Home inspection in Martensdale.

In the platting and the ground more than the framing. Three railroads once converged at Martensdale, which is why a town incorporated as recently as October 29, 1920 has a compact street grid oriented to rail rather than to the section lines. Old rail corridors mean filled and cut ground, former sidings and yard areas now built on, and lots whose drainage was set by the tracks rather than the topography — so grading, backfill settlement and foundation crack patterns that suggest fill rather than undisturbed drift-plain till deserve particular attention. The house itself gets services, roof and structure dated precisely.

Plan on two to three hours for an average home; larger, older or multi-unit properties run longer because there is simply more to document.