A Northern Virginia Home Inspector's Perspective

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

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2012 

When portions of a roof need a cover up, often I see the not so great cover up - when roof patches don't work. This is a five year old house.  The roofing shingle is a very durable, architectural shingle.  It's a good roof. However, the gutter guy didn't quite know how to handle this architectura...
09/29/2012
Even fire can't escape this fire escape. Obviously a mistake was made during construction. They framed a window into this basement wall.  Apparently it was unwanted, so they filled it with concrete. From the inside this is a long, basement wall.  You wouldn't know a window was ever there! I'm not...
09/28/2012
New construction, pre-drywall inspections can be interesting.  This is the only time the house can be seen in a skeletal state.  But sometimes I see things that I don't understand, and when I'm baffled, I'm baffled. This is the laundry room.   It is on the third level. I know, the drip pans are m...
09/27/2012
When you are talking about high-efficiency furnaces, as you know, these things are exhausting combusted air when in operation. And when you are talking about weird furnace vent installations, and when dealing with new construction, I see things that bother me and these things are exhausting. This...
09/26/2012
I am sometimes asked to sign something before a new construction inspection in which the builder says they will only fix code violations.  Really? So let's look at a couple of things on a recent new construction final inspection.  This is the final "reveal," when the builder is "showing off" the ...
09/25/2012
"Modern 'public health' initiatives have moved well beyond what could reasonably be classified as public goods. Today government undertakes all sorts of policies in the name of public health that are aimed at regulating personal behavior." Radley BalkoLibertarian Journalist When the world "public...
09/24/2012
If I bought a house in just the right neighborhood with just the right lot, and razed the house to built a new custom home on the spot, this would bug me every day when I got home. Returning home every day you could not avoid seeing both of these things. The photo on the left is the house number....
09/23/2012
This is a brand new condo in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the area - Alexandria VA.  My client is a single woman, in her 60s, from the Middle East.  She works where I was born (George Washington University) and speaks English like a native. One thing she was interested in was the electric p...
09/22/2012
You have to take in the whole picture to see what's going on here, but to me it's one way or the other, but not both! Go ahead.  Take your time.  Look at the whole picture. This is the corner of a kitchen seen during a pre-drywall inspection. Keep in mind, the buyer and her parents and the superv...
09/21/2012
As we go through life, certainly, sooner or later we will all step in it. BUT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT IN OUR KITCHEN! On a recent pre-drywall inspection I noticed something, looked to see why, and then explained it to my client. She had been through the house many times, even with h...
09/20/2012
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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.