What Is It? And Why Did A Chippie Make It? - 03/29/11 10:06 PM

What Is It? And Why Did A Chippie Make It?
Well first you might ask is 'What's a chippie?' Well that's simply an old term for a carpenter or wood fitter, because they were very effective in removing large amounts of wood with adzes, axes and chisels.
This is of course in the days before power tools and literally 'the chips were flyin'. A good tradesman kept his tools sharp so when notches or long rip cuts were required they reached for the blades first.  In skilled hands this was faster than the alternative and very accurate.
That's the chippie, … (12 comments)

A Pretty Face Or A Dark Heart, A Buyers Tale - 03/28/11 09:59 AM
 
Here is a beautifully written blog about the value in having a home inspection. The experience described is a process I often see buyers go through. This is written by a colleague in Connecticut, James Quarello.
 
Via James Quarello - Connecticut Home Inspector (JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC):
Beauty is said to be only skin deep. A pretty face can conceal a dark heart. And so it can be with houses. Buyers are wooed by the charms of granite counter tops and gleaming hardwood floors. The luxurious tile shower with multiple spray heads and the verdant greenery of the yard. … (0 comments)

Does 'FLASHING" remind you of a 'perv' in the park? (Part 2)Connotations of 'CAULK' and 'FLASH' . - 03/25/11 10:20 AM
   Does 'FLASHING" remind you of a 'perv' in the park?  Does that mean "CAULK" is a 4 letter word to you ?
That' seems to be the case now a days.
INTRODUCTIONS :
On the left: Roofing meet flashing (black cap flashing). Flashing meet caulk. Caulk meet old tar ( old brittle cracked leaking tar).
On the right: Roofing meet new flashing (couldn't be made smaller). New flashing meet surface caulking. Surface caulking meet porous wet brick.
SO who's leaking now : Every place the new caulking touches old materials some small amount of wetting or water entry is happening. It … (5 comments)

WATER In the Frame and on Display. (A hidden defect in prior form?) POP QUIZ - 03/23/11 06:10 PM

WATER In the Frame and on Display.
Most people put up framed photos or art work of some kind, under glass to protect it. Photos are usually people, places or events  that are memorable to the residents.
Art is put up for decor, colour or effect.
This sort of framed wall decor is rarer. In fact it's the only one I've seen to date. 
This 'picture' is memorable to the owners here because they had a plumbing accident and needed to shut off the water.
But they couldn't find the valve!. Somebody had enclosed it in the wall!
Now its … (6 comments)

Is 'CAULK' a 4 letter word ? (Part 1) Connotations of 'CAULK' and 'FLASH' . - 03/21/11 02:54 PM
Is 'CAULK' a 4 letter word to you ?   Does that mean "FLASHING" reminds you of a 'perv' in the park.
I would think so judging by the number of places I'm seeing that should have flashing in use but has none or is relying on caulked seams instead.
A blog Relying on Caulking  by a fellow inspector, Steven L. Smith here in AR got me thinking about the defects that I commonly see regarding these products. His main points were about the life expectancy of caulking and their being used instead of the proper flashing.
I concur with the points he makes and … (7 comments)

Pop Goes The Hatch (Weasel) And So Does Your Energy Bill. - 03/14/11 12:04 AM
How many times do I see the following condition; a popped hatch.

Yes it’s popped open or lifted when a door or window is opened somewhere and it’s a windy day or the wind is hitting that side of the house. The sudden increase in air pressure will lift the hatch (it’s not heavy).
It can even be pulled up as sudden gust of wind create a low pressure zone over the roof. This partial vacuum will pull higher pressure air form the house, lifting the hatch cover with it.
Most times it will just fall back down to the … (8 comments)

The Whistling Tap: What Will You See (Hear) Any Given Day. - 03/13/11 10:27 PM
The Whistling Tap 
Oh yeah, this is a first for me. I've never run across this before. Just listen to this;
I've never heard anything like it until today. Adjusting the shut off valve made no difference, and it only happened on the cold water side.
The video is not actually made on my phone, it's from todays inspection (camera) but it's my first YouTube posting. So that makes it another first.
In this business you can never predict what you'll see on any given day. This house had lot of amateur work. Most of it was cabinets and flooring but … (18 comments)

Up Up And Away! ...Scuttle Hatches................A Best Practice Technique - 03/12/11 01:30 PM

Here the 'best practice' that I've come across in the last few years is placing the hatch in the door swing space of  a bedroom. 
 
This does several good things;
1.                         It gets it out of tight closets that are difficult to position ladders in.
2.                         It does not require the emptying of shelves to gain access to the hatch. 
3.                         Opening the hatch does not cause loose insulation or other attic debris to rain down on the clothes in the closet. 
4.                         Positioning in the swing area of the doorway ensures that there will never be any furniture … (6 comments)

"Curses...Foiled Again!" ....A "What's it?' File - 03/10/11 10:56 PM

 
Curses.. Foiled again! The foibles of faulty .... what is it?.....
The gold brownish colour that you see is not true. That's a reflection of the wood paneling colouring. You can see the true colour in the section by the floor and if your guess was aluminum foil insulation / vapour barrier you would be right.
This home building product was used in the seventies in new construction and renos. It only resembles aluminium foil, but is much thicker with an internal layer of a tar waterproofing. 
It was designed to be used as a vapour barrier and an additional … (6 comments)

OMG FILE: "Mites go up and tites come down" - 03/07/11 08:42 AM
Nope! This is not an icicle. It's too warm outside, the grass is growing.

This is overhead at the top floor rear balcony of a 4 floor condo building that is less than 10 years old. The edge we are seeing is the concrete roof slab which extends out to cover the building-wide balcony areas.
So it's not an icicle. So what is it?  Well even though this is not the roof of a limestone cave, it is in fact a stalactite.
Yes a mineral deposit from chemicals leached out of the concrete roof deck. The chemistry here is closely related to … (10 comments)

"Up She Comes", Regional Difference - Climate Factor - 03/05/11 10:56 AM
 
Climate difference does mean different construction details. A North Carolina inspector showed me the following diagram of foundation details. We were discussing differences and water problems that crawlspaces have.
The construction shown would not be built for Canadian climates but is OK for North Carolina which is a significantly different climate. The discussion describes what happens in Canadian soils and the different details that mitigate the conditions.
 

Yes, It’s a regional difference because there is a climate difference.
This set up (shown in the diagram) will let water soak into the brick and concrete. When it freezes here … (5 comments)

Perspicacity and the 'hidden defect'. - 03/02/11 08:43 AM
“Visual", "non invasive" and "not technically exhaustive"  are terms used to describe our inspections. They can be found in various forms or versions in our contract wording or standards of practice. As you use more and more testing and sensing equipment, the less visual your inspections become.
The inspections done here are visual building and home inspections for pre-listing and pre-purchase requirements. They are not technically exhaustive and rely on very few indirect sensing devices.
We use our knowledge of building construction technology and systems in buildings* to guide us to look for evidence and then interpret that information to assess … (6 comments)

 
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Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector

Montreal West Island, QC

More about me…

Aspect Inspection

Address: Montreal - West Island, Serving the greater Montreal region, Pointe-Claire, QC, H9S 4l7

Cell Phone: (514) 914-1249

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Usually I'm presenting an aspect of home maintenance, value improvement or 'how too' instructions to feature best practice ways to do things around building and property issues. Some times it's building tech history or how thing came to be as they are, the back story on terms, expressions and phrases. I keep track of the strange, the unique, the special and interesting things I get to see, including the dangers. These are filed as OMGs. OMGs always have photos, so I share the file with you from time to time. The rest come out of thin air. More than once I start writing a comment on someone else's blog and end up inking a whole new blog. Am I inspired or am I ranting? You can decide.


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