A quality home inspector is all you need. Do research online and fine one with a reviews. Also, if they charge a cheap rate it means they are cheap. Don't use a "discount" inspector. Get it done right and the entire inspection (depending on the size of your house) should take about 2-4 hours.

Another option is a structural engineer, as someone posted above. But, they are not familiar enough with everything else to really give a proper home inspection. I would only go with a structural engineer if you're only concern is structural.

i have a relative who is a geotechnical engineer and often called in as the expert to analyze basement/foundation-related issues. it has been a tremendous peace of mind to have him evaluate a home we wanted to buy. he pointed out things that an inspector glossed over, and i'm not completely surprised by that because an inspector is like a general practitioner doctor and the engineer is like the specialist. you just get better information and expert analysis from a specialist.

Your home inspector should be able to give you a good overall impression of the home and advise you to contact a specialist if needed. Sometimes issues occur after the inspection or may be latent. Consider a home warranty if you have concerns.
Get a personal recommendation for your inspector, and make sure they are licensed. Visit www.nahi.org for more information on choosing a home inspector.

We brought in a friend who is a structural inspector to evaluate the wall at the back of our rowhouse. It's bulging, but he determined that it was stable, so we went ahead and bought the house.

a good inspector will tell you "bring in xxx"

Due to friends' recent bad luck on their homes (discovering MAJOR problems after move-in), we are thinking we should hire some folks to come and take a look at aspects of the home, in order to hopefully uncover any large scale problems that might be missed by the generic inspector. Plumber, electrician, and structural engineer's opinions all come to mind as useful opinions to have on a potential house. Does anyone do this? Have you find it useful? How expensive is it to do?