start with those.
I would follow up with courses that I scored low in on the InterNACHI exam.
and any areas that I felt weak in.
There is really no right or wrong path, it is going to be what benefits you the best.
From what I have seen of the InterNACHI training courses (I have taken 12 thus far), and re-enforced by posts from others like yourself who are apparently relying on them exclusively for their training, they do not provide the depth of information you will need to become functionally conversant on the various systems you will be tested on and inspecting in the future.
Your best option, IMO, is to do a classroom course. If home study is your only option, I can, with reservations, recommend AHIT. Although I found their on-line content to be lacking in many ways, and their tests aggravating for their lack of consistency and proof-reading, I found the printed materials useful in conveying the basic concepts. Their phone support was very good.
In any event, you will need to study, study, study, test, study, repeat until you know enough that you are catching the errors and inconsistencies in the test questions. You will know you are getting close when you find a test answer you know is wrong and you can explain why.
Find a mentor and consult with him or her as needed, but not to the point where they are tired of hearing from you. Start going on ride-alongs as soon as you can. This is where the concepts will be fleshed out, and you will find where your knowledge is lacking.
Resign yourself to the fact that you will have to learn lots of things that will not bear directly on your actual work as an inspector. For instance, I had to learn about how boilers and fuel-oil-fired furnaces work, even though they are not used in my part of the country. Conversely, you will need to learn about practices and systems specific to your state and area. Nowhere in any of my study materials is there a diagram that accurately depicts how slab foundations are constructed in my area. Only through my experience as a builder do I know that.
Start here;
InterNACHI: Int’l Association of Certified Home Inspectors
How to Perform Residential Electrical Inspections Course - InterNACHI
Not only recommends, but REQUIRES. All of the “required” should be taken first.