ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2010
43
Comments
One very important aspect of a pre-drywall inspection, is to check for proper distribution of HVAC systems. Modern HVAC distribution tubing includes a lot of flexible stuff, a slinky really, made up of a slinky-like spring, wrapped in plastic, surrounded by insulation and then another final laye...
10/12/2010
30
Comments
When we were building our house I checked on it now and then. Once I entered the kitchen and saw that a red slurpy had been spilled on the kitchen floor. Right in front of the sink in fact! We were going to get a vinyl there and I just knew it would not stick. I was right. To this day, 13 ye...
10/11/2010
32
Comments
This is one of six windows in this basement wall. The client decided he wants to finish the basement himself. He wants to do certain things and he thought the builder was charging too much to do them. So the basement is left unfinished by the builder for a future time when the buyer will finis...
10/10/2010
16
Comments
On new construction, there are things going in that I would not know. For example, which rooms should have ceiling fan locations? Is cable TV to be put over the kitchen counter? How many basement windows should there be? In this house, after the foundation wall poured, my client noticed that t...
10/08/2010
45
Comments
I love walking in to a house to perform a pre-drywall inspection and find the place cleaned, organized and ready for our inspection! And a builder that considers safety! Some people who walk into houses under construction are not familiar with unfinished construction and can get hurt. For examp...
10/07/2010
28
Comments
So I'm reading Charlie Buell's now notorious post, challenging anybody to write about something under the kitchen sink. And I thought, "Do I even want to look under there?" Now, I have known Charlie for some time. We got to know each other on line and he was, in very truth, my first internet dat...
10/06/2010
26
Comments
There are times on new construction when I see things that I call "design flaws." And some of them are serious! The problem with them is that the builder or subcontractor or whomever is left to try to make them work. This little gem jumped out at me before I got out of the SUV. What you see is ...
10/05/2010
26
Comments
On a recent inspection, I was talking with the client for whom I was to perform a thermal infrared inspection of his house, which has experienced a variety of leaks. During the conversation he asked me what odd things I have found during thermal image inspections. I told him that periodically ...
10/05/2010
14
Comments
"If it is unnecessary to adjust the amount of expenditure to the means available, there is no limit to the spending of the great god State." Ludwig von Mises Ever notice how gubment never gets by with less? There are never ...
10/04/2010
31
Comments
I do a lot of pre-drywall inspections. During new construction I only recommend two inspections - the pre-drywall and the final just before the walk through with the builder. It is interesting the things I find on both inspections. The pre-drywall is particularly important because it is the on...
10/03/2010
Rainmaker
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Jay Markanich
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.