It was one of my first Do It Yourself projects years ago and I thought I replaced the old food disposer perfectly. I turned it on and it ran well. Every thing was just fine until the next morning when my wife turned on the dishwasher and soon afterward screamed from the kitchen that there's a big leak!

Sure enough, when I got there there was water gushing out of the vacuum gap by the sink, which, of course, was facing away from the sink so water was going everywhere. What a mess! She just looked at me and said. "Fix it." (she didn't have to say the last part, "You Idiot"!)

I was guilty, as so many people are, of not reading the directions carefully. I was unaware that the units are sold with a plug in the opening where you attach the drain from the dishwasher. That's because they sometimes run without a dishwasher hooked up. Good thing to know....I know I won't ever forget it!

When I recently encountered a vacant home with a newly upgraded kitchen, and a dishwasher which would not drain, I knew exactly what had happened. In this case, as on most of the new dishwasher models, there is no vacuum break required next to the sink. Never the less, with the disposal plug still intact, there is no where for the water to go.

On another inspection the same day, I encountered a similar issue with a range fan where the directional plug had not been removed. These fans will discharge either up and forward, straight up, or straight back. They sometimes have a cylinder that you turn to direct air to a vent. In this case, the fan had plugs that you knocked out so that the air discharged in the proper direction. All the plugs were in place and the air had no where to go.

Unfortunately, I have found range fans that do not vent on houses where they have been malfunctioning for years. I have also found them in new houses and in newly renovated kitchens. People hear the fan and assume that it is sending air where it should be going. You have to look closely at it.

Also, quite often I find kitchens where the range backs up to an exterior wall and a fan vented to the exterior would not only be logical, and easy, but very inexpensive. There is one major new community near Manassas (I'll not name it) where the builder opted for internally vented range fans even though almost every house could easily have an externally vented range fan. (You need to know how a builder thinks... when you have a 1000 units and you spend an extra $100. to vent to the exterior, that is $100,000 you can save. Things like this add up.

Click here to see what people are saying about me.

Agents and homebuyers listen up. When you are looking at a beautifully done kitchen in a new house, or a renovated kitchen in an older house, and the house is vacant, remember that no one has been living there to discover any mistakes made by the installers. Expect suprises if you do not have a home inspector go through first.

In my case, since my house is my learning lab, I have made just about any mistake you can think of.  I know first hand what to look for.

Its a good idea to have me inspect your clients prospective house. You never know what I will find.

Sincerely,

Home Status Inspection Company, LLC

Copyright April 2008  All Rights Reserved

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email: homestatus@verizon.net phone: 703-670-5071-Scheduling 703-283-6375 - Cell web: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ljv5qlcab.0.0.6otgrtbab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2FHomeStatusInspection.com

When I was a kid about 10 years old, I loved to climb trees, much to the worriment of my mom. I even built a tree house for some friends and me in the back yard...but that's a story for another time.

Recently I have begun to call on those old climbing skills as I inspect attics. Where the construction and roof truss braces allow, I climb up to the top of the attic to get a close look at a frequent source of problems, the ridge vent.

Ridge vents are an essential part of a modern roofing system. They allow hot air to escape at the top of the roof and this creates a slightly lower pressure in the attic that draws air in through the soffet vents at the lower end of the roof. This cooler air travels up the underside of the roof to the ridge vent, cooling the roof and prolonging its life.

The ventilation provided by a properly installed ridge vent, paired with properly installed soffet vents, also reduces humidity and moisture condensation in the attic and the opportunity for mold to take hold. In the worse case scenerio, bad attic ventilation can lead to expensive problems to fix. How can this happen?

Sometimes things just happen in house construction. Mistakes are made for innocent reasons. Take for example, crew that is putting down tar paper ahead of the roof shinglers. Lets say there are storm clouds approaching and its near the end of the day. The crew may tar paper right over the ridge vent hole at the top of the roof so that rain will not come in through the hole.

The next day, a different shingling crew finishes the shingling and not seeing a ridge vent hole, shingles right over the top. Later the supervisor notices there is no ridge vent and orders the crew boss to "put one on". An inexperienced crew hand tacks one on, on top of the shingles and nobody notices while he is making the mistake.

Later, looking up through the attic access hole at the ridge vent hole 15 feet above, supervisors, buyers, county inspectors, home inspectors, and lots of others look up to see the black strip they expect for a ridge vent and don't bother to look closely at it.

Can you see the underside of the asphalt shingle?  This is close up.  At 15 feet away it is really hard to see.

Years later, along comes yours truly who loves climbing trees. I get up close enough to tap the underside of the shingles or tar paper (I've found cases where the shingles were put over the hole after the tar paper was cut out...that was not because of an approaching storm!).

The problem with me finding this "bad toupee" years later is that the lack of a properly installed ridge vent has caused the previous home owner to deal with a very hot attic. In one case, there were multiple ceiling fans installed in the bedrooms of the upper floor. In another, the attic fan installed may not have been necessary. In all cases, the energy costs were elevated because of the condition.

I am sure that my insurance company wouldn't like my love of climbing trees but neither did my mother. It was her constant nagging me about it that both spurred me on and made me extra careful. I bragged too many times that I had never fallen, would never fall, to face her if I ever did. Which I didn't. Thank goodness!! Whew!

It's a good idea to have me climb around in your client's prospective home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

Home Status Inspection Company

Copyright March 12, 2008  All Rights Reserved.

My selling agent and I were not very suprised when we found the water shut off at the street. After months of foreclosure inspections I have begun to expect the unexpected. I urged my client to have me come back to inspect the plumbing when the water was turned on and we agreed that since we were all together I would go ahead and inspect everything else now. My reasoning on coming back was that in this 17 year old house, the polybutylene plumbing needed to be fully checked. The rest of the initial inspection was uneventful. There were some major items that the client would need to deal with.  An aging roof and windows that were drafty and needed to be replaced, but all in all, there were not alot of unexpected items.

An Outside Faucet Problem On the return inspection of all things water related, I immediately ran into a problem.   I expected this winterized foreclosure house to have winterized outside faucets, (i.e. the outside faucet is open while the inside shut off is closed). What I found was a fully charged rear faucet. Upon further inspection, I found that the only way to shut off this rear faucet was to shut off the water to the house!  A rear shut off valve may have existed at one time and been left off in what appeared to be a repair to the Polybutylene line. This raises red flags not only about the polybutylene repair, but also, because you can safely assume that a professional plumber would not forget to put shut offs in for an outside faucet. I cannot count how many times I have run into issues with outside faucets.  Often I find them with water pressure even when the house is vacant.  Quite often they have hoses still hooked up.  Testing the lines has revealed a fair share of broken internal pipes.  While some home inspectors do not always check each outside faucet, especially when they have been winterized, this is a mandatory routine for me.

A Bigger Problem with the Water Heater Turning on the water gave me a chance to confirm what I already strongly suspected, the water heater was reverse plumbed. What this means is that the heated water coming from the water heater's gas heat exchanger is being immediately mixed with the incoming cold water. The result is greatly reduced heating capacity for the appliance and a very much higher utility cost to provide hot water. The solution of course is not difficult.  It is just reversing the hot and cold water connections on this water heater. Again this defect raised red flags. Who installed this water heater 4 years ago? Certainly not a certified plumber.

Here's the interesting question.  Was this Defect Intentional? This is one of those defects that actually may have been beneficial. One of the primary methods of extending the life of polybutylene plumbing is to lower the temperature at the water heater. High heat tends to make the material brittle over time and can cause cracking and leaking. Since this property had been a rental unit for the last four years, was the water heater intentionally reversed plumbed to remove the possibility that a tenent could turn the heat to the maximum and cause plumbing leaks? Certainly, with a reverse plumbed water heater, warm is about as good as you get even when the dial is up to maximum. We'll never know of course.  All the original players are long gone.  Intentional or not, these are defects which might have gone unnoticed were it not for a careful inspection. The buyer had them taken care of easily, can now winterize both outside faucets, and can get hot water from the water heater without wasting money on higher settings. It is a good idea to have me go over your foreclosure home's plumbing...you never know what you are going to find. Sincerely,     Home Status Inspection Company, LLC Copyright January 23, 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Kudos to the agent. He sensed, based on what his client had told him, that the house he had listed for them needed to be checked out by a professional. The middle aged couple who had lived in the 35 year old house for 25 years were not concerned about the aluminum wiring since there had been no problems but he convinced them to contact me.

The home owner told me, up front on a pre-inspection phone call, about the aluminum wiring in the general circuits and I began to explain the hazard. According to studies by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the risk of fires due to having aluminum wiring for the small guage general circuits is 55 times higher than with copper wire.

The problem is aluminum expands more than copper when carrying electrical current and over time connections loosen and get extremely hot. To say that the system is safe because there have been no problems in 25 years is simply not true. When the next owner plugs in a high amperage appliance, say a big screen TV, into a circuit that for 25 years has seen only a lamp, the new load may cause the outlet connections to loosen and heat up. This increased risk applies to every aluminum circuit connection in the house.

Learn more about Aluminum Wiring Hazards at this definitive website, www.inspect-ny.com:

The owner professed to know something about electrical wiring and said he was thinking about doing the work himself to install aluminum to copper connections which could make the house safe. I said. "Don't do it yourself, don't even think about it!". Regardless of how good you are with electricity, the liability is too high. If anything happens, after the house is sold, due to the electrical wiring, it will come back to haunt you. Get a certified electrician in to do the work. Period.

As I continued the inspection I found quite a few minor things that are typical of a 36 year old house. That is, until I found the Federal Pacific Electric panel. I've written about this hazard before, and I don't mind saying that I strongly urge every client that either lives in or wants to buy a house with a FPE panel to get it replaced. Don't think twice about this either. Just do it.

There are numerous safety issues with these panels and were it not for budget restraints back in the early 80's when a proposed recall was on the table for the CPSC, there would have been a full blown recall. Reason: The high incidence of fires caused by FPE panel failures. For example, lab studies have shown that the two pole 240 volt circuit breakers fail to trip 25% of the time!

Visit my website for numerous resource links for home inspection hazards

The problem with Federal Pacific Panels is that when I find them     they are not spitting out smoke or fire. They can be said to be performing as intended....as they have for 30 years. Unfortunately, that does not mean that they are safe. This is a "latent" hazard, and I am careful to tell my clients that for a relatively small investment to change the panel out, typically ($1,500 to $2,000), they can have peace of mind and not worry about it again.

The agent in this case was absolutely right in getting a home inspector involved. This was a potentially deadly combination. My word carried more weight with this couple and the FPE panel was immediately replaced. Work is pending on the aluminum wiring. With both of these issues aside, this charming house will compete very effectively in this house saturated market. Otherwise, potential buyers are likely to just walk on down the street.

Saturday and Sunday Inspection times available click here

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's home before it goes on the market. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

                                          Note the distinctive red breaker handles    
Home Status Inspection Company

July 29, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company

 

 

I almost missed it!

Lots of people had missed it. The owner, who had the house built 20 years ago and had lived in it all these years. The builder. The county inspectors. The roofer. The second roofer who installed a new roof one year ago.

Yet there it was. In plain sight! I saw it because I was showing the owner the various components of his attic ventilation system. I was making the point that even with the great full length ridge vent installed last year with the new roof, ventilation was still limited in the attic because nothing had been done to increase air flow through the soffet vents.  These were still just 3" diameter holes every 3 feet. By installing additional soffet vents he would improve the comfort of his upper floor and reduce his energy costs.

  Do you see it?  The gable vent is a vent on the side of the house just under the point where the front and back roofs meet.  In this case it was triangular. 

The gable vent was visable because a 1/2" gap had been left between the two vertical nail-to studs at the center of the exterior wall. The studs provide support for the exterior sheathing which in this case was not cut out for the triangular gable vent. There was also no cut out for gable framing, and yet it had still been installed on the outside of the exterior sheathing along with the vinyl siding.

"I wonder what holds it in?" I said, and my client said "Funny you should ask". Just after the new roof had been installed, this gable had fallen out. The roofer, thinking that he had possibly loosened something sent a worker out to re-install it free of charge. Apparently this worker missed the fact that the gable had no gable opening, and just nailed it in place.

It wouldn't have taken much brain power for any one of the many people involved with the construction of this house to ask the question: "How is air supposed to flow through this gable vent, when it is covered over like this?" The carpenters framing the house, the electrician running wires near by, the roofer, the contractor installing insulation.

The fact of the matter is that there are different contractors working on specific parts of every house. They want to get their part right and they often don't notice mistakes by other contractors. This is precisely why home inspections are important on every home purchase.

Schedule me on Saturdays and Sundays - Click here for more info.

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's prospective home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

 Home Status Inspection Company

July 15, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company, LLC

Selling an older home today can be alot like getting back in the dating game after many years of married life. Lots of updating to do. In today's real estate market, update you must, or more than likely, the house sits, and sits, and sits....like a wall flower at the dance.

This is especially true when the sellers are people who have lived comfortably and happily in the home for 10, 15, 20 or more years. They have become so accustomed to the home's problems that they've overlooked them ... choosing to put off fixing things. They also are unaware of outdated look of their home, their wall paper, their furniture, their appliances, etc. when compared to other houses in the same area and price range.

While there are some buyers that are looking for houses they can make over, the vast majority are not. Sellers that don't grasp this early in the process risk having the financial burden of a house that sits out dance after dance and/or a selling price that goes down and down and down.

A thorough home inspection gets the seller past this inertia and identifies a list of issues to be addressed to prepare the house for one of the most competitive housing markets in history. A good pre-listing inspection not only identifies house problems, but also helps prioritize the "have to do's" from the "nice to do's."

A recent pre-listing inspection, for example, involved an old deck. The seller was thinking about just tearing it down. My recommendation, after looking at it closely, was to get estimates on fixing the safety related items such as the loose hand rail, worn steps and wide spaced ballasters and compare those costs with the cost of removing an hauling away the deck and fixing the siding. The house may be more saleable with a deck, albeit old and worn, than without. Most buyers tend to find it easier to accept updating an existing deck than visualizing starting from scratch.

A pre-listing inspection should make the seller aware of things that make the house more saleable. That 25 year old water heater or air conditioner may be working now, but will be viewed as potential problems by prospective buyers. Adding a home warranty doesn't always give the buyer the peace of mind that having a new appliance does.

I've been asked whether putting in granite counter tops is a good idea. Now I love granite, but unless the house shows well to begin with, it's probably a better idea to put that money into things that will improve the appeal of the house... i.e. new siding, new windows, new carpeting, can go a long way toward making the house more attractive.

When the sellers are not really understanding why their house is not all that attractive to anyone by them, I will recommend that they go with their realtor and look at houses for a day or two.  Then go out to dinner and when they go home, visit it like they were visiting the other houses.  Try to see it for the first time.  This usually opens their eyes...sometimes enough to get them to consider the services of a professional stager.  

There is alot of "letting go" for people and the home inspection process can be a great way to get it started. 

You are invited to our website

It's a good idea to have me pre-list inspect your client's house. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

 Home Status Inspection Company

August 6, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company, LLC   All Rights Reserved

If you like television series CSI, you'll enjoy this.

This inspection was of an 11 year old single family house that showed well...no, better than that, it was spectacular!  Tremendous upgrades, granite, ceramic tile, hardwood floors, the works.  It was also almost vacant, but tastefully staged, when I saw it. It had been the object of investor greed, changing hands several times in the past three years, and most likely without inspections. While the house had been rented several times, no one who had owned the house had actually lived in it...which partially explains why the seller was so suprised by what I found.

I started thinking something was fishy when I found a portable AC unit in the storage space under the stairs. Why would this house need a window AC? Hmmm.

The main electric panel "sparked" additional questions. There were 5 HVAC breakers...two labeled "AC," two labeled "Furnace," and one labeled "Heat Pump." All were hooked up! That seemed like alot of horsepower for this house and all I had found was the 8 year old heat pump compressor outside. Now my curiosity was in high gear. I went looking for the missing pieces.

The attic, at first glance, was unremarkable. No furnace. No AC. But when I brushed away the blown insulation I found a work platform that is required for an attic HVAC. Little else remained except the furnace shut off switch which was still connected to a wire. The emergency condensate pipe, sans pan, was also under the insulation.

The spaghetti like flex ducts serving the upper floor were connected to a plenum which looked OK until I picked it up and found it was connected to nothing. Further testing revealed that there was no ventilation to the upper floor, the two systems had not been interconnected.

I found more clues and in the end I surmised that for some bizarre reason, an early owner, or perhaps one of the rentors, had removed the attic furnace and AC. The other AC was upgraded to a heat pump and the other furnace was converted to serve as a dual fuel emergency heat backup.

This was going to be an expensive problem to fix. HVAC is required for the rooms on the second floor. Either the Furnace and AC would have to be re-installed in the attic or the two HVAC duct systems would have to be connected and engineered to properly serve the whole house. This would probably require a new, larger heat pump for the larger load. At any rate, I called for the HVAC experts to figure out the best solution for my client.

The lesson of this inspection for investors and, of course, all homebuyers is not to get too confident in one's own skills at "reading" a house. Get an inspection every time. A situation like this one can fool you, as it fooled alot of people. It can cost alot of money to fix and without a pre-sale inspection the buyer is probably the one paying the bill.  

I publish my inspection rates on my web site. Click here to see them.

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's prospective home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

Home Status Inspection Company

April 8, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company, LLC

"Would you buy this house?" My client asked me this quite sincerely. Evidently I had gained her trust and she wanted my opinion.

The inspection results so far were not helping her make up her mind. The house she had fallen in love with a few days before when she first saw it with her realtor had a new complexion now after she learned about the need to replace the windows, the roof, and the water heater as well as to address a moderately long list of minor issues.

As much as I wanted to help her with her decision, I could not, should not, must not , answer this question.

This is a red herring question that no professional home inspector should ever answer. I think the same holds true for all real estate agents as well. My job is to be objective. As soon as I lose that objectivity, my role in the real estate transaction is compromised.

Over the years I have adjusted my response to this question, which I seem to get about once a month. Sometimes if the situation is right I use this deflection: "What, you want to sell it already? What's wrong with it.? " Then I follow up with something like. "You are asking me to be subjective I can't do that. I look at about 1000 things in this house and report to you on their condition, but your life and tastes are way different than mine. Only you can make that decision."

I go on to say, "What I can tell you is that everything we have found so far can be fixed." So don't lose sight of that original feeling you had about the house. When we are finished with the inspection you and your realtor will decide on how to address each of the inspection items.

Sometimes I get a follow up question that amounts to a "pretty please." Sometimes it goes like this. "What if you were choosing a house for your mother or daughter, would you consider this one? Again, stay away from giving your opinion. I've had some success with just saying, "I've given up trying to account for the tastes of any of my relatives. "

I've heard of situations where home inspectors have advised clients not to buy a house. That is exactly what they are doing when they say "No, I wouldn't buy this house." The same holds true for the positive answer. Later on, after the inspection is long over, the client will remember what you say as a recommendation to buy or not to buy the house.

It is entirely inappropriate to answer the question regardless of how bad the situation looks from your client. The client needs to make this decision on his or her own.

I offer a 20% discount for Fire, EMS, and Police. Click here for details.

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's prospective home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

Bill Duncan Home Status Inspection Company

June 3, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company, LLC.  All Rights Reserved

A recent inspection of a vacant foreclosure house confirmed my childhood fears that there is Green Monster lurking in the basement. (Sorry Red Sox fans, this isn't about the fabled Fenway wall).

It was late September and with the outside temperatures still in the 80's the air conditioner was running full blast. Unfortunately, the humidifier was also running full blast with the humidistat at 50%. I had wondered why the air in the house seemed "muggy" and on the walls and ceiling of the finished basement a potential mold growth had begun.

Humidifiers are wonderful things. In the winter, they can make a chilly 70 degree room feel very comfortable. Because of this, they can be helpful in lowering utility bills.

Humidifiers are supposed to only run in the Winter, in conjunction with the furnace. When people forget about them, they end up running year round, pumping humidity into the air while the air conditioner is straining to remove it. The house ends up muggy and uncomfortable and in some cases, as in the above foreclosure property, the high humidity in the air promotes mold growth.

There are several things that make the standard, stand alone, humidifier problematic for most homeowners.  First, depending on the outside temperature, different humidity levels are required for comfort.  These range from 45 to 50% when it is just freezing outside, to 30% when it is 0 to 10 degrees.   Most people don't regularly adjust their humidistat based on changes in the outside temp. 

The second thing that people forget to do is to regularly clean or replace the "drip" media. Left uncleaned, the wet environment makes for an ideal place for molds, allergens, microbes, etc to grow.  It is recommended that humidifiers be cleaned on a monthly basis with a vineger and water solution.  In the Spring humidifiers must be turned off when the furnace is no longer needed. The media must be cleaned or replaced. The drain needs to be kept clear at all times or backups will occur causing water to drip into the furnance and/or onto the basement floor.

It is little wonder that a large percentage of the humidifiers I come across in inspections are either disabled, defunct, or disgusting. As in the Green Monster!  The good news about humidifiers is that many of the new HVAC systems integrate the humidifier function into the unit itself controlling it with the units computer and removing all homeowner requirements for adjustment and maintenance. This isn't a perfect system, especially since newer units often see less regular maintenance by HVAC professionals, but it is certainly a big step toward energy savings, system comfort, and healthy performance.

My advice to agents that are custodians of vacant houses is that regardless of time of year, make sure the water to the humidifier is in the "off" position (righty tighty) and that the dial on the humidistat control is also "off." Don't run it. Especially if you do not know the condition of the drip media. If you have the HVAC serviced, have the humidifier serviced as well and document this to any potential owner. Still, unless you are commited to regularly maintaining it, leave it off.

Visit my web site www.HomeStatusInspection.com- Click here

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's prospective, vacant, foreclosed home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

Home Status Inspection Company

November 1, 2007 Copyright Home Status Inspection Company, LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Cold weather is coming fast and it is time for winterizing the house. This letter has more significance this year than ever before because of the thousands of listed houses that are vacant!

In fact, nearly all the houses I have been inspecting lately have been vacant...a sign of a frustrating real estate market. Agents for these vacant house listings need to assume responsibility for routine winterization... especially if the owners are not in the area.

HVAC. Most of the time I am finding the HVAC in the "Off" position. Now is the time to turn the heat on and set it to a low setting, say 60 degrees. You don't want the house to get so cold that pipes freeze...also, if someone tours the house you don't want it ice cold. Agents note:  You should check on your houses frequently.  Other agents will change settings on the HVAC when they tour the house with their clients and may not put them back as they found them.

Outside hose bibs. The last thing you want is a frozen pipe in the wall. Turn the water off at the inside shut off for the hose bib. If it is not marked, follow the pipe leading to the outside hose bib back to the shut off valve. It will usually have a distinguishing thumb screw on the side of the valve.

When you have found and turned off the shut off, go outside, remove any hose connected to to the faucet, and open the hose bib. Some water may drain out and that's good. If no water drains out, go back inside and while holding a cup under the shut off's thumb screw, open the thumb screw and drain some water out. It is not necessary to drain it all out, just enough to pull water back from the outside wall.

Gutters. Check to see if there are gutter guards. Chances are, if there are no gutter guards, the gutters may be clogged, or will be soon. When the leaves have stopped falling, hire someone to clean out the gutters. Otherwise, water may back up and freeze into an ice damn that can send water back into the house through the roof, ruining ceilings and walls! Or water may go over the gutter edge, fall to the side of the house and find its way into the basement.

Client safety. You may want to have bags of ice melt handy for the walkways so that prospective buyers won't fall on patches of ice. Make arrangements to have walkways shoveled when there is snow and ice melt scattered when there is ice.  Things like this also communicate that you care...and now days that means more than ever.

There may be additional things that need to be done for the house as cold weather sets in. Take a walk around the house with this in mind.

It's a good idea to have me inspect your client's prospective home. You never know what you will find.

Sincerely,

Home Status Inspection Company

October 30th, 2007© Home Status Inspection Company, LLC. All rights reserved.