pa home inspection: What lies beneath? - 07/31/11 01:20 PM
What lies beneath? No I’m not referring to the movie were Harrison Ford plays the adulterous, murderous husband. I’m referring to the crawlspace your house is sitting on. Most people have no idea what’s going on in their crawlspace. They’ve never been down there and have no intentions of going down there.
Now stop and think about this. The crawlspace is the area between the ground and the first floor of your house. The air quality in your crawlspace affects the air quality in your house. The very supports that your house is built upon are in your crawlspace. Now take … (9 comments)

pa home inspection: Just Another Day In The Neighborhood - 11/29/09 03:38 PM
It was just another day in the neighborhood. I went off for my standard afternoon walk and stumbled across this pretty scene. I've lived and worked in this area for over 15 years, but I just recently started taking the time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. It's amazing how we sometimes drive past things everyday and never notice they're there. This picture was taken about 20 minutes from my house and I thought I'd share with you.

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pa home inspection: Active Rain Animal Photography | Squirrel - 11/29/09 03:19 PM
These are among one of my favorite animals to photograph because they stop and appear to pose for the camera. This little guy not only hung around and allowed me to take multiple pictures of him, he then came up and took several nuts right out of my hand. Many people consider squirrels to be nothing more than a bunch of tree rodents and they're probably right, but my grandkids and I still get hours of enjoyment from watching them.

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pa home inspection: Reservoir - 11/29/09 02:17 PM
We took a short road trip Monday to Moscow Pa. Moscow is maybe 40 minutes from where we live and has many cute shops, places to go and things to see. During our road trip we ran into the Reservoir and stopped to take some pictures. I was particular taken in by the wonderful stonework. I'm amazed by both the beauty and the quality of the stonework.

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pa home inspection: Active Rain Animal Photography | Waddles - 11/29/09 01:55 PM
Last week my husband wrote a post about our newest pet Waddles.

We didn't adopt Waddles or do a single thing to encourage him to stay behind while his buddies flew away ... he adopted us. Now he follows us around the yard like one of our dogs. I suppose if he continues to stay around we'll have to figure out some sort of shelter for him. Pa winters are usually pretty cold.
Goose Facts:
Geese do not attack . . . but they will protect their young in spring Geese are longer lived than other poultry with a life … (4 comments)

pa home inspection: Posing For The Camera - 11/15/09 03:37 PM
He's just sitting there without a care in the world. I could tell from the way he was moving his head around that he was very much aware of my presence. Yet he just stood there, posing for the camera. It even looks like he has his little claws crossed. I wonder what he's thinking. Any ideas?

 
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pa home inspection: Active Rain Animal Photography | Marbled Orb Weaver - 11/15/09 09:29 AM
I first ran into this character last month and thought to myself that it was actually a really pretty looking spider. Of course my guys didn't appreciate my fascination and just wanted me to get rid of it. Don't worry, I didn't hurt it I only moved it out of out way. Then I came here to AR, posted a picture asking if anyone could tell me what kind of spider this is. After a few hours Vince Santos had my answer, it's a Marbled Orb Weaver.

Today I ran into her again in a different section of the Pocono's. … (19 comments)

pa home inspection: Name That Photo: What Is Wrong In This Picture - 11/14/09 12:32 PM
Okay, are we ready to play? I'll be back tomorrow with the answer. I will give you all a hint. The answer in not the obvious hole in the floor. It does however has something to do with the floor. So now that you have a hint to get you started, Good Luck.

 
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pa home inspection: Way Too Thorough For A Home Inspector - 11/14/09 11:24 AM
Today I was told I was too thorough to be a home inspector. I was flabbergasted and speechless. Too thorough, is that a misnomer like "a little bit pregnant" or "moral majority"? How in the world can a home inspector be too thorough?
Well, I went home still a little shocked over the conversation when my daughter called. She quickly noticed that something just wasn't quite right and asked if something was bothering me. I told her what I'd been told and she inquired as to what bought up the conversation. So I explained I was discussing a particular property that … (20 comments)

pa home inspection: Friday the 13th | Al and Peggy Cunningham Tried To Warn Me - 11/14/09 05:38 AM
Yesterday was Friday the 13th and my buddies Al and Peggy Cunningham up in BC tried to warm me. I had read their post SO IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH...TOMORROW OR TODAY, DEPENDING WHEN YOU ARE READING THIS earlier in the day.
They gave me some of the warnings. For example if there just happens to be 13 letters in your name. My given name is 13 letters long.
Well, I'm not much for superstitions so I made my comment about my name and never gave the day another thought. My husband's contracting company has been usually busy lately for this time … (10 comments)

pa home inspection: Moisture and Carpenter Ants: A Recipe For Disaster - 11/10/09 10:24 AM
Moisture and water beat away at wooden siding. That's why it's so important to trim trees and branches away from your home. It's also important to keep your siding properly painted and caulk around areas of possible water intrusions.

Once the wood soaks up sufficient moisture carpenter ants are mysteriously attracted to the wood. It's almost like bears to honey. Gone unnoticed and improperly maintained your perfect home can turn into this faster than you think.
 
 
 
 
 
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pa home inspection: Name That Photo: Remember To Think Like A Home Inspector - 11/10/09 09:56 AM
I took this picture during a home inspection this past summer. Can you tell me what I took a picture of?

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pa home inspection: My 100,000 Points and I Didn’t Notice - 11/10/09 04:25 AM
It's funny, but when I joined Active Rain at the end of December of last year I never thought I'd make it past 10,000 points. Blogging was so difficult and I wasn't sure what to expect from my fellow Rainer's.

 
Well, it's been less than a year now and I just broke my first 100,000 points. I guess Russel Ray was right when he told me it would get easier as time went on. The best part is that I've been having so much fun that I didn't realize I had made it.
I has an incredibly exhausting day … (18 comments)

pa home inspection: Is Your Home Inspector a Liability? - 11/09/09 12:13 PM
Ever wonder how many people the inspector you're hiring has hurt during the course of his/her career? You're probably asking yourself, now just how can a home inspector hurt anyone? Answer is pretty simple, by failing to their job right, by failing to see what he/she should be seeing, by being so afraid of possibly getting sued that he/she walks right into a lawsuit.

Take a good look at the picture on the left. That is the completely decayed Box Beam that the deck is was attached to. Noticed that the siding has also decayed away and that there's no … (10 comments)

pa home inspection: Electrifying Experience - 11/07/09 05:52 PM
This is what greeted me a couple of night ago when my 92-year old neighbor called me in the middle of the night after a circuit breaker in his house blew.
It was raining out that night so I was a bit wet, had to climb down a home made wooden ladder that wasn't attached to anything. Dropped and broke my flashlight and was standing in a dark, cluttered basement with only the light from my cell phone trying to find the breaker panel.
Really, why would anyone take the faceplate off the main panel and leave it on the floor? … (17 comments)

pa home inspection: So What Missing Here? - 11/07/09 11:56 AM

I took this picture during my first inspection today. I'm always amused by what some seller will and won't do when trying to sell their home. Sometimes it just seems to me like they prefer to ignore some of the most obvious things that are going to come up during the course of the inspection. This one really caught my attention.
Can you tell me what's missing in this photo?
 
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pa home inspection: Name This Photo - 11/07/09 11:37 AM
While I was out this afternoon I couldn't resist stopping to take this picture. I thought it would be fitting for our group. This is only one of many on this property. It seems that the owners are firm believers in allowing nature to take it's own course.
So can anyone tell me what it is?
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pa home inspection: Now This Is A Real Bummer - 11/01/09 01:49 PM
Several years ago a friend of mine purchased a house on a lake in Upstate N.Y. Then about a month ago the lake was drained for repairs. Once the water level dropped he could see what was supporting his dock.

All I could say was that this is a real bummer. He's now facing a pretty penny to get the dock repaired, but at least he got to find out before someone got hurt. Since it's difficult to properly inspect the dock's support system, I suspect this happens more often than we realize.
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pa home inspection: No Light Can Be So Revealing | Decayed Box Beam - 11/01/09 01:15 PM
During a recent crawlspace inspection I wanted to find a way to convey to my absentee that the box beam on the house he wanted to purchase had some very serious decay, but I didn't think that mere words would get the message across. This is one of many reasons I always encourage my clients to be present during the inspection.
First I tried this, but I didn't really feel it was saying enough.

Then I tried this.
By eliminating the light in the crawlspace the light from the outside showed that the beam had decayed completely through. Sometimes less … (6 comments)

pa home inspection: Not So Speechless Sunday | Field of Mushrooms - 11/01/09 12:53 PM
We all know that mushroom can and do grow wild, but has anyone ever seen them grow on someone's front yard like this? these guys are growing all over my daughter front yard. They recently leveled and seeded the front lawn only a 2 years ago. This is the first year these guys have sprouted

Does anyone have any idea what type of mushrooms these are?

… (13 comments)