A Northern Virginia Home Inspector's Perspective

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Home Inspector - Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - 3380-000723

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2009 

    Anytime you start a big project, it is important to keep first things first!       Safety first!       Whoa! Everything but the knee pads?  Where are the knee pads?                   Whenever you are involved in a project, there are always obstacles to overcome. As I was laying this flooring...
06/27/2009
When a roof abuts anything, there needs to be some sort of flashing to prevent water from getting between the roof and what it abuts. On a recent inspection on a one-year old house I noticed something missing.  Flashing.  I looked everywhere.  Still could not find it.  I called, held up a box of ...
06/26/2009
A picture says a thousand words. Look carefully! I will have to supplement this picture with a conversation I had just the other day.  I arrived at my inspection and discovered a crew "remodeling" the house.  It was purchased by an investor who is fixing it up to flip it. The work was well under...
06/25/2009
When you are installing tongue and groove flooring, it is important to know a couple of things.  Like: 1.  Which is the tongue and which is the groove.  And... 2.  Which side to drive the nail through.  I like to look for the obvious.  First, may I recommend a nearby mirror.  Look at your tongue...
06/25/2009
The entry to the living room abuts the hallway hardwood floor, which was installed when the house was built 10 1/2 years ago.  That being true, the first course has to be very squarely laid against what is there.  If it is not square, the new does not abut properly to the old, AND, very importan...
06/22/2009
The first step when installing hardwood flooring is to remove the carpeting.  Imagine my surprise when I found this underneath!  It looks like some kind of padding.  Come to think of it, that carpeting did feel kind of soft.  This stuff is really, really spongy!                                   ...
06/19/2009
Last Saturday I had an inspection with someone who is buying the house he has been renting.  No Realtor, no lawyer to review things, just a deal between my client and the seller.  Not my recommended approach, but to each his own. As always, I ask people how they got my name.  Usually I am referre...
06/16/2009
It's that time of year again. Every year my wife and daughter go to Maine to visit a friend. They stay a couple of weeks eating blueberry pancakes and lobstah. I stay home. There is a purpose in staying home - it is my time to improve the house. Over the years, I have done many home improvements ...
06/16/2009
When people call me for a one-year warranty inspection, I always recommend they add a thermal-infrared image examination to it to check insulation.  That is really the main reason I recommend IR as leaking usually isn't a problem they haven't already discovered.  During this particular exam I fou...
06/01/2009
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Jay Markanich

Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia
local_phone(703) 330-6388
smartphone(703) 585-7560
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.