Do you use Zip Level 2000 in your home inspection?

Hello, All

I am not sure do I need purchase this Zip level 2000 for my home inspection business.
I want to ask do you use it for your business?

ZIPLEVEL Precision Altimeter

What is the purpose of this Altimeter?
What actual value would it add to an inspection?

Once you contemplate and answer those two questions you will have the answer to your question.

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Not only no, but HECK NO! What a waste of $ for a home inspection business.

It is WAY BEYOND any SOP that I have ever read.

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I use one for the engineering side of my business, but rarely use it on a home inspection. Depending on your experience in home construction knowing the difference between settlement and sloppy workmanship can be tricky. Using a specialized piece of equipment sets an expectation your capable of using it correctly and can accurately interpret the results.

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+1 to this.

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This is the extent of any level I have ever needed inspecting…

2023-09-27_110707
2023-09-27_111053

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+2 to this!

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Yep! Use it frequently too unfortunately. Comes in handy with a picture to display an issue.

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I would also add that documenting how out-of-level a floor is can be accomplished much quicker with cheaper tools. Zip Levels are helpful when you need to document a wide area. Zip Levels can also be inaccurate if you don’t keep up with re-certification.

Good examples of when my Zip Level comes out of the bag:
Mining activity covenant inspections
Repaired sinkhole inspections
Hillside stability inspections
Cut fill monitoring inspections
Post-flooding insurance inspections

For anything else inside a building, a self leveling laser is way quicker and more accurate.

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The only use I might potentially have a use for this tool is with a year over year commercial client to document ongoing settlement. But even then, that would long ago have been referred out, and the cracking or other visible signs of the settlement would be the meat of the report anyway.

In short your answer is NO

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Works great and much less expensive.

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To do floor levels I use a self leveling cross line laser and a home made “story pole” (basically a big yardstick).


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I had a client bring one of those with him to the walk through once, and he confirmed some pretty major settlement. it appeared that the slab just hadn’t cracked/failed yet, so there wasn’t much other evidence to catch onto.

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Yes, most finished floors cover everything. But I think we still can use self leveling lasers to do it.

No, I have always just used my eyes.

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along with a 4’ level and a golf ball on solid floors… :wink:

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Fixed!

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That’s funny but so true! Did one years ago where I walked up to the house and could tell it was tilted forward. Walking the halls it was so obvious. Client and RE Salesperson sat on the living room couch as I did the inspection and I had already mentioned it to them. The RE Salesperson started Poo Poo’ing what I said. So I stood behind the couch on the upward slant, set a golf ball on the wood floor and let it roll under the couch and past their legs where it struck the front wall and bounced back. I picked up the ball and went back to inspecting with no explanation needed. :rofl:

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Just saw this and YEP!