home inspector: Nailing Tips to Stop Banging Those Fingers
- 11/12/08 11:47 AM
This post is in honor of my sister's sore fingers after hanging pictures. Very simple tips that people just don't think of but wished that had. Here are a couple of nailing tips that I hope you find useful. Tip #1. Most finger smacks from a hammer occurs when the hammer head skims off the nail head because the hammer head is too smooth. To help avoid this I keep the head of my hammer "roughen up". My Dad taught me this many years ago. Look at the hammer head to see if the surface is smooth like glass. If you … (3 comments)
home inspector: My Life Flashed in Front of My Eyes Yesterday.....Literally!
- 09/21/08 10:42 AM
This post is a reminder for inspectors to be so careful when it comes to breaker panels. Yesterday I was inspecting a new home and almost got the shock of my life, and could have lost it as well. We sometimes get in a flow with our inspecting and don't think to check certain things. I now have new items to check when it comes to the breaker panel's dead front cover. After inspecting inside the box, I was putting the cover back on while talking to the buyer and just remember seeing a flash of light, hearing a POW and … (19 comments)
home inspector: Dryer Hose Danger......Check Yours Now!
- 09/16/08 12:07 PM
While performing a home inspection today, I was reminded to make sure everyone check their dryer hoses and make sure you don't have one of the old plastic hoses. These are no longer sold or allowed and can be fire hazards. Look behind your dryer and see if it a plastic, nylon or vinyl hose. They are usually white and look like the one in the picture. IF so PLEASE change it immediately! I don't want to read about you guys in the paper! They cost about $9.00 at the big box improvement stores and are made of metal and can … (3 comments)
home inspector: A Way to Save Some Warmth this Winter
- 09/15/08 02:37 PM
With winter just around the corner, it's time to start checking door weather stripping and thresholds, caulking around windows and other areas that cold air can get into your house and warm air inside can escape. A very cheap and easy way to accomplish this is to install receptacle and switch insulators. You can buy these at most hardware stores and are very cheap. They are made of a foam insulation that simply installs between the receptacle or switch cover and the wall and takes only a minute to install each.
First, remove the screw(s) that hold the outlet or … (3 comments)
You mother in law is coming over and....darn, forgot to pick up more toilet bowl cleaner. If you have Alka Seltzer in the medicine cabinet, just plop in a couple of tablets, let sit twenty minutes, and flush. If the toilet is really bad, here is another way. Shut off the water valve to the toilet and flush so that most of the water drains out of the bowl. Replace the water in the bowl with hot water and place 6 - 8 tablets in. Let it sit for 30 minutes and brush throughly with toilet brush. … (6 comments)
I was inspecting a crawlspace of a home in an older neighborhood and while I was crawling around under the bathroom area, I kept feeling something strange under my body......not exactly dirt or a liquid but slippery. To my surprise as I shined my flashlight around me, I realized that I was lying on a thick bed of literally hundreds of double edge razor blades! I carefully rolled off them and took this picture. The ones you can see are the ones that slid down the small hill, … (21 comments)
home inspector: Fall season webworms.....how to combat them
- 10/14/07 11:22 AM
Been noticing all the trees with the webs lately? In the Dallas / Worth area, they thrive mostly in the pecan trees. They are called webworms, latin name Hyphantria cunea. These inch-long green or yellow caterpillars, bristling with silky hairs, are actually moth larvae. In summer and early autumn they weave expansive webs that bind together the ends of branches. They eat every leaf within reach, continually building larger webs until late autumn, when they pupate. Resembling dirty rags and filled with black droppings and wriggling worms, the webs ruin the aesthetics of any garden. One way to combat these is to get … (6 comments)
This post is in honor of my sister's sore fingers after hanging pictures. Very simple tips that people just don't think of but wished that had. Here are a couple of nailing tips that I hope you find useful.
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