Your New Home: Kick the Bricks!
As a professional house and building inspection company, one of our primary jobs is answering questions. One of the most common questions we get is “Should I have my brand new house inspected?” It’s a fair and honest question. The short answer is YES. But you expected us to say that, right? Let me tell […]
What Are You Looking For In A Home Inspection Report?
Home inspections have been around for a few decades now, but are still not well understood by many homebuyers and homeowners. That’s partly the fault of the profession. Home inspections are diverse, and although there is some standardization, there are lots of different approaches to both the inspection process and the inspection report. Purpose of […]
Wet Basements – A Homeowner’s Biggest Concern
The words are all-too-familiar to many homeowners. It is said that more than ninety-eight percent of all houses have had, or will have, basement leakage at some point. Identifying the Problem: The presence of efflorescence, a whitish mineral deposit on the interior of foundation walls, indicates moisture penetration. It should be noted that the severity […]
Vermiculite Insulation – Should You Be Concerned?
What Is It? If you have never seen vermiculite insulation in an attic, you may have seen it in potting soil. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral worldwide. When heated rapidly to high temperatures, this crystalline mineral expands into low density, accordion-like, golden brown strands. In fact, its worm-like shape is what gives vermiculite its […]
Undertaking A Home Repair
Let’s start by differentiating between a home improvement and a home repair. A home improvement, as the name implies, means improving something. It is usually a renovation to create more space, changing the layout of the house, improving energy efficiency, or to making aesthetic changes.This report will deal with the simpler topic of home repair […]
Truss Uplift – An Uplifting Experience
Truss uplift is a phenomenon common in homes built with roof trusses as opposed to rafters.If a house suffers from truss uplift, the top floor ceilings literally lift off the interior walls in the winter. They drop back down in the summer. Needless to say, this is a tad disconcerting to the homeowner. At first […]
Structures 101 – What You Should Know About The “Bones”
“This house isn’t going anywhere.” Or is it!? Serious structural problems in houses are not very common, but when they occur they are never cheap to fix. Some can’t be fixed at all. This report won’t turn you into a home inspector, but it will give you some of the common indicators. Uneven Floors Uneven […]
Priority Maintenance for Home Buyers
There are so many home maintenance and repair items that are important; it can be confusing trying to establish which are the most critical. To simplify things, we have compiled a short list of our favorites. These are by no means all-inclusive, nor do they replace any of the information in a home inspection report. […]
Household Glossary – Building Technical Terms Explained
A Abs — A type of black plastic pipe commonly used for waste water lines.Aggregate — Crushed rock or stone.Air chamber — A vertical, air filled pipe that prevents water hammer by absorbing pressure when water is shut off at a faucet or valve.Air-conditioner condenser — The outside fan unit of the air conditioning system. The condenser discharges heat […]
The Importance Of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters
Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s) are outlets with the colored “Test” and “Reset” buttons specially designed to better protect people than ordinary outlets. GFCI’s have been used in houses since the 1970’s. Why Are They Used? GFCI’s are designed to shut power off if there is a very small leak of electricity (a ground fault) […]