ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2011
32
Comments
Do you know what this is? It's an HVAC register! This is a high-velocity forced air system, sometimes called a "mini-duct" system. And the ducts are really small! About 2" wide. And the covers are very attractive! Larger rooms can need more than one register! Very large rooms as many as 4 or ...
09/09/2011
One thing people tell me when I do one-year and two-year warranty inspections is that the builder said the house was "green certified," or whatever phrase is used. Be careful when the builder says your insulation is "green certified." First of all, who knows what criteria is being claimed. Secon...
09/09/2011
44
Comments
People can live in a house and not notice things. I find that out all the time on warranty inspections. And because of that, on one year inspections - I am looking high and low. These photos come courtesy my client as my camera was on the wrong setting! This is your basic water main. It is loc...
09/07/2011
Every time my client uses the oven and heats the kitchen up the smoke detector would go off. They found out that improper smoke detector placement can cause false positives. When they called the builder about it they were told it is "normal." What!!?? Well, of course the detector going off wou...
09/06/2011
10
Comments
" 'Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own. 'Compassion' is when a politician arranges the transfer. " Joseph Sobran (1946-2010) It's hard to understand economics when a people is conditioned to look to the gubment for satisfaction of its needs and t...
09/06/2011
92
Comments
"Our air conditioning doesn't blow very hard." How often have I heard this! "Well, it blows hard in two rooms. In the rest it's very weak. We'd like you to try to figure out why." This time it was over the phone when someone scheduled a new-construction warranty inspection. And they were right. O...
09/04/2011
24
Comments
You've heard of tree huggers? Well, this is a hugger tree! I thought its symmetry to be very unusual. And there are two different forms of symmetry! How nature pulls these things off is interesting. It's almost as if someone is involved in creative design and just showing off to prove it ...
09/02/2011
17
Comments
All home inspectors probably have their pet peeves. My biggest involve carbon monoxide. PVC vents that I think are too close to windows or doors and furnace/water heater vents through the roof that are very short and vulnerable to back drafting are two that come to mind. ...
09/02/2011
Rainmaker
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2,017,531
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.