ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2012
"What does 'economic justice' mean, except that you want something that someone else produced, without having to produce anything yourself in return?" Thomas Sowell Wow, that sounds like gubment! But I digress... Economic justice. It just sounds good. It really sounds good! What is it? My Oxfo...
07/30/2012
During the inspection the water was turned off. It is very difficult, well impossible to do a complete home inspection without water. My client's plan was to have me return for their final walk through when the water was on to see what we could and test everything water related. One thing I not...
07/29/2012
40
Comments
You remember Jiminy Cricket? He was Pinocchio's friend, and a metaphor for his conscience. I never saw him on a roof. Depending on how a chimney is positioned on a roof, and how wide it is, a chimney cricket is the way to go. On a wide chimney, wider than 30"or so, and a steep slope, a cricket r...
07/28/2012
53
Comments
When addendum repairs are promised and then receipts are provided, why do so many Realtors get the gut feeling that Uncle Bob the Builder did the work? In the case of this house, and the numbers of "repairs" done, that gut feeling came through in flying colors. And, frankly, Uncle Bob's work woul...
07/27/2012
Pick your phrase when a sales contract's addendum identifies something and the seller agrees to get it done - all repairs done by licensed professional, with receipts provided." It doesn't matter how you word it. This phraseology is to prevent Uncle Bob from coming over and "fixing" something wr...
07/26/2012
33
Comments
When it comes to bathroom vents, not venting is, well, not venting. This is after the "repair." There were a number of things on a house that needed doing. The selling agent, and my client, received notification from the other party that "everything on the addendum list was done." One thing to b...
07/25/2012
19
Comments
I would say that 99% of the time when a cable or satellite guy goes into an attic space, the insulation is moved, depressed, brushed out of the way to run cable lines, or whatever. It is so common that on a recent inspection I made the insulation was as expected and it was so mentioned on the rep...
07/24/2012
"With our present knowledge, no definition can be given of the latent force, which, possessing all the conditions of attraction and repulsion associated with it, is free of magnetism. If it is a condition of electricity, robbed of all electrical phenomena, or magnetic force, repellent to the ph...
07/23/2012
"There is no point in getting an estimate," said the sellers. "There is no problem." One area that frequently has problems on an older home is the large window over a front door. The double window, with one square and another rounded palladium window on top is the worst. This is the window over...
07/22/2012
51
Comments
There is many a thing I like to see installed by screwing it up. Drywall is one.Decking boards would be another.Kitchen cabinets, with the proper screws.Guardrails, support joists, long beams - all screwed, or lagged, or bolted to screws - all good when screwed up. How about when a kitchen cabine...
07/21/2012
Rainmaker
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Jay Markanich
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.