Adventures in Home Inspecting

How Did You Spend Your Long Weekend?

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:33:13 -0700

Just like most of you, I was very excited to have this long weekend arrive. I had it all planned out: I was going to take a big bite out of my ongoing renovation at my house. I was to spend all day Sunday repairing the plaster in my living room. It was a big job, but if I budgeted my time just right I'd just be able to get it done. Around Tuesday of last week I began planning the weekend project: get up early, quick breakfast, then get to work.

On Wednesday I got a phone call from my brother's little girl (my Goddaughter) asking if she could come spend some time with me on Sunday. This put me in a bit of a situation: I love spending time with her, but I HAD to get the dining room done this weekend. So I had to make a decision....

Those of you that know me know that I had a bit of a health scare a few months ago and ended up undergoing having emergency surgery when my colon burst followed by another surgery that resulted in a 2 month stay in the hospital. After it was all over an done with I had made a promise to myself to never let what seems important to take precedence of what really is important. Thinking back to those days in hospital, I told my neice that of course she could come hang out with me.

While waiting for her to call for me to come and get her this morning, I tried to get a little bit of work done on the dining room. After the call came and I went to get her, I asked what she wanted to do today. Her response was something along the lines of "I don't know, what do you want to do." This presented me with a wonderful oppotunity.

On the way to my house after picking her up, we swung into the local home centre, bought a few extra tools and some work gloves - kid sized. My seven year old neice and I spent the afternoon repairing plaster and laughing like maniacs. I spent a few minutes showing her how to handle the tools and what to do, then set her loose. We spent the afternoon putting plaster on the walls, making a mess and laughing like maniacs.

At the end of the day, the dining room isn't finished, there is a pretty big mess now, and I am a bit behind schedule. However, the time spent today was productive in a different way, and what we built was more important than the walls in an old house. In fact, in situations like this I don't think that it is correct to say that time was "spent." That implies that it is gone and not coming back. Today's time (for me at least) was "invested" and I'm sure that as my neice grows, I'll see a return on that investment time and again!!

Have a great "rest of your weekend"

-Brad

Proud Day at My House

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:08:41 -0700

Today at 1:30 in the afternoon, my wife took the oath to become a Canadian citizen. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Canadian citizenship as well as the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

My wife came to Canada a little over 4 years ago armed with 2 university degrees (Languages and Education) and fluency in 5 languages (English, French, Romanian, Hungarian and Spanish) and has since completed another degree (Business) and is working on yet another (Accounting) , all the while working full time.

While sitting at the ceremony and listening to her and the others recite the oath, I was struck with a great deal of pride. On one hand for my wife who is incredibly focused and has been able to accomplish so much. On the other hand, I felt very proud to be Canadian. Seeing all those people recite the oath, many with tears of pride in their eyes reminded what a great place Canada is. Myself, being born here, I sometimes forget just how much we have to be proud of.

I know its a couple weks early, but to everyone who reads this - Happy Canada Day!

Brad Manor

www.manorhome.ca

The way Monday Mornings Should Be.

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:49:40 -0700

A little over two weeks ago I inspected a house on behalf of the purchaser. This particular sale was a FSBO, and therefore, there were no agents for the seller to direct his questions or concerns to.

When I arrived at the property, the seller indicated he was nervous about having his home inspected as he had no idea what was involved in a home inspection. I then told him, that since I was working for the purchaser, I could not discuss my findings with him, nor could I provide him with a copy of my report. I told him that I was hired to report on the condition of the house, which generally means "find problems." I also assured him that I would indeed find problems with the house, every house has problems. While I explained the process to him, he began to realise that it was going to be an in-depth look at his house. He asked if I minded if he were to follow me through the inspection. I told him that it is his house, he is welcome to do as he pleases, but again stated that my findings would only be disclosed to my clients, if the clients choose to show him the report, that is their business.

I then proceeded to go through my normal inspection routine, with the homeowner as my shadow. Unlike other times when the homeowner chooses to accompany me, this time was actually a pleasant experience. He cleared any stored items out of my way, made sure I had access to the attic and crawlspace, and even held the ladder for me when I went on the roof. What he didn't do, surprisingly, was ask questions about my findings, try to defend any issues or steer me away from issues.

I finished up, shook his hand, thanked him for his time and left. Later that evening I delivered my report to my clients explaining all the issues I had found with the property. My clients thanked me, then went over the issues they had with the seller.

Last Monday, I received a message in my email in-box. I recognized the sender as the seller of the house. "uh-oh" I thought. Time for my Monday morning to get ugly! To my surprise, he just wanted to drop me a quick note, thanking me for the educational experience. That definitely put a smile on my face - having both parties of the transaction happy with my service. In fact, this morning (another Monday) I received a call to set up an inspection appointment, and this mornings client was referred by the aforementioned seller - they are co-workers.

I am beginning to develop a whole new appreciation for Mondays!

-Brad

Old World Craftsmanship

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:21:33 -0700

After reading Jimmy's rant about carpentry, I got to thinking about old world craftsmanship of houses and buildings. I'm lucky enough to spend some time in Eastern Europe, specifically the Transylvanian region of Romania. My wife was born and bred in Transylvania so naturally, our vacations involve visits to "the old country."

Here are a couple examples of old world construction.

Above is Castle Bran - more commonly known as Dracula's Castle just outside of Brasov, Romania. It was built in the 1300's and is still rock solid.

Next is Peles Castle in Sinaia, Romania. Built in the 1800's it is considered a modern castle. What is interesting, it is a wood frame building! Also of note, Peles was built with central heating, electricity and plumbing - all of which were ultra modern tchnology in Eastern Europe at the time.

I have many, many more photos of European buildings, as well as a couple new houses being built. If I can dig them out, I'll post them.

Is Home Inspection Art

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:59:55 -0700

Recently I was asked to write a monthly article for a local real estate magazine. No topic in particular, just about the "art" of Home Inspection. I personally had always considered home inspection more of a science. Really, much of what we do boils down to physics, math, chemistry, biology and engineering to name but a few of the scientific disciplines we touch on.

A bit miffed, I went home and asked my wife if she considered my career as art. She, being an accountant, decided to have a look at the books. Her response was along the lines of:

Well, you are passionately dedicated to what you do. You do it the way you know is right regardless of what critics might say. You refuse to "sell out", even if that would mean making more money. You aren't satisfied until every minute detail is just right. You spend countless hours immersed in your "craft". And to top it all off, you don't make that much money!!!!!!!!

After hearing this from the woman I love, I thought (to myself) it's still science, but hang on to my inspection reports. They may be worth something someday!

-Brad Picasso Manor

Maiden Post

Brad Manor - Windsor Ontario Home Inspector (Manor Home Inspection Inc.) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:34:53 -0700

As this is the first post to my blog, I'll keep it light. Thanks you for stopping by to visit. Hopefully this blog will help to shed some light on Home Inspecting for those that aren't terribly familiar with it, and even help with those that are familiar.

As always, I am available to answer questions and offer opinions via phone or email.

-Brad