The Four Inspections Most Lincoln Homebuyers Skip

None of these four problems will show up on a walkthrough. A radon leak doesn't smell. A termite colony doesn't announce itself until the damage is structural. A cracked sewer line stays quiet until it backs up into the basement. And a gap in the attic insulation just looks like... an attic.

That's exactly why these are the four services homeowners are most likely to skip — not because they're unimportant, but because nothing about them is visible until it's already a problem. Here's what each one actually detects, why it matters more in Lincoln than people assume, and what it costs to find out too late.

Key Takeaways

• Nebraska sits almost entirely in the EPA's Zone 1, its highest radon-potential rating — this isn't a coastal or industrial-area problem, it's a local one

• Termite damage is excluded from most homeowners insurance policies, so a missed infestation is a buyer's or owner's expense alone

• A sewer scope is the only way to see inside a sewer lateral; everything else about plumbing condition is a guess

• Thermal imaging finds moisture and insulation problems without opening a single wall, often paying for itself in energy savings alone

• All four are available as standalone services or bundled into Murray's Complete Home Inspection

Radon Testing: The Risk Nebraska Can't Avoid by Being Careful

Radon is a radioactive gas produced as uranium breaks down in soil and rock. It's colorless, odorless, and rises up through foundation cracks, sump pits, and utility penetrations into the lowest level of a home — then just sits there, accumulating, in exactly the room a family spends the most time in.

Why This Isn't a "Some Homes" Problem Here

The EPA maps radon potential by county, in three zones. Zone 1 is the highest. Nebraska, including Lancaster County, falls almost entirely inside it, a result of the glacial soils that sit under most of the state. A well-maintained, newer home is not automatically protected — radon has nothing to do with how well a house was built.

How Testing Actually Works

A continuous radon monitor sits undisturbed in the lowest livable level of the home for a minimum testing period, under closed-house conditions — windows and exterior doors kept shut so the reading reflects normal living conditions, not a draft. The EPA's action level is 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter); results at or above that threshold call for mitigation.

What Happens If Levels Come Back High

It doesn't mean a home is unsellable or unsafe to own. A sub-slab depressurization system — a sealed vent pipe and fan that pulls radon from beneath the foundation and releases it above the roofline — typically reduces indoor levels by up to 99%. For buyers, it's a negotiable repair item. For current owners, it's a fixable one, not a reason to panic.

Termite Inspections: The Damage Your Insurance Won't Cover

Subterranean termite colonies live underground and travel to a home's wood through pencil-thin mud tubes built across foundation walls. They don't knock, and they don't stop. A colony can work through sill plates, floor joists, and structural framing for years before anyone notices — because the damage almost always starts on the inside of the wood, not the surface.

Why Insurance Won't Bail You Out

Most homeowners policies treat termite damage the same way they treat mold from a slow leak or rot from poor drainage: a maintenance issue, not a sudden covered loss. That's industry-standard policy language, not a Murray rule — which is exactly why catching an infestation before closing, rather than after, matters so much financially.

What the Inspection Actually Looks For

Mud tubes along the foundation, frass (termite droppings that look like small wood-colored pellets), wood that sounds hollow or papery when tapped, and any wood-to-soil contact points where termites have an easy entry. Crawlspaces, basements, and exterior foundation walls get the closest look, since that's where a colony makes first contact with the structure.

Who Should Prioritize This

Homes with mulch beds piled against the foundation, older construction with wood-to-soil contact, and anyone buying a home that hasn't been inspected in the last year. In a termite inspection, "no visible activity today" is useful information — but it's not a guarantee for next year, which is why point-of-sale and periodic inspections both have a place.

Sewer Scope: The One Inspection That Actually Looks Inside the Pipe

Everything else in a home inspection works by looking at a surface and reasoning about what's underneath it. A sewer scope skips the reasoning. A flexible camera is fed through a cleanout or drain line into the sewer lateral — the pipe connecting the home to the city main — and records real-time video of exactly what's down there.

What the Camera Actually Finds

Root intrusion, which is by far the most common issue in older clay or Orangeburg pipe. Bellies, where a section of pipe has sagged and waste pools instead of draining. Offset joints, cracks, and corrosion in aging cast iron. None of this shows up as a slow drain until it's already a backup — by then, it's an emergency call, not a planned repair.

Which Homes Need This Most

Anything built before the 1980s, when clay and Orangeburg pipe were still common. Any yard with mature trees near the sewer line's path — roots go looking for moisture, and a sewer lateral is exactly that. And frankly, any home where the line has never been scoped, regardless of age, since a previous owner's "it's never backed up" isn't the same as "it's been checked."

The Cost of Finding Out the Hard Way

A full sewer line replacement is one of the most expensive repairs in residential plumbing, often requiring the yard, driveway, or even a section of foundation to be excavated. A scope that costs a fraction of that can be the difference between a planned repair and a five-figure emergency.

Thermal Imaging: Finding What's Inside the Wall Without Opening It

An infrared camera doesn't see through walls — it reads surface temperature and turns it into a color-coded image. That distinction matters, because it's the temperature differences, not X-ray vision, that give away what's happening behind the drywall.

What It Actually Catches

A patch of wall that's noticeably colder than the rest usually means missing or compressed insulation right there. A cool, irregular shape near a window or exterior wall often points to moisture intrusion, since wet materials hold and conduct heat differently than dry ones. And an electrical panel or outlet reading hotter than its neighbors can flag a loose connection or an overloaded circuit — the kind of thing that causes fires, not just high bills.

Where the Limits Actually Are

This is the honest part most companies skip: thermal imaging shows a temperature difference, not a diagnosis. Reading what it means — insulation gap versus moisture versus normal structural framing — takes training and context, which is why it's performed by the inspector, not just a camera pointed at a wall. It also works best when there's a real temperature gap between inside and outside; a mild 65-degree day with the HVAC barely running gives the camera far less to work with than a cold January morning.

Why It's Worth Doing Anyway

Finding a missing patch of attic insulation before winter, instead of after a higher-than-expected utility bill, often pays for the scan on its own. It's one of the few parts of an inspection that can show a return on investment within a single season.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much radon is too much in a Nebraska home?

The EPA sets its action level at 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). Results at or above that level call for a mitigation system. Since Nebraska sits almost entirely in the EPA's highest radon-potential zone, testing is worth doing regardless of a home's age or condition.

Does a standard home inspection include termite, radon, or sewer scope testing?

No. A standard inspection is visual and non-invasive, which means it can't detect radon gas, confirm termite activity below the surface, or see inside a sewer line. Each of these requires its own equipment and process, which is why they're offered as specialty services.

How often should a sewer line get scoped?

At minimum, before buying a home — especially one with older clay or Orangeburg pipe, or mature trees near the line's path. For current owners, a scope every few years catches root intrusion and wear long before it becomes a backup.

Get the Full Picture, Not Just the Visible One

Detailed Inspections for Informed Decisions means checking what's actually there — not just what's easy to see. Each of these services can be booked on its own or as part of Murray's Complete Home Inspection.

Schedule online at murrayinspectionservices.com or call (402) 802-7021.