claremont home inspections: What's Under Your House? - 05/18/10 08:15 PM
I've been wanting to put together a home inspection video blog about a crawlspace for a long time. But as you can probably guess, it's not too easy to do a video in a tight and dusty place like a crawlspace. Well, I finally had the opportunity to video under a house... and it was a doozy. I couldn't have picked a better crawlspace to make a video. I hope you enjoy the video... and I hope you appreciate crawling under a house...
...remember, we'd be honored to crawl under your house too.
I hope this gave you a little more appreciation for a … (3 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Beware While Shopping Foreclosures! - 06/16/09 02:46 PM
I would estimate that about 80 - 90% of the homes we inspect these days are foreclosures... at least they're vacant. We often find very interesting things during these home inspections. But the warning I give you today does not concern home inspections (please read my other blogs for that).
We come across a lot of black widows at vacant houses. I'm no spider expert and have seen quite a few black widows in my life. I knew they are poisonous but never realized how dangerous they are. I was watching a show the other day with a name similar to … (4 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Condo tid bits (A Home Inspection Blog) - 02/12/09 11:07 AM
There are some items in condos that separates them from a normal single family residence home inspection. One of those items has to do with the picture below. Can you guess what it is?
Okay, I admit it, this is a tough one, especially when you're just looking at the picture and weren't on-site to see the layout of the units. The issue is that there were three units and this view was of the middle unit attic space. The attic was not separated. Someone could go up in the attic and crawl into another unit with no restriction... that's … (8 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Crying Out for a Home Inspection - 02/10/09 10:17 AM
Sometimes there are certain things we find during a home inspection that just "cries" out for our services.
The roof was definitely crying out for some repair.
The tree was defintely crying out for some more room. How dare that house creep up on it like that!
And I don't know what they are crying out for, and I don't think I want to know...
Posted by Joseph Lang of Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection
(c) 2009 Joseph Lang dba Pillar To Post
… (6 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Stair Safety (A Home Inspection Blog) - 02/10/09 09:38 AM
Stairs are always a concern during a home inspection because they are one of the most likeliest places for an accident or injury to occur. An important aspect of safety are the hand rails. Hand rails are needed so you can grasp on to something in case you lose your balance. Having lived in 2-story homes all my life, I can assure you that hand rails have saved me a few times.
Take a look at the picture below. Do you see a problem? (I think the tape measure might give it away)
Yep, you guessed it, the hand … (3 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Bollards... say what? (A Home Inspection Blog) - 01/29/09 09:44 AM
Have you ever heard of a bollard? Probably not. Don't feel ashamed, you're one of millions of Americans that simply are in the dark on the subject. It's actually a very rare Northeast African bird... just kidding.
Maybe the picture below will help you?
Okay, that was a trick, I admit it. The bollard is missing in the picture. A bollard is a pole that is installed in front of water heaters and furnaces located in garages that prevents vehicles from hitting those units to promote safety. Not only do you want to protect the appliances but you also … (4 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Don't Open the Closet (A Home Inspection Informational Blog) - 01/23/09 10:56 AM
There are so many items that are looked at when Pillar To Post performs a home inspection. Some are major and some are informational or suggestions. We don't expect that everything on our home inspection will be taken care of immediately, but we want to provide a list that one can go through and hopefully complete to get their house in tip-top shape.
See any problems in the picture below?
The angle of the picture isn't the greatest so it might not be as easy to see. I was trying to show that the hallway closet door will hot the … (8 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Give 'Em a Hand (A Home Inspection Blog) - 01/22/09 04:58 AM
Below are some nice and looooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg stairs to get to a house.
Of course safety is always the first concern on our minds during a home inspection. Can you imagine walking down these stairs and losing your balance? That would be disastrous. Or what about a young child, an elderly person or someone with a disability going down those stairs? A hand rail would be a very wise investment for safety and one that was recommended to our clients. So go ahead, "give 'em a hand"... a hand rail that is.
I hope this gives you a little more information about a … (4 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Backwards Means Big Mistake - A Home Inspection Blog - 08/27/08 03:59 AM
I saw this a few months ago so I thought I'd share it with everyone.
Okay, I'm not focusing here on the worn roof, the rusted air baffle or the dish cable. Can you see what else is wrong here? A hint: It has something to do with the air baffle.
First of all, what is an air baffle? The air baffle is that rusted piece on the roof. It allows ventilation in the roof, a critical aspect of any roof. So back to the question at hand... The problem is that it is installed backwards. It is installed below the ridge, … (27 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Automatic Gas Shut Off Valves for Earthquakes - 04/11/08 05:53 PM
I still don't see very many of them but there is a relatively new safety item called an automatic gas shut off valve. It is a valve that goes on your gas line, near the meter, that will automatically shut off in case of an earthquake (obviously a California issue). Here's what it looks like.
The shut off valve is the red box near the wall.
I have heard that some insurance companies are now requiring them when someone buys a home. If you're looking into buying a home you might want to check on that. I've heard the minimum price starts at $300 … (10 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Chim Chim-e-ney Chim Chim-e-ney Chim Chim Cha- OUCH! - 04/01/08 02:32 PM
I couldn't help but think of Mary Poppins and good old Dick Van Dyke when writing a post about chimney vents. Unfortunately this is not a funny situation. The silver cylinder is the vent for the chimney.
Of course fires burn in a fireplace and the combustion gases, heat and smoke come out of the chimney vent. The chimney vent therefore gets very hot and can potentially burn someone and the combustion gases could be inhaled. Of course this is where you have to wonder why the builder made the chimney vent so close to the ground that even a small … (13 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Just TRUSS Me - 03/25/08 09:29 AM
As a home inspector you never take anything for granted. I recently inspected a 3,200 sq. ft. house built in 2004. It was very nice looking with a lot of upgrades. On the surface I'm sure many would think there could hardly be anything wrong with it.
There was an attic in the garage that had parts that were quite difficult to get to. But I took my time and maneuvered through the attic. I eventually saw this. It is the end of a truss. A truss is a major structural component that distributes the weight of the roof.
I looked closer and noticed … (10 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Twas the Day of the Home Inspection - 03/18/08 07:51 PM
Twas the day of the home inspection
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring
not even a mouse (he already left his mess in the insulation in the attic).
The buyer was nestled all snug in their thoughts
thinking and planning where to put all the furniture that will be bought.
The home inspector moved through the house with care
making sure to note all the items the buyer should be aware.
Electrical, plumbing and HVAC galore,
The roof, the exterior, the interior and more.
A couple of hours of inspecting had passed
and now the home inspector looked up at the ceiling for the last task.
He got out his ladder and … (15 comments)
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claremont home inspections: What's Taking So Long? - 03/11/08 11:18 AM
I've heard this before, luckily not too often. But every once in a while you get someone who used $$One-Fifty-One$$ Buck Chuck (as I call them) for their last home inspection and they wonder how an inspection can take so long. I'll use an example from yesterdays home inspection to shed the light on the issue.
You see, as home inspectors we can't take anything for granted. Though we do a visual inspection we also need to get our hands on things at times. Yesterday at the exterior of the house everything looked fine. I looked at the brick facade and it … (20 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Debunking The Myths of the Pre-Listing Home Inspection - 03/02/08 10:34 AM
Recently there was an excellent featured post about pre-listing home inspections and why they're not more popular. Please read At what point do you throw in the towel? by David Lelak's wife.
Some of the reasons sellers don't want to get a pre-listing home inspection were given below. I thought it would be easier to answer these in a new post rather than taking up a lot of space that others may not see on the previous post.
I have numbered them and wanted to address them one by one to possibly shed some light on the issue.
It costs money that they do not have … (12 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Agents and Utilities - What's Up? - 02/21/08 04:15 PM
Okay, we all know there's a lot of short sales, foreclosures, REO's, etc. So therefore the utilities many times end up being turned off since no one is paying the bill. The gas company will put a lock on the meter like the one below (circled below), and other utility companies do similarly.
Then I come along, the home inspector. Yes, I actually can inspect a house without the utilities on, but I don't want to because obviously there are a lot of items that can't be properly inspected and operated without the utilities on, I think that's pretty obvious.
So I just wanted … (10 comments)
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claremont home inspections: The Eye of the Tiger... (A Home Inspection Blog) - 01/21/08 01:06 PM
The eye of the tiger is nothing compared to the eye of the garage door opener. What?
I'm talking about the laser sensor eye for the garage door opener. Look at the picture below, it's the black box a few inches off the ground.
The laser sensor eye puts an invisible laser from one end of the garage to the other. This way if a small child or pet is under the garage door when it's closing, the laser will trip and the garage door will go back up. The problem is that these laser sensor eyes should not be … (6 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Deadbolts: Can They Be Unsafe? - 01/17/08 11:36 AM
I think everyone knows that deadbolts are a great safety item. However, can a deadbolt ever be a safety hazard? YES.
Now I've got you hooked and you just have to read more... perfect.
Some people use double-keyed deadbolts in a house. That means that you have to have a key to open the door whether you're outside the house or inside the house. So what's wrong with that? It just an extra safety precaution, right?
The problem is that these double-keyed deadbolts can block emergency and fire exits in a home. What if there's a fire and your only exit is the door … (14 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Landlords: You're Liable for Your Tenants Safety - 01/12/08 09:15 AM
I inspect homes for investors quite often. Many of these homes, duplexes, etc. will be used as rentals. I always ask if this is the case as landlords are liable for the safety of their tenants. This makes home inspections for rental properties important not only for the condition of the property but also to limit liability regarding the tenants.
Here's an example of only the tenant safety items of one investment property I inspected, this doesn't include other problems:
This tree stump is a trip hazard to tenants.
The uneven sidewalk is also a trip hazard, especially in the dark.
These vertical guard rails are more than … (22 comments)
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claremont home inspections: Upgraded Houses Don't Need to be Inspected... Right? - 01/06/08 10:03 AM
I inspected a house built in 1948 the other day which had some upgraded systems. Unfortunately it was a shoddy job.
Though they had just upgraded the electrical system, they didn't bother to do anything about the corrosion at the right service entrance cable.
They upgraded the electrical system but for some reason decided to install a sub panel instead of installing a new main electrical panel. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself but there would be less equipment with just a main electrical panel. However, there was a problem that the sub panel was built in a plywood box that was not properly weatherproof.
The sub … (7 comments)
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