ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2014
14
Comments
Says the attic fan - catch me if you can! It's hard to see why. Tell be sure, without another sign in the attic space I would not have noticed why! This attic fan is 18' feet high from where I am standing. Once you see the whole picture you can look back and know the why. Even showing the cropped...
06/29/2014
48
Comments
The contractor, of course, said they didn't need a permit, and the stairs are wrong, but what's that? One should exit the door to a 36" platform, the stairs are not of proper or equal height, there should be two handrails and the stairs cover the siding and rim joist (moisture and termite invitat...
06/27/2014
16
Comments
A cracked fireplace firewall is not terribly uncommon in a metal fireplace insert, AKA the zero-clearance fireplace. You've seen them - they have the metal floor and surround, with the cement panels in the fireplace. Those panels are made to deflect heat into the room and make for more efficient...
06/26/2014
The IRC code says that receptacle boxes "shall be flush with the finished surface." Receptacle boxes installed post facto to the construction of the house are often incorrectly done. There are many reasons for that - possible damage to the box or receptacle, looseness developing over time, the es...
06/24/2014
Free Enterprise Has The Power To Create Joy "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. ...
06/23/2014
One of the many selling points I saw on line before the inspection was this: Featured: Remodeled Kitchen! - too bad it included the exhaust fan. The fan location was not moved in the kitchen. A new fan was installed. The old fan vented directly out the roof, into a perfectly-good scoop vent tha...
06/22/2014
43
Comments
I love inspecting historically-old homes because you see so much old and new. This 1858 special was no different. It even had a new addition - put on some time in the 50s. Look at some of the neat things on this house, and how they melted old and new together, often seamlessly. Many of the windo...
06/20/2014
Sometimes a roof leak can be caused by the architectural design. It rains, and often it rains hard. Roof water has to not only move easily away from the house, but be diverted into gutters that are sufficiently sized to handle it. In this case we have living space roof draining onto the steep gar...
06/19/2014
Satellite dishes need a firm support and apparently synthetic stucco does not hold satellite dishes! Looking up and seeing a dish on the side of the house, underneath its location was an odd pattern of holes in the stucco. The dish used to be installed there! The dish looked strong now. Satellite...
06/18/2014
32
Comments
One very fun thing about inspecting very old properties is seeing very old things still being used - like the antique door knobs in this house. Antique door knobs are made of many things - wood, different metals, glass, and porcelain. They can be extremely artistic, decorative in design or color...
06/17/2014