home inspectors in connecticut ct: The HVAC Man, the Shocking Truth
- 09/17/11 12:43 AM
Electricity, most people have the good sense to leave it alone. Most, not all. Tradesmen and contractors are by far the worst offenders in my experience for playing around with electricity and screwing it up. There is of course that pesky Uncle Bob, who makes appearances all over the country. There is always an Uncle Bob in every family. He’s the guy who has just enough knowledge to be dangerous and is always more than willing to help with any home project at your house.
Like I said it’s the professionals who I find muck things up more often than an … (30 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: The Meaning of Complete
- 09/16/11 12:47 AM
When my two girls come home from school most days, they bring along some homework. They are expected to sit down and do their work until it is complete. If they do not finish the work, the teacher will give them an incomplete as their grade for the assignment. It’s too bad home inspectors or better yet homeowners couldn’t give out incompletes to contractors. While I’m thinking about it, adding in detention for the worst offenders might also be a good idea.
Take these two newer roofs from two consecutive inspections. Roofers for some reason seem like they do not like … (15 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Band Aids Are For Cuts
- 09/15/11 01:50 AM
When I was a kid a cut from the tiniest scratch to the biggest gash was an excuse to get a band aid from my mother. My two girls are no different, they put band aids on their mosquito bites. The purpose of a band aid is to cover a fair sized wound to help it heal. It’s not permanent nor a cure. Band aids are not just for scraps and scratches, I find people use them on their homes all the time. These are not the familiar Johnson & Johnson type. House band aids are more on the line of … (9 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Born of Pioneer Spirit
- 09/12/11 12:58 AM
Connecticut is one of the first areas settled in America. It was indisputably tough in those early days for the settlers of New England. The early pioneers in order to survive had to make do with what ever was at hand. Born from this early American spirit of inventiveness sprang the term Yankee ingenuity. Today I run across this make do with what you have creativity all too often during home inspections.
Take for example this gallon sized salad oil can that was once used as part of the duct work for a heating system. Pretty slick. I’d like to think … (10 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Lemons
- 09/09/11 01:33 AM
Everyone has bought something at one time or another that never worked right from the start. The item was defective from the factory. The frustrating part of owning such an item can be getting resolution from the manufacturer. Such an item is often called a lemon. In Connecticut there is a lemon law pertaining to cars that break down or have repeated problems. There is no such protection for buying a house that’s a lemon. Owning a house that’s a lemon can be a living nightmare.
I received a called by a desperate homeowner recently who has been experiencing leaks through … (9 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Spirts Adrift in The Night
- 09/07/11 12:06 AM
Delicate tendrils wisp along on gentle currents, fleeing the inferno that spawned them. Their transitory flight slowly enveloped, inhaled by the dark night air.
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, Middlesex, New Haven, Southern Litchfield and Western New London.
… (6 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Distressed Air
- 09/06/11 01:51 AM
I would have to say that air conditioning is not a huge priority in Connecticut homes. Yes home buyers like central A/C, but in reality it's used perhaps three to four months of the year. For me as a home inspector this means I am only able to run and check the equipment not much beyond those months of use. With summer and accordingly the summer temperatures beginning to fade, A/C systems are operating less and soon many home owners will be looking to change over to the heating season.
For now the equipment is open and running or can be … (10 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Hanging Around on Sunday
- 09/04/11 02:09 AM
Not only is it Sunday, but it's a long weekend. Today is perfect for spending all the time you like dangling your feet over a rock or anywhere you feel like for that matter. So go wiggle your toes in a pond or pump your feet on the pedals of your bike. Take the whole day to enjoy, because there is no shuffling your feet off to work tomorrow.
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 … (9 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Stemming The Tide
- 09/02/11 01:01 AM
Since hurricane Irene blew up the east coast, the effects of the storm are still being felt by many, many people, in particular water and flooding. As a home inspector in Connecticut I regularly see the detrimental consequences of water on a home. Wood decay and water damage being the most dominant problems. The thing of it is, many times the problems were bound to happen due to bad construction.
On two recent and consecutive inspections I found the same issues with the decks on both homes. The first and most obvious problem, at least to my eyes, was the location … (15 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Functional?
- 08/30/11 12:57 AM
When a home is inspected the inspector will use words like functional or serviceable to describe the various components of the house. These words mean that the particular item is working at that moment performing its expected or intended purpose. When contractors or tradesmen install systems or components, would it not seem logical that their end goal is for the item to be functional? Especially in a system. A system is a collection of components that together make up a larger component like a heating system.
Heating systems have many independent components that together make the house warm and comfortable. Like … (12 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: How Old is Too Olde?
- 08/29/11 01:38 AM
Age is such a deciding factor for so many things in life. You can’t drive until you’re 16, vote until you’re 18 and drink all the way until 21. You can’t become President until you’re 33, which is a little strange since you can vote for the president when you are much younger. Eventually you retire or hope to at 67 or is it 70, they keep moving the bar. There seems to be this obsession with age, as if like a kitchen timer, when a person reaches that magic number a significant change occurs instantaneously.
Similarly the stuff people make, … (11 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Gas Can Go Boom!
- 08/25/11 12:36 AM
Arguably one of the best ways to cook is on a gas cook top. There really is no better control than with a gas flame, electric stove tops just can’t compete. The one thing about gas as opposed to electricity is it can leak and go bang. This is why it scares some folks and they prefer other ways to cook and heat their homes. The truth is gas is safe as long as the equipment is maintained, but above all else has been installed correctly.
Not long ago during a home inspection the buyers and their agent were admiring the … (12 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: In the Absence of Right and Plumb
- 08/24/11 12:54 AM
Traipsing through the summer forest, one is bound to happen upon life forms that appear both grotesquely odd and wonderfully intriguing. Nature has a unique way of creating life that appears foreign, alien to us in our manufactured world of plumb lines and right angles. Rarely are straight lines to be found in nature. If so they are an anomaly, a freak occurrence. Yet we humans almost seem compelled to seek them, finding queer comfort in our perception of perfection. The gentle lines and curves of the landscape create a soft, inviting appearance. Even that which at first looks rugged among the supple detritus of the forest floor, is actually quite fragile, protected by … (9 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: What’s That Behind Your Back?
- 08/19/11 01:23 AM
As a kid can you ever remember a time sneaking a treat or taking a siblings toy that you wanted real bad and then got caught in the act? If you have kids, you may have been the one catching them in their dirty little deed. What’s usually your first reaction when you get caught? I mean after you unglue yourself from the ceiling. You will try to hide the thing you aren’t supposed to have, often behind your back.
C’mon, you know the drill. You look down at the ground, fidgeting. Mom or dad asks, “What’s that you have?”
“Nothing.”
… (10 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Playing Hide And Seek
- 08/16/11 12:37 AM
I loved to play hide and seek as a kid, especially in the summer because we were allowed to stay out after dark. Playing hide and seek in the dark brings a whole new twist to the game. You could hide and seek, but the best part was you could now scare the crap out of someone. However, I do not like playing hide and seek when doing a home inspection.
Trying to find hidden components is not fun. Inspecting should not be a treasure hunt, all though I have happened upon a few treasures. In my experience most people do … (13 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Tied Up
- 08/12/11 12:13 AM
Tied up, a little phrase that can mean you are very busy or perhaps you and that certain someone could be getting busy. Either way you are definitely unavailable. We can tie the knot with that special person or be so mad we are fit to be tied. Boats are tied up to the dock and even our tongues can get tied.
One tying phrase I have heard that is really kind of a misnomer is, tying in a pipe. Since I have never seen pipes tied together…
Or did I miss something back in home inspection school.
James … (13 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: A Stand Out
- 08/10/11 01:09 AM
In the forest
Carpet of brown and green
Conspicuous among it
A crimson sphere
Blood like splash
Washed to the edges
Almost white
Stretching, opening
To blue above
Eye catching
Beckoning, a signal
Calling
See me!
I am here
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, Middlesex, New Haven, Southern Litchfield and Western New London.
… (5 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Two Feet Firmly On The Ground
- 08/09/11 12:40 AM
I had discussed recently my reason for wanting to climb onto a roof as a home inspector. There are those who will debate quite convincingly that climbing on to a roof is not entirely necessary. All these arguments usually focus around one thing;
The roof covering.
Another reason that I like to get up on the roof is to check the chimney. A good majority of chimneys in Connecticut are brick or masonry block. A good number of them being old and from my experience poorly maintained. Another factor in Connecticut is the predominance of fuel oil to run heating and hot … (27 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Neighbors
- 08/08/11 01:04 AM
Good neighbors are priceless. I’ve lived in enough places to appreciate having good neighbors. Living in a home with neighbors who rub you the wrong way can make every day life stressful and unpleasant. What makes for a good neighbor is as diverse as the people who are our neighbors. As a home inspector I generally don’t get to meet the neighbors, but I often notice things about their homes while inspecting.
This is especially true while up on the roof. A bird’s eye view affords a great vantage point in which to see the surrounding neighborhood. Sometimes I see the … (12 comments)
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home inspectors in connecticut ct: Slipping Away
- 08/06/11 01:01 AM
When something has been said to slip away, the connotation is not positive. There are times I’ve heard. “I let opportunity slip away”. While that may be, opportunity is a perceived moment in time, not a solid object or predetermined destination. With buildings slipping is also in most instances undesirable and should be prevented.
Fastening building components is as varied as the types of building themselves. Yet the good old nail, screw and bolt do the bulk of the work most of the time. Omitting one of these fasteners at a key location can cause a bit of slipping to occur, … (12 comments)
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Electricity, most people have the good sense to leave it alone. Most, not all. Tradesmen and contractors are by far the worst offenders in my experience for playing around with electricity and screwing it up. There is of course that pesky Uncle Bob, who makes appearances all over the country. There is always an Uncle Bob in every family. He’s the guy who has just enough knowledge to be dangerous and is always more than willing to help with any home project at your house.
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