ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2011
47
Comments
First thing I don't understand: if these folks want to put a deck on the back of the house, the ledger beam (the main support for the deck, a 2x12 that bolts to the house onto which the deck joists are attached) is interfered with by four appurtenances. Home inspectors call objects that pass thr...
12/07/2011
16
Comments
Imagine their surprise when a package arrived at my house addressed to them? And I thought, "Look at this. Mr. Jay and Billy Jays receive a Christmas gift!" As neither was home at the time, I had to call them to let them know it was here. Excited, both rushed home to open it. Not knowing who it ...
12/06/2011
"Size of industry, concentration of market, or production notwithstanding, the consumer is best served when the businessman is completely free to pursue his profit goals." John A. Pugsley (1934-2011) How do we know this is true? Because Adam Smith, circa 1776, said so? What did Smith say? That t...
12/05/2011
91
Comments
When you see water in the basement in new construction, this is not a good sign. It is very, very important that on new construction water is not encouraged into the house. Proper placement and grading of soil should encourage water AWAY from the house. Obviously this water is not coming in th...
12/04/2011
61
Comments
This post is about product registration. We built our house 14 years ago. We have been the only owners. And it's official. Every appliance that came new with our house has died and been replaced. The last to go was our dryer. Electric and well used, it died a couple of days ago. When I shop f...
12/03/2011
8
Comments
Jay's Saturday morning haiku - 7 The English form of the traditional Japanese Haiku includes any or all of the following: The use of 17 syllables, in the form of three lines, with 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. Some haiku may employ 10 - 14 syllables, but 17 is traditional. The use of a seas...
12/02/2011
Open cell energy foams can work in lot of places, not just walls. Here are some other examples of foaming other places where energy can escape. Any penetration through the ceiling can cause huge energy losses, summer and winter. This is thermal image of the bath vent in my upstairs hall bathroo...
12/01/2011
37
Comments
More and more now I am seeing builders foaming gaps and penetrations - best practices on new construction. In "the olden days" the gap where the sill plate (the bottom 2x4) rests on the sub floor would have been caulked. And maybe there would be caulking around windows and doors. But notice how ...
11/30/2011
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Jay Markanich
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.