Omaha Home Inspection: Half Of The Windows On Newer Home With Manufacturer's Defect - 02/28/11 07:48 PM
These 3 photos were taken in a home inspection I conducted in Omaha, Nebraska recently.  The windows have a manufacturer's defect.  The dual-pane seals were compromised in over half of the windows in the home.  The home was only 5 years old.  Notice the chunks piled up in the bottom corners of the windows.  The seal between the 2 panes of glass simply cracked and fell down.  This is just another instance where it would have been much better timing for a pre-listing inspection rather having me find this problem as the Buyer's Inspector.  The Sellers would have been able to … (1 comments)

Omaha Home Inspection: The Wrong Way To Install Rolled Roofing - 02/27/11 01:08 PM
The main goal of any roof covering is to shed water.  With rolled roofing, you want to install it parallel to the eave overlapping as you go up.  Most manufacturers require you to overlap at least 3".  This hip roof on an addition located in Omaha, Nebraska has the rolled roofing installed vertically.  It'll shed water right up until you get just 1 tiny opening in a seam.  Then watch out;-)
 

To learn about manufacturer's defects with shingles, go to our Inspection Articles link and read the article under Roofing.
www.omaha-home-inspection.com
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Omaha Home Inspection: Surprise Behind Door #2!!! - 02/26/11 11:23 AM
I inspected a 7,000+ s.f. church that was built roughly in the 1920's in North Omaha last week.  This place was spectacular to explore, BUT a true challenge to inspect!  As I was getting a tour by a church member, he opened up a door in the basement with storage stacked in front of it.  The door led down to the sub-basement.  It turned out there were actually 2 sub-basements.  The 2nd one had an old mammoth Octopus furnace.  This photo is of the other sub-basement.  It still had the original coal furnaces.  Both sub-basements had almost every square inch taken … (2 comments)

Omaha Home Inspection: Anti-Tip Bracket Missing on Oven - 02/25/11 11:23 AM
The manufacturers make anti-tip brackets for a reason.  If a curous child opens up the oven door and stands on it, there is a chance that the oven can tip over onto them.  We've all seen ovens that were loose and others that were jammed so tightly into the countertop opening that even a 300 lb adult wouldn't tip it over.  They'd break the door off the hinges first;-)  Where I see ovens loose and not secured down are where the homeowner has recently replaced the flooring...most times with Pergo flooring.  I see this a lot also when houses are flipped … (0 comments)

Home Inspection Omaha: Water heater flue pipe installation not safe - 02/23/11 09:11 AM
I ran across this improperly installed water heater B-vent flue stack 2 days ago on a commerial inspection in north Omaha.  The B-vent was touching the deck and was venting out only 5' high...instead of above the roof line.  And no, there was no power vent on it.

 
For more home inspection related photos, please go to www.omaha-home-inspection.com.
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Home Inspections Omaha: 5 Business Days to Complete Home Inspection...Are You Kidding Me?! - 02/15/11 07:27 AM
It's mid-February and we've went from -10 degrees with windchills of -20 to -30 last week to hitting the 60's this week.  That surge in warm weather has turned the switch 'ON' in the Omaha real estate market.  I started Monday booking every time slot for the rest of the week!  It's a great feeling compared to the slow winter we just rolled out of.
When the busy season comes upon us, it never ceases to amaze me the # of agents that shoot themselves and their Buyer clients in the foot.  They pull out their standard contracts and make the … (38 comments)

Blair Nebraska Home Inspection: Buckled Driveway - 02/14/11 09:25 AM
This driveway in Blair, Nebraska was buckled up about 2 1/2" where it met the garage floor.  There was evidence that appeared to be from street creep, but the street was asphalt...not concrete which left me mistified as to if this could really be the cause.  There was minor movement in the foundation wall also which can be from street creep. 
It's not too often that you see a driveway buckled up this high.  It's fun trying to figure out the cause even though it's not in our job description.  If any of you out there can shed additional light on … (1 comments)

Home Inspection Blair, Nebraska: Damaged Garage Door Springs With Missing Safety Cables - 02/13/11 12:09 PM
This is a picture of a damaged garage door spring in Blair, Nebraska.  Notice also that they are missing their safety cables.  If somebody were in the path of this door spring when it breaks, it can cause somebody some serious bodily harm!
For more homeowner tips, check out our website: www.omaha-home-inspection.com.

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Home Inspection Fremont, Nebraska: Electrocution Hazard at Oven! - 02/12/11 11:31 AM
This photo is of the top of the main panel box in a lake home in Fremont, Nebraska.  Notice the multi-strand aluminum ground wire is cut off just inside the main panel.  This was running to the electric oven/stove...meaning there is no ground protection to it!  Anybody that touches the stove during a lightning strike or power surge could get electrocuted! 
This is a great case in point of DON'T ASSUME that everything is safe.  The homeowner had owned the property for 10 years.  They vacationed here with their family, little kids, and friends.  Thank God nothing horrific ever happened because … (0 comments)

Omaha Home Inspections: Rotted Hardboard Lap Siding - 02/11/11 09:03 AM
I was recently called in to inspect this foreclosure in Bellevue, Nebraska.  My investor client had went through the house numerous times and had written down a pretty lengthy list of repairs that he was aware of.  He is a very meticulous person and doesn't just jump into any property.  He does his homework and gets estimates right to the penny before he writes an offer.  Unlike a lot of investors, he actually goes into a run down home and improves them with high-quality upgrades and repairs.  The end result is a very nice home for first-time home buyers.
What he … (1 comments)

Omaha Home Inspection: #1 Reason to NOT Install CPVC on Your Sprinkler System - 02/10/11 05:09 PM
#1 reason why NOT to install CPVC on your sprinkler system: During the winter months, it's extremely brittle.  If you forget to winterize it for just 1 cold night, the line bursts.


For more cool home inspection pics, check out our galleries at: www.omaha-home-inspection.com.
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Omaha Home Inspection: Client's Dodged a Bullet - 02/08/11 10:28 AM
Is your house sitting on the lowest elevation in the development?  One house in Omaha I recently inspected was.  The home was built in 2005 by a tract builder.  During the home inspection, I noticed 2 vertical cracks in the basement exterior wall.  These cracks weren’t typical.  Most vertical cracks that form are wider at the top and gradually become smaller as you go down the wall.  These are indications that one portion of the foundation has settled causing the wall to separate.  Instead, these 2 cracks were wider at the bottom and narrowed as you went up.  The only educated … (0 comments)

Home Inspection Omaha: Snow coming in attic vents - 02/02/11 06:25 PM
Yesterday and the day before resulted in the Omaha area getting hit with 5" of snow that was coming down almost 100% horizontal.  With the high winds, our wind chill was around -20 F.  Any homeowner that has turtle vents or gable vents should be venturing up into their attic to make sure there's not a pile of snow/ice sitting on top of their insulation.  While it's still freezing temperatures, now is the best time to get up there and scoop that snow mound out.  Once it starts to melt, you'll begin to see nasty little stains forming along your tape … (0 comments)

 
Chadgreg-5

Greg Wayman ASHI Certified Inspector - 402-330-1701

Omaha, NE

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Foundation-2-Rooftop, Inc.

Office Phone: (402) 330-1701

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My blog is packed full of home inspection related articles that are useful for homeowners, Buyers, Sellers, and real estate agents. I also post interesting inspection pics regularly as I run across something on my inspections that peak my interest. Enjoy!


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