Pest Inspections in Campbell, CA

Local Context

Escrow in Campbell Runs Through Fifty-Year-Old Framing

A California WDO report splits findings in two. Section 1 is active infestation or existing damage. Section 2 is a condition likely to lead to infestation. Campbell escrows almost always turn on Section 1, and those findings cluster in predictable places because so much of the city went up in one twenty-year stretch — the median house here dates to 1972, and the fascia, rafter tails and garage framing from that era are where drywood activity shows first.

The Section 2 list is even more consistent. On the 1950s–70s lots we write up wood fence rails and posts in direct soil contact, patio columns set on grade, planter boxes built against the siding, and irrigation heads throwing water at the stem wall. On the older raised-foundation homes near Orchard City Drive and downtown it is crawl space debris, blocked or missing foundation vents, bare soil with no vapor barrier, and earth-to-wood contact at the girders. Both lists are straightforward to correct before a buyer's inspector writes them up.

What makes Campbell reports read differently from a newer suburb is that so little of this stock ever gets replaced. Lots here are small, the tract neighborhoods are built out, and a house that sells in the San Tomas Area Neighborhood or West Campbell is almost always going to be lived in and renovated rather than torn down. The original 1970s framing, the garage sill and, on the older blocks, the crawl space are what an inspection actually has to clear.