Welcome to The Trained Observer
A quiet space for home inspectors—and anyone else who thinks carefully about what we do, what we notice, and what we overlook.
After more than three decades of building homes —nearly a thousand of them. I’ve worked in the field, on the ground, in attics and crawlspaces, and most recently, in reflection. And now, I am a home inspector.
What’s been missing in our profession isn’t knowledge. It’s conversation.
For years I’ve looked for a forum where thoughtful inspectors could gather—not to promote, posture, or market, but to speak plainly and ask harder questions.
Not “What’s wrong with this house?”
But “What’s happening to this profession?”
And maybe, “What have we stopped noticing?”
This Substack exists because ASHI doesn’t currently provide a forum for those conversations.
So I’ve made one here.
If you're here, welcome. I won’t be publishing daily. This won’t be a feed of tips or tricks. Think of it more like a path in the woods—a place to pause, think, and see where the next step might lead.
If you're a home inspector, builder, educator, or someone who values the power of close observation, I hope you’ll walk this path with me.
I’ve created this space to start a conversation I wish already existed. If you’ve been looking for the same thing, I’d be honored to hear your thoughts in the comments below.