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How to Keep Your Swimming Pool Hazard Free

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:49:16 -0500

Each year, there are hundreds of swimming pool related injuries and deaths caused from improperly designed or maintained pools and equipment. Here are some guidelines that I hope will help in keeping you and your family safe this summer.

Safety barriers. Designed to keep small children from entering the pool area, safety fences and gates need to be installed to certain specifications. The fencing surrounding the pool access area needs to be at least 48 inches in height, any horizontal members should be on the pool side of the fence, vertical members should not exceed 1-3/4 inches apart and all openings should be small enough so that a 4-inch diameter sphere cannot pass through.

The gates to the barrier needs open out away from the pool and have a self closing and self latching mechanism. If the gate latch mechanism is less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate, then it needs to be installed at the top on the gate on the side facing the pool.

Drain covers. Pool drains can have a very strong suction and there have been cases of drownings and children being disemboweled from being caught in the pool's drain. The suction of the drain can be powerful enough to have hair caught in the drain and have backs and stomachs held down when covering the drain. There have also been reports of children sitting on the drain and having their intestines pulled out of their rectum. To avoid this, install an anti-vortex drain cover. An anti-vortex drain cover is designed to distribute the intake water in the sides as well as the top to lessen the pressure at any one given area in the cover. It is also dome shaped instead of flat so that a person's back, stomach and buttocks has more difficulty covering the entire drain cover.

Deck and coping. Inspect all walking surfaces around the pool to ensure that there are no sharp edges and protrusions to the decking, coping and plastic decking drain channels that may cause foot and toe injury.

Diving boards and slides. Diving boards and slides are dangerous by nature and are advised against in the first place. If you still want to have these, inspect them regularly to make sure that they do not have cracks in the board and slide surfaces and that the bolts and any hardware are not rusted and deteriorated. Always keep any exposed nuts and bolts painted with a rust inhibitor paint to prevent rust from forming.

Pool light protection. Pool light electrical circuits need to be protected with a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) device. These are the electrical outlets you may have seen in kitchen and bathrooms that have the test and reset button. GFCI protection can also be a breaker in the breaker box that controls the pool light circuit. The GFCI protection is designed to trip the electrical power to the light in case the pool light gets broke or develops a water leak and to avoid an electrical shock. If you know where the GFCI is located, be sure to periodically test the device by pressing the test button to ensure that it is operating correctly and if you can't locate it or do not have one, consult an electrician.

For more detained information on pool safety barriers, go to my website at: http://www.fortworthinspector.com/Pool_safety.html

And for pool drain cover dangers, go to: http://www.fortworthinspector.com/Swimming_Pool_Drain_Dangers.html

Neat Tip for Replacing Electrical Outlets and Switches

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:16:54 -0500

On a home inspection the other day, I ran across this electrical outlet cover that I thought was pretty simple but ingenious.

It is a cover plate with just the hot, neutral and ground cut in it instead of the oval holes that exposes the outlet itself. That way if you are painting a room, remodeling or rehabbing a home and have old dingy and dirty outlets that stand out, you don't have to change them. Just replace the cover and you're done. I wrote an article a while back.....http://ezinearticles.com/?Rehabbing-a-Home-That-Has-Aluminum-Wiring----How-to-Cover-Your-Costs-and-Reduce-Liability&id=2095828 on the high costs of replacing outlets on houses with aluminum wiring and this would be a very cost effective altermantive. I did some research and found a company that sells these as well as covers for wall switches.

Or go to the manufacturer's website at: http://www.taymac.com/

Kent Keith

What goes up....that's right, must come down!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:47:19 -0600

On one of my inspections yesterday, I found this on the roof.

I only saw the round end and dug it out and saw that it was a bullet. (I keep a tube of sealant in my truck and sealed the hole) It amazes me at the ignorance some people have when it comes to shooting guns in the air, as if they think the bullets disintegrate in midair. Or maybe they just don't care. About 10 feet from this area was a backyard equipped with a swing set and other play equipment....scary. Just last November a lady I know, Jill King was injured when a high powered rifle bullet came down through her motor home at the Texas Motor Speedway and severely injured her arm. If she had been standing another six inches in the other direction, it would have shot through her head. I wish people would realize the damage that can be caused from falling bullets, they don't just float down. I could not help but think as I was standing there that if I were to take that bullet and throw it down onto that roof with all my strength, it would not even put a dent in it, this one went in a half an inch! Many people each year are injured and even killed from stray bullets, problem is trying to find people who is responsible.

Home Inspectors Fort Worth Texas

Do You Give Estimates?

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:55:55 -0600

Client: So you say the air conditioning won't turn on. How much will it cost to fix?

Me: I don't know

Client: The shower has very low water flow? How much will it cost to repair that?

Me: I don't know

Client: I noticed that the old wooden windows are in poor condition and most won't open. How much will it cost to upgrade the windows?

Me: I don't know

Client: Why did I hire you?

Me: To inspect the house ma'am

Of all the hundreds of houses I have inspected, I have had clients ask me many times about repair costs and they are understanding when I tell them that I do not give estimates. But today I had a client that thought I was pretty useless because I refused to give her repair costs of some of the defects. In a professional and calm manner, I tried to make her understand that since I don't troubleshoot defective items, and not knowing exactly what is wrong, I would not have any idea what it would cost to repair and I don't keep up with contractor labor rates and material costs. Besides, I would never want to get that phone call from a mad client that got the estimate from the contractor after I gave them a much lower number.

Do any of you give repair estimates to your clients? I keep thinking I have heard of some states that want inspectors to give repair estimate costs.

Kent Keith

Nailing Tips to Stop Banging Those Fingers

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:47:21 -0600

This post is in honor of my sister's sore fingers after hanging pictures. Very simple tips that people just don't think of but wished that had. Here are a couple of nailing tips that I hope you find useful.

Tip #1.

Most finger smacks from a hammer occurs when the hammer head skims off the nail head because the hammer head is too smooth. To help avoid this I keep the head of my hammer "roughen up". My Dad taught me this many years ago. Look at the hammer head to see if the surface is smooth like glass. If you can scrape your fingernail across the head surface and it feels smooth, then it needs to roughened. What I do is I vigorously rub the hammer head back and forth on rough concrete a for about 5 seconds. This will make small surface scratches on the hammer head and will reduce the chance of the head slipping off the nail.....this really make a difference.

Tip #2

When driving very small nails (or any nail if you are not a good nailer) just keep a pair of needlenose pliers around.

Needlenose pliers have many uses, one being you can hold the nail in the tip of the pliers to drive the nail and not smack your fingers.

Kent Keith

Fort Worth /Dallas Home Inspector

Pretty Wild Stuff.....Scotch Tape Xrays!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:35:38 -0500

Did you hear about the discovery scientists made involving Scotch tape? It seems that ordinary Scotch tape, the kind you use to wrap packages, when unrolled can emit enough radiation to make xrays! It seems another scientist back in the 1950s came up with the concept, but was recently proved. They placed a roll in a small vacuum chamber and with a mechanical spool, unrolled the tape at the rate of about a foot every 5 seconds which is about as fast as if you were to pull a piece off and measured the emitted radiation with a geiger counter. One of the scientist then placed a piece of dentist xray film over his finger and it took an xray of his bone! It should be noted that this must be done in a vacuum chamber so gases can't absorb the radiation before it has a chance to emit. I thought it was pretty interesting, might be a lead on how to make xray machines in the future.

Here is the story: http://www.nature.com/news/2008/081022/full/news.2008.1185.html

Be sure to watch the video.

Kent Keith

Is it Just Me?

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:35:53 -0500

Is it just me or is there something just not right about this wheelchair ramp?

I just happened across this pic on the net and thought it was funny. Would love to know the story behind it. If it isn't a wheelchair ramp, not sure what else it would be. Doesn't look like it's been photoshopped or stairs added to the top. I'm sure there are guidelines about how steep and the length handicap ramps can be, but that doesn't make sense either.

Kent Keith

Girl Bitten by a Snake in the Shower

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:15:19 -0500

Did you hear this story about a girl that was taking a shower and all the sudden a snake came out of the drain and bit her on the ankle and then slid back into the drain? Good gosh, are we not safe anywhere? By the way, the chances of this happening is very slim, so don't think about it when you take your next shower......or maybe you should? :-)

Southmayd girl bitten by snake in shower

Posted: 1:03 PM Oct 7, 2008

SOUTHMAYD, Tex. -- A 15-year-old Southmayd girl was bitten by a snake while taking a shower Tuesday morning. Stephanie Brletic has the bizarre story from Southmayd.

The incident happened around 6:30 Tuesday morning at the girl's home on Sunny Road. Authorities say the girl was taking a shower when a snake came through the drain and bit her on the ankle, before it then slithered back into the drain.

The Sherman Fire Department responded to the home and made the decision to airlift the teen to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where she is listed in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.

Sherman fire Chief J.J. Jones says firefighters never saw the snake, but think it may have been poisonous.

"There was some swelling and indication that it may have been a poisonous snake. There was some attempt to retrieve the snake, but that was not successful," Jones said.

Neighbors say Tuesday’s incident scared them, but that it is not unusual. One even told us about a similar situation last week.

Jones says situations like these are not uncommon as the weather starts to cool.

"This is the time of the year that snakes are looking for some other environments. It was a cold morning. I'd say it's not uncommon, but it's certainly kind of rare for us."

Jones went on to say this is the time of year when you may start to see snakes more often. His advice if you do see a snake is to simply walk away.

Kent Keith

Away From Home Freezer Tip

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:28:39 -0500

I was talking to a friend tonight after her and her husband returned from a ten day cruise and thought I would pass along a tip that might be useful. She indicated that while they were gone their electricity apparently went out because the alarm clock on their nightstand was blinking 12:00am. She was worried about the food in the refrigerator and freezer because she did not know if the electricity was off for just a few seconds or if it was off for days and then back on since they knew some storms came through during that time. They live in a rural area so they couldn't just ask a neighbor. She was upset that she chose to just throw out all the food rather take a chance of getting her and her husband sick.

So here is a tip that you can do before you go out of town to tell if the refrigerator has been off for a long period of time. Before you leave, just take a few ice cubes and place them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer. If the electricity has been off long enough to affect the food, you can tell that they had been melted.

Kent Keith

My Lysdexic.......I Mean Dyslexic Brain

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:56:28 -0500

I know this is a silly post but it did prompt me wonder if this is one of those regional things. I got a call today from an agent in Atlanta that was working with another local agent here to sell a home to a client moving to the Fort Worth area and wanted to set up a home inspection. She identified her self as working with the selling agent and wanted me to inspect the house. I thought to myself "hmm...selling agent.... I wonder why she is setting up the inspection for the listing agent? That's strange. After talking to her further to get more information, I realized that she was working with the buyer's agent, which would make sense. I said "oh...you mean you are setting this up for the buyer's agent. She said "yes of course, I'm helping the selling agent get an inspection set up for the client that is moving there".

It finally dawned on me that where she is, they call the buyer's agent the "selling" agent and the listing agent the "seller's" agent. I think I ran into this long ago, but in the area I work and the agents I deal with, we refer to the two agents as the "buyer's" agent and the "seller's....or listing agent", which makes more sense to me. I guess my pea brain has trouble keeping the two straight when the word "sell" is in both terms. After all, it's the listing agent's client that is "selling" the house and some listing agents can also sell the house.

After we hung up, I called the listing agent to get the Supra's CBS code and sure enough, I had the two agents names backwards! Why can't we just refer to the two agents as "buyer's and seller's agent? Makes sense to me.

What do you call the agents in your area? OK.....OK.....be nice.

New TRCC Home Inspections Protects Rural Customers.....Or Does It?

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:34:20 -0500

I'm still sitting of the fence on whether I want to participate in this program. When I first heard about the passing of this bill, I was excited and thought "cool, more inspection work for us". As of September 1st 2008, the Texas Residential Construction Commission began policing rural construction of homes built outside of jurisdiction of city municipality building code inspections. The house bill that passed this new enforcement was meant to require inspections to rural homes and remodel projects exceeding $10,000. Before now, if a home was built in rural county areas, no inspections were required since the home was not located in any city to have the proper permits and inspections that are required when a home is built in city limits. Builders and remodelers will now have to register the homes and projects with TRCC and three phase inspections....pre-pour of the foundation, framing and mechanical and a final inspection, will have to be performed to pass the home.
But one problem I see with these home inspections is that the builder or remodeler are the ones that hire the inspector from a list of registered inspectors. As with all professions, there are good reputable builders and not so honest ones and I see a large potential for abuse of the system due to the fact that inspectors will feel a need to be easy on these inspections and not cause problems or the builder has the right to simply call another inspector until he finds one that will be easy to work with. If an inspector performs inspections to proper codes and cause problems for the builder....something these people are not used to, then the builder may not want to use that inspector again and move onto the next one on the list. In my opinion, to be fair and effective, TRCC should assign the inspector to the project on a rotation basis to help avoid conflict of interest.
I am registered as one of these inspectors, but am having second thughts about participating. It is certainly not a perfect plan, but is a step in the right direction to help build better homes.

Kent Keith
Fort Worth / Dallas Home Inspector

More Door Lore......Hope it's not a Bore

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:51:24 -0500

I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago about how to see if your deadbolt is installed right. Here is another blog about door locks that may interest some and bore most.....but hey, what can I say.....I want my fellow Active Rainers to be safe.

Many exterior door locks have a security feature and most people don't know about it and if you have this type, it may not be correctly installed, which defeats it's purpose. Have you ever noticed locks that have an extra pin on the bolt of the lock that latches the door? Some have these and others don't. The ones that do have an extra security feature that prevents someone from slipping a credit card or drivers license between the door stop and the door and sliding the bolt open and.....that's it, the door opens.

Here is how you can tell if you have the type with the security feature. This is the security pin.

The security pin works independently of the main latch bolt. To see how this works, do this:

Open the door and push in on the latch bolt. Both the latch bolt and security pin should slide inside the door. Then with a finger, push in on the security pin and with another finger, try to push in the main latch bolt. It should not engage. This would not allow someone to use a card or thin metal to open the door, but the secret is to make sure the security pin hits the keeper jamb plate when the door is closed. If the pin goes inside the hole of the keeper jamb pate, then this defeats the security feature.

The easiest way to test to see if the jamb plate is installed correctly, slowly close the door and listen for the main bolt to click. I you hear another click...which is the security pin...then the jamb plate needs to be mounted further toward you so the security pin hits the plate as above.

If your door has deadbolts, then this feature is not important, but if not, I would change the lock to one with this feature for better security.

I hope this helps and of course you are always free to contact me if you have any questions.

Kent Keith

My Life Flashed in Front of My Eyes Yesterday.....Literally!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:42:06 -0500

This post is a reminder for inspectors to be so careful when it comes to breaker panels. Yesterday I was inspecting a new home and almost got the shock of my life, and could have lost it as well. We sometimes get in a flow with our inspecting and don't think to check certain things. I now have new items to check when it comes to the breaker panel's dead front cover.

After inspecting inside the box, I was putting the cover back on while talking to the buyer and just remember seeing a flash of light, hearing a POW and jumping back stunned. I'm not sure who was shocked more...her or myself! After regaining my composure, I realized what had happened.....the screw had penetrated one of the live wires inside. I then stood there thinking.....what should I do now? I noticed that none of the breakers had tripped which told me that it probably didn't hit a branch wire. Then I thought, if it is puncturing into a main feed conductor, then there is no way for me to disconnect power to it. I still smelled the smoke caused from the initial puncture and didn't know if it was still shorting out to the panel box or not. My heart was racing and could envision the house burning down, so I flipped off the main disconnect, grabbed one of my rubber faced gloves that I use when I climb roofs and took my screwdriver that has a rubber handle and held it at it's very end and carefully backed off the screw until it fell with the cover to the garage floor.

My lesson learned here is to pay more attention to make sure wires and feeds are not too close and directly behind a screw mounting hole and to also double check the screw as I would have never thought to pay special attention to the screw. Of course all screws that secure the covers are required to be blunt tipped screws and not sharp tipped, but I will now pay more attention to the ends of the screws now.

Here is what happened. The electrician was too lazy to route the service conductors far enough back into the box to allow more clearance for the cover screws, so he just took some cutters and shortened the screw for this particular screw mount. Not only was the screw still too long, but cutting it made the edges of the screw sharp. These covers have six mounting screws and of course I would pick the one with the sharp edge to back into this particular hole. Still if I had used one of the full length screws, it still may have punctured it. So from now I will check to make sure the screws have not been cut and if I feel the conductors are jut too close to the screw holes, I just won't install it. I called the builder after this and made sure the electrician got out to take care of this at once.

You can see where the screw hit one of the main conductors.

Screw was cut off about 1/8 inch.

Kent Keith

Is It OK To Mark Defective Items?

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:15:40 -0500

I performed a home inspection today on a house that had just been previously inspected by another inspector. I noticed right away that he (or she) had marked defective items such as doors, windows and receptacles with blue painters tape with information on the tape as what the problem was. Unless I'm missing something here, I don't believe an inspector should do this. I have seen many inspectors mark receptacles or windows with a small dot sticker and I understand the purpose is so the items are more easily identified, but I still think this is wrong. The time it took for the inspector to mark all these pieces of painter's tape could have been time spent describing the locations in the report. I have always been able to write in my reports the locations of all these items and if I feel I can't effectively describe the locations, I take a photo to clarify. I have always believed you should leave the house in the same condition as you found it and not with a bunch of stickers stuck to walls and windows. Even though painter's tape was used, you never know when it could peel off loose paint and texture. I couldn't help but wonder if the inspector would have done this if the house was occupied, I know I would be angry to come home to a house with blue tape stuck all over.

I did not want the buyer showing up and seeing it, so I went through and removed all 20 - 30 pieces of tape. I felt the inspector should have made a trip back to remove it all, but I didn't want my client showing up and seeing it and may have figured out that the house was recently inspected and the deal did not go through, that may scare some people. I'm sure some inspectors do this marking so the buyers know where all the items are, but what happens if the deal does not go through? Someone has to remove it, after all the house still belongs to someone else and we should all respect their property.

Kent Keith

Dryer Hose Danger......Check Yours Now!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:07:40 -0500

While performing a home inspection today, I was reminded to make sure everyone check their dryer hoses and make sure you don't have one of the old plastic hoses. These are no longer sold or allowed and can be fire hazards. Look behind your dryer and see if it a plastic, nylon or vinyl hose. They are usually white and look like the one in the picture. IF so PLEASE change it immediately! I don't want to read about you guys in the paper! They cost about $9.00 at the big box improvement stores and are made of metal and can save you, your house, and your family.

The black spot in the hose is a hole burnt through by the dryer's heat. This family was lucky!

Kent Keith

A Way to Save Some Warmth this Winter

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:37:19 -0500

With winter just around the corner, it's time to start checking door weather stripping and thresholds, caulking around windows and other areas that cold air can get into your house and warm air inside can escape. A very cheap and easy way to accomplish this is to install receptacle and switch insulators. You can buy these at most hardware stores and are very cheap. They are made of a foam insulation that simply installs between the receptacle or switch cover and the wall and takes only a minute to install each.

First, remove the screw(s) that hold the outlet or switch cover on and remove. place the insulator over the receptacle or switch and reinstall the cover....it's that simple. I understand that some people are very nervous working around electrical wiring, but if you are careful not to poke your fingers inside the box and touch the wiring or wiring screws, you will be fine. Of course, you can also just turn off the breakers.

These insulators are most effective on the walls next to the exterior of the house, especially on older homes with little or no wall insulation. Many people may think that the cracks in these covers are so small that this would make little difference, but I have inspected homes on a cold windy day and can feel cold air pouring through. If you were to take all these small cracks on every receptacle and switch and add them together, it would like having a window cracked open. The only problem is having to move furniture to install these, so I try to remember to advise customers to install them before moving in.

One thing to remember when it comes to home energy improvements is that it's all the small things that add up.

Kent Keith

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz....What a Clean Toilet It Is!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:27:15 -0500

You mother in law is coming over and....darn, forgot to pick up more toilet bowl cleaner. If you have Alka Seltzer in the medicine cabinet, just plop in a couple of tablets, let sit twenty minutes, and flush. If the toilet is really bad, here is another way. Shut off the water valve to the toilet and flush so that most of the water drains out of the bowl. Replace the water in the bowl with hot water and place 6 - 8 tablets in. Let it sit for 30 minutes and brush throughly with toilet brush. I tried this once when company was on their way over and worked pretty good although would be more expensive that regular bowl cleaner.

Kent Keith

Dishwasher Wired to Switch.....Have You Ever Seen This?

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:06:54 -0500

I ran across this again today and am wondering:

1. Why they are wired this way.

2. Do they do this in other parts of the country.

3. How many of you have seen this also.

The first time I saw this was about 7 years ago when I was inspecting a fairly new home and noticed the dishwasher was not powering on. I checked the breakers in the panel and none were tripped so I just assumed that the washer was not wired or broke. I then turned on the garbage disposer but at first flipped on the wrong switch above the counter and noticed the dishwasher came on. I could not understand why the dishwasher was wired through a wall switch, so I just assumed the electrician messed up on the wiring. But over the years, I have run across this a few more times and again today. Do any of you understand why they do this? I guess if you answer the phone in the kitchen and want to pause it, you could flip the switch, but it would be no more trouble to just crack the door open. On these newer electronic models, I'm wondering if this would cause it to lose the cycle program and reset.

Any thoughts?

Kent Keith

The Importance of Antioxidant Paste

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:35:21 -0500

I performed an inspection yesterday on a early 1980s home and found overheating of the main service conductors in the main breaker panel due to no antioxidant paste to the aluminum conductors. As you can see, the left terminal has oxidized and caused enough resistance to cause it to get very hot and melt the insulation. Of course I stressed heavily in the report to my customer to have this repaired, but also felt I needed to let the seller's agent know also so she could notify the current owners of it's condition for their safety and in case the sale didn't go through. She returned my call today and acted like I was being an alarmist because she had always viewed the antioxidant paste issue as something that is a nit picky item that we chose to throw in our reports. I emailed her the photo and I think she now understands the importance of this paste.

Is Your Deadbolt Secure? Find Out Now

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:21:37 -0500

What good is a lock if it's not secure and properly installed? Here is a simple test to determine if your deadbolt is installed correctly. I inspect many homes where I find the deadbolts not installed correctly and make sure buyers are aware so it can be corrected. All you need is a marker such as a pencil or sharpie and a screwdriver.

First, close the door, lock the deadbolt and mark the center of the bolt's lock handle on the outer ring of the lock. If the lock is a keyed lock on both sides, then do the same with the key in the lock. If you can't see the mark using a pencil, then use an ink pen or sharpie. You can remove the ink with alcohol and paper towel.

Next, open the door and put the lock's handle in the same position at the center of the mark you made in the first step and push in on the lock's bolt. If the bolt will not push in, that's good, it means the bolt is fully engaging and locking into place when the door is locked. If you can push the bolt in, then the bolt is not locking properly and is not secure. Someone would slip a thin piece of metal or screwdriver through the jamb stop and possibly pry the bolt to the open position. In some cases, you could actually jiggle the door enough to get the bolt to retract because the bolt is not locked into place.

A bolt not fully engaging is usually caused from the hole in the middle of the deadbolt's jamb plate is not mortised deep enough. To make it deeper, you could get a wood chisel or flathead screwdriver and chisel the wood from the jamb or a drill bit and drill it out.

The other item you want to check are the screws that secure the deadbolt jamb plate in the picture above.

Remove one of the screws from the jamb plate and see if the screw is a long or short screw. If the length of the screw is a 1/2 inch screw as in this picture, then they need to be replaced. Screws this short will only penetrate the wood in the door jamb. This wood is only 3/4 inched thick and this would allow the door to be easily kicked in. Many installers of deadbolts are too lazy to install the correct screws that come with the lock which are 2 - 3 inches long. This would cause the screws to penetrate the 2x4 wood framing that the door is set into and make the door much harder to kick in. These long screws can prove to be difficult to install, so here is a tip. You can drill a pilot hole slightly smaller in diameter that the screw or I keep a jar of petroleum jelly around and dip the screw in the jelly, and will go in much easier without stripping out the head.

Hope this wasn't too confusing and that it helps. You are always free to email or call if you have any questions.

Kent Keith

It's Scary What Some People Will Do!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:25:27 -0500

I was inspecting a home today that was owned by an elderly widowed woman that passed away and her family was having to sell the house. I noticed that the house was full of all sorts of items that she kept instead of throwing away....old newspapers, boxes, many clothes hangers ect. She either was a hoarder or just remembered the depression too well. When I went into the attic to inspect it, I was shocked! She had kept all the styrofoam packing materials and packing peanuts she ever had and distributed them in to attic, I guess for insulation. I'm not sure how she was able to get them so far into the attic without falling through the ceiling. Styrofoam is too light to throw very far, but pretty much the entire attic floor was covered. I was still determined to inspect the attic, so I just kicked the pieces around to locate the ceiling joists to walk on. When I got to the furnace flue...sure enough, it was surrounded with the material. I took the time to move it away from the flue so the house would not burn down.

Scary what some people will do.

Kent Keith

Swiss Pastry Shop - Check Out the Black Forest Cake!

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:40:17 -0500

I was driving along Vickery Blvd. in Fort Worth's west side yesterday and couldn't help but to stop in the Swiss Pastry Shop for a piece of their famous black forest cake. If you have never tried some, you owe it to yourself to do so! It has to be the most awesome desert I have ever had. My sister turned me on to it years ago and I have always requested it to be my birthday cake. I have also bought it for others and people just love me for it. I'm not much on sweets, but this is different in my opinion. It is just sweet enough without being over powering, but the thing I love so much about it is the fact that the "cake" portion of the cake is very light and is actually crunchy, so it doesn't give you that filled up feeling. I'm also not a chocolate nut, but it has just enough shaved on the top.

Go by a try some, you'll be glad you did.....if not, just call me and I'll be glad to take it off your hands! Well...I have to go now and do more "research" on this subject! Mmmmmm

Address: 3936 W. Vickery Blvd. Fort Worth TX 76107

Monday Closed,Tuesday 06:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Wednesday 06:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Thursday 06:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Friday 06:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Saturday 07:30 AM - 4:00 PM, Sunday Closed

Phone: 817-732-5661

Kent Keith

Cheap Wallpaper Remover

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:13:42 -0500

Here is a low cost way of removing wallpaper instead of buying those expensive wallpaper removers. I remodeled a kitchen last winter and it worked great. I used car windshield washer fluid. As with any wallpaper remover, you will need to score the paper with a wallpaper score tool. This pokes small holes in the paper so the remover soaks behind the paper and to the glue to loosen it. I simply poured the fluid in a spray bottle and heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds - I had to remove the turntable tray and tilt the bottle because of the height. Spray soak the paper, wait a few minutes and remove. If you have ever purchased these removers, you know they can get pricey. I went to Walmart and paid about $1.50 a gallon for the "de-bug" type. The plain fluid was about $1.00 but I figured the "de-bug" type that removed bugs and tree sap, it probably did a little better job on lossening the glue. As with all chemicals, you should have plenty of room ventilation or wear a respirator to be safe.

Kent Keith

Extra Helping Hand Tip

Fort Worth Home Inspector Kent Keith (Fort Worth Home Inspectors) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:19:10 -0500

Here's a simple one that many of you may not have thought of. How many times have you needed an extra hand holding something and no one else was around, didn't have a vise or clamp? I have kept this on my workbench for years and use it all the time.

All you need is a pair of pliers and a rubber band

Wrap the rubber band around the plier's handle twice.

And there you are....an extra hand!

Kent Keith