I thought I would take this opportunity to better define the role of the home inspector. The home inspector is a generalist and, if properly trained, should know lots about many different systems and components of the home. With a few exceptions, however, the inspector is not a licensed electrician, licensed plumber, licensed professional engineer or an HVAC trained technician. It is the job of the inspector to detect problems and then pass the upgrade or repair on to the proper professional. It is not unlike the GP who sends a patient to the skin doctor, who specializes in skin disorders, if he or she suspects a malignancy.
This point might be better clarified in the photos below. To the left at the top is a water heater that is rusted out and has issues with the TPR valve and drain. An inspector could go on for quite some time about this tank because even the basic photo shows major problems. Instead, an inspector might be better off to state that the TPR valve is leaking, the tank is rusted, there are no covers on the 240V terminals and that this tank should be replaced and installed to local standards or codes by a licensed plumber. The plumber, by being called in, will resolve all these problems.
In the photo to the top right, there are really old drain pipes that look to be leaking. The supply pipes are copper connected to galvanized steel -- not good as that leads to corrosion. In this case, the inspector might approximate the conditions. For example, "it looks like 2/3 of the drain and supply pipes are old". Or the inspector might be better off just to state that there is a combination of old and new plumbing pipes, there are leaks and corrosion taking place, and send it all on to the licensed plumber for evaluation, upgrades and repairs.
Bottom left photo is old knob and tube wiring. This house had various locations where new Romex cable was installed but also there were many indications of live knob and tube circuits. The best solution here is to state that the home appeared to have both types of wiring and send the problem on to a licensed electrician for further evaluation and repairs/upgrades. If possible, the inspector will identify obvious live knob and tube circuits or two prong outlets typical of older systems.
Bottom right is a crawl space. In Washington State, a licensed structural pest inspector has to do a thorough inspection for conducive conditions and wood destroying organisms. This crawl space had enough challenges that I inspected the half that was accessible. I found signs of carpenter ants and listed a multitude of conducive conditions. While I drew a diagram of conducive conditions and any visible wood destroying organisms, I also referred this to an experienced crawl space repair professional. A crawl space as damp as this one, especially one with carpenter ant activity, can have many issues that are not visible to the home inspector in the course of a reasonable inspection. Referring to a licensed pest control contractor, for further evaluation of wood destroying organisms and vermin, and calling for a contractor familiar with crawl space issues to repair any damaged wood and resolve vapor barrier, insulation and other issues is a must.
rusted out. 
Thanks for looking.
Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's. I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.
