Comox Military Home Inspector

Strathcona Home Inspections is a licensed professional home inspector.  Royce has  focused his services to cater to the needs of residential buyers and sellers. The Comox Home Inspector guarantees thoroughness and ethical standards, ensuring peace of mind for our clients. Our offerings include:

1. Buyer’s Home Inspection
2. Pre-Listing/Seller’s Home Inspection
3. New Construction Inspection
4. 11-Month Builder’s/Warranty Inspection
5. Re-Inspection

 

Consider the Comox Home Inspector for your military relocation home inspection for the following reasons:

1. Expertise in Military Relocation Inspections: With specialized knowledge and experience in military relocation inspections, we understand the unique needs and requirements of military personnel and their families.
2. Thorough Inspections: We conduct comprehensive inspections to ensure that your new home meets safety, quality, and regulatory standards, giving you peace of mind during your relocation process.
3. Timely Service: We understand the urgency often associated with military relocations. Our prompt and efficient service ensures that your inspection is completed promptly, helping streamline your relocation process.
4. Attention to Detail: Our inspectors pay close attention to detail, leaving no stone unturned during the inspection process. We prioritize thoroughness to identify any potential issues or concerns with the property.
5. Transparent Reporting: You’ll receive clear and detailed inspection reports, outlining our findings and recommendations in a transparent manner. This information empowers you to make informed decisions about your relocation.
6. Customer Satisfaction: Our goal is to provide exceptional service and exceed your expectations. We strive for customer satisfaction and are committed to ensuring that your relocation home inspection experience is smooth and stress-free.

Choose the Comox Home Inspector for your military relocation home inspection and experience professionalism, expertise, and reliability every step of the way.

 

Why You Need a Home Inspection

There are several reasons why you need a professional home inspection:

1. Identify Issues: A professional home inspection can uncover hidden problems or potential issues with the property that may not be apparent to the untrained eye. This can include structural issues, plumbing or electrical problems, mold, pest infestations, and more.
2. Ensure Safety: A thorough inspection can identify safety hazards within the home, such as faulty wiring, gas leaks, or unstable structures. Addressing these issues early on can prevent accidents or injuries in the future.
3. Protect Your Investment: Buying a home is a significant investment, and a professional inspection can help ensure that you’re making a sound investment. By identifying any potential problems upfront, you can avoid costly repairs or unexpected expenses down the line.
4. Negotiation Power: If the inspection uncovers issues with the property, you can use this information to negotiate with the seller for repairs or a reduction in the purchase price. This can help you get the best possible deal on the home.
5. Peace of Mind: A professional home inspection provides peace of mind knowing that your new home has been thoroughly evaluated by an expert. It can alleviate concerns about the condition of the property and help you feel confident in your decision to move forward with the purchase.

Overall, a professional home inspection is a crucial step in the homebuying process that can save you time, money, and stress in the long run. It provides valuable insight into the condition of the property and empowers you to make informed decisions about your investment.

Call Comox Home Inspections today to Book Inspection

 

WETT Inspections for Wood Stoves, Fireplaces and Pellet Stoves

A woodstove inspection is an important aspect of overall home inspection, especially if you have a wood-burning stove in your property. A home inspector who can also inspect the woodstove can not only identify any issues with the stove but also determine if it is up to code and properly installed.

Additionally, an inspector who is knowledgeable about woodstove inspections can help you understand the maintenance and safety considerations associated with the stove, which is particularly crucial if you’re planning to use it regularly.

Therefore, it’s always a good idea to have a home inspector who also offers woodstove inspections, it will save you money, it is more convenient and is a time saver, and finally, it can give you peace of mind knowing that your property has been thoroughly evaluated and you have a detailed understanding of any potential safety risks.

 

Book Your Level One WETT Inspection today!

Military Mortgages made easy when using a Relocation Expert.  Learn about Military Mortgage Options

 

Comox  is a town on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Strait of Georgia on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  Thousands of years ago, the warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil, and abundant sea life attracted First Nations, who called the area kw’umuxws (Kwak’wala, the adopted language of the K’omoks, for plentiful).

When the area was opened for settlement in the mid-19th century, it quickly attracted farmers, a lumber industry and a fishing industry. For over fifty years, the village remained isolated from the outside world other than by ship until roads and a railway were built into the area during the First World War. The installation of an air force base near the village during the Second World War brought new prosperity to the area, and in recent years, Comox attracts tourists for its fishing; local wildlife; year-round golf; and proximity to the Mount Washington ski area, the Forbidden Plateau, and Strathcona Provincial Park. The town is also home to a Royal Canadian Air Force base CFB Comox, an airport for military and commercial airline use and the Sea Cadet training facility HMCS Quadra. The mild climate has attracted many retirees to the area in the 21st century, which has resulted in a high rate of growth and a sharp increase in the median age of residents.

Comox town is in the Comox Valley, along with several other communities, including Courtenay, Cumberland, and the unincorporated hamlets of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek and Merville. The nearby Comox Glacier is visible from many parts of the town and is the area’s signature landmark. It is close (5.94 miles or 9.57 kilometers)^[4] to Denman Island in the Georgia Strait.

 

Early European explorers

In 1579, Francis Drake, on his circumnavigation of the globe in the Golden Hind, found a good port somewhere along the northwest coast of North America and stayed for several months while restocking supplies and trading with the inhabitants of the area. He named the region Nova Albion—Latin for “New Britain”. Drake’s detailed logs—and the exact location of Nova Albion— were later lost in a 17th-century fire, but some historians believe Drake made a landing at Comox.

In 1791, a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores produced a crude chart of the Strait of Georgia and possibly visited Comox. Captain George Vancouver arrived the following year, tasked by the British government with charting the northwest coast of North America. Vancouver, in concert with the Spanish expedition, entered the Courtenay River estuary between the present-day locations of Courtenay and Comox and charted the shoreline of Comox.

Nineteenth century: settlement

By the middle of the 19th century, European and American settlements had sprung up in the Vancouver area and on southern Vancouver Island. In 1837, the Hudson Bay Company steamship Beaver began to search the south and east coasts of Vancouver Island for suitable locations for new trading posts, and subsequently set up a post in the area, calling it “Komoux”.

HMS Constance, commanded by Captain Courtenay, was a frequent visitor to the area, and was one of the first ships to use Augusta Bay and a long sandy hook-shaped spit (now “the Goose Spit”) for gunnery practice.  In 1848, the river flowing through the Koumax valley was informally named the Courtenay River by British sailors after their captain. In 1857, Captain George Richards of HMS Plumper was tasked with undertaking a complete survey of the coastline of Vancouver Island, and was given authority to name local landmarks. When he arrived in the area, he confirmed the name as the Courtenay River.

In 1853 Sir James Douglas, governor of Vancouver Island, took a journey up the coast of Vancouver Island aboard SS Beaver, and recognized the area’s agricultural potential. In 1861, Lieutenant Richard Mayne of the Royal Navy visited the area and wrote of the rich agricultural prospects of the area, saying it had taken him a day and a half to walk on the land “through which a plough might be driven from end to end”.  That same year Governor Douglas issued a land and settlement proclamation for the Koumox Valley, intending to divert new settlers away from the Victoria area as well as from the newly discovered Cariboo gold fields. He offered land in the valley for $1 per acre and free transportation to the area.

Although some unofficial settlers had arrived in previous years, the first government-approved settlers arrived in 1862 aboard HMS Grappler.  Scottish immigrant James Robb, age 44, and his son William realized that the shoreline along the former K’ómoks fishing village and the Great Comox Midden was sheltered from the prevailing south east winds by the sandy hook of the Goose Spit, and would be the only place between the Courtenay River and the Spit suitable for landing supplies.  Rather than claiming lots on the relatively flat and untreed “prairies” along the east side of the Courtenay River like the other settlers, Robb and his son preempted 262 acres of steep and heavily forested land along the shore of the bay, with the idea of clearing the land, building a dock and then selling town lots for the village that would inevitably spring up at the site.

Two years later, Frederick Whymper, a member of the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition, visited Robb’s land, and wrote, “Here Mr. Robb with laudable faith in the country has preempted land though the site is principally bush: when he could have got good prairie land as he came among the first two years ago.”

By this time, as Robb had foreseen, supplies for the settlers had to be landed on his property, which became known as “The Landing”, or formally “Port Augusta”, named by the settlers after a member of the British royal family. James Robb by this time had also set up a prosperous farm, although he and his son spent a lot of time clearing land of timber in the hopes of selling it by the lot.

Hudson’s Bay Company and the British Admiralty promised the settlers that there would be regular mail service to the area via steamship, and Governor Douglas committed to building a road from Nanaimo. However, it quickly became clear that a wagon road would be too expensive; a bridle path with some bridges was built instead.^[13] Flooding and tree falls made maintenance of this path impractical, and the trail was soon abandoned. Supplies and mail continued to arrive by ship, but service was irregular, and delivery was measured in months rather than weeks.^[11]

A narrow trail was soon built to connect The Landing with the nearby settlers on the Courtenay River, and by 1860, this had been widened enough that an ox cart could pass.

In 1864, seams of high quality coal were discovered in nearby foothills, but it would be two decades before mining would begin.

In 1865, Rev. J. Cave Brown Cave, an Anglican missionary, complained to a local magistrate that a group of Eucletaw from Cape Mudge had moved to the area and were camped on a K’ómoks potato patch; Cave demanded that they be removed from the area, due to alleged thefts of potatoes and friction with the K’ómoks people. James Robb, who did not get along with Cave, disagreed.  The argument grew so vociferous that a small British naval squadron—HMS Sutlej, HMS Elias and HMS Sparrowhawk—under the command of Rear-Admiral John Kingcome was dispatched to the area to sort out the problem.  The rear-admiral listened to all sides of the argument, then commended Cave for his letter, advised that Robb’s conduct should be investigated, and returned the Eucletaw to Cape Mudge.

By 1876, the K’ómoks and Pentledge had been moved onto two reservations: Comox Indian Reserve No. 1 adjacent to the village of Comox, and Pentledge Indian Reserve No. 2 at the confluence of the Puntledge and Tsolum rivers adjacent to the village of Courtenay. A third area of ten to twelve acres, Graveyard Indian Reserve #3 on the Goose Spit, was also allocated in recognition of the historic burial grounds there.

The old Hudson’s Bay post had been built up on a hill overlooking the bay. In 1868, A.G. Horne, the manager of the Hudson’s Bay Company post, recommended that a lot be purchased from James Robb close to where a wharf would likely be built, but he was ignored by his superiors. Six years later, the provincial government provided a grant of $3,337 to build a wharf at The Landing, consisting of a pier 315 metres (1,033 ft) long with a 15-metre (49 ft) wharf head.  This allowed passengers and supplies to be offloaded directly from large ships without the need for smaller boats of shallow draught. An Italian immigrant named Joseph Rodello shrewdly bought from James Robb the two lots on the shore immediately to either side of the wharf, and quickly built a store beside the end of the wharf so that his supplies arriving by packet steamer would not have to be dragged up the hill into town.

By 1871, the census counted 102 inhabitants in the area of The Landing, mostly single men, an indication that a true village had not yet developed.  In 1876, the Royal Navy, desiring a permanent presence in the area, built a naval base on the Goose Spit despite the presence of the K’ómoks burial grounds.  The following year, Joseph Rodello expanded his business presence by building the Elk Hotel on the opposite side of the road from his store, thus owning the first two businesses that visitors encountered as they stepped off the wharf. The first school was built on Anderton Road in 1877. It was a one-room school for grades 1 to 8 

As the Hudson’s Bay factor A.G. Horne had predicted a decade earlier, his trading post was too far away from the wharf to be profitable, and in 1878, it was closed.  That same year, John Fitzpatrick bought a lot from James Robb and built the Lorne Hotel, named after the Marquis of Lorne, then Governor-General of Canada.  Robb also managed to sell a few other lots, notably for a butcher shop and the local courthouse and jail.  In 1880, Rodello’s store beside the wharf burned to the ground, but he rebuilt, and the new store was reopened in 1882. In 1886, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was built, but had to be rebuilt two years later when trees uprooted by a violent storm landed on it.

In 1884, the provincial government passed the Land Act, which abolished the onerous requirement for settlers to improve the land that they had purchased. Land became more valuable, and the asking price for James Robb’s town lots rose to $300.00.

In 1888, mines opened at the nearby village of Cumberland to harvest the rich seams of coal. When executive of the mines sought to buy up James Robb’s Landing in order to make it a railhead for coal from the mines, they balked when he insisted his farm was worth $80,000.^[14] Instead, they built a wharf on the other side of Augusta Bay at the village of Union Bay. The influx of miners and shipping largely bypassed Port Augusta.

In 1889, James Robb died, his ambitious vision unrealized. After years of back-breaking labour clearing land for town lots, Robb and his son had only sold a few lots in Port Augusta at the time of his death, mainly for businesses located on the road leading up the hill from the wharf. By coincidence, Joseph Rodello, buyer of the first two town lots from Robb, and in later years “a thorn in Robb’s side”, also died at the same time. Rivals in life, both men shared a combined obituary in the local newspaper.

In 1891, the Comox District Free Press—affectionately known as “the Yellow Paper”—began publishing.

In 1893, the provincial government, without consulting the local residents, abruptly changed the name of the village, the valley and the bay from Augusta to Comox.  Two years later, a telegraph office opened in the renamed village, providing an instantaneous link to the outside world.

In 1898, J.B. Holmes built the Port Augusta Hotel, which would also act as a store and even a church in the coming years.