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predyrwall inspections: Revealed - 05/27/12 04:02 AM
In the past week we have had a lot of rain around here.
For some time I have had a pre-drywall inspection scheduled. The clients called to ask if we might want to reschedule it due to the rain.
Of course I said no, things are often revealed by the rains that we might not otherwise notice.
This is a very nice house, with very nice window wells, with their own very nice drainage, all connected to buried drain tile, bringing water from around the house to a very nice sump pump in the furnace room.
While not hooked up yet, … (68 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Best Practices - Shower Stall Waterproofing - 10/16/11 06:11 AM
On pre-drywall inspections it isn't often that you see best practices - shower stall waterproofing.
Shower stalls are one area where so many installation mistakes are made, or the wrong products used, you just know it is a problem waiting to happen. When it comes time to have to repair those problems, it is difficult, costly and you are without a shower for a long time!
This shower is a two-person stall beside a large master bath tub.
There will be a glass surround for the shower.
On the walls and around the bath tub, I was told, will be ceramic … (25 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Best Practice - Window And Door Insulation - 10/12/11 05:23 AM
How often have we complained about cold air near and around windows and doors? It could be that upon installation, the Best Practice - window and door insulation was not employed.
On a new construction, pre-drywall inspection I ran across something that I really like to see. Proper insulation around the windows and doors!
This is how insulation around windows and doors has been done for a long time.
If properly done, it is, in a word, OK.
However, there is a trick to it.
Fiberglass insulation is intended to provide a thermal barrier by trapping air.
If it is crammed … (19 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Before The Drywall Goes Up, Things MUST Be Dry! - 09/26/11 04:58 AM
On a recent pre-drywall inspection, which usually happens a day or two before the insulation and drywall are installed, I noticed a section of the house that was very wet. And, before the drywall goes up, things MUST be dry!
This is behind a gas fireplace, with a very large cavity above where a TV would be installed on the wall, with two large shelving units beside.
The cavity is only about 15" deep, but it will be entirely enclosed, not accessible from the back side.
I wondered where this water was coming from. The roof was supposed to have been … (43 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Vent Tape - 04/22/11 07:11 AM
When HVAC duct insulation breaks, or you are trying to tape together two pieces to create one nice long tube you can use in new construction ***, it is best practice to use Vent Tape.
Yes, Vent Tape is the perfect product for such an application. It is MADE to tape vents together.
Be sure you use the right thing for the right job, and you will never go wrong!
This was the first time I have seen Vent Tape used, and...
Oh, wait a minute.
Now that I read it closely it isn't Vent Tape at all.
It's Venture … (18 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: I Have Never Seen This Before - 04/18/11 07:59 AM
I do a lot of pre-drywall inspections on new construction. They are fun to do, not only from an inspector's point of view, but I learn a lot about the "new waves" in the construction industry.
Here may be a new wave and I have never seen this before.
You are looking at the future hall bathroom of a townhouse that you have visited before! What is new?
Well, aside from the drywall screws holding the tub into place, there is something else.
That is the back side of the electric panel box and two receptacle boxes on the wall - … (32 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: You Can't See What You Can't See! Get A Pre-drywall Inspection! - 04/17/11 06:48 AM
Should you get a pre-drywall inspection on new construction?
YOU CAN'T SEE WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE! GET A PRE-DRYWALL INSPECTION!
The drywall was to go up that afternoon. At the last minute someone found MY ACTIVERAIN BLOGS on pre-drywall inspections. After reading some she was convinced she should get one.
Smart girl!
One teensy thing found was that a hole was cut to run a flexible HVAC duct and put a register in the master bedroom above.
The problem was, running it to this side would have put the register right in front of the sliding glass door to a third-level … (79 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: You Have To Think Ahead - 10/11/10 07:13 AM
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 years later, no stick-o! It has always bothered me. This might seem like a small thing, but really it is not.
Here is what I saw on a pre-drywall inspection this week.
This is a kitchen floor too. … (30 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: So, What Can You Do Now? - 10/09/10 06:14 AM
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 the foundation walls had only five windows put into the foundation. The plans called for six. Not only six, but, looking at the plans, they were symmetrically arranged around the house, two on each side and rear, and spaced equally apart.
I didn't know about this five or six window … (16 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Good Builder (rub the head), Good Builder - 10/08/10 06:42 AM
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 example, this is how I usually find stair cases.
What's wrong here? No hand rail!
Should there be a hand rail there since it isn't finished?
In my opinion, yes.
This is how I find most stair cases.
Often, also, I see 2x4s laying around with nails in them, other trip hazards, general … (45 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Pre-drywall Inspection With A Problem - 10/03/10 07:34 AM
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 only time to see the house while skeletal. I am particularly interested in transference of loads, making sure that things are evenly distributed and that load-bearing structures rest on a proper platform or the steel beam intended. Of course, there is a lot more to look at than that. And I do!
… (31 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Pay Close Attention To The Firewall (this is not about your computer...) - 09/10/10 07:00 AM
Firewalls are important in many ways. But one of the most important is in your home. When fires start the heat expands and can spread rapidly as it finds small openings to shoot through. Openings can also feed a fire with more and more oxygen.
In new construction most jurisdictional authorities are VERY interested in fire blocking. Even the smallest openings, like 1/2" holes between floors through which a single electric cable can pass, is sealed either with a special caulking or fibrous material. Larger openings are sealed with sheet metal, like under a bath tub.
On pre-drywall inspections I am … (15 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Bend Me, Shape Me, Anyway You Want Me... - 08/18/10 06:08 AM
While at a pre-drywall inspection, bouncing on a floor, I decided to check out other things. Why not? I'm there anyway, and one glaring problem almost always indicates that others will be lurking around. And there were!
I tried to get a photo that actually demonstrates everything going on, but while this may be the best one it does not show the extent of what is happening.
When the large master bath tub was set in place and a hole cut into the sub floor to run the drain line, they discovered that the floor I-beam was right in the way.
… (20 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: This Pre-drywall Inspection Was A Pleasure - 08/11/10 06:30 AM
It isn't often that I walk through a new home on a pre-drywall inspection that there is nothing to report! This is quite the contrast to structural concerns like my post yesterday.
It was very impressive. I am not one who "has to find something" for the report to "justify" my fee. When it's good, it's good! And I say so.
This supervisor had been through the house with his orange paint. This photo is representative of what he noted. It indicates a truss connection that is about 1/4" too low. This would cause a bulge downward in the ceiling … (32 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: Every Little Place Should Be Insulated Space - 03/08/10 04:52 AM
Insulation, to be effective, has to cover every square inch of exterior-to-interior space.
Heat seeks cold. And insulation traps air. If insulation is not trapping air in a space where heat can move toward cold, it will do just that.
On pre-drywall inspections, which are best done AFTER the insulation has been installed, I always look at how the carefully the insulation has been applied. Behind the bath tubs, does it extend all the way to the floor? Under fireplaces and bay windows, does it completely fill the cavity and does the paper backing touch the sub floor above? Are exterior … (9 comments)
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predyrwall inspections: What I'm Seeing Now (3) - New Home Inspection, 1 of 6 - 10/22/08 04:25 AM
In Northern Virginia there is still a lot of new home construction. New homes are a great source of business for me. People often ask me if this or that is a good builder. My answer is: it depends on the supervisor who is on site every day, and on the quality of the subcontractors. All the builders have good specifications for their homes and want to put out a good product. It is the crew on site that makes that happen. And if the subs were picked up in a parking lot somewhere ("We need plumbers today - are you … (6 comments)
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Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector
Bristow,
VA
More about me…
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC
Address: 12315 Sherborne Street, Bristow, VA, 20136
Office Phone: (703) 330-6388
Cell Phone: (703) 585-7560
Email Me
An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.
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