My friend and I recently bought a house together, and engaged Dylan on the recommendation of our realtor. He did an excellent job, giving us thorough documentation on everything he checked and its status, with a well-organized report that made it easy to prioritize things to fix. I showed the report to my partner, who is handier about the house than I am, and he was hilariously impressed by the quality of our inspection versus what he got. And I quote: Partner: Reading report.... Partner: Dang, your inspector rocks. Partner: This is substantively worth the money. Our inspector was a bad joke. Partner: Panel's full, but you can repurpose the hot tub to a car charger. Partner: Goddamn, this inspector is badass. Partner: That's a pretty clean bill of health, and also, this inspector is the god-king of inspectors. Partner: WORK WAS DONE Partner: this is impossible Partner: None of that scares me off. The mortgage paperwork might be a pain, sorry about that, but you at least rolled a natural 20 on home inspector. So, hard to argue with that! read more

I was impressed with the inspections I had seen by Orca during our house hunt, so when we bought there wasn't anyone else I called for a post sale inspection. They walked me through everything they encountered and explained my options for repair. And in the end I received an incredibly detailed report. I feel confident that we know as much as can be known at this point about our house and understand what to add to my projects list! Many thanks to them! read more

Dylan was very thorough when performing the inspection of the home we had in escrow. Very detailed inspection, he's very knowledgeable, explained his findings and promptly gave us a detailed report. Would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone needing a comprehensive inspection. read more

Dylan did a great job doing a pre-sale inspection of my home. He showed up on time, explained how the process was going to work, and also provided feedback on his observations while on site. I appreciated his attention to detail. I received the final inspection report on the following morning. The report format was easy to read and follow. Past inspection reports on other homes have used small print and were difficult to follow. Dylan's report was very clear, easy to read, and he used concise language. Thanks, Dylan, I'm happy to recommend you. read more

I worked with Dylan and he is very professional, friendly and helpful. His inspection gave me a very clear understanding of the issues involved with the house and the region in general, I was very grateful for the lesson. Would highly recommend and definitely use again myself. read more

I've had Dylan inspect two homes at this point and based on his thoroughness as well as thoughtfulness during the inspection process I wouldn't call anyone else. I'd recommend him to anyone, but especially a first time home buyer. If you don't know what you are looking at he will be more than happy to stop and explain it. read more

Wow, I was absolutely blown away at how thorough Dylan's inspection was. There was actually an inspection of the property (different company) a year before. There wasn't a whole lot there and the report was super difficult to read. Conversely, Dylan found every minor thing that was wrong, whether it be some building code change from five years ago or a repair in a hard-to-reach spot that some inspectors might not have ventured to. And the finished report was really nice looking and easy to read. He gave us our own personal link to access it, where we could also make a full color PDF so we could have it offline. This was the best money we've ever spent. I have zero doubt that we will save thousands of dollars in the long term because we went with Orca Inspection Services. read more

I personally have never received an inspection from Dylan, however being in insurance our customers have received inspections from Dylan on their new purchase. I see a lot of inspections, and Dylan obvious attention to detail really reflects in his reports. His inspection reports are easy to read, detailed, and he leaves clear recommendations to resolve any concerns. There are a lot of home buyers that get inspections on their purchase, and have issues with items that were missed. Of course it is impossible to find every single potential issue with an inspection, but Dylan really does go the extra mile. For the average person, a home is the biggest purchase they make, why not be clear with what you are purchasing. Dylan really does his best to make sure you know, before you buy! read more

We've been using Dylan Chalk of Orca Home Inspections for over 6 years now. He has inspected a number of homes for us and each time Dylan's diligence is top notch. Dylan emulates a strong passion for what he does and takes the time to ensure his clients comprehend the ins/out of his work. It is clear that Dylan is educated on the most current and green methods to improve efficiency in the home. The inspection report that Dylan provides his clients clearly categorizes his recommendations into what needs attention immediately to nice-to-have, which allows the reader to easily digest and prioritize future work to better the home. We've referred Dylan to our friends and family and each time they are blown away by his level of service. Dylan has earned our trust. He is a true talent in the home inspection business. read more

Dylan provided excellent inspection services on our townhome purchase. He was very professional and an extremely clear communicator. He performed a thorough inspection and was happy to educate on the various items he was inspecting. After his inspection, we felt more confident in our home purchase and more educated on the various systems and materials used in construction of our home. I would recommend Dylan to anyone looking for a high quality inspection. read more

Dylan did a great job inspecting a home that had quite a few serious issues. He was able to explain all of the problems and suggested upgrades, and produced a well organized report. He was also also available by phone after the inspection to clarify a few issues I had forgotten to ask about at the time of the inspection. I would definitely use him again. read more

Cannot say enough about the inspection service that Dylan provided for our potential home purchase. Punctual, outstanding attitude, incredible depth of knowledge, and very effective at communicating what he was looking at and doing. I will recommend to friends and use myself again without hesitation. read more

My wife and I have used Orca Inspection Services multiple times and have been consistently impressed. Each inspection is thorough and we appreciate the detailed follow-up report listing each issue with pictures. Dylan is happy to explain what he's looking for as he performs the inspection, which we found very useful as new homeowners. His past experience in other home building roles and jobs is an additional asset, as he knows exactly what to look for, where corners might be cut, and can confidently differentiate real problems from minor nits. Something that further impressed us is during an inspection of our crawlspace, he noticed some small wood pieces left behind by the builder. This is a termite risk and Dylan was kind enough to remove the wood for us. We will undoubtedly continue using Orca Inspection Services in the future. read more

I will use Mr. Chalk's services again without hesitation. He's inspected three houses for me in the past 6 months. I turned down the first two houses because of findings from his inspection. I like that he is able to maintain objectivity, and discloses what he finds in a very straightforward, thorough fashion. He's able to educate his clients without being condescending; he genuinely wants his clients to understand the concerns that might arise from his findings. However, he won't tell you whether or not to buy a house ~ he leaves that to the client to decide. I can see that might not appeal to some people who might not want to weigh the pros and cons for themselves. However, an inspector isn't a mind reader and can't make decisions for the clients. In one inspection the realtor failed to have the electricity turned on, which greatly limited Mr. Chalk's capacity to inspect. So I took that into consideration when making my decision. The last inspection didn't reveal a perfect home; I'm looking at some pretty old houses! But he was able to discuss solutions with me, and that helped me to decide for myself if I felt like the repairs were something I was willing to take on. His inspection reports are well written and are a great resource to have when planning future home projects. I'm extremely impressed with his customer service and his expertise. I will recommend him to everyone without hesitation. read more

My husband and I hired Dylan Chalk of Orca Inspections to inspect the house we are potentially purchasing this winter. Dylan drove outside of his usual stomping grounds, on the day before thanksgiving in order to help us. About Dylan: The three words I'd use to describe him are Diligent, Respectful, and Communicative. Dylan is personable. Other inspectors may expect you to leave them alone while the investigate potential problems; Dylan walks the clients (myself and my agent in our case) through the house room by room and the exterior identifying all of the potential hazards. He is extremely good at explaining not only what a problem is, but why it is a problem, and how it will affect living in the home. I was really surprised at how much respect Dylan showed the property we were having inspected. It wasn't as if I was expecting him to tear open a wall-- but he was very professional in his mannerisms towards the house and us. It was almost like how in sailor culture ships are treated, and referred to as 'she'. It felt like he doesn't think of properties as 'things', but a little more personified. I may be over-reading his general attitude but I got the feeling that he doesn't feel a house is 'just a house'. Which meant he took greater care in addressing any issues. It was really nice and refreshing. About the Inspection Report: Extremely detailed and comprehensive. Dylan not only outlined what the issues were with the house in detail, and the ways to remedy them, but also included website links to additional information. It was really nice as I'm a first time home buyer and have not dealt with a lot of the issues that are common in older homes. He took pictures of literally everything he looked at and included them in the report. There are things in there that I didn't know existed in the home until I saw the photos. Seriously, our realtor who has represented literally thousands of clients was extremely impressed with his candor and work ethic. Bottom Line: I'd hire Orca again in a heartbeat, the wealth of information he brings to the table is incredible. Also, we just found out he's getting published so go look up his book if you don't believe me! read more

Dylan was fantastic! He showed up early, was very thorough, and was extremely knowledgable. This is the third home purchase I've had and by FAR he is the best inspector we have used. Not only did he have a great attitude (he came a long way and was doing an inspection on an 80 year old house with some scary crawl spaces) but he was very prompt in returning my calls. I will use him again and highly recommend his company. read more

Dylan Chalk inspected two homes for us- one that we didn't buy because of information found because of his inspection, and a brand new home that we did buy. His inspections were very thorough, and he was very personable and skilled at communicating with us in a way we could understand. Because of his very thorough inspection of the new house we ended up buying, we insisted on a builder's warranty and pinpointed specific issues that we were concerned about to be covered in the warranty. A year later, some of Dylan's initial findings and concerns turned out to be spot on- and because we had his foresight, all of it was covered under our warranty arranged with the seller and builder of the new house. I highly recommend his inspection services. read more