habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspections - What's Wrong With This Picture? 11-4-12
- 11/04/12 09:54 AM
Nashville Home Inspections - What's Wrong With This Picture? 11-4-12 Look at the picture below. The picture was taken from the top of the roof of a new home, looking down into a valley of sorts. What's wrong? Is that a piece of debris left over from the roofers? Or is some new type of "gutter guard"? HINT: Gutters should used at the end of the roof, not the middle.
ANSWER: No, it is not a piece of debris. It is a piece of gutter installed intentionally toward the end of the valley. Apparently in an attempt to direct runoff … (0 comments)
ANSWER: It looks nice enough, doesn't it? New paint and all. But let's count the steps. I count 5, when you include the last step up to porch. So what is missing? How about a "graspable handrail"? A graspable handrail is recommended any time the number of step risers is 4 or more. So you might say they have it in the 2x4 handrail on the left, right? Not really. There is a very specific definition of a "graspable handrail". In fact … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - Ugly Bug Alert.
- 09/25/11 03:47 AM
Nashville Home Inspection - Ugly Bug Alert. Please look at the picture below. Ever see one of these bugs around your home? What is it and why is it there? HINT: It looks like a cross between a cricket and a spider. Now that can be ugly.
ANSWER: That's it! It's a spider-cricket! And boy is it ugly. Some people refer to them as cave-bugs, apparantly because they are common in caves. So how did it ever get started? Do you think a spider and cricket got together and, wait, let's not even go there. Suffice it to say they are … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Panel Bonding - 9.9.11
- 09/09/11 02:24 PM
Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Panel Bonding Please look at the picture below. What you are looking at is the inside of an electrical panel in a home. This is a common panel installation. There are many items that a Home Inspector should check while conducting an inspection of an electrical panel. One item they should look for is bonding of the electrical panel. Bonding is a name used to describe when the electrical panel is connected to the grounding components of the electrical system. Look in the picture below and see if you can see if and how the panel is … (3 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Panel Issues - What's Wrong With This Picture? 9.8.11
- 09/08/11 03:14 PM
Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Panel Issues - What's Wrong With This Picture? 9.8.11 Please look at the picture below. You are looking at the inside of an electrical panel. It is common to find some insects inside an electrical panel, but there is a reason they are there. Usually food. Sometimes shelter. But anytime you find cob webs inside a panel, you are probably going to find a spider. Can you find one in this picture? HINT: Think BIG!!
ANSWER: This big boy measured about 4" across the leg widths, with a body about 1.25" long and a stinger there on … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - What's Wrong With This Picture? 9.8.11
- 09/08/11 02:23 PM
Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Wiring Conduit, What's Wrong With This Picture? 9.8.11 Please see the picture below. You are looking at the exterior of a house where the house connects to a garage. The house is on the left, the garage roof on the right. Look at the shiny stuff in the middle of the picture. What's wrong? HINT: Exterior electrical conductors should normally be housed in protective conduit.
ANSWER: Normally exterior electrical wiring should be installed inside protective conduit. This conduit is normally a rigid metal product. Aluminum foil is a poor substitute for proper conduit. Thank you, … (2 comments)
Did you know there are requirements for spacing when a toilet is installed in a home? Not the most pleasant of topics, I know, but even more unpleasant if not done properly. Look at the picture below. What’s wrong?
ANSWER: Recommended spacing around a toilet installation is a minimum of 15” from the center of the toilet to the next vertical surface on the sides and 24” from the front of the toilet to the next surface in front of the toilet. In fact, the spacing here was only approximately 13” from the … (2 comments)
ANSWER: HABITEC does not recommend the use of an extension cord as permanent wiring. These cords usually come with plug attachments at both ends but sometimes people cut those off and use the cord for permanent wiring. This is a fire waiting to happen for two reasons. Not only has this homeowner used the improper material as an electrical conductor, they have also not installed the conductor into the metal junction box correctly. You can see … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - Lintel Plate Installation - What's Wrong with this Picture? 6.25.11
- 06/26/11 04:52 PM
Nashville Home Inspection - Lintel Plate Installation - What's Wrong With This Picture? 6.25.11 HINT: Lintel Plates are the metal strip that should be installed across the top of exterior doors and windows. Lintel plates should extend into the exterior surface above the door and/or window they protect. Look closely at the lintel plate as it crosses above this door and window installation at a rear porch.
ANSWER: The purpose of a lintel plate is to provide structural support for the exterior surface, in this case brick veneer, above an opening in the shell such as a door and/or window. … (3 comments)
ANSWER: YES! In this case the tree was there first and the homeowner actually built into the tree. Sort of like the Swiss Family Robinson. I know this can be charming and interesting, but at HABITEC we recommend at least 18" between vegetation and the structure. Inspectors have different numbers, but I don't know of any who approve zero inches. Thank you, Richard … (2 comments)
ANSWER: Actually, two things are wrong. First, this electrical circuit probably is not designed to handle whatever additional load is place on it by the additional component at the other end of this romex cable. And it is true, if you can see the romex at an exterior installation, because it is unprotected, then it is probably a mistake, as it is here, a mistake. Thank you, Richard Acree
Find the raised shingles and you have found the fishmouthing shingles. They are the raised shingles in a random pattern. These shingles have raised up in the middle and create a cosmetic flaw when observed from below. The cause of fishmouthing is usually elevated moisture below the shingles which is caused by poor attic ventilation. Plus, poor attic ventilation causes the shingles to heat up and "cook", which can contribute to the distorted shingle and can also cause the shingle to … (2 comments)
ANSWER: Hopefully the metal issue jumps out at you. For locators, you are standing on a ladder looking at a 2nd floor corner of a house where the roof joins the brick veneer. Look at the metal flashing. Look at the cracks, or gaps, in the flashing caulk as it comes around the corner of … (0 comments)
ANSWER: Yes! When the mushrooms start growing in the crawl space, that has to be too much moisture. I am not aware of any numerical metric to declare a crawl space too wet or not, but this has to be over the limit. You can also see the very wet condition of the soil, and unfortunately, you can clearly see the wet soil, which should be covered by the moisture barrier. Surely, despite all our best … (2 comments)
habitec home inspection: Maximizing SEO - Repeat After Me: Content and Backlinks, Content and Backlinks, Content and Backlinks...
- 02/25/11 07:02 AM
Maximizing SEO performance depends primarily on Content and Backlinks. If you don't know what they are, I suggest going to the library and checking out some books on SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you didn't know that, hurry to the library. SEO for Dummies was one of the books I read. It opened my eyes a lot. One of the things I learned from this book, and from an SEO vendor I interviewed, is that a lot of SEO optimization is not magic. You don't have to have a degree in Mass Comm or IT to make great … (7 comments)
habitec home inspection: Vinyl Windows - What's Wrong With this Picture?
- 02/19/11 09:50 AM
Nashville Home Inspectors - Window Locking Hardware Issues - 2/19/11 Everbody loves vinyl windows, right? Look good, won't rot, energy efficient. You might think they are perfect, right? Not quite. Look at the picture below. What's wrong? HINT: A window lock usually involves two components, one on the lower sash and one on the upper sash. A locking device needs to engage the two components together.
ANSWER: The curved locking arm you see extending out to the upper sash has missed its mark. Normally this component swings into a slot or under another component to engage the upper sash and lock … (5 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - Channel 4 Announces Lasko Space Heater Recall
- 02/09/11 12:56 AM
Space heater recall announced by Nashville TN Channel 4 TV. Channel 4 informed viewers in Nashville on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, about a recall of space heaters announced by Lasko Products. Over 100,000 Lasko and Air King space heater units have been recalled because they can melt. For the complete story please see the article at http://www.wsmv.com/news/26795929/detail.html . Thank you, Richard Acree
http://habitecinspections.com Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspection - "Ready for Inspection", What Does That Mean?
- 02/05/11 06:26 AM
One of the phrases we use as Home Inspectors is "Ready for Inspection". A home that is scheduled for a Home Inspection needs to be ready for inspection. What does that mean? In a nut shell, ready for inspection means all utilities are ON and the owner/occupant has granted permission for the Inspection to take place. If the home is occupied the business of "ready for inspection" is usually not an issue. If the home is not occupied, this can be an issue. HUD homes, or any banked owned home, presents a special challenge for the Home Inspector. HABITEC has inspected HUD homes, … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspector - Silly HVAC Ductwork Installations
- 01/07/11 01:52 PM
Silly HVAC Ductwork Installations by Richard Acree http://habitecinspections.com Sometimes the Do-It-Yourselfers create great comic relief for Nashville Home Inspectors. HVAC ductwork installation is one common source. Look at the pictures below. What's wrong? HINT: Just do it? Works on the track, not in a house.
ANSWER: I don't really have an answer for this, except maybe "Just don't do it?!" But for those who cannot see it clearly, yes, that is a NIKE shoe box used to complete a line of HVAC ductwork. The box and a tube of caulk! So let's look at another silly picture of DIY … (0 comments)
habitec home inspection: Nashville Home Inspector - Roofers Gone Wild - How to Mess Up a Perfectly Good Roof
- 12/25/10 01:38 PM
Nashville Home Inspector - ROOFERS GONE WILD - HOW TO MESS UP A PERFECTLY GOOD ROOF by Richard Acree http://habitecinspections.com At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we sometimes see situations during a Home Inspection and we wonder just what were they thinking. It seems like they did things wrong just to say they could. Look at the picture of the roof shingles below. What's wrong? HINT: Water flows downhill, and this picture was taken from a roof top.
ANSWER: Actually this is wrong from whatever angle you look at it. In any condition, whether in a valley … (6 comments)
Home and Commercial building inspections, mold assessments including inspections and mold sampling, radon testing and water quality analysis in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Nashville Home Inspections - What's Wrong With This Picture? 11-4-12
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