habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (11/01/09) - 11/02/09 08:50 PM
HINT: Two things are potentially wrong. And, the house is about 75 years old
ANSWER: Sure, the electrical box should have a cover. But what is that white stuff in the back ground? Could it be asbestos? Only a test will tell for sure.
Thank you,
Richard Acree
Comments in … (6 comments)
|
habitec: What is Wrong With This Picture? (9/26/09) - 09/26/09 09:33 PM
HINT: These things hunt for their food.
ANSWER: This guy, a recluse spider we named Spider MAN, was sitting right at the top of the attic stairs. He is about the size of a silver dollar!!
Thank you,
… (4 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (6/30/09) - 06/30/09 08:45 PM
Hint: You are looking at the underside of an eave and specifically the soffit vent. Anything look odd?
Answer: Paint! Lots of it. But in all the wrong places. Soffit vents provide cooling air to the attic ventilation … (0 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (6/26/9) - 06/26/09 07:18 PM
Hint: You are looking at the inside of an HVAC split system interior unit after the front cover has been removed.
Answer: Rust! Lots of it. But the unit was 18 years old so some deterioration is expected. But not this much. The rust happened because the insulation on the … (1 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (4/17/9) - 04/18/09 09:19 AM
HINT: Did you ever wonder how those brick veneer walls stay up there?
ANSWER: Brick veneer walls exceeding 4 ' in height require a concrete foundation to rest on and usually there is an angled metal drip edge between the bottom row of bricks and the concrete foundation. Wainscots not … (0 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (3/27/9) - 03/27/09 10:01 PM
HINT: Funnels work best if the stuff being funneled is flowing down, not up.
ANSWER: So in this case, sure, some of the exhaust will enter the exhaust pipe. But how much will miss? And how much is too much? This is a good reason why water heaters must … (3 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (3/24/9) - 03/24/09 07:59 AM
HINT: Creativity without restraint can lead to chaos.
ANSWER: Well, it is creative. Maybe even artistic? And as a guy I admire the use of duct tape. But connecting/taping bathroom exhaust vents into the plumbing drain, waste and vent … (2 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With this Picture? (3/8/9) - 03/07/09 08:44 PM
HINT: KABOOM!!
ANSWER: The homeowner installed a free-standing gas stove in the living room as an after market device. Then he placed the supporting propane tank on the opposite side of the wall and ran the gas line into the crawl space and up into the living room. Now look … (1 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (3/7/9) - 03/06/09 12:31 PM
No hint this time. You should be able to figure this one out on your own.
Did they run out of money?
Richard Acree
Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active … (5 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With These Pictures? (3/5/9) - 03/06/09 03:04 AM
HINT: Water gravitates to the lowest point in a surface area.
This pier and surrounding moisture barrier is stained and holding a soil buildup as if substantial water has been here.
Same thing here.
And … (0 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (2/12/9) - 02/12/09 04:59 PM
Hint: Something is missing! You are in a crawl space looking at the end of a beam. What's missing?
ANSWER: The end of the beam is suspended in the air. A notch was cut or built out of the foundation wall to allow room for the … (3 comments)
|
habitec: Rick Cozby joins HABITEC! - 01/28/09 08:41 AM
RICK COZBY JOINS HABITEC!
HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, is pleased to announce that Rick Cozby, formerly President and Owner of House Sense, Inc., has joined Richard Acree and Ron Rittiner at HABITEC as a full time Home Inspector and Environmental Services technician. HABITEC is extremely pleased to have the … (0 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (1/27/09) - 01/27/09 10:22 AM
Look at the first 3 pictures pictures. What's wrong with them? Taken individually, they might seem like minor cosmetic cracks. When considered as a group, they point to a common theme and one that can be significant. Then look at the fourth picture.
On the left is a floor … (3 comments)
|
habitec: Radon and the Empty House - 01/21/09 03:43 PM
RADON AND THE EMPTY HOUSE
Recently I inspected a large home with a foundation that consisted of a crawl space and a partial basement. The home was sophisticated in design and construction including a moisture extraction system for the crawl space. This system was active at the time of the inspection. … (7 comments)
|
habitec: Housing Market Curve Starting to Bend? - 11/18/08 05:15 PM
Maybe we are seeing some improvement in the housing market?!!
Recently I have seen articles indicating that although the housing market is still weak and perhaps weakening overall, certain segments of the national market have seen significant improvement. Most noteably is a year-over-year improvement in sales of existing homes and pending … (0 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? 10/6/08 - 10/07/08 03:33 PM
Hint: When is the last time you saw a good stucco job?
Answer: Hopefully you can see the many openings and exposed membrane around the EIFS … (9 comments)
|
habitec: What's wrong with this picture? 9/23/08 - 09/23/08 09:08 PM
Clue: Yes, the gutter spike is bent, but the real issue is in the gutter.
Answer: Look at how much accumulation of shingle granulation is present in the gutter. This is a good indication of the deterioration of the shingles on the roof. Next look up at the darker lower … (1 comments)
|
habitec: Home Inspection FALL SALE!! - 08/26/08 08:09 PM
FALL HOME INSPECTION SALE!
HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, (HABITEC) is pleased to announce that our FALL HOME INSPECTION SALE starts September 2, 2008 and goes through December 20, 2008!! During this time, if our schedule will allow, HABITEC will beat by 10% any reasonable and written price for a … (2 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (8/16/08) - 08/16/08 07:40 PM
Well, this is not really fair because my first picture is not close-up enough. But you might still be able to see that a component is missing. There is no vertical stopper arm as part of the faucet. Not to be left out though, under the sink is the horizontal component … (5 comments)
|
habitec: What's Wrong With This Picture? (7/19/08) - 07/19/08 09:07 PM
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 … (2 comments)
|
;)
;)
