Protect Your Investment

A home inspection is about protecting your investment. Buying a home without getting a proper home inspection is taking a risk you may very well regret later. Buyers must take responsibility to check for major and minor defects in a home as they may not be protected if they discover problems after closing. The home inspector is a valuable educational resource. He or she can suggest specific tips on how to maintain the home ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in the long term. After all, this is one of the most important decisions you will ever make so why not protect your investment?

Contact No 1 Home Inspections for Peace of Mind when purchasing a Home in the Halifax or Darmouth area.  Read more….

Protect Your Investment

A home inspection is about protecting your investment. Buying a home without getting a proper home inspection is taking a risk you may very well regret later. Buyers must take responsibility to check for major and minor defects in a home as they may not be protected if they discover problems after closing. The home inspector is a valuable educational resource. He or she can suggest specific tips on how to maintain the home ultimately saving you thousands of dollars in the long term. After all, this is one of the most important decisions you will ever make so why not protect your investment?

Contact No 1 Home Inspections for Peace of Mind when purchasing a Home in the Halifax or Darmouth area.  Read more….

Radon Gas Testing

Radon is the second most common cause of lung cancer in Canada. No 1 Home Inspections is trained in the proper method of gathering radon data with a long term test (minimum 1 month, ideally 3-12 months) and work with an independent laboratory to provide detailed reports. We can analyze that data to advise whether steps to mitigate radon are necessary. While the Nova Scotia Government has a radon map that indicates areas of high radon concentration, it is important to note these are general trends. Radon levels not only vary by community, but even individual homes next to each other can have radically different radon levels! The only way to know what the radon levels in a home are an acceptable limit (while there is no established safe limit, the Government of Canada has guidelines for acceptable levels) is to do a long term test.

Please note as short term (48 hour) tests are not a reliable or accurate method of measuring radon, and can provide a false sense of security.

We are constantly upgrading our knowledge and skills by participating in Continuing Education Courses.

Why You Need a Home Inspection

The purpose of an inspection isn’t just to find problems with the house; It’s also about making sure that you don’t buy something that will cost more than you think, or cause other headaches down the road. If you’re planning on purchasing a brand-new home, then hiring a home inspector could save you thousands of dollars. It will also help you understand the property you want to buy and the possible defects. A home inspection can improve your confidence as a buyer or a real estate agent.

Benefits:

1. Identification of potential safety hazards: A home inspection can reveal potential hazards such as faulty electrical wiring, gas leaks, and structural issues that could pose a danger to the inhabitants of the home.
2. Detection of costly repairs: An inspector can identify issues that could lead to expensive repairs down the line, such as a leaky roof or a malfunctioning HVAC system.
3. Peace of mind: Knowing the condition of a home before making a purchase can provide peace of mind and help buyers make a more informed decision.
4. Negotiation tool: If issues are identified during an inspection, buyers can use this information to negotiate the price of the home or ask the seller to make repairs.
5. Condition of the home: A home inspection can give buyers a comprehensive understanding of the condition of the home, including the condition of major systems such as plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, as well as the overall condition of the home’s structure and foundation.

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth (/ˈdɑːrtməθ/ DART-məth) is a built-up community of Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 72,139 residents as of 2021.

History

18th century

Father Le Loutre’s War began when Edward Cornwallis arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax, the British were violating earlier treaties with the Miꞌkmaq (1726), which were signed after Father Rale’s War.  The British quickly began to build other settlements. To guard against Miꞌkmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg (1753), and Lawrencetown (1754).

In 1750, the sailing ship Alderney arrived with 151 immigrants. Municipal officials at Halifax decided that these new arrivals should be settled on the eastern side of Halifax Harbour. During the early years, eight Acadian and Miꞌkmaq raids were made on the new British settlement, such as the Raid on Dartmouth (1751).

The original settlement was made in an area the Miꞌkmaq called Ponamogoatitjg  (Boonamoogwaddy), which has been varyingly translated as “Tomcod Ground” or “Salmon Place” in reference to the fish that were presumably caught in this part of Halifax Harbour. The community was later given the English name of Dartmouth in honour of William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth, who was a former secretary of state. By 1752, 53 families consisting of 193 people lived in the community.

The oldest structure in Dartmouth is the house of William Ray, a Quaker and cooper from Nantucket who moved to Dartmouth in 1785-86 as a whaler. Its materials and construction methods closely resemble Quaker architecture in Nantucket, such as the asymmetrical façade design and stone foundation.  It is located at 59 Ochterloney Street, and is believed to have been built around 1785 or 1786. Today, it is a museum, furnished as a typical modest dwelling of a merchant of that time.

19th century

Dartmouth was initially a sawmill and agricultural outpost of Halifax. In the mid-19th century, though, it grew, first with the construction of the Shubenacadie Canal and more importantly with the rise of successful industrial firms such as the Dartmouth Marine Slips, the Starr Manufacturing Company, and the Stairs Ropeworks.

In 1873, Dartmouth was incorporated as a town, and a town hall was established in 1877.

20th century

In 1955, the town was permanently linked to Halifax by the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, which led to rapid urban growth.

Dartmouth’s city hall was built in the early 1960s on the waterfront adjacent to the Alderney Ferry Terminal. The building was declared surplus and sold to Starfish Properties, and was to be redeveloped.

On 1 January 1961, the Town of Dartmouth officially amalgamated with several neighbouring villages into the City of Dartmouth.

The A. Murray MacKay Bridge opened in 1970, furthering commercial and residential growth.

The Dartmouth General Hospital officially opened on 14 January 1977, at 325 Pleasant Street. The hospital provides care to a catchment area of approximately 120,000 people.

On April 1, 1996, the provincial government amalgamated all the municipalities within the boundaries of Halifax County into a single-tier regional government named the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Dartmouth and its neighbouring city of Halifax, the town of Bedford and the Municipality of the County of Halifax were dissolved. The city of Dartmouth forms part of the urban core of the larger regional municipality and is officially designated as part of the “capital district” by the Halifax Regional Municipality. At the time that the City of Dartmouth was dissolved, the provincial government altered its status to a separate community to Halifax; however, its status as part of the metropolitan “Halifax” urban core existed prior to municipal reorganization in 1996.

Dartmouth is still an official geographic name that is used by all levels of government for legal purposes, postal service, mapping, 9-1-1 emergency response, municipal planning, and is recognized by the Halifax Regional Municipality as a civic addressing community. The official place name did not change, due to the confusion with similar street names, land use planning set out by the former “City of Dartmouth”, and significant public pressure. Today the same development planning for Downtown Dartmouth and the rest of the region is still in force, as well as specific bylaws created prior to April 1, 1996.