B4U Close Blog by Erby, the Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Fall color in Madison County, Kentucky

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:16:04 -0600

A month or more ago, as I was travelling through Madison County, Kentucky I took these pictures of the fall colors with the express intent of posting them here. Better late than never, I guess.

The first one just kinda stopped me in my tracks as I was travelling the road. Bright sunshiny morning with a full sun shining on these trees. I couldn't resist. I turned around and went back to get this angle ande shot. The second one is thru the windshield as there was too much traffic to stop. I gotta love the fall colors.

Before long, it'll be time to snap some winter photos. Hopefully, I'll get those posted before summer!

Kentucky Home Inspector goes to the Cedar Post Potluck Thanksgiving Dinner

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:05:06 -0600

Thanksgiving offers a great opportunity to restart my long neglected blog. It's been a busy year with very little time for fun things like blogging, but I'm thankful for that (so is my wife - keeps me out of her hair and my wallet fuller).

I restart with a great activity (and looming tradition) at one of my favorite local places:

The Cedar Post Restaurant - five miles north of the courthouse in Georgetown, Kentucky.

I see very few of the same people on a frequent basis. Being a lonely Kentucky Licensed Home Inspector, I spend a bit of time there for the camaraderie the staff and other members of the Liar's Table provide. It also provides a great place to write my reports while someone else brings me coffee!

Beverly Nobles, the matriarch of the Cedar Post clan, once again held her annual Thanksgiving Customer Appreciation Dinner. The day before Thanksgiving, she shuts the doors early and hosts a Cedar Post Clan family Potluck Dinner. She provides the place. The Cedar Post Clan provides the food.

Bring a covered dish or dessert - eat all you want.

Boy, did I eat all I wanted. (What a way to stack on some extra winter weight, I mean warmth!)

It was a good time for all that attended. (I lost count somewhere around 100.)

One of Beverly's grandsons had his Birthday party, complete with a piñata in the middle of it. Good entertainment for the little ones, and lots of laughs for the adults watching the kids swing at it. No, nobody got hit. Daddy was smart enough to hang the pinata from the ceiling. Though it was difficult to make enough room so none of the Clan or the food table got hit.

If you're passing through Georgetown, Kentucky, get off I-75 at exit 129, go west a half mile over the hill to the Cedar Post Restaurant and let Beverly and her gang feed you some good home cooking. You'll make it a regular stop!

If the front parking is full (like it was that afternoon) pull around to the left side parking lot.

And, you might even get to sit in my "office"!

Cedar Post Restaurant
2176 Cincinnati Pike
Georgetown, KY 40324

502-867-1031

You might see me sitting there. If you do, be sure to say Hello!

Poisonous Critters in the Crawl Space by Erby the Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:14:14 -0500

I've been fortunate that in all the crawl spaces in all the world (that I've been into) I hadn't yet found any of those nasty poisonous critters that tend to inhabit those dark nether regions of a house.

Until TODAY that is. Inspecting a brand new (one year, never been occupied) home in a subdivisiion north of Georgetown, Kentucky.

Fortunately I saw her before she saw me.

Pretty as she was, there was still an audible "pop" as gloved hands sent her to Heaven. Along with a short note in the buyer's report about treating the crawl space for spiders.

Worst I've ever ran into before (and still) was a snarling possum behind a piece of plywood in the dirt floored cellar of an older home in Georgetown, KY.

Spring is blooming in Casey County, Kentucky by Erby the Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:29:25 -0500

Today I had an occassion to visit Casey County, Kentucky . The morning was a bit wet as it rained almost the whole home inspection. Lord willing, the creek won't rise and flood the house I was inspecting.

Strangely enough, the property was located on "Dry Creek" Road. Just didn't look very "DRY" to me.

BUT, passing back through Liberty, Kentucky, I realized the rain had stopped. The sun hadn't quite come out, but look at the signs of spring in front of the Casey County Courthouse.

Blooming going on!

But the Casey Count courthouse square was a busy place. After five minutes, I gave up trying to get a shot without a moving car in it.

After seeing, this I noticed all kinds of blooming going on! Just not any good photo ops.

Rainbow at Sunrise (Sun Dogs) in Georgetown, KY by Erby, The Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:56:02 -0500

The other morning, I was out on my second run of the day (yep, I'm an early riser) and noticed a rainbow at sunrise over Georgetown, Ketucky. I snapped this picture and wanted to share it with y'all. I actually took several but shooting into the sun isn't exactly my strong point.

See the rainbow ends at both sides of the sun??

Yeah, there's a little snow on the ground, but it was gone just a couple of days later. That's what I like about the weather here. We get these little touches of winter, play, and then it's gone again. Not much extended cold weather around here.

Was it really that cold in Lawrenceburg?

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:22:14 -0600

As I returned from a home inspection in Willisburg, KY on Saturday, I saw this on the Bluegrass Parkway just south of Lawrenceburg, KY

Most of this is not water running on the surface of the ground. It's seeping out of the rock walls of a cut thru a hill leading down to the Kentucky River Bridge on the Bluegrass Parkway just south of Lawrenceburg, KY.

I see a lot of this type of ice when the weather gets cold enough.

When I woke up to let the dog out, the next morning, this is what greeted me as I opened the inside door. Yup, mother nature's artists had been at work overnight on the glass of the rear storm door. That's the sunrise shining behind it.

I was glad to have my long johns and insulated coveralls for the inspection. Kept me nice and warm.

AND, no it wasn't really that cold. I thought it was, until I talked to my sister in Northwest Nebraska, where the temperature was 10 below zero. It made me realize that 15 degrees above zero wasn't really all that cold.

=============================

Well, Judith Reppert mentioned frost flowers, which piqued my curiosity. So I went and found a couple of pictures of them to share with y'all.

Pretty things aren't they?

Did you play with Mercury in Grade School? by the Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:19:06 -0600

I finally figured out what happened to me in grade school. It was the mercury, in the broken thermometers, that we played with.

Remember those little silver balls that would roll around, break apart and come back together. Roll them from hand to hand. Everybody thought it was pretty cool stuff back then. Did the teacher give it to us or did we break the thermometers on our own. Heck, I don't remember. I just remember how cool it was to play with the little balls of mercury.

While surfing around today, I ran into this article about a lady who had chosen to seal off her daughter's bedroom while she tries to come up with the $2000.00 an environmental company wants to charge her for cleaning up the remnants of a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) that broke in the room.

Though the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Snopes.com (Urban Legend Reference Website) now say that was a serious over reaction and overkill.

I didn't even know that CFLs contained mercury. Now, I find we need to recycle them as hazardous waste. Are CFLs worth all the hassle. It seems we don't have a choice. Congress passed an energy bill, on December 18th, 2007, that calls for regular tungsten filament light bulbs to be banned by the year 2014.

I hope that Georgetown, Kentucky soon develops a hazardous waste recylcing center for the bulbs as this ole Home Inspector has already changed all the bulbs in the house to CFLs and those few that stopped working have been put in the regular trash.

And if you didn't click on the links above to see how to clean one up when it breaks, here's a short summary of

What the Environmental Protection Agency says you should do when a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) breaks:

The following steps can be performed by the general public:

1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.

2. Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a sealed plastic bag.

Use disposable rubber gloves, if available (i.e., do not use bare hands). Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

3. Place all cleanup materials in a second sealed plastic bag.

Place the first bag in a second sealed plastic bag and put it in the outdoor trash container or in another outdoor protected area for the next normal trash disposal.
Note: some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.
Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.

4. If a fluorescent bulb breaks on a rug or carpet:

First, remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner, following the steps above. Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag or vacuum debris in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.

Dang, I guess popping those long fluorescent bulbs in the trash can is a no-no too now! Guess I should have popped them and ran from the dust cloud it created. But no, I'd just fling another one.

An Irish Ghost Story from The Central Kentucky Home Inspector

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:49:17 -0600

(No it ain't mine and I don't know the author of the joke.)

This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, its true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm. The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.

Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door, only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't even on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel.

John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road... so, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying and....wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the stormy night.

They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other ...

"Look Paddy.....there's that friggin' idiot that got in the car while we was pushin' it."

Need Good Home Cooking & Karaoke in Georgetown?

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:16:37 -0600

Ooooops! She changed it.

Want some really good home cooking??

Want family entertainment without the booze hounds??

(disclaimer: I'm a frequent customer but don't have any financial interest in the place)

Go North, young man! Or old man, young woman, old woman and all those family ages in between.

That's about 5 miles north of the Scott County Courthouse in Georgetown on Highway 25.

Beverly Nobles' Cedar Post Restaurant, Georgetown, KY fills one need, good home cooking, 6 days a week (Mon - Sat) from 6:00 AM to at least 8:00 PM (later on Friday & Saturday nights).

On Saturday nights, (and now Friday nights too!) Karaoke takes over (though the good home cooking is still available and widely used).

Garrett Neace brings his Karaoke machines, music and style to the Cedar Post every Saturday night from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM (or later depending). Garrett's styling alone will bring you to your knees with laughter. When Garrett gets going with "Worthless", the two of them will have you rolling on the floor!

It's great family entertainment without the booze hounds!

Stop on by anytime for the food and on Saturday nights for the Karaoke.

I'm sure y'all will enjoy it.

Karaoke Crowd at the Cedar Post Restaurant, Georgetown, KY

Young Ones.

Older ones!

Younger Ones!

And in between ones!

Garrett gets em started!

"Worthless" ain't far behind!

And if you want Garrett to bring his styling and music to your party or function call him at 502-868-3530.

I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do.

Unbelieveable "So This Is Christmas" Song & Slideshow

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:45:49 -0600

I don't know who put this together. I don't even know where it comes from.

BUT, it is beautiful and I wanted to use it so share my wish with you.

For those who celebrate it with me:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

For those who celebrate in other ways:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

"So This is Christmas" Song & Slideshow

I don't know how to start it automatically so it's a download from my file manager on my web server.

I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do.

How long will "it" LAST!! by Erby, The Kentucky Home Inspector

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:41:14 -0600

A recent post by Shawn Martin ( Life Expectancies of components in your home ) got me thinking.

Early on, I had agents complaining about my statements regarding home appliances (water heaters, furnaces, AC, etc) being at their end of design or useful life.

Well, I think it's important for people to know how old these things are and how much longer they could reasonably expect them to last. Apparently my clients felt it was important too as they kept asking me how much longer "it" would last or how old "it" was.

As support for my statements, I've been passing out the Freddie Mac "Schedule of Normal Appliance Life" chart from 1995 as part of my report support documents. It's the newest I could find at the time I developed it.

Reading Shawn's post, in which he quotes the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) study from 1997, I realized that both of these are kind of old and dated.

So I commented asking if anyone else had anything newer I could provide my customers as support for my statement.

That was a week or so ago. Having an easy day today and running back into that post and finding no newer answer got me thinking, "Hey, I have a few minutes. I can do my own research."

Well, here's the answer.

The NAHB, sponsored by Bank of America Home Equity published a NEW STUDY in 2007 based on the results of a 2006 survey. Here's the introduction to the Study.

=========================
THE STUDY

In the summer of 2006, NAHB conducted a comprehensive telephone survey of manufacturers, trade associations and researchers to develop information about the longevity of housing components. Many of the people interviewed emphasized that the life expectancy of housing components is greatly affected by the quality of maintenance. They also noted that changing consumer preferences can result in products being replaced long before -- or after -- the end of their practical life expectancy.
=========================

I've had personal experience with the "changing consumer preferences can result in products being replaced long before the end of their practical life expectancy." The decorator of my house (yeah, you know who it was) decided that the two year old dishwasher of the house we bought when we moved to Kentucky was the wrong "color" for the kitchen as she wanted to paint it. Old dishwasher to the Habitat for Humanity "ReStore". New dishwasher, of the right color, in.

She's happy and, if she's happy, so am I. If she's not happy.... well, I'm sure most of you know the rest of that story.

Anyway, the chart is not easily copied to put here and NAHB should get something out of it so here's the link where you can download the 2007 study for yourself from the NAHB website.

National Association of Home Builders / Bank of America Home Equity
Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components

Just remember (as the foot note to the study says)

"This report should be used as a general guideline only."

We've all seen water heaters, furnaces, etc that are well beyond their life expectancy functioning just fine, (though probably not as energy efficient as newer models). We've also seen those newer models fail in just a couple of years.

Get Educated B4U Close!

Did you ever just want to slap an idiot upside the head!

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:31:06 -0600

PREFACE: I know there's good and bad in every field (including mine) so don't go there. This is about the bad and YOU know who YOU are!

Did you ever just want to slap an idiot upside the head!

When I find outlets that nationally recognized safety standards say should be Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) protected, I always recommend a safety upgrade to my clients.

I've taken so much flack from real estate agents about this so many times I've lost count.

"Why do you have to bring that up. It didn't have to have it when this house was built so it doesn't have to be done now!"

WHY?? Well, because I know what can happen. I can lead you to the water. I can shove your head under the water. BUT, I can't make you drink.

But, of course they are right!!

The house is 100 years old. Didn't even have GFCI's then.

And there is no law that says it has to be upgraded.
(well, except for certain circumstances that aren't germane to this discussion, renovation, remodeling, etc.)

Those same agents are always sure to buckle their seat belts when they leave the inspection. Even though they didn't have seat belts 60 years ago!

I decided to gather up some articles and send em to several recent idiots.

Just thought I'd also share them with you here so you'll be more educated about why home inspectors recommend safety upgrades.

It is NOT important to us who pays for the upgrade, it's a recommendation for improved safety.

Girl, 6, Likely Died From Electrocution

Professor dies from electrocution at Cleveland State University

$30 circuit breaker could have averted electrocution death at concert.

Summer Haven was in compliance with the code when the pool was built," Stocks said.
Sound like someone YOU know?
Two kids died but "it's okay" because it wasn't required when the pool was built.

The above are just examples. There are tons more.

THATS WHY

Only you can choose what level of risk your family lives with. CHOOSE WISELY!!!

And don't forget to test those GFCI on a regular basis.

A short explanation I use with permission from Tom Lauhon, Midwest Inspectors Institute. (as best I remember it.)

A short explanation of GFCI.

There is a little electrician hiding in the GFCI outlets. He watches the electricity come in over one shoulder and go out over the other shoulder. If there's no difference, he just sits there. If a difference is created, (you drop your shaver or hair dryer into the tub or sink), he immediately shuts down the electricity attempting to keep you from being shocked.

The problem with your little electrician is that he has a boring job and he likes fishing. One of these days, he is going to get bored and just go fishing. When he does, he isn't coming back. The only way you're going to know if he is still in there is to test the GFCI outlet or breaker every 30 to 45 days.

Plug something into the outlet, hit the test button and then the reset button. If it shut down the power and then restored the power, the little electrician is still in there working for you. If it didn't, your little electrician has gone fishing. You need to get a licensed electrician to replace your little electrician.

==================

OK, enough ranting. Choose wisely, grasshopper!

Kentucky Home Inspector on How Much Does An Inpection Cost???

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:11:33 -0600

So you're spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home purchase, and paying the realtors 5 - 6% ($5,000 - $6,000 per $100,000) of the home's value. (Where do you think the seller gets the money to pay the realtors?) Now it's time to find a Home Inspector and find out what they are going to charge.

No matter how much you pay for a Snickers Candy Bar or, where you buy it, you still get a Snickers Candy Bar. Same quality. Same taste. Same appearance.

No matter how much you pay for a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup or, where you buy it, you still get a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup. Same quality. Same taste. Same appearance.

That maxim does not hold true when buying an opinion. And face facts, a Home Inspection is just the Home Inspector's opinion (and the Inspector's ability to communicate that opinion) of a particular house. Hopefully it's an expert opinion based on knowledge, education, training, experience, and ability to communicate, but still just an opinion.

If a $50 or $100 difference in the price of the Home Inspector's opinion is more important to you than what the opinion is based on (knowledge, education, training, experience, ability to communicate, type of report received, whether you are welcome to attend the inspection, etc) and how much money that opinion can save you, (YES, SAVE YOU), then stop reading after this paragraph. Go to the Yellow Pages, look under Home Inspections, and call each one asking just one question. "How much do you charge?" Don't waste your time asking any other questions or listening to the Inspector explain the level of service or their qualifications. Just go until you get all through and then select the cheapest. To my knowledge, in Central Kentucky, it's about $150.

Just remember, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." (Author unknown)

If you DON'T want the cheapest, least experienced, desperate for work, inspector, read further.

Can you trust your realtor's recommendations? Usually yes, if they give you a list with eight to ten or more Inspector's on it instead of just two or three names. (There are almost 100 Home Inspectors in the Lexington, KY area.) Just remember, they don't get paid if you don't buy the house. I note the following real life experiences.

#1.         I recently had a client who, after asking several questions, told me, "I really feel I need an inspection. My realtor emphasized several times that the house had just been remodeled so she didn't think I needed an inspection, but then she wanted me to sign a form saying that she recommended an inspection. I just don't get it." There was over $1,000.00 in defects noted during the inspection.
#2.         I'd been trying to get a particular realtor to put my company's name on his list of Inspectors for over three years. He finally called wanting me to do an inspection for one of his clients. Who was the client? His son! Of course, I've never heard from him again.
#3.         I'd been on a particular realtor's list of Inspectors for a couple of years. About a year ago, a deal fell through and the inspection results were used by the buyer to get out of the contract. (In talking to the buyer later, they told me that they'd just decided they didn't like the neighborhood and had to have a valid reason to back out. {Their morals to their contractual obligations are another story}) In any case, I haven't heard from any of that agent's clients since then. Recently the agent called me saying an inspection was needed for a property the agent and spouse was buying and it needed to be "one of the most thorough inspections you've ever done". {The agent's morals to their obligations to their client are another story} I did the inspection just like I do the rest of my inspections. Thoroughly.

What should be more important to you than a $50 or $100 difference in price is what the Home Inspector bases the opinion on, how they communicate their opinion to you, the client and how much money you can save or money pits you can avoid.

The following questions regarding qualifications & cost apply.

My answers to these questions can be found at

B4U Close Home Inspector Qualifications.

What kind of report do you provide and when is it delivered?

What is your background?

What is your Training and Continuing Education:

Do you belong to any Professional Associations?

Does the Inspector offer any "Guarantees":

Does the inspector pay a referral fee to whoever referred you to them?

Does the inspector get paid a referral fee from or have a financial interest in the contractors he recommends?

Will the inspector offer to fix any of the problems found?

If the inspector offers other services, are they truly qualified to do so?

Now it's time to ask, How Much Do You Charge?

Kentucky Home Inspector on Haunted Houses & Carbon Monoxide!

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:56:50 -0600

Is your house haunted or are you being poisoned by carbon monoxide?

More Stuff I didn't know I didn't know!!

Back in June of 2007, when I first joined Active Rain, I posted an article I'd written some time back titled

"Is it the Flu or Carbon Monoxide"

based on research I had done when I had time to do such things.

A few minutes ago, while flitting around one of the inspector message boards, I responded to a light hearted post about funny things said one of which was "paranormal home inspections.

Surprisingly, there are people who advertise as paranormal home inspectors and have written self published books on it. Anyway that isn't what this blog is about. Just some background on how I got inspired to write this blog.

From this website: http://www.insightparanormal.org/index2.htm

Comes this interesting information.

"Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include listlessness, depression, dementia, emotional disturbances, and hallucinations. Many of the phenomena generally associated with haunted houses, including strange visions and sounds, feelings of dread, illness, and the sudden, apparently inexplicable death of all the occupants, can be attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning." Read more on the above website.

I thought, Huh!

But the everpresent Google brings us these search results when searching for "carbon monoxide and house hauntings"

After reviewing several of those Google search results, I think it is at least a possibility.

If you know someone living in a haunted house, help them out and make them aware of the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.

It may just be a haunted house.

You may just save their life, if it's carbon monoxide poisoning.

A simple carbon monoxide detector can help with this.

Life Safety First.

Kentucky Home Inspector on "Making your HOME ready for Winter!!"

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:38:30 -0600

Winter is coming. Is your home ready to keep the heat in and the cold out? Taking care of these issues can make your home more energy efficient. Winterization saves YOU Money!

1. Set the water heater temperature to no more than 120^o. (Temperatures above this level can cause severe burns.)

2. Insulate the water heater and all water pipes in unheated areas.

3. Installing a low flow shower head can save about 1½ gallons of hot water per minute of use.

4. Insulate air ducts in crawl spaces, attics and unheated garages.

5. Caulk around windows and doors; places where brick façade and siding meet; and all utility entrances (cable TV, plumbing, gas, telephone, etc).

6. Disconnect hoses from outside faucets and insulate the faucet to prevent freezing of the water pipe.

7. Check and repair the glazing putty around window panes. If you have single pane windows, install storm windows.

8. Close the fireplace flue damper and the glass firebox doors when not in use.

9. To avoid fire danger, make sure you have the chimney flue inspected and cleaned, each year, by a chimney sweep certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (http://www.csia.org/)

10. Clean out the clothes dryer vent flapper so that it will close.

11. Check the sump pump and drain line for proper operation.

12. Make sure your roof gutters and downspouts are clean and drain well away from the foundation. Clogged gutters can result in ice dams forming on your roof and causing damage to your roof.

13. Have your furnace servicing professional:

Check for Carbon Monoxide;
Make sure the burner flame is properly adjusted;
Clean out rust flakes in the heat exchanger;
Clean the blades on the blower fan;
Make sure the furnace and water heater flues are properly connected.

14. Remember to change your Air Conditioning/Furnace filters every 30 to 45 days.

15. Insulate floors over an unheated crawl space with at least 6" of insulation. Un-insulated floors lose more heat than the ceiling. Insulation in Batt form (small short pieces) is easiest for the do-it-yourself person to install.

16. Install gaskets behind outlet and switch covers on the outside walls. Cost is minimal and installation requires only a screwdriver.

17. Don't close attic, roof, and crawl space vents. Moist winter air will condense, soak the insulation, and ruin the insulating effect.

18. Consider installing a programmable thermostat that will adjust the temperature in your home automatically during periods when your home is not occupied or you are sleeping.

Keep the bucks in your pocket, winterize now.

Black bears on the rise in Eastern Kentucky

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:37:01 -0600

How would you like to look out your window and see the new breed of bird drinking from your drinking fountain. This is happening more and more in Eastern Kentucky as the bear population increases in that area.

Hunters are trying to get a "bear running season" (chasing the bears with dogs) started in the area. This re-instills a sense of "fear of man" in the bears to keep them from becoming a nuisance

Kill seasons are already in place again in Virginia and West Virginia and a dog running season is allowed in Tennesse.

However, the Ketucky Wildlife Commission, in a recent meeting, decided to postpone any activity on establishing such a season until next year when the new research gives a better indication of the bear population.

Meanwhile, more and more people are finding bears in their yards (perhaps this is also a function of us putting our yards in the bear's territory).

The Kentucky Department of Forestry continues it's study of the Kentucky Black Bear population.

Soon, I imagine, the hunters will get their kill season as the population increases.

I don't often get to that area to do home inspections, but occassionally, I do. Hope I don't see one in the yard while I'm there though I wouldn't mind seeing one in the wilderness I hike occassionally.

Kentucy Home Inspector finds himself on Active Rain thru GOOGLE!

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:25:11 -0500

For the last couple of years one or another of my website ranks pretty high for just about anything to do with Kentucky Home Inspectors or Kentucky Home Inspections.

BUT, not quite so high when a city name is plugged in front of those. (Yeah, I'm working on it.)

One of my habits when I need to look at something on my site is to Google a home inspection term, find my site and then click on it. Helps me stay on top of where I'm ranking for different terms.

Today, for example, I googled "Winchester Kentucky Home Inspectors".

Wow, right there after the Kentucky Home Inspectors Board was my Active Rain profile.

Gotta love it.

For those who are googling on their name, how many times do you think a potential customer will google your name versus a more generic term looking for real estate agents in your area.

Try it and see where you're at! You might like it. If you don't, work on improving it.

Kentucky Home Inspector needs Ghostbuster & Spider Killer for his home

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:53:48 -0500

HELP!!!!

I came back from my morning inspection to find that my house has been infiltrated with spiders & ghosts. My wife & two grandsons say they didn't have anything to do with it! I'm not sure if I should believe her!

Anybody know how to reach the Ghostbusters.

Wanna recommend a good spider killer!

Kentucky Home Inspector goes to the Georgetown Kentucky Festival of the Horse

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:35:08 -0500

This past weekend Georgetown celebrated with the Festival of the Horse, an annual event celebrating the role of the horse to the history of Scott County. There were exhibits, concessions, arts & crafts, carnival, and a 5k run along with stage entertainment throughout the festival.

Here's some pictures (OK, I'm not the world's greatest photographer) from the Grand Parade last night.

Hover your mouse over the picture to see the label. (Couldn't see typing it twice.)

Georgetown's main shopping district was shut down to traffic. Who would want to try to drive thru this?

And of course let's not forget the carnival!

I have no idea who my grandson is flirting with. Someone had to go on the big kids rides with him.
Practicing already. I used to only do it so the girls would hold me tight.

All in all, a grand time in Georgetown.

Plan now and I'll see you there next October 2 - 5, 2008

Grandkids: Ya gotta love em.

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 08:52:19 -0500

My wife is a garage sale fanatic. She's always dragging stuff home from garage sales. This summer my youngest grandson has been going with her. He's 4 and still needs some work (don't we all?) on his math skills.

She's been trying to teach him to always bargain on price.

Saturday they went garage saling (sp?) again.

He saw a toy gun "Moon Gun" that he wanted.

He asked the sellers "How much do you want for this gun?"

They replied "How about a dollar."

He turned to Grandma, just a couple of feet away, to tell her about it and get the dollar.

Grandma asked "Did you try to bargain them down?"

He put his hand over his mouth in a Ooops type gesture and said "I forgot."

He then turned back to the sellers and said "Would you take a dollar fifty?"

After they all stopped laughing, he paid 75 cents for the gun.

Kentucky Home Inspector goes to the Rodeo

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:18:41 -0500

Well, I returned safely from Chicago (3 days of writing & reviewing new questions for the National Home Inspector Exam) but needed a breath of fresh air and some entertainment.

Driving down the road just north of Georgetown, I found my answer. The Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association was in town, sponsored by the Georgetown-Scott County Fraternal Order of Police.

Unfortunately, my "real" camera wasn't with me. So the pictures are from my cell phone camera (1^st time I've used it in the few months I've had it). I should have practiced more before, as you can see below.

$10.00, three big fat hot dogs (loaded with condiments) and two hours of good entertainment. Met some nice people, including a couple of candidates running for local elections, passed out several business cards (market, market & then market some more), and really enjoyed a simple evening of pleasure.

Saw some good bull riding, along with a couple of real crashes (but no serious injury).

Lot's to do in Scott County if you just get up and do it. That's my usual difficulty. When I'm not working, I have trouble overcoming inertia. Glad I did tonight.

I took several more photos but, as you can see, I just don't have the hang of that cell phone camera thing. Too bad none of the clown pictures came out. He was really quite good. Fortunately, the pictures are much better on the SEBRA website

Get up, get moving. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life!

Kentucky Home Inspector goes Marketing (Fishing)

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:24:50 -0500

What a day it was early last week. I had two inspections within 20 miles (or so) of Cave Run Lake. One of my favorite places in Kentucky.

But, at about 11:45, as I'm finishing up my first inspection, the client for the second inspection calls. He lost his financing. Inspection cancelled.

What does a Kentucky Home Inspector do when a client loses his financing & cancels the inspection.

Why, go fishing! After all, it was only 20 miles (or so) away from where I was for the morning inspection. (I guess that's why I carry fishing gear in the van.)

I left my morning inspection, which was back down this cute little road.

Soon I was zipping along here.

Wondering who was going to get this listing? (You up for it, Lizette?)

Sometimes the walls fall down.

I pulled in here.

To see this.

Before long (and after a few dollars had changed hands), the view had changed to this.

And then to this.

Soon I looked ahead and saw the clouds darkening. (Yeah, it's just a little john boat, but it got me where I was going in a reasonable time.)

But, after a thorough drenching of gentle rain, the sun came out again. (and I mean thorough, might as well have jumped in the lake, I was that wet. Good thing I had a baggy for the camera) A reflection of the trees on shore.

I passed this isolated nest in a tree in the middle of the lake-

To pull in to this little cove

and say hello (catch & release) to about 10 of these little guys. What a blast. They were real friendly! I REALLY wanted to say howdy to their great grandpas, but none of them were home at the time I was there. Darn it!

It was kind of sad to leave the hills behind.

Hey, at least in conversations at the marina, I exchanged or was asked for five or six business cards (that name on the back of the shirt (B4U Close Home Inspections) & a willingness to talk to people pays off). Think the IRS would buy this as a marketing trip.

It's a wonderful day when I wake up in the morning. The rest of the day is just what I make of it. Now you know what I made of that day!

Erby Crofutt
The Kentucky Home Inspector
Georgetown, KY
http://www.b4uclose.com/
http://www.kentuckyradon.com/
502-570-4054

Kentucky Home Inspector on How NOT to Lose Leads & Referrals

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:04:50 -0500

Has a referral source ever found you years later and said, "I kept trying to find you to give you a lead but I couldn't find you!"

What kind of e-mail address do you have?
Who OWNS your cell phone number?
How many leads will you lose because someone you trust is wily.
(or something changes in the business like the broker changing domain names. Thanks Margaret)

Is it really YOUR e-mail address or does it belong to someone else?
Is it really YOUR cell phone number or does it belong to someone else?

Someone like your broker, employer, ISP (Internet Service Provider) or one of those FREE accounts that may change when YOU don't want to.

Here's a scenario for you that has happened to others in the past, costing them THOUSANDS of dollars.

I'm going to use real estate agents as the example, but it applies equally to a lot of other professions such as home inspectors and mortgage professionals.

Yes, wily brokers (and other employers) have screwed people out of thousands of dollars. Though I don't know if "screwed" is the right word. Seems these agents should know what's happening to them. But then if everyone was honest, the world would be a vastly different place.

So Suzy (my favorite name, not meant as a slur to any Suzy's I know or don't know) gets her real estate license. The next step is to hang it with a broker, which she does.

Kind and generous Broker gives Suzy an e-mail address of suzy@brokersdomain.com. Broker is really on top of things and also provides Suzy a cell phone, but tells Suzy she has to pay the bill thru his office.

Suzy spends five years farming, lead generating, gathering referral sources, etc. Suzy spends the same five years passing out business cards with "her" cell phone number and e-mail address.

Now Suzy is making some money, but a better opportunity opens with a different broker and she makes the jump. But because of the way they are set up, Suzy loses her e-mail address and the broker gets to keep the cell phone number because it's in the brokerage's name.

Guess what, a lot of Suzy's referral sources still have her e-mail address as suzy@brokersdomain.com and her ‘old" cell phone number. AND they use them to pass Suzy leads. But those e-mails land on the broker's desk and the phone rings for whomever the broker gives the number to. The lead is simply told that Suzy is no longer there but they'd be happy to help them meet their needs in listing that $300,000 home.

Where does that $18,000 commission go. Doesn't matter. NONE of it is going in Suzy's pocket.

WHY???? Suzy never knows about it.

Even if the broker is honest instead of wily and just shuts them down, Suzy has lost the five years she spent spreading that contact information around.

Look around.
How many of your competitor's have _____@brokersdomain.com e-mail accounts.
(UPDATE: or, as David Harkness pointed out below have their ISP address, i.e. (suzy@bellsouth.net) What happens when you change ISPs. You lose it. It's gone and you can't get it back.

How many of your competitor's have broker issued cell phone numbers?

Keep yourself in contact with your referral sources (and your pocket in contact with the money those sources bring) regardless of which broker you work for.

Get your OWN domain e-mail address!
Others exist but Godaddy.com domain registration is only about $9.00 a year (on a ten year registration) and comes with free e-mail. When you have your OWN domain name, you can transfer it wherever YOU want and access it forever (well, as long as you pay for it).

Get your OWN cell phone number!
It is YOUR's as long as you pay for it, even if you change cell phone providers (in the same geographic area).
Thanks to the Number Portability Act!

Real Estate is a LONG term business. Have you planned to be in business for a long time? Long time agents can recount many tales of a referral source or lead that only comes to fruition years later.

Are you planning to be there to reap the benefits?

Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections & Radon Testing
Georgetown, KY
http://www.b4uclose.com/
http://www.kentuckyradon.com/
502-570-4054

Kentucky Home Inspector on Ethics

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:42:01 -0500

Stay with me for a minute or two as this can get kind of confusing:

Broker "A" represents seller "1" who is also buyer "1" represented by Broker "A".
Seller "1"s house has been on the market for several months..

Broker "A" represents seller "2" who is also buyer "2" represented by Broker "A".

Seller "2' (aka Buyer "2") decides to buy seller "1"s house.

Broker "A" recommends that seller "2" (aka Buyer "2") have a home inspection done and happens to know just the person to do it.

Who is it??

Why Inspector "A" (a licensed home inspector) who also happens to be a real estate agent (Agent "1") working for???

You guessed it! Broker "A".

Buyer "2" either didn't see the problem or didn't want to offend Broker "A" because Inspector "A" did the inspection.

Too top this off, Inspector "A" (aka Agent "1") is accompanied to the inspection by his wife who is also a real estate agent [not an inspector] (Agent "2") working for???

You guessed it! Broker "A".

Strangely, the only person who apparently saw the potential for a conflict of interest in this scenario was Seller "1".

Do you think Inspector "A" would mention the "little foundation problem" that could cost several thousand dollars to fix, thus killing the deals for Broker "A".

Your thoughts??

Is this a red flag for you??

Did your inspector bribe your real estate agent?

Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections & Radon Testing
www.b4uclose.com
www.kentuckyrdon.com
502-570-4054

Kentucky Home Inspector on Flu versus Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 04:55:03 -0500

The flu and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning share many symptoms: headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, confusion and fatigue. However, while CO poisoning does not come with a fever, the flu does.

If you have flu symptoms, but no fever, remind your physician about the possibility of CO poisoning.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that over 200 people a year die, while thousands more are treated for CO poisoning by hospital emergency rooms and private physicians. Other organizations place these estimates even higher.

How can you prevent becoming an annual statistic from CO poisoning?

•· Have all gas burning appliances inspected and serviced annually by a professional technician.

•· Have all chimneys and flues checked annually for loose connections, blockage, corrosion, etc. Also make sure you properly open the flue on any wood burning appliance or fireplace when using them. (To avoid fire danger, make sure you have the chimney flue inspected and cleaned, each year, by a chimney sweep certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (www.csia.org).

•· Make sure your heating systems have an adequate intake of outside air.

•· Never use appliances such as a clothes dryer, range, or oven to heat your home.

•· Don't leave cars running in garages, even with the door open. If you must preheat your car, back it out of the garage and close the garage door.

•· Never, never burn charcoal in a confined space.

•· Finally, install CO detector/alarms in your home. These detector/alarms are similar in concept to the smoke alarms that are prevalent in today's homes.

There are two types of CO detector/alarms available: hardwired, (using household current); and battery powered.

Hardwired sensors usually purge themselves and resample for CO at a preset period of time.
Battery powered sensors usually react to prolonged exposure to CO.

Whichever kind you purchase, make sure the CO detector/alarm meets the requirements of Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) 2034. (This can usually be determined by reading the manufacturer's label or installation instructions.)

I recommend installation of ceiling mounted detector/alarms in the following areas:

•· One on each floor of the residence (On floors used for sleeping, the detector/alarm should be placed in the hallway near each sleeping area);

•· One in the vicinity of each major fuel burning appliance (not within five feet);

•· And one in the garage.

Consult the manufacturer's installation instructions to ensure the right placement of the detector/alarm in each area.

Flu shots help protect against the flu.

A CO detector/alarm helps protect against Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

Save your health -- Get both.

Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections & Radon Testing
www.b4uclose.com
www.kentuckyradon.com
502-570-4054