home inspection omaha: Massive Chimney Causes Entire Addition to Settle in Omaha, NE
- 12/12/17 06:34 AM
This older home in downtown Omaha, NE had an addition built on the back side of the home for a 2-car garage and a finished Family Room above. The massive chimney didn't have a proper footing under it. When it settled, it caused the entire addition to settle with it. There is almost a 3" drop across the span of maybe 13'.
Wondering why a home sits on the market and has a hard time selling? It's either priced too high or it's got some major problems. When you see a house lingering on the market and you're serious about buying it, you … (5 comments)
home inspection omaha: Happy Carbon Monoxide Everyone! Sleep well...
- 01/01/17 10:20 AM
This house in Omaha, NE had a 6 month old furnace and water heater. The only 2 sources of carbon monoxide in the home. During my home inspection, my CO detector hit 20 ppm when I was running the furnace. I recalibrated my detector and went back into the house. It then registered 29 ppm. At this point, I shut off the furnace and aired the house out. I contacted the homeowner who was a professional flipper and informed him of the carbon monoxide. 2 months go by and my client suspects something isn't right and wants me to perform a re-inspect … (4 comments)
home inspection omaha: Insulation Missing In Attic of New Construction
- 12/02/15 11:54 PM
The Buyer had their final walk through with the Builder last week. They went through a stringent checklist and had some minor issues to address before closing. The paint touchups and cleaning were being done when I performed the home inspection on this Beautiful High End Custom Ranch House in Papillion, NE. The house checked out awesome! The builder did a phenominal job with high grade custom upgrades. When I finished, I added one more slightly important item to their checklist...insulate the attic. (I'm going to assume the Builder was aware already and that the insulation contractor had it on his schedule … (0 comments)
home inspection omaha: Drywall Tape "Forgotten" in New Construction...Omaha, NE
- 02/07/15 04:06 AM
The home inspection was going really well until I looked closer into the corners and saw small vertical cracks. It turned out that every inner corner throughout the entire home had vertical cracks, except 3. There was no drywall tape up the corners of the walls. To properly correct this "mistake", every corner will need to be sanded down, tape installed, re-mud, sand, & re-paint so all of the walls match. When a Buyer is purchasing a brand new home and paying market value for it, their expectations are high. If you were in their shoes, how would you respond to … (1 comments)
home inspection omaha: Home Inspection Omaha: Water heater flue pipe installation not safe
- 02/23/11 01:11 AM
I ran across this improperly installed water heater B-vent flue stack 2 days ago on a commerial inspection in north Omaha. The B-vent was touching the deck and was venting out only 5' high...instead of above the roof line. And no, there was no power vent on it.
For more home inspection related photos, please go to www.omaha-home-inspection.com. … (4 comments)
home inspection omaha: Home Inspections Omaha: 5 Business Days to Complete Home Inspection...Are You Kidding Me?!
- 02/14/11 11:27 PM
It's mid-February and we've went from -10 degrees with windchills of -20 to -30 last week to hitting the 60's this week. That surge in warm weather has turned the switch 'ON' in the Omaha real estate market. I started Monday booking every time slot for the rest of the week! It's a great feeling compared to the slow winter we just rolled out of. When the busy season comes upon us, it never ceases to amaze me the # of agents that shoot themselves and their Buyer clients in the foot. They pull out their standard contracts and make the … (38 comments)
home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: Mice Move Into Electrical Panel Box
- 12/11/10 07:59 AM
There was an opening in the side of this sub-box that screamed "move-in ready" to some mice in a Herman, Nebraska home. At this point in my career I've lost count how many dead mice I've found fried in panel boxes. Eventually, they start to smell;-) www.Omaha-Home-Inspection.com for more fun pics taken from real inspections.
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home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: Rolled Insulation Forgotten At Eaves
- 12/09/10 04:23 PM
Below is a prime example of what wind can do along the eave of a home when the Builder doesn't install batt insulation along the eaves. This home is a high-end custom built home in West Omaha. As you can see, the loose blown insulation has been blown back leaving the ceiling over this bedroom exposed. This will be a significant loss of condition air over the years if not corrected. For other home inspection tips, check out: www.Omaha-Home-Inspection.com.
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home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: How Do You Disclose Used Car Oil Dumped Into Ground On Property?
- 12/02/10 09:58 AM
This charming home in South Omaha even comes with quite a bit of contaminated soil. The previous genius homeowner changed the oil in his cars and drained the oil into a hole in the ground in the garage. Now that the Listing Agent has become aware, I'll be curious to see if that little factoid is disclosed to future buyers. I'm not sure of many Buyers who will want to pay for cleaning up all of that contamination. For more wonderful surprises found on my home inspections, check out: www.Omaha-Home-Inspection.com.
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home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: No Insulation In Exterior Walls
- 12/01/10 01:06 PM
In the Omaha Metro, most turn of the century homes don't have insulation in the exterior walls unless a company has come through and blown in Cellulose insulation. To find out, simply remove an outlet or switch plate cover on an exterior wall and look. If you don't see any insulation, there's your answer. You can hire an insulation contractor to either drill holes through the siding or through the inside walls, they'll blown in the insulation, and plug the holes afterward. Your utility bills will thank you greatly! For more tips, check out our website: www.Omaha-Home-Inspection.com.
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home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: Don't block your A/C or Heat Pump
- 11/20/10 08:16 AM
Air conditioners and heat pumps need to be able to expel heat during the cooling season. When vegatation or other obstacles block the air movement around the fins, it makes them work much harder. This can cause your cooling system to wear out faster and your utility bills to run higher. Keep them free & clear so they can do their job. For other helpful tips, go to: www.Omaha-Home-Inspection.com.
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home inspection omaha: Omaha Home Inspection: Shifted Clay-Tile Liner In Chimney
- 11/02/10 01:15 AM
This is one of the more extreme shifted clay-tile lined chimneys I've ran across. Usually on older homes from the 1940's-1960's, they'll have a clay-tile liner. Most often, the mortar joints have deteriorated out allowing the flue gases a secondary avenue to flow. Shifted liners and cracked liners are found frequently as well and pose the same problem. Whenever there is a breach in the liner, there is a threat of catching the house on fire and having flue gases leak into the home which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Because this is connected up to the furnace and water … (2 comments)
home inspection omaha: Curb Appeal Sinking On This Omaha Home Inspection
- 10/21/10 11:09 AM
This beautiful 3,500+ s.f. home in Omaha, Nebraska had it all! It truly was a dream home!!! One of the biggest issues found during my home inspection was the unique front that set this home apart in the neighborhood was sinking. I'll show you... The photo below shows where the weight of the overhang sits...directly onto the concrete steps. Based on the settlement, I don't believe there are any footers under this area.
The next photo is a close up of the settlement of the concrete steps.
Pay attention to the railing up against the exterior wall. Notice the … (0 comments)
It's that time of year again. The days are getting shorter and cooler. To ensure that your house remains in prime condition over the winter, a good weekend spent on preventative maintenance is a great investment. By making a thorough inspection of your home inside and out you can detect and repair problems before they become issues. This can save you time and costly headaches down the road. If there are repairs below beyond your comfort zone, hire a licensed Contractor to handle the job. GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS Neglected gutters can lead to … (0 comments)
home inspection omaha: Blistered Shingles Found by Omaha Home Inspector
- 10/04/10 07:32 AM
These photos were all taken from the same roof in Glenwood, IA. It looks like hail damage, but it's not. This is a manufacturer's defect. The manufactured batch of shingles had too much tar in the mix. When the sun beat down on them, the tar bubbled up, causing the granules to pop off. See the 3rd photo for a clear understanding of what's occurring. To learn more, please read my "Defective Shingles: A Homeowner's Nightmare" article.
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home inspection omaha: Permits were not pulled on this major electrocution hazard!
- 09/06/10 02:28 AM
When I inspected this house, it was vacant. I honestly didn't know if the previous owners had been electrocuted from this shower install. This is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on any of my home inspections. You're looking at a shower aiming at a 120 amp electric furnace. Yes, the furnace is in the shower acting as part of the surround!!! How's that for a "HOT" shower! To see more entertaining pics from the field, go to: www.omaha-home-inspection.com and check out our galleries.
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home inspection omaha: Bad waterproofing job during construction can be costly later
- 09/01/10 02:23 AM
This was a 2 year old townhome. It had just started to rain at the beginning of the inspection. When I was finished water had come in here at such a steady stream that the water was pooling on over 1/2 of the unfinished basement. It pays to have a good water proofing company. The only way to fix this is to excavate down on the outside, seal the opening, and backfill. Problem was they had developed sod lawn over top of nice landscaping and a sprinkler system. Ouch! To see more new construction mistakes, go to: www.omaha-home-inspection.com/new-construction-nightmares.htm
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home inspection omaha: York high-efficiency furnace's view port
- 08/25/10 02:51 AM
I ran across this brand new York furnace on a Hearthstone Home the other day. It's a high-efficiency furnace with a view port so you can actually see the condensate drip out of the secondary heat exchanger and run down the drain hose. Most people don't realize how much moisture furnaces produce. Now they can see it to believe it!
Here's a close up of the view port. Cool, huh!?!
For more state of the art technology, sign up for our newsletter at www.omaha-home-inspection.com We just did a piece titled "Cool Green Technology".
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home inspection omaha: Spring Preventative Maintenance Tips 2010 for Omaha, Nebraska
- 03/02/10 05:14 AM
Spring Preventative Maintenance Tips 2010 by Greg Wayman, ASHI Certified Inspector www.omaha-home-inspection.com It's been a brutal winter in the Omaha Metro, but it's coming to an end! With Spring knocking on our doorsteps, it's time for some Spring preventative maintenance. A little maintenance now will save you major repairs down the road. Water is the #1 cause of damage to the home. Here are some areas to focus: 1. Gutters, downspouts, & extensions Make sure they are free of debris, leaves, tennis balls, etc. Make sure they slope the right direction & do not have any open seams or holes … (1 comments)
My blog is packed full of home inspection related articles that are useful for homeowners, Buyers, Sellers, and real estate agents. I also post interesting inspection pics regularly as I run across something on my inspections that peak my interest.
Enjoy!
This older home in downtown Omaha, NE had an addition built on the back side of the home for a 2-car garage and a finished Family Room above. The massive chimney didn't have a proper footing under it. When it settled, it caused the entire addition to settle with it.
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