Calgary Home Inspection Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms that come up most often in Calgary home inspection reports — written by a working inspector, with local context, so you know exactly what each finding means.
Plumbing
- Poly-B (Polybutylene)also: polybutylene, polyb
- Poly-B is a grey flexible plastic water supply pipe installed in Canadian homes from roughly 1985 to 1997 that is now associated with elevated failure rates at fittings and from chlorine exposure.
- Poly-B (polybutylene) was widely used in Calgary, Airdrie and surrounding communities through the late 1980s and 1990s. Failures typically occur at the brass or acetal fittings rather than mid-pipe, and Calgary's chlorinated municipal water can accelerate interior degradation. Many insurers now surcharge, exclude or refuse coverage on homes with active Poly-B, making identification during a home inspection a material buying decision.
- Kitecalso: kitec plumbing, ipex kitec
- Kitec is an aluminum-core plastic plumbing system installed roughly 1995–2007 that is subject to a class-action settlement due to brass fitting failures and is widely flagged by insurers.
- Kitec uses a PEX-AL-PEX pipe with yellow (hot) and blue (cold) markings and distinctive brass fittings prone to dezincification. It appears in many Calgary condos and homes built or renovated between 1995 and 2007. Even when no leak is visible, the presence of Kitec is a documented insurance and resale issue and typically warrants full replacement budgeting.
- Galvanized Supply Piping
- Galvanized supply piping is zinc-coated steel water pipe used through the 1950s that corrodes internally over time and restricts flow and discolours water as it ages.
- Older inner-city Calgary homes still carry galvanized supply lines. Symptoms include low pressure at upper-floor fixtures, rusty water on first draw, and visible scale at exposed unions. Replacement with copper or PEX is the standard remediation and is commonly negotiated post-inspection.
- Sewer Scope
- A sewer scope is a camera inspection of the underground main drain line from the home to the municipal connection to identify roots, bellies, cracks or collapses.
- Sewer scopes are a high-ROI add-on in Calgary's mature neighbourhoods — Crescent Heights, Renfrew, Mount Pleasant, Bowness, Forest Lawn — where clay tile and cast-iron mains are still common. Excavation of a Calgary sewer main routinely runs $8,000–$25,000, so confirming line condition before condition removal is standard due diligence.
- Sump Pump
- A sump pump is an electric pump installed in a basement pit that discharges groundwater collected by the weeping tile to the exterior of the home.
- Calgary sump pumps work hardest during spring snowmelt and summer storms — exactly when power outages are most likely. A battery backup or water-powered backup is a low-cost upgrade frequently recommended after inspection.
Electrical
- Aluminum Branch Wiringalso: aluminum wiring
- Aluminum branch wiring is solid aluminum conductor used for 15- and 20-amp circuits in homes built roughly 1965–1977 that requires CO/ALR devices or copper pigtails to mitigate overheating at terminations.
- Calgary has a meaningful inventory of 1960s and 70s homes wired in aluminum throughout neighbourhoods like Lake Bonavista, Willow Park and Brentwood. Properly terminated aluminum is acceptable, but loose, oxidized or copper-on-aluminum terminations are a fire risk and a common insurance question. Inspectors look for proper devices, anti-oxidant compound where appropriate, and signs of heat damage at receptacles and the panel.
- Knob-and-Tube Wiringalso: knob and tube
- Knob-and-tube is an early-1900s ungrounded wiring system using ceramic knobs and tubes that is generally insurable only when removed or fully replaced.
- K&T still surfaces in Calgary's inner-city stock — Inglewood, Sunnyside, Bridgeland, Mount Royal and Crescent Heights — usually as remnants in attics or basements. Even when functional, most Alberta insurers will not bind a policy with active knob-and-tube, so identification is a deal-shaping inspection finding.
Envelope & Roof
- Ice Dammingalso: ice dam, ice dams
- Ice damming is a ridge of ice that forms at the eaves when heat escaping into the attic melts roof snow that then refreezes at the cold overhang, backing water up under the shingles.
- Ice dams are common on Calgary roofs during chinook freeze-thaw cycles. The root cause is almost always attic heat loss combined with inadequate ventilation — not the shingles themselves. Long-term fixes target air-sealing the ceiling plane, topping up attic insulation to R-50+, and ensuring continuous soffit-to-ridge ventilation rather than just heat cable or roof-edge solutions.
- Attic Frost
- Attic frost is the white ice that forms on the underside of roof sheathing in winter when warm humid indoor air leaks into a cold, under-ventilated attic.
- Attic frost is one of the most common winter findings in Calgary home inspections. When it melts during a chinook, it can stain ceilings and mimic a roof leak. Remediation centres on sealing bypasses (pot lights, plumbing stacks, attic hatches), correcting bath-fan ducting, and verifying soffit intake and ridge or roof-vent exhaust are balanced.
- Stucco (EIFS vs. Traditional)also: EIFS
- Stucco in Calgary refers to either traditional cement-based stucco or EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System), an exterior insulation with a synthetic finish coat.
- Early-generation barrier EIFS systems trapped moisture and caused widespread sheathing rot. Modern drainable EIFS performs well when correctly installed and flashed. An inspector verifies system type, terminations, kickout flashings and ground clearance, often supported by moisture-meter probes at penetrations.
- Vermiculite Insulation
- Vermiculite is a pebbly, gold-grey loose-fill attic insulation sold from the 1940s to 1990s that may contain amphibole asbestos if sourced from the Libby, Montana mine (Zonolite).
- Vermiculite still appears in many older Calgary attics. It is generally safe if undisturbed, but any planned attic work, top-up insulation, or pot-light installation requires testing and abatement planning. Disclosure is also typically required at sale.
HVAC
- Radon
- Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps into homes through the foundation and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada.
- Calgary and surrounding communities sit on geology that produces elevated indoor radon levels in a significant share of homes. Health Canada's action level is 200 Bq/m³, measured over a minimum 90-day long-term test. A standard home inspection does not include radon testing — a separate long-term or short-term screening test must be commissioned.
- Polybutylene Distribution (Hydronic)
- Polybutylene hydronic distribution refers to grey Poly-B pipe used as in-floor radiant heating supply, distinct from the more common potable-water Poly-B installations.
- Some 1990s Calgary custom homes have Poly-B as the in-floor heat distribution. Failures are less catastrophic than on the potable side because pressure is lower, but replacement is significantly more invasive because the pipe is embedded in concrete or gypcrete.
Structure & Foundation
- Efflorescence
- Efflorescence is the white crystalline deposit that appears on concrete or masonry when moisture migrates through the material and evaporates, leaving dissolved salts behind.
- On Calgary basement walls, efflorescence is evidence that moisture has moved through the foundation — past or present. It is not itself damaging, but it identifies a pathway that warrants follow-up: grading, downspout extensions, weeping-tile function, and interior humidity.
- Grading & Negative Slopealso: negative grade, lot grading
- Grading refers to the slope of soil away from the foundation; negative grading slopes toward the home and is the single most common cause of basement moisture issues in Calgary.
- Calgary clay soils swell when wet and shrink when dry, amplifying grading problems. The standard target is at least 6 inches of fall over the first 10 feet from the foundation, combined with downspout extensions discharging at least 6 feet from the wall.
- Weeping Tilealso: perimeter drain
- Weeping tile is the perforated pipe installed around the exterior footing of a foundation that collects subsurface water and routes it to a sump pit or daylight outlet.
- Most Calgary homes built since the 1970s rely on weeping tile discharging to an interior sump pump. Failure modes include silt blockage, crushed pipe, disconnected discharge, and sump pumps without battery backup — all of which are routinely flagged on inspection.
Inspection Process
- Thermal Imagingalso: infrared imaging
- Thermal imaging uses an infrared camera to visualize surface temperature differences that can indicate missing insulation, air leakage, moisture intrusion or overheating electrical components.
- Thermal imaging is a supplemental, non-invasive tool — not a moisture meter and not an x-ray. It is most effective when there is a meaningful temperature differential across an assembly, which is why Calgary winter inspections often surface envelope issues that summer scans miss.
- Moisture Meter
- A moisture meter is a handheld instrument that measures moisture content in building materials using either pin (resistive) or pinless (capacitive) sensing.
- Moisture meters confirm whether a stain, thermal anomaly or musty smell corresponds to active wetness. Pin meters give a direct reading inside a material; pinless meters scan up to roughly 19 mm deep without surface damage. A competent inspector uses both alongside thermal imaging to triangulate findings.
- Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI)also: PDI
- A Pre-Delivery Inspection is the walkthrough between a builder and buyer of a new home before possession, documenting visible defects for warranty purposes.
- Under the Alberta New Home Warranty program, the PDI establishes the baseline condition of the home. Buyers commonly engage a third-party inspector to attend or perform a parallel inspection because builder-led PDIs are time-limited and incentive-aligned with the builder, not the buyer.
- 11-Month Warranty Inspection
- An 11-month warranty inspection is a comprehensive third-party inspection performed just before the one-year workmanship-and-materials coverage on a new Alberta home expires.
- Alberta New Home Warranty provides 1-year coverage on workmanship and materials, 2 years on delivery and distribution systems, 5 years on the building envelope and 10 years on structural. The 11-month inspection captures everything still under the most generous tier in writing before the deadline.
- Condition Removal
- Condition removal is the formal step in an Alberta real estate purchase where the buyer waives the conditions in their offer, including the inspection condition, making the deal firm.
- A buyer should not remove the inspection condition until they have read the full report, understood the major findings, and resolved any negotiated price or scope of work with the seller. Once conditions are removed, the inspection report no longer provides exit leverage.
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