connecticut ct home inspections: Daddy, Why Can't Santa Come Down Our Chimney?
- 08/17/10 02:51 AM
Daddy, Why Can't Santa Come Down our Chimney? I used to hear that question every December and have to explain that our wood stove was blocking the fireplace, but Santa would use the front door to deliver the presents. I know, the explanation is a bit lame, but it seem to satisfy my two girls.
Chimneys are a fixture on most of the houses here in Connecticut, all though most newer homes do not have the traditional brick and mortar chimneys. I'm certain that is because they are costly to build and need a good deal of maintenance. Pre fab fireplaces … (7 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Wiring by Dummies
- 08/16/10 01:55 AM
Electricity, as every sensible person knows, is dangerous. Yet there is a small minority who seem to think they can wire or rewire everything in the house from the lamp to the living room. My generic term for the home handy man is Uncle Bob. He's the guy that everyone in the family believes for what ever reason can fix or build anything.
Uncle Bob has built a deck, roofed his house and rewired his kitchen. Yes, yes there was the fire, but the investigation was inconclusive.
I found quite a bit of Uncle Bob's handy work in a newer … (13 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: How Tall is Your Kid or How to Use a Tape Measure
- 08/11/10 12:44 AM
Most every home with a garage these days has an automatic garage door opener. These contraptions of convenience make opening the garage door simple and easy, but they are also very dangerous. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission an average of 20,000 injuries a year are attributed to garage door openers.
Because of the inherent dangers of these door lifters safety devices have been incorporated into the design for some time now. One of the first was the automatic reverse. The door meets resistance and it goes back up. Like all mechanical devices however its proper and safe function is directly … (22 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: I Feel Like I Am Being Watched
- 08/09/10 12:23 AM
Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched? I don't mean a furtive glance from a stranger in the mall, but followed, spied on with intent. I've had that feeling for sometime. I would glance out the window or steal a quick look behind me, but never see anything out of place.
On a recent business trip to Seattle to assist fellow home inspector and AR member Charles Buell with a multi building inspection, I got an inkling into why I have been sensing secretive eyes on my back.
One morning we met for breakfast with another AR member … (18 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Who Doesn't Like a Pair of Sexy Nylon Stockings?
- 08/06/10 12:34 AM
No question about it, legs look hotter sheathed in a pair of nylon stockings. Funny thing is there seems to be no end to other uses people find for these sexy leg coverings. One of the more popular is among the criminal element as a head covering (not so sexy). The nylon stocking has become an iconic symbol for bad guys around the world.
There are more utilitarian uses people find for this humble hosiery. Take for instance the dryer vent lint catcher I happen across in a basement the other day. Yep no need to bother with extra drilling and … (27 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Wrap Me Up In Stone
- 07/30/10 09:23 AM
In the nomenclature of the building business the exterior of a house is covered in "cladding". Cladding protects the interior of the house from the elements most notably water. It's like wearing an old cheap raincoat, because like the old rain coat it leaks a little, some kinds more than others. Cladding can be made of wood, stucco or stone just to name a few of the more common types.
Stone houses around Connecticut are not all that unusual. As anyone here who has a garden knows there is enough stone in the ground to build whole towns of full of stone … (11 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: The Russian Spy and the Patio Roof
- 07/23/10 01:31 AM
Spying is without question a dangerous occupation. A secret agent must have nerves of steel, a bit of a suicidal bent and most importantly a fake identity or cover. If a spy's cover is compromised they may mysteriously disappear one night never to be heard from again. That's how it happens in the spy novels anyway.
Seeing this patio roof the other day made me think of compromised covers, but not of the Russian spy variety. You see a good cover relies on a strong foundation for support whether it's a spy's identity or a roof. I found this patio roof to … (18 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: How Many Inspectors Does It Take to Inspect a Home?
- 07/14/10 01:44 AM
How Many Inspectors Does It Take to Inspect a Home?
It all depends on what they don't know.
What exactly does that mean you ask? Well if one inspector doesn't know his electrical very well it can take at least two.
I quite recently inspected a home that had been previously inspected about a month before by another, more experienced inspector. When I say experienced I mean the other inspector has been in the inspection business longer than me.
The home was fairly new (2001) and well kept. Both agents made a point of mentioning the previous inspection. As my inspection … (25 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: The New Shine Hides the Crime
- 06/19/10 02:26 AM
If there is one thing about new construction this Connecticut home inspector knows is that all new homes need inspections. Unfortunately most new construction home buyers seem blissfully unaware of this little fact. After all the home is brand, shiny new. Oh and it's been inspected by the town inspector...for free. And there is a one year warranty. Yep nothing to worry about, everything should hunky dory.
Do people lose all connection to reality when purchasing a newly constructed home? Has everyone not at one time or another purchased a brand new item only to find out it's defective? I wonder … (51 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: A Contentious Gas
- 06/07/10 01:27 AM
The most common ancillary home inspection service in my area is radon testing. I would estimate close to half of my customers opt to test the home they are purchasing for the presence of the gas. This spring I have received several requests for retesting homes after an initial test by a buyers home inspector showed a level over the EPA action level of 4.0 pCi/L.
The reasons for the sellers wanting a retest were varied, but the most common reason was when they bought the home a tested had been done and that result was below the action level. This … (15 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Step on a Crack
- 06/04/10 02:27 AM
A common adage I have heard about concrete is;
You can count on concrete to do two things;
1) Get hard and 2) crack.
Some cracking is normal, but too much can be a sign of trouble.
Recently I found a concrete masonry wall with some concerning cracks. The wall was built in the common "one over two" method which creates a step pattern. Finding some cracking is expected, but when there are long and continuous cracks...not so good.
This concrete masonry wall had what is referred to as step cracking in two or three separate areas. The cracks follow the … (13 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: A Trip in the Way Back Machine
- 05/22/10 12:04 AM
A fringe benefit of inspecting houses is all the cool stuff I get to see. For example this old house built in 1884. I think it still looks stately and grand looking over the main street where it was built 126 years ago. The house must have belonged to someone wealthy. It is fairly large with many high end features which are still in place today. Let me show you some of the fine accoutrements of this home.
First is some of the exceptional architectural detail on the exterior. These filigree type ornamental touches on the gables are really quite magnificent. The … (12 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Fixing a Hole
- 05/13/10 02:02 AM
I'm sure most everyone remembers the late great Billy Mays, the TV pitchman who hawked so many different products in his loud and unforgettable voice. One of the most recognizable of these products has to be Mighty Putty the versatile fix all wonder epoxy clay. One of the great uses for Mighty Putty, as Billy would demonstrate, was repairing plumbing leaks.
Yes sir, you just pull a little Mighty Putty off the stick, put it right on the leak and Presto! The leak is plugged and permanently fixed.
While looking under the kitchen sink during an inspection the other day I … (19 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Absolutely Not, Well Maybe, But Not for You
- 05/05/10 02:25 AM
I did inspection for a client some months back on a nice little ranch house. The property was bank owned. The front of the roof was snow covered on the day of the inspection as can be seen in the first photo, but the back was exposed. Good thing because the shingles were toast.
A few weeks ago I received a call from this client to do another home inspection. I asked him about the ranch house. He told me the bank had been unwilling to resolve the roof issue therefore he walked away from the deal. The home had a … (18 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: They Don't Make ‘em Like They Used To
- 04/23/10 12:41 AM
They don't make ‘em like they used to; this phrase is usually an insult uttered by grandpa aimed at some new fangled contraption those darn kids are using. It is often said by many of us at certain times as well.
It seems change is one constant that we humans fight tooth and nail. People on the average don't like or readily embrace change, hence grandpa's admonition. Fact is change not only is good, it is necessary.
People tended to dislike cars when they first appeared on the scene over a hundred years ago. Could you imagine life today without them? As … (18 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Did That Come Out of You?
- 04/15/10 02:39 AM
While in the course of inspecting a home I will expect to see certain things in certain places. For example the water meter is going to be all most always in the basement. When something is missing or out of place I get a little nagging feeling that lies quietly in the back of my mind. As the inspection progresses the feeling gets stronger until the proverbial light bulb pops on. Some people may call it intuition.
The other day I was inspecting a bank owned property and after getting off the roof that feeling started. It was very subtle and … (26 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Discoverng The Strange, Wacky and Sometimes Just Plain Cool
- 04/09/10 01:13 AM
Being a home inspector I often see some weird stuff. Sometimes creatively weird that leaves me scratching my head until it hurts. And every once in a while something that strikes me as just plain cool.
I have come upon the strange and the cool on a few home inspections recently and thought I would share.
In the first picture I have outlined something waaaaay up on the side of this house. Can you see it? In the next picture you can. It's an outlet. What!?
Everyone there had a head scratching moment wondering what on earth is the purpose of … (19 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Black Dust
- 04/06/10 11:58 PM
Maintenance is a major part to owning a home. There is always something that needs to be fixed or kept up. Some of these chores seem to fall through the cracks. Forgotten about, not understood or simply the owner is unaware of the need to perform the maintenance. In my experience one of the most commonly misunderstood regular home maintenance chores is chimney cleaning.
Here in Connecticut a good number of homes use oil for heating. Oil produces a lot of soot when burned. Think about being behind a bus or diesel truck when they accelerate. That big puff of noxious … (15 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: Choke, Cough & Sputter
- 03/29/10 03:41 AM
Have you every tried to light a fire in the fireplace without opening the damper or air intakes? The flame will not catch easily or burn not to mention the smoke that ends up in the house. Fire needs oxygen in addition to fuel to burn. A fire can smolder with little air, but as soon as that flame get a big breath, WHOOSH!
The same principals apply to combustion type heating systems. The burner requires oxygen to feed the flames. Many newer heating systems have air intakes directly to the burner from the exterior, but countless systems still rely on … (8 comments)
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connecticut ct home inspections: I Don't Pack a Kayak
- 03/21/10 01:20 AM
Water is a necessary element to life and yet is also a very destructive force. Because of this houses are ideally built to be water proof, but usually at some point in time spring a leak. Some leaks are small and some are HUGE.
During a recent inspection I found a crawl space that reminded me of a movie title;
A River Runs Through It.
When I took this picture the tide must have been out because at that moment the water was gone. Look at the cement support columns (those are another story) in the picture. Can you see the … (18 comments)
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Daddy, Why Can't Santa Come Down our Chimney? I used to hear that question every December and have to explain that our wood stove was blocking the fireplace, but Santa would use the front door to deliver the presents. I know, the explanation is a bit lame, but it seem to satisfy my two girls.
;)
;)
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