How Long Does a Home Inspection Take?
Quick answer: A standard Burnsville home inspection takes about 2 to 3 hours on site for a typical single-family home, plus the report delivered within 24 hours. Larger homes, older homes, crawl spaces, and add-ons like radon (a 48-hour monitor), sewer scope, or thermal imaging extend the time. A small condo may take under 2 hours; a 4,000 sq ft walkout with outbuildings can run 3.5 hours or more.
What the time depends on
| Factor | Effect on time |
|---|---|
| Square footage | The single biggest driver — more rooms, outlets, and windows to test |
| Home age | Older Burnsville homes need closer evaluation of era defects |
| Crawl space / walkout | Adds access and crawl time on bluff and split-level homes |
| Radon test | The monitor itself sits for 48 hours; setup adds a few minutes on day one |
| Sewer scope | Adds 30–45 minutes to camera the lateral to the city main |
| Outbuildings | Detached garages and pole barns each add evaluation time |
Typical timelines
- Condo / townhome (under 1,200 sq ft): roughly 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Standard single-family (1,500–2,500 sq ft): 2 to 3 hours.
- Large or older home (3,000+ sq ft, pre-1980, walkout): 3 to 3.5+ hours.
- Plus add-ons: sewer scope adds ~30–45 min; radon is a separate 48-hour monitor.
The report comes after
On-site time is only half the clock. SPEC delivers the photo-documented Spectora report within 24 hours, which is fast enough to act inside a typical 5-day inspection contingency. Radon is the exception: the continuous monitor must run for 48 hours under closed-house conditions before a valid result is available.
A real Burnsville example
A 1969 rambler near Crystal Lake with a walkout basement, a detached garage, and an original clay sewer lateral took about 3 hours on site. The base inspection ran roughly 2.5 hours given the home's age and the extra foundation access; the sewer scope added 40 minutes and revealed root intrusion at a clay-pipe joint. The buyer received the full report the next morning and added a radon monitor, which sat for 48 hours and confirmed an elevated 4.7 pCi/L reading.
Should you stay the whole time?
You are welcome to attend. Many buyers arrive for the final 30–45 minutes for a walk-through summary rather than the full window. Either way, the written report is the deliverable you'll rely on. See should I attend my home inspection for the trade-offs.