Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders

Perfect Construction?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:08:31 -0500

Is there such a thing? To a reasonable, well informed person there are no "perfectly constructed" homes. To the unreasonable, misinformed person, the term causes a big headache in our industry.

Let's elaborate on the term "reasonable". Is it reasonable in a newly constructed home to expect there to be no drywall cracks throughout the walls? Yes. To expect that the doors don't hit the frame when closing? Indeed. To expect that the wood flooring isn't missing boards? Absolutely.

Now, is it unreasonable to expect the garage floor slab to not have any hairline cracks? Yes. To expect that there won't be a 1/16 inch gap between the baseboard and drywall? Indeed. To expect that there won't be any wood putty filling the nail holes in the trim? Absolutely.

Of course, there are many, many different styles of homes with different materials used by different trade contractors. However, the expectation of workmanship should stay consistent across the field.

New home construction is one of the last, truly man made products. For this reason, we should, and I must say most people do, expect that there is a certain margin of error in construction or what we consider "tolerances".

What I ask of agents is to study up on these tolerances so that you can set a proper expectation for your clients when purchasing a newly constructed home. Would I expect you to read it front to back and memorize every acceptable tolerance? Of course not. However, speaking from experience, there are still people out there expecting perfection in construction and a preliminary discussion prior to the "walk through" can help to produce a more seamless transaction for all parties involved.

A great resource for this information is the "Residential Construction Performance Guidelines" written by the NAHB Remodelors Councel and Business Management.

Recent blog posts:

This is amazing!

The famous 2am leaking toilet

Builders need a third party presence

Kidde recall dual sensor smoke alarms; can fail to warn of fire

Paper, paper and more paper!

Should a builder warranty be required by law?

"That builder is terrible!"

Going green means spending green

Use and maintenance guidelines for homeowners

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders

This is amazing!

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:34:34 -0500

I'm sure a good 90% or more of us here at AR have lost files on their computer due to a hard drive crash or by accident. I recently found a really cool program/online account that will eliminate the fear of losing files again.

Everyone has probably heard of online storage sites. Well, this is an online storage site but it's also a syncing site. Not only are you backing up your files, but your files are synced in real time as well.

This works perfectly for syncing computers within your home or if you have partners/employees that are remotely working from a different office or from home.

Simply set up a folder/multiple folders on your computer to be "synced" and whatever changes happen within that folder (moving, adding, deleting, changing files) are automatically updated on every computer that's synced. All of this happens instantly! It's really an amazing setup.

I tested it out with two laptops side by side that I "synced". I drug a file into my "synced" folder on laptop 1 and it immediately showed up in the "synced" folder on laptop 2. I deleted the file and it immediately disappeared. It works perfectly for my business because I have employees that work in the field and rarely come to the office. We always need to share files and pictures which can be close to impossible through email with large files.

It's called SugarSync. They have free accounts that have 2 gigabytes of storage and it's only $4.99/month for 30 gigabytes of storage. Check it out.

Recent blog posts:

The famous 2am leaking toilet

Builders need a third party presence

Kidde recall dual sensor smoke alarms; can fail to warn of fire

Paper, paper and more paper!

Should a builder warranty be required by law?

"That builder is terrible!"

Going green means spending green

Use and maintenance guidelines for homeowners

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders

The famous 2am leaking toilet

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:05:41 -0500

We've all heard about it. You should purchase a warranty or buy new construction because when "the toilet leaks at 2am on Sunday morning, you'll be covered".

Well, it most definitely happens. Actually, the story goes more like "I got up to get a midnight snack and thought I was still dreaming when it was raining in my kitchen, my hardwood was saturated and when I finally found my builder's number, they didn't answer!"

Emergency warranty situations are not common, however, when they do occur prompt attention is required.

Builders have enough to worry about. They don't need the added stress of wondering how many of their, possibly hundreds, of closed homes are going to spring a leak or lose heat in the dead of winter.

Furthermore, homeowners deserve the peace of mind that if such a situation were to occur, they have a number that they can call 24/7/365 for immediate assistance.

Cascade Builder Services supplies this peace of mind.

Recent blog posts:

Builders need a third party presence

Kidde recall dual sensor smoke alarms; can fail to warn of fire

Paper, paper and more paper!

Should a builder warranty be required by law?

"That builder is terrible!"

Going green means spending green

Use and maintenance guidelines for homeowners

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders

Builders need a third party presence

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:41:13 -0500

Why is it that home builders have to take care of demands and requests that many other manufacturers do not? Generally, most builders try to control the warranty process themsleves after selling, building and delivering the home. Other manufacturers realized long ago that this process is not the best route to take.

When you look at a typical consumer's warranty expectations, it goes something like this:

1. Consumer buys a product, maybe a computer monitor or coffe maker.

2. They find a warranty card in the packaging, fill it out and send it to some third party, not the store it came from or the actual manufacturer.

Now, when that consumer buys something of higher value/cost the warranty is more like a book than a postcard and the book generally is thrown in a file cabinet or bottom kitchen drawer.

As we go into higher and higher priced items, it changes. Take for example automobile manufacturers. They realize the importance and value of 3rd party companies. Consumers accept that an insurance company must be in palce prior to delivery of the car. Although, insurnace can't be purchased from the manufacturer or the dealer, just a 3rd party.

Also, could you imagine if a consumer went to a body shop to have a ligitimate, covered repair done and requested to have countless other touch ups to be done as well. It happens all the time with builders. The builder goes back to correct a drywall crack and ends up spending hours and a bucket of paint on non-warrantable items.

Since a home is so expensive, generally the biggest investment of ones life, demands are high and expectations are higher. This is why a 3rd party presence is so crucial to builders.

Homeowners are increasingly hiring private home inspectors and attorneys during their buying process. There is no better time to have an unbiased, third party mitigator between the builder and homeowner. There is no need for builders to take unnecessary risk by attempting to perform warranty service in-house.

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders

Kidde Recalls Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms; Can Fail to Warn of a Fire

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:07:58 -0500

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Kidde Model PI2000 Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms

Units: About 94,000

Manufacturer: Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc., of Mebane, N.C.

Hazard: An electrostatic discharge can damage the unit, causing it not to warn consumers of a fire.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received two reported incidents of smoke alarm malfunctions involving electrostatic discharge during installation. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Kidde dual sensor smoke alarms model PI2000. The alarms can be identified by two buttons, “HUSH” and “PUSH AND HOLD TO TEST WEEKLY,” which are located on the front/center of the alarm. The model number and date code are on the back of the smoke alarm. Only date codes 2008 Aug.01 through 2009 May 04 are included in this recall.

Sold at: Retail, department, and hardware stores and through electrical distributors nationwide from August 2008 through May 2009 for between $30 and $40.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should contact Kidde immediately to receive a free replacement smoke alarm.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Kidde toll-free at (877) 524-2086 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.kidde.com

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders.

Paper, paper and more paper!

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:12:21 -0500

I worked for a third party warranty management company for many years before I started Cascade Builder Services. Here was their process:

1. Homeowners would mail or fax in their warranty request forms on paper.

2. We would take that paper to the warranty inspection and write notes on it and take it back to an office administrator for data entry into our system.

3. The office administrator would then create a work order on, yep, paper and fax it over to the appropriate trade contractor for completion and send out a warranty determiniation form to the homeowner on, you guessed it, paper.

4. Once the work was complete, we would print an updated report on paper and send it to the appropriate parties.

That doesn't even include the New Home Orientation paperwork and countless, needless other paperwork they used.

We've eliminated 99% of all this paper use. Our homeowners submit and track warranty claims through our website, trade contractors are updated through our trade network and our New Home Orientations are conducted with tablet PCs, all digital.

What have you done to "go green"?

Seattle Tacoma Third Party New Construction Warranty Management for Home Builders

Should a builder warranty be required by law?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:22:47 -0500

As some of you may know, the House of Representatives passed the new home warranty bill, HB 1393, a couple months ago. This bill was aiming to require all builders in Washington State to back their homes with a new home warranty. It didn’t end up being passed through the Senate but came pretty close.

I’m sure we will see another similar bill being pushed in the near future. Should a builder warranty be required by law?

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management for Home Builders

"That Builder Is Terrible!"

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:17:11 -0500

Who hasn't heard someone say that about a builder because "my cousin's friend told me that their home had black mold" or something to that effect?

Generally, when someone makes such a statement, it's related to a homeowner that either:

1. Didn't properly maintain their home and let small, easily fixed problems get out of hand

2. Didn't understand how to make a warranty claim or how to contact their builder

3. Had a builder that was slow to respond to warranty claims

I've known many builders that build a fantastic home with attention to every last detail and had their buying process as smooth as silk but didn't follow through with the proper customer service post closing. This follow up failure can tarnish a builders reputation very quickly resulting in fewer referrals.

We've implemented two innovative technologies to help builders seamlessly maintain a high level of customer satisfaction post closing.

1. Homeowner Homepage-Every homeowner gets a personal, secure, online account to easily submit and track warranty requests in real-time 24/7/365. No more wondering who's assigned to what request and when it will be complete.

2. Online Trade Network-Every builder's trade contractors have an online account with real-time access to their work orders. The trades receive their work orders instantly and update our company instantly resulting in efficient, effective communication. No more hearing "well, we didn't get that fax, can you send it again".

These unrivaled features combined with our 24-hour emergency hotline ultimately result in happy homeowners and more referrals.

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management for Home Builders

Going Green Means Spending Green

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:36:40 -0500

The Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) needs changing…..says Governor Gregoire. Gregoire created the Climate Advisory Team (CAT) in February of 2007 and they went on to create a report in 2008 recommending to “revise the Washington State Energy Code to achieve a 30 percent reduction in new building energy use”. In addition, the report recommends “substantial efficiency advances in the code as it applies to remodeling, retrofit and equipment replacements”. Continue reading this post...

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management for Home Builders

Use and Maintenance Guidelines for Homeowners

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:52:30 -0500

Builders takes great pride in the homes they build and the communities they create. It is their ultimate goal to create long term, lasting value. The homeowner has the exclusive opportunity after possession to understand and provide the appropriate maintenance for the new home. Occasional maintenance will be needed because of normal wear and tear, as maintenance products reach the end of there useful life, and as our environment interacts with our homes. Continue reading this post...

Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management for Home Builders

Washington State Real Estate -- Realtor Referrals, Business Relationships and Home Inspectors

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:43:30 -0600

I'm predicting that the new Washington state law regarding agent/inspector referrals is going to be misinterpreted by many. Therefore, I'd like to give Steven Smith's, very descriptive, blog some more exposure to help clarify the meaning.

Via Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector (King of the House Home Inspection):

Changes are taking place in Washington State real estate. These changes impact home inspectors, realtors, brokers and their firms. I am, specifically, speaking of the new section of the WAC that says brokers must set an office policy for home inspector referrals. Today's article is based on information that has been provided to me by the Washington State Department of Licensing and interested real estate related businesses. I am not smart enough to come up with these interpretations and guidelines. Therefore, I am writing this as pure journalism, not as an opinion piece. It is my goal to cite information that can be substantiated and was gleaned from reliable or official sources.
Deciphering legal language can be a big job. This task is easier for attorneys than it is for the general public. The Attorney General's office and the Department of Licensing have staff that not only enforce the law but also help the public understand the rules. Being on the home inspector licensing advisory board, I have been contacted by inspectors and realtors who have asked me if I can explain the new language in the real estate law. This law went into effect the end of January and people want to know the practical impact of the law. Due to the interest, among inspectors and realtors, I have tracked down and compiled applicable information. First, read the new section in the WAC.

WAC 308-124C-050 - Home inspector referrals. (new section)

"Each licensed designated broker will establish a written office policy that includes a procedure for referring home inspectors to buyers or sellers. The policy will address the consumer's right to freely pick a home inspector of the buyer's or seller's choice and prevent any collusion between the home inspector and a real estate licensee.

If a licensee refers a home inspector to a buyer or seller with whom they have or have had a relationship including, but not limited to, a business or familial relationship, then full disclosure of the relations must be provided in writing prior to the buyer or seller using the services of the home inspector."

The goal is to force disclosure if there are conflicts of interest. So, what might consitute a conflict of interest? What is a business relationship that would require disclosure? Will this language stop realtors from referring inspectors who realtors believe do a good job for clients?

DOL, real estate division, has said that is not the intent -- "The fact that an agent has referred the inspector in the past, or has included the inspector on a list of recommended inspectors, DOES NOT constitute a "business relationship" requiring disclosure." The interpretation, from which that was taken, is below. It is edited slightly, but it is information that was provided by DOL.

"Business relationship" means an agent has done business with the inspector previously. That business might have been unrelated to inspection services. For example, an agent might have personally hired an inspector to perform an inspection at a property; the agent might have been involved in buying or selling property to, or for, the inspector; the agent and the inspector might have had some other, unrelated to inspection or real estate, business dealings. The fact that an agent has referred the inspector in the past, or has included the inspector on a list of recommended inspectors, DOES NOT constitute a "business relationship" requiring disclosure.

DOL gave more examples of relationships that would require disclosure (1) real estate firms, or agents, who refer clients to a preferred list -- where inspectors "pay" to be included on the list. That is different than a realtor giving out a name, or a list of names of inspectors, who are chosen for their ability, not by their having paid a fee; (2) Easy to fathom examples requiring disclosure would be family relationships -- the real estate agent who has a brother, a sister, a husband or a wife who is a home inspector.

As real estate companies formulate policies, in response to the WAC, some interesting scenarios can be created. I am aware of a reported instance where a broker's policy, formulated to meet requirements of the WAC, has led to a number of questions and complications. The policy, as was described to me, includes requiring that agents refer from a preferred vendor list. Again, as stated above, DOL says that when agents refer inspectors off of a preferred vendor's list -- known in the industry as "pay to play" -- that act in itself creates more, and not fewer, disclosure requirements. As it stands now, with the new section of the WAC in force, DOL staff has told me that real estate agents who are referring names off paid vendor lists must disclose that fact --that the inspectors paid to be on the list -- to their clients. Those paid inspector "vendors" are the business relationship! A paid vendor list does not distance a realtor from the inspector. The opposite happens. The money, paid out by the inspector to be on the list, makes the parties more related (requiring disclosure) than is the case when an agent gives out the names of a few good inspectors (not requiring disclosure) who do not pay fees for referrals.

There is another eventual outcome here. When the home inspector licensing standards of practice and ethics take effect, September is the scheduled date, any broker policy that requires referring inspectors from a paid vendor list will be a dead issue. The home inspection standards of practice and ethics, drafted by the home inspector licensing advisory board, slams the door on inspectors participating in paid or preferred vendor lists. It states that home inspectors may not participate in paid vendor lists. Period.

I will be writing another blog, with more information on preferred lists, in the future. This is my attempt to simplify this new WAC. Anyone wishing specific information should contact the real estate division at the department of licensing.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

Tacoma Home Inspector: Wordless Wednesday

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:58:59 -0600

Is there beauty in stress?

Tacoma Home Inspector

Tacoma Home Inspector: Do you have a niche?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:22:39 -0600

I generally write blogs on inspection related topics. However, I also run another business that I'd like to introduce, Cascade Builder Services. You may have never heard of this type business. As far as I know, there is only one, maybe two, businesses in Washington state that provide the same service. What service is that you ask? Third-party warranty management for builders.

How many times have you heard someone complain about their builder ignoring, not following through with fixing warranty claims? It happens often and negatively affects the builder's reputation. We solve this and many more problems by giving homeowners many benefits:

We provide a 3^rd party perspective giving the homeowner a sense of fairness and reason

Innovative procedures and technology in the field of warranty management

We provide homeowners with a sense of trust that their builder is motivated to respond to warranty needs

The builder's budget for warranty administration is specifically defined

24-hour hotline for emergency calls

Homebuyer's experience is enhanced resulting in more referrals

Single source of contact for trades and homeowners reduces confusion

Frivolous warranty claims are reduced

We educate homeowners about warranty vs. maintenance

We clearly and precisely explain the warranty process to homeowners

We also provide homeowners with 24/7/365 access to their current/past warranty claims through a personal online account. Homeowners will never be “in the dark” again about the status of their warranty claims. Furthermore, it’s virtually unheard of in our area giving builders the opportunity to aggressively market this beneficial, unique feature setting them apart from their competition resulting in more home sales.

Tacoma Home Inspector

Tacoma Home Inspector: Did you even look?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:36:42 -0600

A very common problem I find in my area of the rainy state is excessive moisture in the crawl space. More specifically, standing water. Standing water can lead to problems from the "M" word to structural damage caused by wood destroying organisms. The usual suspect is a negative grade towards the home that simply allows runoff to accumulate in the crawl space. Given the scenario, one could either re-grade or install a sump system.

I recently inspected a home that indeed had a sump system installed, which wasn't working.

Like a thourough inspector should, I proceeded to investigate where the water was coming from and followed the wet vapor barrier to a corner of the foundation wall that was wet and showed signs of an active moisture intrusion. Well, what did I find directly above the the wet area? A leaking P.R.V. from the hot water tank. Apparently, whoever noticed the accumulation of water in the crawl space installed a sump system without verifying the source of the problem.

Tacoma Home Inspector

Tacoma Home Inspector: Is that a code violation?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:41:56 -0600

As you've probably read countless times on various inspector's blogs, we don't inspect for code violations. My clients consistently ask if I'm going to find code violations in their future home. While I know many of the codes in the counties that I inspect in and have many code books and resources, the answer is no. The follow up question is usually, "then what are you looking for". Quite simply, older homes are not required to meet the current codes. The most important knowledge to be gained from an inspection, in my opinion, are:

1. Safety hazards. The home may have code violations but the question remains "is it safe?".

2. Situations that will cost a significant amount of money to repair. The home may meet all code requirements but the question remains "is this a money pit?".

"Be sure to check out my other blog entries. You can get your 10 daily comments in right here, right now! Simply scroll through the blog entries in the widget just under my picture at the upper right."

Tacoma Home Inspector

Nobody wants a "nit-picky" home inspection.....right?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:49:02 -0500

I've been writing a series of blogs about how to take care of all those seemingly minor items that always seem to pop up on inspection reports. They've been spread out over the last couple months so I wanted to re-cap them here:

Tip #1-Vegetation

Tip #2-Light Bulbs

Tip #3-Caulk and Grout

Tip #4-Smoke Alarms

Tip #5-Cellulose Debris

Tip #6-Wallplates

What's the price of a typical home inspection? How about FREE!

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:34:32 -0500

When I first ventured into this profession, I did a lot of research on my competition and what I found surprised me. For one, I didn't find any inspectors that offered different inspection choices. I'm not talking about ancillary services like septic, radon and mold. I'm talking about different types of the home inspection itself.

Also, I found that most inspectors don't offer many benefits to their potential clients like a free warranty, referral rewards, voice mail discount or live chat for immediate customer service. Without further ado, enjoy a free inspection if you can find a local inspector (Western Washington) that rewards their clients with ALL of these benefits:

Choices!

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Referral Rewards Program

VidTip

FREE 90 Day Warranty

FREE Pest Inspection

FREE Online Account with secure access to view reports 24/7

Professional, Digital Inspection Report

Live Chat

Certified, Licensed, Insured and Bonded

Open 7 days a week!

Competitive Pricing

Voicemail Discount

For more details: www.takethischallenge.com

How do you pick?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:19:03 -0500

I've met many real estate agents that like to refer their favorite home inspector because they know exactly what he's going to say and that he's easy to contact, his delivery on what he finds (not an alarmist), what his report will look like, what kind of customer service skills he has, how his report is delivered, what benefits he offers your client, etc.

How do you pick a home inspector?

Avoid getting a "nit-picky" inspection report. Tip #6

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:16:03 -0500

According to Home Depot's website, you can purchase a wallplate for a receptacle or light switch for $0.22. Very often, I find myself writing inspection reports with multiple receptacles and light switches missing wallplates. I don't think anyone can argue that an uncovered receptacle is safe. VERY easy to install, VERY cheap to purchase, a VERY good investment to ensure safety and another VERY easy way to avoid a "nit-picky" inspection item!

Avoid getting a "nit-picky" inspection report. Tip #5

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:59:16 -0500

As mentioned in some of my other tips, conducive conditions for wood destroying organisms (carpenter ants, termites, some beetles and wood rot) are not only a requirement in WA state for inspectors to report on but most conditions are very easy to maintain. Take a quick peak in the crawl space and around the house near the foundation. Do you see any cellulose debris (any wood or wood byproduct like cardboard)? Whether it's small pieces of 2x4 left over from construction, firewood up against the siding or pieces of cardboard, they all can attract wood destroying organisms. Follow this very simple tip and avoid another "nit-picky" item on the inspection report!

Do you have a "one size fits all" home inspector?

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:47:01 -0500

What sets the inspector you use apart from the rest? I've heard the term "a dime a dozen" used for home inspectors many times and a lot of the time it's true! You'll call him and ask his price, he tells you and that's it! That's where I come in. Not only do my clients get a reasonable price, they get many valuable benefits as well. First and foremost, I offer many different inspection types because I understand that inspections are very far from "one size fits all". Read through this list of features that I offer and if you can find a home inspector that offers every one at a lower price, I'll give you 50% off of an inspection!

Choices! Click here

100% Satisfaction Gaurantee! Click here

Referral Rewards Program! Click here

VidTip Click here (video newsletter to keep you informed of home maintenance tips, repair, and general info)

FREE 90 Day Warranty

FREE Pest Inspection (with at least STANDARD inspection)

FREE Online Account with secure access to inspection reports 24/7 Click here

Detailed, easy to read, narrative report with customized, color pictures generated with the industry leading HomeGauge software.

Certified, Licensed, Insured and Bonded

Open 7 days a week

Competitive Pricing Click here

Voicemail Discount Click here

"Be sure to check out my other blog entries. You can get your 10 daily comments in right here, right now! Simply scroll through the blog entries in the widget just under my picture at the upper right."

Tacoma Home Inspector

Woo Hoo! Just passed 10,000 points!

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:14:24 -0500

The title says it all!! I've just recently found the world of blogging and am very proud to have found ActiveRain as my first venture. Thanks for everyone who has read and commented on my posts! I'll do do my best to keep the helpful info coming!

Avoid getting a "nit-picky" inspection report. Tip #4

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:37:22 -0500

My client's safety is my number one priority when I'm inspecting a house. If I come across a smoke/carbon monoxide detector that doesn't work, you guessed it, it goes on the report. Every room in the house should have an operational smoke/carbon monoxide detector installed. One very simple reason that they might not work is the battery. An easy way to remember this task is to change the batteries when you change your clocks every six months. Some fire departments will actually give you batteries for free! So, follow this quick and crucial tip before an inspection to avoid another "nit-picky" item on the report.

"Be sure to check out my other blog entries. You can get your 10 daily comments in right here, right now! Simply scroll through the blog entries in the widget just under my picture at the upper right."

Certified Tacoma Home Inspector

Avoid getting a "nit-picky" inspection report. Tip #3

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:14:42 -0500

Caulk and grout will fail 100% of the time. With exposure to moisture, expansion/contraction and normal wear and tear, caulk and grout will crack, peel and split. Just like vegetation in contact with your home, failed caulk and grout are conducive conditions for wood destroying organisms. Ignoring an issue like this can cause significant and expensive damage to your home. However, it is very easily repaired. Take a couple hours caulking around sinks, tubs, toilets, backsplashes and windows (don't forget the caulk around windows, trim and joints on the exterior) and re-grout as needed before the home inspection and you can easliy avoid another "nit-picky" item on the report. Grab a couple of these and make the job even easier!

"Be sure to check out my other blog entries. You can get your 10 daily comments in right here, right now! Simply scroll through the blog entries in the widget just under my picture at the upper right."

Certified Tacoma Home Inspector

Avoid getting a "nit-picky" inspection report. Tip #2

New Construction Warranty Management - Kevin Pierce (Cascade Builder Services) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:57:39 -0500

Almost every inspection that I've done, I've come across light fixtures that don't work. Regardless of the actual problem, I write these fixtures in the report as "inoperable" and that further investigation is required. Some inspectors have long narrative scripts that could include possible wiring problems and possibly needing to have an electrician come and investigate. This type of alarming item on an inspection report is very easy to avoid in most cases. My experience has shown that more often than not, a light bulb needs to be replaced. Follow this simple, very inexpensive tip of checking light fixtures and replacing bulbs as needed before the inspector shows up.

"Be sure to check out my other blog entries. You can get your 10 daily comments in right here, right now! Simply scroll through the blog entries in the widget just under my picture at the upper right."

Certified Tacoma Home Inspector