John Martino's (looksmart) Blog

 About 12% of New Jersey homes are served by private water wells. Although the majority of the components of a private well are not visible it is important for the NJ home inspector to understand how private water wells supply water and the issues sometimes seen with these systems. The most commo...

 New Jersey home inspectors should be familiar with what ice dams are how they form and what corrective actions a client can take to minimize the issue. An ice dam is a buildup of ice that builds at the edge of the roof close to the gutter. The buildup creates a dam or a wall that prevents show m...

High hat lighting in homes can generate a lot of heat and can potentially create a fire hazard. NJ Home Inspectors should look for and identify if high hat lights in the home that they are inspecting are IC-rated or standard high-hat lights.IC rated high hat lights are high hat cans that are appr...

Hard water is something that NJ home inspectors should be familiar with and should be able to identify during home inspection. hard water is simply water from the tap that has high levels of dissolved calcium and magnesium. When people refer to as their water is hard, they are referring to the am...

There is a lot of confusion about why New Jersey home inspectors cannot test an air conditioning unit in cold weather. Often clients do not understand why this is the case. it important for home inspectors in NJ to inform their clients before the inspection that this is likely to be the case when...

A New Jersey home inspector who performs termite inspections should be knowledgeable about how to identify termites, termite damage and understand the life cycle of the subterranean termite most often found in New Jersey. The termites found in NJ are called Eastern Subterranean termites. Termites...

Hose bibs seem like a simple faucet on the exterior of a home but there is often confusion regarding these simple faucets. it is up to NJ home inspectors to educate clients about hose bibs and how to properly maintain them.  Hose bibs are a faucet attachment on the exterior walls of the home that...

A furnace humidifier is an appliance that home inspectors in NJ and real estate agents will see regularly in homes. Home inspectors and realtors should have a basic understand of how a humidifier operates and the maintenance involved in its upkeep. NJ home inspectors do not have to inspect these ...

Something that New Jersey home inspectors and real estate agents encounter often while inspecting or showing homes to clients is ineffective and poor grading or surface water controls around the home. Proper grading and surface water controls are vital in keeping water from collecting close to th...

It is useful to both home inspectors and realtors to understand what a roof truss is and the main issues that exist with them. With proper knowledge both realtors and inspectors can educate their clients regarding these sometimes-misunderstood structural systems.  A roof structure is typically co...