Biography and Inspection Philosophy

I'm from the West, a fifth-generation Californian, and have lived in the Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, and since 1979, Atlanta.

In 1986 I met an engineer in need of an inspector.  The job fit; no suit required, independence, the right mix of field work and reporting, a profession requiring general knowledge as well as specifics, and a chance to meet the melting pot mix of people calling Atlanta their home.

In 1984 my wife and I had purchased our first home, a brick bungalow in Candler Park.  We renovated the kitchen, installed air conditioning and landscaped the yard.  In 1991 we purchased a brick ranch in nearby Lake Claire.  Like the Candler Park home we've done kitchen, HVAC, and yard improvements along with other projects.  The lessons I've learned from them; the time, work, and expense involved, design considerations, costs, the construction process and the role of sub-contractors, broadened my inspection background.

I've developed working relationships with construction professionals and trades people.  I don't hesitate to call them when I have questions, and, for the most part, they don't mind answering them.  I've maintained affiliation with inspection organizations.  A charter member of*GAHI, I left the organization to become a candidate with *ASHI  (Georgia Association of Home Inspectors and American Society of Home Inspectors).

In 1994, sick with cancer and in fragile health, I began to look at houses from a different perspective.  My home had taken on a different character; it had become a refuge, a source of comfort and peace. 
My home reading list expanded to include architecture, history and design.  The insults of chemotherapy and radiation made my body sensitive to small changes in climate and indoor air guiding me to the study of comfort and air quality.

The changes in my life were in some ways analogous to changes taking place in homebuilding.  In 1995 Georgia adopted an energy code.  Mechanical engineers refined proposed standards for ventilation and indoor air quality.  In 1996 Southface Energy Institute, a publicly funded organization dedicated to conservation and efficiency, moved to a new facility and expanded its’ mission including sponsoring Greenprints, an annual conference focusing on energy efficient construction. In the late 1990’s private home inspectors began inspecting new construction.

Homes meeting the new energy and air quality standards require a better understanding of building science; in order to achieve the goals of conservation and comfort the old rule-of-thumb methods of construction are no longer sufficient.  A comprehensive understanding of how buildings work and, for this inspector, how they fail is the focus of my work.  See other articles at this website for a full discussion of this subject.

In summary I bring my own unique appreciation of how building science has affected home construction, coupled with nearly twenty years as a full-time inspector.

Outline of my Inspection Career

Dan Curl does business as Comprehensive Home Inspections, Inc. and has performed more than 5000 inspections.

1986

• Joined Development Evaluation Services, Inc.
• Passed Building Inspector Exam.

1986-90

• Trained by John Kamisky, Professional Engineer
• Attended courses for and passed:
  • One and Two Family Dwelling Exam, CABO Certification.
  • Rehabilitation Housing Exam.
  • Inspection for Asbestos Exam.
• Performed over 1000 inspections.

1990

• Founded Comprehensive Home Inspections Incorporated with Dan Curl as inspector.
• Charter member of the Georgia Association of Home Inspectors.

1994-5

• Diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
• Underwent nine months of treatment.
• During treatment studied home construction, architecture, design, codes, and energy efficiency.

1997

• Returned to work.  Lengthy recovery limits workload.

1995-Present

• Continued work as a home inspector.
• Passed Home Energy Rating Systems course.
• Performed Home Energy Rating Inspections with Sam Misdary, P.E.
• Focused of studies on:  Energy Efficiency, Indoor Air Quality, Heating and Cooling Systems, and related topics.
• Passed, for the 2nd time, ASHI National Home Inspector and Standards and Ethics exams

For John Head's observations about Dan read this excerpt from the book:

We Were the Land's
by John Head
Longstreet Press, 1999
Available from Amazon.com.