I guess we all new it would happen some day.

With all the business being generated by Foreclosures one would think those of us in the industry should care less about those foolish enough to sign Adjustable Rate Mortgages,without understanding the possible consequences.

Luckily there are people that care ,and a city  service which helps people whom were the subject of predatory practices.

Many Real Estate professionals have donated time, to help homebuyers educate themselves on the many asspects of Home ownership.

The Department of Housing

The Department of Housing provides a range of services designed to:

• Improve availability of Housing
• provide access to public and private resources
• effect public policy

Part of the city services provided through this department are Housing counseling centers.

• They assist first time buyers who need pre-purchase counseling
• They explain the home buying process to all that wish more knowledge of the procedures
• Give advice to all those whom are behind or at risk of being behind in Mortgage payments

I was privileged to be selected or invited to attend a first time Home buyer counseling session and provide insight into the Home Inspection process and hope to continue doing so in the near future.

These are all our future clients and should not be overlooked.

Here is a shot of Minister Frankie Freeney at the Noble Neighbors counseling center.

Located at 1345 n Karlov 773-252-8524

There are other centers throughout the city.

She is holding up an example of predatory lenders advertising.

Home systems their components and report descriptons

The first time I saw Active Rain I signed up and started this group one year ago today.

Please stop by and say hello.It is needing a good inspection.

Group started on 3/15/07

http://activerain.com/groups/homeinspectionreport

When performing the electrical portion of a home or condo inspection.  I'll occasionally run into cases where the property owner knowing nothing of electrical systems decides the best way to power up appliances is through the use of an extension plug.

Use of an extension plug record in and of itself is not a big problem.  As long as they are temporary.

The key word here is temporary as extension plugs are not meant to be used as permanent wiring solutions. 

When I see an extension plug has been run through a wall.  I know it is not meant as a temporary solution and not only that but I consider it extremely dangerous.

Extension plugs need lots of air to dissipate the heat that surrounds the conductors inside the covering.  And when running them through walls and ceilings, doorways or through floors.  The heat can build up and spark a fire.

 I doubt if even Lloyds of London insurance would cover this in case of fire.

Notice that cable was brought up through the wall probably to connect the television set on one side with component video equipment on the other side of the wall.In this particular case there was a fireplace on the other side with no built-in electrical outlet.

When running any electrical extension cord device always make sure to check the tag and see that it is UL listed, also check the label on the cord to see the extension cord is able to handle the amperage of the appliance it is connected to.

manage my home

That is the title of one of the newer sites out there worth checking out.

It is actually sponsored by Sears.I found out about it in Friday's Chicago Tribune.

It has a place where you can sign up for home maintenance tips and a monthly news letter.

There are some great sections on the site such as one where you can Q&A with technicians They also have another section with illustrations and info on systems and components .

The site even has a search bar where you can enter model and serial numbers of

appliances to get a manual.

So if you get a chance be sure to save the link and check it out.

A few days ago I decided to take a shower upon waking up as per normal routine

when I noticed my feet were splashing around in a puddle.

I did not think to much of it till it seemed to actualy be getting to the edge of where the shower door strip is located ,which did not take long

Not only do I like to take long showers , which last untill the hot water is gone from my 40 gallon hot water tank,

but the shower stall floor is only a couple of inches deep , and was built in that way buy a previous owner

who actualy went to the trouble of forming the shower stall floor with cement and an epoxy based coating.

This is great since if you ever had or took a shower in a typical cheap stand up shower stall that they often sell at a DIY center such as Home Depot , Lowes , or  Menards you would notice that the PVC type material they are made with has a tendency to retain dirt which is hard to scrub off.

I believe this occurs due to the small scratches which embed them selves through scrubbing and regular use.

Any way I could see the water was ready to over flow on to the bathroom floor , Home inspector (up to ankles in water) and I jumped out of my hot comfotable shower to grab a plunger figuring I could dislodge what ever was stuck there .

Well the plunger did no good at all and I had to dis continue by shutting off the shower only to smell , the toilet.

Turns out I was pushing waste right out of the bottom of the base rim where the toilet touches the floor. 

Ok here is part of the story I did not mention as of yet.

My shower and bathroom that I was using is in the basement and if you never had

a basement shower the one thing different

about them is the fact  you need something called a ejector pump   

My first thought was oh no something  got caught in the pump and clogged it up.

Well once dressed and having mopped up the mess with bleach so as to dis -infect, I went straight to the utility room where the ejector pump is located.

I listened for a humm indicating that the impeller was stuck which is a little propeller like devise which sucks up the waste and grinds it before pumping it up to a level where gravity can do it's job and flow it out to the public sewer .

No noise upon which I grabbed my trusty voltage ticker and found there was juice getting to the plug for the pump.Then I took  my volt meter out just to confirm I was not picking up stray voltage.

Well I could have opened the sealed  basin or pit where the ejector pump sits , but could not see much point to doing so as the problem was either the pump itself or a float which you may compare to what sits inside most toilets and has a simular function.

I called a local plumber that had been used before.Good guy I had used several years ago and found by accident when driving to work at the time as I was running late the day a basement had flooded after a hard rain in the early morning.

He came out with his son and wasted no time getting the cover open ripping out the old one and replacing it with a new one.

Took just over an hour and $450.00 later I was up and running back to normal.

see pics below for an idea of how these things work.   

Hi Everyone... the picture below is not for the weak hearted ,but is what got me to thinking about pet safety.

When I have time during the day ,which is often early morning or late afternoon I often feel like getting out of the house and off the computer.

Sitting around staring at the screen combined with my increasing age (turn fifty this month) (yes I am getting fixated on that fact) has caused my weight to balloon from 180 to 220 in the last few years.

Everyone says I look good (but I know they are lying).

Anyway my favorite way to relax is to grab the bicycle throw it in the back of my van and head for the Forest Preserves which here in Chicago is very extensive with many miles of trails right in our backyard.

On my way out to a favorite spot (not far from O'hare Airport) I saw what I thought was a dead dog laying on the curb outside a major food store here.

Turns out it was this deer, as there is an over abundance of them spilling out of the woods in the area the last few years.

Anyway this got me to thinking about pet safety and if you love your pet, and wish to keep it safe at home there are a few things to consider while shopping for a House or Condo.

#1- Household Chemicals     

Pesticides, fertilizers, paints, antifreeze, household cleaners, and other chemicals can pose real dangers to your pet. It's best to prevent poisonings from happening in the first place by keeping containers tightly capped and stored out of reach, but if your pet should become poisoned despite your efforts to protect him, keep him warm and quiet, look for clues to what type of poison it was, when it was swallowed, and how much was swallowed, and call your veterinarian or nearest poison control center immediately. If you take the animal to your vet, remember to take along the container so your vet can treat him effectively.

This to me means take a good look at the cabinets while going threw the place and picture your animal trying to get in at whats inside them.

You may need to child proof with one of the many latch devises out there.

#6- Accidental Falls

Did you know that each year thousands of animals die or suffer injuries in accidental falls from high places? Terraces and window-ledges, in particular, can be very dangerous, especially in warm climates where doors and windows are often left open for long periods. Keep your pets safe. Never leave your animal unattended on a balcony, and install tight-fitting screens on all open windows. Even with screens, windows should only be left partially open in case your pet manages to push against the screen and knock it out.

#15- Pool Safety

We've all heard about the danger to small children of having a swimming pool in your backyard, but animals are at risk for drowning, too. Many pets drown each year in backyard swimming pools, especially puppies and kittens. If you have a pool, or if you live alongside a body of water, it's best to put up a fence to keep animals out. If that's not possible, teach your dog how to get out of your pool by placing the dog in the pool with you, and guiding it to the steps. Do this repeatedly until the dog can find its way out of the pool unassisted. And review the lesson twice a year. Remember, too, that not all dogs are natural swimmers. If you take your dog to the lake or out on a boat, consider getting it a doggy life vest. They're available in a variety of sizes and can save your dog's life.

Those gates are not only a good way to protect your older pet from a fall but as you can see in the picture will also keep them from rooms where they do not belong.

I hope it is one more thing for my clients to think about during my inspection of their new House or Condo.

Let me give credit to two sites http://www.animalrescuetv.com/safety.html

http://www.petacular.com/products/Pet-Gate-G14.html

Anyway I know in the big scheme of things we sometimes for get about the furry guys.

Here is my cat. and yes I love dogs but feel at this point I need to devote more attention than I am able to give.

Is my brick house real brick?

A good alternative title might be what is brick veneer ?

Back in the good old days when homes were built with brick it served as the structure for the home.

In today's home brick is still used, but not for   Structure so much as for appearance.  In other words, you can think of it more as a siding. The actual structure of a home built with brick veneer is normally that of a wood frame. So basically what this means is that the brick does not support the house, but the House supports the brick.

Another good question might be why do they do it this way and not just build the whole house with brick? Like with most things nowadays cheaper and faster.

There is one benefit to all of this however, and it is the third reason for building this way, which is the fact that they are easily insulated and thus more energy efficient than a simple brick structure.  Yet another good question may be how long will it last? The answer is that depends on how well it is constructed.  See the diagram below for an example of how a brick veneer wall is constructed.  Keep in mind when constructing brick veneer,  Only one layer of brick is used

As you can see above the one layer brick wall is tied to the structure and supported with its weight right on top of the foundation which has been planned ahead of time.  The architect has to plan for the approximately 4 inch width of the brick plus a one-inch space behind which will allow the wall to  drain moisture that gets behind the brick. As you can also see from the diagram above, the wall behind the brick has a moisture barrier, allowing the water to drain onto the bottom and away from the structure.

The water drains to a series of weep holes that are placed along the bottom row of brick, and also above windows and doors which also have a series of weep holes while sitting on steel lentils, which help prevent deflection and thus cracking of the mortar.one problem that is common is for bricklayers is to drop mortar into the one-inch cavity.  Thus blocking easy exit of moisture through the weep holes.  The dropped mortar retains the water longer, thus possibly allowing the possibility of mold to enter the home via mold spores, which can rise up and into.

  Most homes will have weep holes, approximately every 24 to 36 inches max. Another important part of the brick veneer is having the brick ties appropriately spaced. The brick ties are important and seek not only to keep the wall from moving yet allow slight movement. The reason for allowing slight movement is due to the fact that the wood frame expands and contracts at a different rate.

  Break ties are embedded in the mortar between bricks and nailed into the wood studs.  Normally they are placed approximately every six or seven courses of brick on a vertical plane.  Horizontal, they should be embedded into every stud.

Hopefully this information will help you understand little bit about brick veneer walls and is not meant to be technical so much as informational.

(diagram done with serif draw plus four and photo scape by Bob Elliott)

For anyone who missed it the Chicago Sun-Times real estate section featured an article on balloon frame houses published Friday, July 27.I found this article especially fascinating due to the fact the author Tom Corbett attributes Chicago being the fastest growing city in the world during the 19th century partially due to the innovation of balloon frame housing.

As a Home Inspector I need to be aware of this kind of property as do other Home Inspectors.

Balloon frame housing is not typical anymore and was slowly phased out during the early part of the 20th-century.

however there are still thousands of examples throughout the Chicagoland area despite the fact many of them have been bought up and torn down for new homes.

The big feature with balloon frame housing is that the studs go from sill plate all the way up to the rafters.

The main reason a lot of them had been replaced by platform framing is due to the fact since the choice to go from top to bottom this leaves a big cavity of airspace were fire can travel quickly and may have contributed to the Chicago fire.

Another bad feature considering today's energy concerns is all that airspace produces a chimney like effect drawing hot air up and out

Since the studs run from top to bottom they can often be recognized for their square rectangular box like appearance.

One way to combat the fire hazard and energy inefficiency is to blow insulation in the cavities between studs thus preventing fire from spreading so rapidly and helping solve the energy problem.

A couple of the reasons people would prefer to keep the structures rather than tearing them down are for one thing the wood is higher quality and for another thing you can easily adjust the floor height by moving the joists up and down in between the studs since it is not platform dependent this can give you what a world of possibilities during rehab.in other words many of these are two flats but can be converted to single-family homes with cathedral ceilings. Kinda cool in my opinion.

The article read led me to want to research more about them and one of its things I discovered was this was initially called Chicago construction until the 1870s.Some research by me has suggested balloon framing was first developed by a Chicago carpenter named Augustine Taylor in the 1830s.in other articles I researched suggest it was invented by a Chicago carpenter named George W. Snow in 1832.

Other articles suggest forms of this balloon framing were built previously however anyway you look at Chicago probably gets the credit.

My credit in research goes to Chicago Suntimes,Dept of Agriculture,PBS,and the encyclopedia of Chicago History.org.Illustration below is from uwec/education.

                                                                          ----BOB ELLIOTT

Yes this is for real.

There is now an online version of a lottery style scratch card which can be downloaded to attract visitors.

If you visit my site you will find it right below my Active Rain link.www.chicagopropertyinspection.com