home consulting: "My Basement Doesn't Leak" (right now)
- 11/13/08 01:48 AM
It never fails to make me nervous when I find water stains on a basement wall, or when I find a basement that has been "freshly painted". This basement had been painted about a year earlier. On the disclosure form that the homeowner filled out, it stated 'No known leaks" in the basement. Then, I find this in the well room area, which is a area of the basement that protrudes from the main house, and is covered outside with a concrete slab at grade level, with undisturbed grass around it. So, with a little putting 2+2 together, (after seeing these stains … (17 comments)
home consulting: The Main Ingredients in a Successful Home Purchase
- 10/27/08 05:34 AM
Buying the home of your dreams should be a smooth process, with a minimum amount of stress and worry. However, it seldom is. Most of the time, there are complicated issues to address, or re-negotiations, which can sometimes leave a homebuyer pulling his/her hair out, and wondering why they ever wanted to move in the first place. If you are trying to buy from a bank, trust, or holding company, things can get even worse, especially if it is a distressed property, or a bank repo. So what can you do to help make the process as painless as possible? … (12 comments)
home consulting: Rehabbers With The Wrong Idea
- 09/28/08 11:59 PM
It seems the trend lately, when rehabbers fix up a house and put it on the market, is to do everything that shows or is cosmetic in nature perfectly, and then totally fall down by cutting corners or disguising the things that they think people will not notice. This is a very disturbing trend, especially if you are the buyer, or the home inspector that has to come in and "burst the bubble" so to speak. I know times are tougher, and real estate sells a little slower maybe, and prices may be down a bit too. But are those excuses … (21 comments)
home consulting: BASEMENT MOISTURE- (Above Grade)
- 09/02/08 12:05 AM
There are many causes for basement moisture problems, including grade sloping towards the house or foundation, improper or malfunctioning gutters, downspouts or underground drainage, cracks in basement walls, static water pressure that builds up outside a homes foundation from a spring or water source, and also using improper, or non-porous material to backfill with around the perimeter of the house...just to name a few. But what about when the moisture is coming in from "above grade"? That is when there is moisture and visible moisture marks on the inside of the basement wall, but they start from a point that is actually … (23 comments)
home consulting: Smoke and CO Detectors
- 08/22/08 04:35 AM
I know, you have probably all heard it at least a dozen times.... but that's what makes it even more puzzling to me that I find SOO MANY smoke detectors not working, or operating improperly. Those of us that have the battery type that are not tied into any electrical system are the most at risk, because it is VERY EASY to forget to change those 9 volt batteries (that have now become quite expensive). Of course the rule of thumb is to change the batteries whenever the time changes to or from daylight savings time (about every 6 months). It's … (9 comments)
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Kevin Corsa
H.I.S. Home Inspections, Stark & Summit County, OH...
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