home improvements: Finishing A Basement Bedroom - Finally Getting A Round Tuit - 04/04/16 08:22 PM
Finishing a basement bedroom - finally getting a round tuit.
You have heard of the old round tuit.
"I will do (this or that) when I get a round tuit."
The fabled round tuit.
Apparently I found it!  When we built our house 18 years ago we had the builder put a window and HVAC in the basement.   That would enable me to convert this part of the basement into a bona fide bedroom.  It will be our fifth bedroom, so certainly that adds value to the house.
There would be three means of fire egress, one of them being a window large enough to meet … (9 comments)

home improvements: Do You Know How To Pick A Door Lock? Um, I Mean, Choose...? - 01/14/15 08:19 PM
Do you know how to pick a door lock?  Um, I mean, choose...?
Door locks are essential.  Too bad, but that's the way it is.  And you get what you pay for.
WHEN YOU CHOOSE A DOOR LOCK, DON'T GO CHEAP!
How do you know what to choose?  Go to the hardware store and look around.  There is a lot to choose from!  Some look very regular, some have great design.  But a lock is a lock, right?
Wrong.  Locks are rated!  They are rated by ANSI-BHMA.  There, I said it.  Who?
ANSI - the American National Standards Institute - is … (23 comments)

home improvements: Permits? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Permits! - 09/21/11 10:39 PM
Things have gotten to the point where I can walk into a basement and almost smell if there's no permit pulled when they finished it.  It's like the basement is saying, "Permits?  We don't need no stinkin' permits!"
BUT YOU DO!  A PERMIT SHOULD ALWAYS BE PULLED!
If for no other reason to make sure you don't do something that makes it impossible to do future repairs!
Backing up the wagon now.  Case in point.
This is a finished bathroom.  They used the roughed-in plumbing left by the builder.  Fine and dandy.
The plumbing hardware is all along an interior wall.  … (114 comments)

home improvements: "The Attic Is Properly Prepared For Storage." It's The Latest Thing! - 06/23/11 10:18 PM
Lists featuring what has been done to a house can be a good marketing tool.  But sometimes things that get advertised can get a home inspector very excited!
The list on this house included, "The Attic Is Properly Prepared For Storage."  A whole lot has to happen for that to be true.  I seldom see it.  Attics usually don't make very good storage spaces!
I got the story though when the listing agent stopped by to "answer any questions." 
It seems the "local DIY expert," her words, has been "wonderful," her word, about showing the homeowners in the neighborhood how to … (54 comments)

home improvements: Projects Around The House - Caulking - 12/03/10 10:36 PM
Homeowners can improve their homes in any of a million ways.  When doing so, they should always consider a few things.  Following this list of common sense steps can help make any project a proud project.
REMEMBER, WHEN DONE WITH ANY HOME-IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, THE HOUSE SHOULD LOOK LIKE IT WAS ALWAYS THAT WAY!  IT SHOULD BE THAT HARD TO TELL.
1.  Decide what project you want to do or what part of the house you want to improve.
2.  Do research!  Learn proper techniques, which materials will get the final result you want.  When caulking, you only want to put the … (86 comments)

home improvements: Agents, Don't Let This Happen To Your Sellers... - 12/01/10 10:46 PM
The seller is an elderly widow, and wants to move south to be nearer to children and grandchildren.  She has been living in her home for 47 years.  She has been single for 4 years, during which time maintenance slipped a bit on her house. 
To prepare it for sale she had recommendations from various "real estate consultants," and many new things were added to the house.  There were many "improvements."  And many associated problems therewith.  The words unscrupulous contractors come to mind.

One such improvement was to add air conditioning to a house that previously was heated only with … (52 comments)

home improvements: This Was VERY Disappointing To See - 01/31/10 03:28 AM
I was called and asked to do an inspection on a house being sold by an individual who is a practicing Licensed Architect and Class A Licensed Contractor.  His company advertises "Design and Build."  I was also told the house was quite remodeled and gorgeous.
This could not have been a more disappointing inspection, given the build up.
This is representative of the kinds of things I found during the inspection.  My report was three times longer than the normal report, for having to write about all the improper and/or dangerous things I discovered while there.
Inspectors will notice about seven … (19 comments)

home improvements: Magically Invisible Duct Work - 10/18/09 01:08 PM
There are ways to do things that are less noticeable.
For example, Monticello has air conditioning.  It was not put in by Mr. Jefferson, obviously, but some time later.  It is composed of very small duct work, and small holes, about 3" in diameter, in the corners of ceilings which are hardly there.  It is a very good job!
Then, there are the other kinds of installations which leave much to be desired.
The other day I did an inspection on a 100 year old farmhouse.  In its day, it was a lovely place.  Years of deferred maintenance have created many … (9 comments)

home improvements: Hide and Seek Water Heater - 10/10/09 10:07 AM
The water heater was no where to be found. 
There was this fine laundry room, beside the fine "bathroom" (door to the right).  That bath could be a story in itself, but I digress.
The laundry room was special in its own right.  You can see the water connection on the wall.  And there was no drain, so I assumed that the washer drained into that special floor drain in the foreground.  That is packaging tape over it now - keeps the snakes out.
I don't know where that floor drain goes.  Perhaps to the creek behind the house.
The … (6 comments)

home improvements: Jay's Floor 7 - Homecoming - 07/13/09 08:34 PM
It's been a while since my last post.  Not that I didn't want to post, but time is time is time.  And, since it stays light late, there isn't much of it these days...  People expect me to be able to work as late as the light.  So it goes.
The grand homecoming was grand.  But the floor wasn't quite finished.
There was about 4' left to go.
I wanted to finish.  But, as I said, time is time is time.
On top of my little available time, and in the middle of this project, my neighborhood HOA dinged me to … (4 comments)

home improvements: Jay's Floor 6 - How Dry I Am - 07/01/09 09:42 PM

 
This is typical of one of those problems that crop up during floor installations.  It it at the edge of the entry where the original hall flooring and our new flooring meet the bottom of the stair case. 
It could have been harder.  I might have had to notch out a spot for that trim piece.
This one is straightforward, with a little wrinkle.  You can see that the tongue on the new piece still needs to go into the groove of the original flooring, but also accommodate a small 1/8" bump out of the stair piece, and then … (6 comments)

home improvements: Jay's Floor 5 - Aw, Cut It Out! - 06/27/09 11:34 PM

 
 
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, I noticed a hole in the floor! I think it was supposed to be there.
There was cold air blowing out of it.  Yepper, supposed to be there!

Actually, in this project, there will be … (10 comments)

home improvements: Jay's Floor 4 - Feelin' Groovey... - 06/25/09 10:55 AM

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.  You can borrow Pythagoras's glasses if you need a close up.
That thing sticking out is the tongue.  Now look at the flooring.
One side will have a groove.
One side will have a tongue.
The next thing you need to do is figure out … (6 comments)

home improvements: Jay's Floor 3 - I'm A Real Square - 06/22/09 01:22 PM

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 importantly, when I get to the far wall of the dining room the last piece of flooring will have to be ripped at an odd angle to fit.  That will not look good.  If the quarter round at the bottom of the floor molding is … (5 comments)

home improvements: A Floor By Any Other Name - 06/16/09 12:27 PM
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 while they are away. It is the best time to do them. My deadline is pretty specific. I have to get done before they come back. Why? Because my wife has no idea how torn up the house gets while I work. It … (16 comments)

 
Jay Markanich, Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia (Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC)

Jay Markanich

Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Bristow, VA

More about me…

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Address: Bristow VA 20136

Office: (703) 330-6388

Mobile: (703) 585-7560

An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.


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