While perhaps not "technically" new construction, this 5 year old Condo had an issue with one of the plumbing vents that has been wrong for 5 years. On the outside----other than being a little crooked----the vent looks relatively normal. On the inside we can see why it is a "little"
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06/29/2008
Some of the people my age have enough brain cells left to remember the old Cheech and Chong skit about "Basketball Jones." You just never know when you are going to get a basketball jones. But, when you do, why not go up in the attic, cut away some of the roof support structures, throw dow
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06/28/2008
Click here for some "appropriate" Theremin music to listen to while you read this blog. Like a hot-air balloon rising above the landscape in the blue twilight of a far off moon, this light bulb dangles from one filament (upside down)----no longer lighting up anyone's life and ready
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06/26/2008
I got to thinking about the Olympics being in China, and its being the year of the Rat and all----while I was entertaining myself at an inspection the other day. Plus I just love to blog about rats. Specifically, I was thinking about the "high-jump" and how the current World Olympic R
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06/25/2008
20 year old homes, with gas furnace heating systems, that have the original furnace, will likely have the original B-vent chimneys as well----if that is the type of venting system used. It can be pretty much universally stated that these 20 year old furnaces will be at the end of their expe
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06/24/2008
When the home is brand new, or relatively new, the "expectation" that the Jurisdictional Building Inspectors have done there job goes way up. I inspected a 3 year old condo unit a few weeks ago----one of perhaps 50 units in a very large building. These types of buildings come under even mo
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06/23/2008
The spaces under kitchen sinks are often very nasty looking places. There are so many opportunities for leaks, and everything except the kitchen sink gets stuffed under there. My favorites are: the years of coffee grounds that didn't quite make the waste basket or the moldy drywall
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06/22/2008
Tub/Shower enclosures can be difficult to maintain due to the usual daily exposure to water. Water from showering beats on the tile or other waterproof materials and finds its way through any cracks, unsealed grout, or fixtures into the wall structures. Keeping the tub spout and other wall
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06/19/2008
We all have too much "stuff" don't we? Storage facilities are popping up all over the place that look like mausoleums---places to bury our "stuff." In our homes we fill every nook and cranny with stuff to the point that the primary purpose of the garage is no longer for the car, but f
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06/18/2008
All of the Inspector's tools have their limitations. Sometimes inspectors must rely on several different tools to provide the best information about a particular condition. Today I want to talk about the limitations of one very common tool that inspectors "rely" on----and why perhaps they
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06/17/2008
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