Ron Rittiner's (darnifino) Blog

Experience at HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, has shown that Water Management Systems are a frequent source of problems in Home and Commercial Building Inspections.  Failures of these of systems can lead to more serious problems such as mold and structural failure.The components of th...

At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we frequently see where plumbing drain/waste/vent systems penetrate the rear of a cabinet enclosure and the installation is poorly done.  In the picture shown the installation basically involved simply knocking a hole in the back of the cabinet and w...

Experience at HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, has shown that Water Management Systems are a major source of problems in Home and Commercial Building Inspections.  Failures of these of systems can lead to more serious problems such as mold and structural failure.The components of the W...

Experience at HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, has shown that Water Management Systems are a major source of problems in Home and Commercial Building Inspections.  Failures of these of systems can lead to more serious problems such as mold and structural failure.The components of the W...

Check out the house up for auction near Chattanooga.  Home Inspectors, how do you price this one?  Have you seen one more "interesting" than this?Where's that stucco guy when you need him?  A special thanks to Realtor Ryan for passing this information along.RichardComments in this blog posting ar...

As we see the list of candidates for our next President narrow to 3 (Senator Clinton, Senator McCain and Senator Obama) and eventually 2, which candidate do you think would be best for the real estate market going forward?I know there is a lot more to consider when choosing a President than just ...

As Home and Building Inspectors we have a responsibility to "tell like it is" when we are presenting our findings.  But, I suggest that when we "tell it", there is a Good Way, a Bad Way and an Ugly Way!The choice of words we use as Inspectors, what I call InspectorSpeak, can have a profound impac...

At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, it is the corporate philosophy that the Inspector can help facilitate the real estate transaction while still providing unbiased and clear Inspection results to the Client.  There are several ways we try to do this.First, I think we can all agree tha...

Todays (2/26/8) Tennessean Business article headlines about foreclosures in the US says that, according to RealtyTrac Inc. and a CA research firm, foreclosure activity increased 57% in January versus last year.  Sounds terrible doesn't it!?  THE SKY IS FALLING!  Yet go further in the article and ...

Well, to some any crack is too big!  But to many Inspectors 1/8 inch is a key number.  If a crack in the brick veneer of a home or building exceeds 1/8" in opening, OR, shows differential movement, then the crack should be repaired.In this picture on the right the vertical cracks are approaching ...