Real estate blog entries tagged with home inspectors in connecticut ct by James Quarello, Connecticut Home Inspector (JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC)

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home inspectors in connecticut ct: So Many Wrongs - 01/23/12 12:09 AM

There are times when inspecting a home that I find something that has been installed with several things wrong. It almost becomes a comedy of errors, except it’s not funny when those errors have the potential to cause harm.
Take for example a water heater. Water heaters look pretty harmless standing humbly in their chosen spot. They do not look scary or dangerous. Yet there are numerous potential dangers that can exist.
Take for example this gas water heater from a recent inspection. My first thought was it hasn’t been installed by a licensed plumber. The first issue is the missing … (11 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Making the Right Connections - 01/22/12 01:24 AM

As we journey through life, we are every day making connections on several different levels. In our personal lives we connect we our loved ones and friends on an emotional and intellectual level. In our businesses or work we make connections that help us accomplish our tasks and be successful. On a cerebral level we make connections continually in our brains that make all the other connections possible.
We are each one of us quite well connected.
Just like missing a flight connection, human beings can also miss a connection or even get on the wrong plane. The reasons for failing … (7 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Resistant - 01/18/12 12:05 AM

So many products are labeled as being resistant to this or that. Most of the time with products in the building industry, the resistance will be to water or mold. Mold is the newest hideous monster lurking in every dark corner of our homes, waiting for the right moment to release toxic spores that will consume us with some horrible illness.

Or so it would seem if you listen to some of the stories around.
Since mold and more generically fungi are and have really always been an issue with buildings, there are products out there now that are mold … (13 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Preschool Plumbing - 01/17/12 12:06 AM

Plumbing, it doesn’t seem to scare folks like electricity. Maybe it should. I think the moderately handy see all those pipes as an adult size set of Tinker Toys or Legos. Pipes look fairly easy to assembly, all drains are usually plastic that are glued together. Easy, peasy.
Often it’s the drains that are done incorrectly by the Preschool Plumber.
Plumbers are one of the licensed trades in Connecticut. An individual must go to school and spend a good deal of time as an apprentice before being granted a plumbers license. Plumbers are paid well for a reason. It’s also why … (18 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Knowing - 01/09/12 12:02 AM

One saying I have grown fond of is;
You don’t know what you don’t know or one might conclude, ignorance is bliss.
When inspecting homes I see problems that have been created or solved depending on your point of view as an attempt to solve an initial problem. Take for example the solution to an ice damming problem caused by the record snowfall in Connecticut last winter.
While inspecting the roof of this home the first thing I saw was the “solution” to the problem. Electric roof heaters installed at the end of the roof. I also saw the consequence of … (10 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: 32 Degrees Causes Separation - 01/07/12 01:27 AM

This winter has been radically different in Connecticut compared to last season. The temperatures have remained mostly mild, with out any snow fall with the exception of a freak fall snow storm that wreaked havoc across the region in October. There have however been some very brief cold snaps where the mercury has dipped into the teens and even the single digits over night.
As everyone knows water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Here in Connecticut homeowners start removing the summer accessories and making their homes ready for winter in the fall. One task is to bring in the garden hoses. … (14 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Wordless Yellow Sky - 01/04/12 06:58 AM

James QuarelloConnecticut Home InspectorFormer SNEC-ASHI PresidentNRSB #8SS0022JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

To find out more about our other high tech services we offer in Connecticut click on the links below:
Serving the Connecticut Counties of Fairfield, Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, Southern Litchfield and Western New London. … (6 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Yuck! - 12/30/11 12:04 AM

An interesting aspect of being in a real estate related business is seeing how people live in their homes. Some homeowners I find simply do that, live in them. I often find it intriguing how a homeowner may come up with a clever solution to a problem. On the flip side disregard issues that may be best described as disgusting in addition to being health and safety concerns.

On a recent home inspection I noticed a sump pump in the garage while walking around inspecting the outside of the house. I paid little attention at the time as my focus … (18 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Can Lights, Water Falls and Wishing Wells - 12/28/11 12:29 AM

I have said it hundreds of times, because I have seen it hundreds of times, aesthetics trumps function. Add to that some contractors who, at least from where I stand, do not seem to understand that A + B = problems and so I find things like this water stained soffit.
Water stained soffits have bloomed here in Connecticut since last winters record setting snow falls. Ice dams and roof collapses were occurring in unprecedented numbers, so seeing water stains like these is not all that uncommon, except these were a tad unique.
To my eye these stains were different because … (12 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Gemini - 12/26/11 11:36 PM

Two of something should be twice as good as one. Every kid I know always wants two scoops of ice cream, not one. Twofer sales are another perfect example of two is better than one. Of course there are instances where two of something might not be as good as the one. Like the two cozily together chimneys I found poking through a roof on a recent home inspection. Sure these two chimneys aren’t identical, they must be fraternal twins, but they are close.

Too close.
So close in fact the installer had to remove the counter flashing from the … (20 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Murphy the Optimist - 12/23/11 12:04 AM

I’m pretty sure everyone over the age of 16 has heard of Murphy’s Law. The old adage states, “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong”. I’ve heard it said Murphy was an optimist. What people may not know is there are many corollaries to Murphy’s Law. One I heard many years ago that has stuck with me through what I like to call negative reinforcement is,
“There is never time to do it right, but there is always time to do it over.”
How true I find that to be, especially in the world of inspecting homes.
Take for example … (20 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Head Scratcher - 12/16/11 11:33 PM

During quite a few inspections I happen upon something that makes me stop and scratch my head in wonder. Could explain the growing bald spot on my noggin.
Not long ago while inspectiong a basement in an older home I found this cut through floor joist. Now it is clear to me it was cut in order to put in a floor register for the heating system. What's really puzzling is;
One the duct was placed just on the other side of the joist and
two, why didn't someone repair the board.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
This stuff makes my head … (16 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Recently Serviced - 12/16/11 12:09 AM

Recently serviced, two words I find attached to the description of various components in a house. For example, the furnace has been recently serviced. The good thing about a piece of heating equipment having been serviced is the company usually leaves a tag on the unit with the date and sometimes a few notes. For the home inspector the tag can confirm a service has in fact been done recently.
One interesting twist about leaving a service tag on a piece of equipment, it also in essence makes that company responsible for their work. In Connecticut that can also mean legally … (16 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Santa’s Not Going to be Happy - 12/10/11 12:40 AM

With Christmas just 15 short days away (What!) preparations for the jolly old elf’s visit are in hyper drive. The anticipation is ramping up to the fever pitched crescendo parents endure on Christmas Eve into Christmas day. If there is one thing all little tykes are worried about at this time of year it’s the chimney. This is Santa’s gateway into their home and it better be ready mom and dad!

Well needless to say I was extremely concerned the other day when I received an email from a dad anxious with some recent repairs to his chimney. Seems after … (15 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Problem…Ignored - 12/03/11 12:02 AM

One of the purposes of hiring a home inspector is that in order to find and coordinated every tradesman and contractor necessary to inspect a house would be a logistical nightmare. The other is bias or should I say lack of.
The home inspector unlike for example the plumber, has nothing to sell other than his skill inspecting homes. Sure the plumber is way more knowledgeable about plumbing, but he makes his living installing pipes and associated components, not inspecting them. The other aspect of an expertise is the expert may often see their product/skill as the answer to the homeowner’s … (56 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Insulating Paint - 12/01/11 12:12 AM

Water and mold, two things that most every home buyer or homeowner for that matter, fear. While a healthy respect for both substances is more sensible and realistic. The fact is there has and continues to be much misinformation around fanning the flames of mold dread. Truth is mold is every where. Some of it even tastes good.
One thing about fear I have found, it makes my phone ring. It also makes other phones ring too, but that is what the fear mongers desire. I how ever have a different agenda. Recently I was contacted by a property manager (email, … (41 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Improvise - 11/27/11 12:36 AM

If you find yourself up the creek or in this case on the lake without a paddle, no need to fret. A piece of drift wood will do the job in a pinch. Whenever you break a paddle on the river of life, no reason to panic, look around you, what you need may be close at hand.

James QuarelloConnecticut Home Inspector2010 - 2011 SNEC-ASHI PresidentNRSB #8SS0022JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

To find out more about our other high tech services we offer in Connecticut click on the links below:
Serving the Connecticut Counties of Fairfield, Hartford, … (10 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: No Returns - 11/21/11 10:51 PM

As we approach the holiday season, the words “no returns” can cause the holiday shopper more than a bit of trepidation. At this time of year, the gift receipt has almost as much significance as the gift itself. To buy or not to buy, becomes the question.
No returns when it comes to HVAC systems is never an option. With any forced air heating and cooling systems it is necessary to have return ducts back to furnace and or air handling unit. It is really a very simple concept, when forcing air into a confined space, in order for the air … (5 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: Could the Fox be Guarding the Chickens? - 11/20/11 12:13 AM

One reason I think home inspections are a unique service is that the consumer hires the inspector to look at the property. Municipal building inspectors on the other hand do “free” inspections and only on new construction. The scope of the work they do is very narrow and specific by comparison to an independent home inspector. Also the city inspector works for the city, and reports to his boss, not the consumer who is purchasing the newly constructed home.

The building official also does not have the luxury of time. Generally most jurisdictional inspectors have many projects to look at … (6 comments)

home inspectors in connecticut ct: The Flopper - 11/17/11 12:13 AM

When you stop and think about it the word flop does not have a positive connotation. A bad movie is said to be a flop or a product that has not lived up to its advertised expectations (do they really ever?). I also think flop is the opposite of flip. So can a flip be a flop?
But I digress.
The other day while inspecting the exterior of a home I found and interesting new method of extending a gutter downspout. The problem has always been when an extension is attached to the spout, it tends to get in the … (9 comments)

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