ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2010
12
Comments
My daughter and son-in-law bought a new house, in another state far from me. They have been in it only a few months. Some defects in things are beginning to show up. Caulking is "disintegrating" (their word), leaks are occurring, cabinets are coming off the kitchen walls (I had a blog about th...
03/31/2010
On new construction a home inspector has to pay attention to everything. You never know what will be encountered. Even things that appear to be correctly done might not be! On this new house, on the exterior inspection, I noticed that the house did not have a front or rear hose bib, but one on...
03/28/2010
70
Comments
Every industry has its no no's. Home inspecting as a profession is no different. Certainly, no list of anything is definitive, but can I suggest seven deadly things a home inspector can do? MISINTERPRET - Home inspecting is about gathering information. It is very important that the information ...
03/28/2010
22
Comments
While walking around the outside of a house today I pointed out to my client that the shingles at the bottom of a valley, draining into a gutter too small, was apparently getting behind the aluminum fascia wrap and the vinyl siding. The dripping can be seen o...
03/26/2010
22
Comments
Had the sun not been in the right position I might not have seen this. New construction, double master bathroom sink, plastic counter top with bowls. Glancing in the mirror the reflected sun light just happened to catch a 8" long, very thin crack extending from beside the right handle to beyond t...
03/25/2010
13
Comments
One thing to check for in new construction is proper installations. For a home inspector that can be daunting. The building supervisor has been on site for 100 or 120 days. The inspector only gets a couple of hours. You would think everything would be installed properly! After all, there are ...
03/24/2010
8
Comments
This post is a simple warning. You have heard of Hoof and Mouth Disease. Something new may have come down the pike. The apparently new and dreaded Pickle and Tongue Disease. This condition comes about by eating a whole jar of pickles at one sitting. Don't think it couldn't happen to you or yo...
03/23/2010
14
Comments
Nothing unusual - very old house, chimney in the center which passed through the roof, thermostat in the dining room. Doing my normal routine, I turned on the dishwasher and oven, and found the thermostat to turn on the furnace. I noticed oil tank lines on the outside of the house, so I already ...
03/22/2010
24
Comments
I had a fortune cookie the other day that said, "You discover treasures where others see nothing unusual." Gee, that happens to me every day! That's my job! The other day was no different. The house information listed a new cook top. Being 25 years old that would not be unusual. And this is ...
03/20/2010
5
Comments
It was another new construction inspection, and another call from another supervisor. "How did you figure out the air flow from the heat registers?" On new construction I ALWAYS check the airflow from HVAC registers. I do that because sometimes they systems are not balanced well, or connected pr...
03/19/2010
Rainmaker
2,017,131
2,017,131
Jay Markanich
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.