What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/19/08)

I don't know for sure but I don't think this brick pier on the right was installed by a professional?!

And the electrical wire splices should be in an electrical box as well.

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/18/08)

You are looking at the inside of a furnace after the front cover has been pulled off.  When we inspect a furnace, we look for various components such as the red emergency shutoff valve to the right.  These are intended to be used for periodic maintenance but also in case of an emergency and someone needs to shutoff the gas TO THE FIRE!  So if the unit has smoke and flame visible inside and behind the removable panel, how many people will be brave enough to try to remove the panel and then turn the gas off?  Wouldn't it be better to locate this valve outside the furnace, like everyone else did?

 Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/12/08)

So this is the end result of a failed condensate drain system.  Below are photos of a rusted fuel manifold in a residential split HVAC system.  The interior unit houses the fuel manifold and combustion chamber, among other things.  This area shown in the photos is located behind the removable panel on the front of the furnace.

In this case, the primary condensate drain clogged (failed) and water backed up into the interior furnace unit.  When condensate drain water backs up like this it then proceeds to overflow into the emergency drip pan (if one is installed) that is at the base of the furnace.  It can do so by running down inside the furnace near the fuel manifold, which is bare metal.  The metal gets wet and guess what comes next.  Rust.  Lots of rust. 

If the emergency drip pan has a condensate drain pipe the water will just exit there.  That's good because the backup system worked but it is also bad because the primary condensate drain has failed.  That is why if you ever see water coming out of the "other" condensate pipe outside, call an HVAC technician.  Water should only be coming out of the "normal" condensate drain.  Also, most newer installations of drip pans include a float switch to act as a backup to a clogged (failed) drip pan drain pipe.  If the pan fills with water because the drip pan drain pipe is also clogged, the float switch electrically shuts the system down before water overflows the pan and damages the floor and/or ceiling below. 

All this supports the need for period inspection of major appliances in the home.  At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections,LLC, we offer a Home Inspector's Review to look just for such things as discussed here.  A Review can help prevent these situations from getting out of hand.  In this case, this furnace was heavily damaged and maybe totalled, and it was only 4 years old!

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/5/8)

A pet peeve of mine when inspecting new construction.  Pop open any return air register or supply line and there is a good chance the return air filter is fully contaminated with drywall dust and the supply duct is full of building debris.  Both are problems short and long term.  Short term, the dust on the return air filter eventually works its way to the HVAC equipment and into your lungs.  Just barely tap that filter and watch the dust fly!  The dust and debris in the supply lines also goes airborne and goes all over your furniture when you move into your new house.  Long term both situations can lead to mold as this is an exellent food supply. 

There is no excuse for this.  Most builders ask the dry wallers to not use the HVAC when they are installing and finishing the drywall but many do not heed the request.  At least some one should look in here after most of the work is done to see if anything needs cleaning.  Chances are that most systems will be contaminated and need cleaning. 

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

How Much Attic Debris is Too Much?

I think this may be too much.

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/3/8)

Careful of those fan blades, especially when they can hit the kitchen cabinet door when it is open!!

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (6/27/08)

This is an excellent example of what can happen if a water management system component fails.  In this case, the siding was allowed to deteriorate and water penetrated the seams.  Once inside it soaked the insulation and from there the wood.  Obviously a major expense.

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (6/17/08)

Maybe a better question is "What Are You Looking At?"  The answer follows at the bottom of this blog.

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

 ANSWER:  Tree frogs.  Notice how the bottom one has almost the same color of the siding.  Great place for a nice little bug snack!  Every frog needs a place to call his/her own!

What's Wrong With This Picture? - 6/8/08

Notching, or cutting, a floor joist is allowed under very strict conditions.  In general, notching of a joist on the bottom (tension side) is not allowed.  This photo is where a joist was notched to allow space for a plumbing pipe.  Unfortunately the pipe is now abandoned and the notch is no longer required.  More important, the notch should have never been cut in the first place.  Mistakes like this lead to uneven and sagging flooring.  Also, in this case, as the floor/joist moves, the copper piping will start to move as well. 

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.  

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

What's Wrong With This Picture? (6/7/8)

Fireplaces can penetrate directly through the roof or on the side of the roof/house.  These penetrations present a water management challenge because of the large size of the penetration and the frequent use of flashing associated with them.  This photo is where a chimney on the side of the house has leaked and the homeowner has made temporary caulk and kick-out flashing repairs.  The repairs have obviously failed.  The junction of the chimney to the roof, metal in this case, is difficult because the roof moves with temperature variations and the caulk will break up over time.  Proper flashing by a licensed roofer or contractor should work better.

Richard

Comments in this blog posting are the intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.  

Richard Acree is the founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.