Roofs, panels, furnaces, plumbing, stairs and reporting: in your notes it's a wall of text. Here every topic fits on one page, with the drawing and what you need to remember. It covers the NHIE only: state requirements and state exams aren't included. PDF by email, and you can print it. 84 drawn pages.
🔒 Secure checkout · PDF by email · 30-day guarantee
One topic per page, with a drawing that shows you how it works and boxes with what you need to know:
Swipe to see more →
These are real pages from the book. The table of contents is the full one: 11 parts and 79 topics.
You've read about roof types and parts three times. You close the manual...
...and you can't say which edge is the rake and which is the eave. It was just lines of text.
Here the roof is one page: gable, hip, shed and flat, with ridge, eave, rake and valley labeled on one roof.
Every system gets its own page: foundations, the service drop, the gas furnace, insulation and water supply. And the things people mix up sit side by side: main panel vs. subpanel and look-alike terms. Plus all the numbers on one page.
First you understand why it's built that way. Then you remember the parts on your own.
The exam, site and exterior, roof, structure, electrical, heating and cooling, insulation and air, plumbing and fuel, interior and life safety, reporting and final review: 84 pages, all drawn
What if every NHIE topic fit on a single page?
Instead of rereading half a page about service drops and laterals without being able to see them...
...you open the page and find both of them drawn: one overhead, one buried, both running from the utility toward the meter.
And roofs, foundations, furnaces, insulation and supply pipes turn into drawings and tables you can read at a glance.
You stop cramming and start understanding.
That's exactly what The Home Inspector Exam Sketchbook does. It's not “just another manual.” It's 11 parts and 79 drawn topics, and at the end a final review with look-alike terms side by side and all the numbers on one page.
Because what your brain sees organized, it remembers.
Know what you're walking into: how the NHIE is built and scored, the three domains, how to check whether your state uses it, and why an inspection is visual and non-invasive.
Grade and drainage, retaining walls, driveways, pool barriers, cladding, flashing, doors and windows, decks, guards and garage doors.
Tell one roof from another at a glance: roof types and parts, shingles and slope, tile, metal, slate and membrane, drip edge, flashings, gutters and skylights.
Foundation types, foundation cracks, joists and girders, the load path, rafters vs trusses, and rot and insects.
Service drop vs lateral, meter and grounding, main panel vs subpanel, breakers, wiring methods, GFCI, AFCI, receptacle defects, and solar and EV equipment.
See inside the equipment you've never had to open: the gas furnace, boilers, heat pumps, the cooling cycle, condensate, ducts and vent systems.
Insulation, vapor retarders, attic ventilation, crawl spaces, exhaust, HRVs and make-up air.
Water supply, fixtures, drain-waste-vent, P vs S traps, water heaters, the TPR discharge pipe, pans, gas piping, and sump vs sewage ejector.
Stairs, handrails, interiors, appliances, chimneys, garage fire separation, egress, smoke and CO alarms, and radon, lead and asbestos, with code numbers labeled 2021 IRC.
What you inspected and what you didn't, how to describe a defect, when to call for further evaluation, the pre-inspection agreement, and conflicts of interest.
Look-alike terms side by side, all the numbers on one page, the most frequent mix-ups and a test day checklist.
At the end of the book: Final review: look-alike terms side by side, all the numbers on one page and a test day checklist.
Printable cards to test yourself away from your desk: the term on the front, a one-line definition and a tiny sketch on the back.
Drawn defects, one per card, so you can review what you see, why it matters and how it's reported.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
PDF by email: The Home Inspector Exam Sketchbook reaches your inbox as a PDF, and the two free books come by email too. One-time payment, no installments or hidden costs.
Site, roof, structure and electrical, one topic per page, to review at night after work, following the NHIE outline.
Review the whole outline in one fixed order, whether it's your first try or a retake. At the end: look-alike terms side by side, all the numbers on one page and a test-day checklist.
You know your part. The drawings cover the systems you've never had to open up, from panels and furnaces to how a defect gets reported.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
30-day guarantee: tell us what didn't work and we'll refund 100%.
You have 30 days to try The Home Inspector Exam Sketchbook and the two bonus books. If it doesn't work for you, tell us what didn't work and we'll refund 100% of what you paid. One-time payment, no subscription.
By email, as a high-resolution PDF of The Home Inspector Exam Sketchbook that you can read on your phone or print. It goes to the address you enter at checkout. The two bonus books, 300 Exam Terms on Cards and Defect Spotter Cards, also come as PDFs by email.
A one-time payment. No installments and no subscription. When you pay you'll see optional extras: you're only charged for them if you add them.
For people preparing for the National Home Inspector Examination in the U.S., whether you're coming from a trade, finishing your pre-licensing hours or retaking it. You don't need to have worked on every system: each one is drawn so you can see how it works. It covers the NHIE only. State requirements, state-specific questions and state exams aren't covered, so check with your state's agency. See the table of contents above for the topics.
The PSI candidate handbook for EBPHI, the NHIE content outline, and the EBPHI FAQ and state pages; the 2021 IRC as the model code (check which edition your area has adopted); and EPA and CPSC publications. Exam details can change, so always check the current handbook.
No. It's an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by EBPHI, PSI, InterNACHI, ASHI, ICC or any state board.
No. It's study material: it doesn't replace pre-licensing education or field training, it doesn't grant a license and it doesn't promise a score.
The Sketchbook is drawings and review, and the two bonus books are term and defect cards. The four practice tests are in Exam Week Plan + 4 Practice Tests, an optional extra you can add when you pay. Anything written as practice is original and written for our books. None of it is an official NHIE question.
Yes. You can print the whole PDF or just the pages you need, and the cards in the bonus books are made to be printed.
30-day guarantee: tell us what didn't work and we'll refund 100%.
Write to hello@visualguidelab.com. That inbox answers questions about your order, your PDF and the 30-day guarantee.
You don't have to reread the same page hoping it sticks this time.
You don't have to memorize systems you can't picture.
And you definitely don't have to walk into the exam not knowing where to start.
One last thing before you decide: you already have the manual. What's missing is the order. Here it is, one topic per page: 84 drawn pages + 2 free books.
One-time payment: US$ 27 · Guarantee: 30 days · PDF by email
YES, I WANT THE HOME INSPECTOR EXAM SKETCHBOOK FOR US$ 27📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
