Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 457 Some things to consider, when taken your pet family member on vacation with you! Don't say its so, vacation can't be over yet! Your going to want to make sure your pst family members are up to date with all their vaccinations. Make sure your pet has a collar and a tag on, just in case they get out and disappear. Now if your going to be gone for a bit of time, its sure not at all a bad idea to take along a copy of your pet's vaccines and have a notebook with any medications written in it, that they are on. Just in case they should get sick while your all away haven fun. If you should ... 04/26/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 455   If the home you looking at to buy, has a retaining wall built using Allan Blocks. You've got yourself one fine retaining wall, it could very will give you a lifetime performance. As long as you keep up proper maintenance. The high strength concrete units are produced to handle the toughes of winter weather, and those long hot summers. They sure will not rot or decay, like some can made out of other things. Even with these retaining walls, you'll still want to do a yearly spring inspection of the wall itself. Including all the blocks and that caps of the wall. Start out looken for a... 04/25/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 454 First Time Home Buyers, does the home your looking at to buy. Have a Retsining Wall or two? If the home does have a retaining wall, you'll want to give it tender loving care. To help it last for years, the some as you will for the home and yard. The retaining wall should have been designed and built so water would route around or over the face of the wall. Once any area behind the retaining wall begins to settle, water will start to work on maken that area deeper and a lot bigger. If a low spot is neglected behind your retaining wall, with each new rainfall water sure will collect at... 04/25/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 453   First Time Home Buyers, does the home your looking at have a Septic Syatem? If it does is it Healthy? The home you and your family are thinking of buying, represents a significant investment. For most of us a home sure is the single biggest item we will ever purchase and, does consequently. Reptesents a significant proportion of our net worth. Now if your home should end up with a failing septic system, it will lower the home's property value and may even make selling your home a problem. You see, no one wants to buy a home with a stinky, soggy yard. Now a functioning onsite system... 04/24/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 452 First Time Home Buyers, when you own a home you sure don't want poor indoor air quality in your home! Research has shown that the quality of indoor air can be a lot worse than that of outdoor air. Many homes are built and or remodeled more tightly now a days, without regard to the factors that assure you are going to have fresh and healthy indoor air. Our homes today contain many kinds of furnishings, appliances and products that can very will affect the indoor air quality of your home. Some signs your home could very will be having, indoor air quality problems: Unusual and noticeabl... 04/22/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!   Post 451 Carbon Monoxide sure can be Deadly to You and your Family You can't see or smell carbon monoxide, but if a home has high levels it can kill folks in just minutes. Carbon monoxide (known also as CO) is produced whenever any kind of fuel such as natural gas, oli, propane, kerosene, wood, or charcoal is burned. If appliances that burn fuel are maintained and used properly, the amount of CO produced in a home is usually not hazardous. But however, if the appliances in the home are not working properly or they are used incorrectly, deen dangerous levels of CO can very will result. Hundred... 04/22/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does! Posted 450 Is the kitchen in the home your looking at overcurret protected? The fuse or breaker protecting the kitchen area circuits should be 20 amps. Although 15 amp protection is not necessarily wrong if the wiring is pre-code and the wire is 14 gauge. Looking to be the new own of the home, you need to know that you may very well have problems if you load the circuit up with newer appliances. For an example, a 15 amp circuit cannot hold a toaster and a large microwave at the same time without popping the breaker of blowing a fuse. A problem that I have encounter in a home's kitchen is not un... 04/21/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does! Post 449 Does the home your looking at have a retaining wall, if so. Is the deadman doing the job? A deadman is an anchor for a cable, guy line or other member which is fastened to it. A deadman is very often used as a means of hidden support for a retaining wall. A beam, concrete block or other mass os buried in the soil behind the wall, and a lot of times a cable or other load-carrying member is attached to both the wall and the mass. The cable is used to restrain the wall, and keep it from tipping under the pressure of the load it is holding. The weight of the deadman and the resistance of t... 04/19/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does! Post 448 Gable Roof Vocabulary Gable area - this is the surface wall area between the roof slopes of the gable end of the home and the top wall plate. Gable end - the portion of the end wall of the home between the top wall plate (eave to eave) and the point or ridge of the roof. Gable end brace - the brace from the wall top plate at the gable end of the home to the roof ridge doard at the gable end. This brace adds stability to the ridge board. Gable end stud - the stud that extends up-ward from the horizontal gable end wall top plate to the gable end rafter. Gable roof - a roof design in whic... 04/19/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does! Post 447 First Time Home Buyers do you know why GFCI's are important to you and your family?                       GFCI- Ground Fault Cireuit Interrupter. This is a circuit breaker designed to interrupt the electrical current flow and protect you and your family from electrical shock. A ground fault happens when electricity escapes the confines of the wiring in an appliance, light fixture, or power tool that takes a shortcut to the ground. Now when that there short is through you or a family member, the results can be deadly. About 200 folks in the U.S. alone die of ground faults each year, acc... 04/19/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!  Post 442 All this time I thought, that I only did Home and Commercial Property Inspections. Sure am glad that I got an e-mail leting me know that it seem's that I list and sale homes. (Not) Just why would an advertising company even think a Home Inspector sale's home's. And send an add to an e-mail address that jumps right out at ya saying. Howdy I am a Home Inspecrtor that does Home Inspections. Not a Real Estate Agent at all. Or is it that I have a life that, I don't know about. Wow maybe I best start look for all that commission money that I must have miss place some where. Now just where c... 04/14/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   Some In's and outs working with Soot Damage Some folks may think soot and smoke are the same, but experienced professionals recognize the differences. To help you increase the chances for a successful restoration and a quicker clean up, and return to normal life. Baker Home Inspection and Consulting offers these helpful tips. Doe's Change your furnace filter. Cover uoholstery with clean sheets before using. Tape doubled pieces of cheesecloth over your air registers with some painter's masking tape. Blow off or use a brush vacuum loose soot particles from your upholstery, drapes, and the carpe... 04/05/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!    Some doe's and Don't Fire and Smoke Damage Tips: Do Blow off or brush-vacuum loose smoke particles from your upholstery, drapes, and carpet. Open up windows to ventilate your home. If the furnace is still able to operate, then you should change the furnace filter. If the electricity is off to the home, be sure to empty the freezer, and the refrigerator completely. And prop the doors open with a rolled towel or even a newspaper. Clean and protect the chrome trim on all kitchen appliances with a light coating of petroleum jelly. Clean and protect bathroom faucets, tub, fittings and towel bars,... 04/05/2009

  Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   I you were planing on going to the Greater Claremont Chamber of Commerce Home and Trade EXPO Tomorrow is the last day for it. The hours for Sunday 5 April 2009 are 11: A.M. to 4:00 P.M. It sponsored this year by Claremont Savings Bank and Lake Sunapee Bank There will be parking at the Downtown Claremont Savings Bank, and there will be a shuttle service running from there. Admission for the EXPO is $3.00 There will specials running and giveaways. The Claremont Housing Authority Valley Regional Hospital Sullivan County Health Care River Valley Community College Just to name a few that will be ... 04/04/2009

  Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   Look for and address any and all possible door damage.     While storm doors ain't as prevalent as they once were, they do still exist. They very often bear the brunt of stormy weather. When winds of a storm begins to howl, they often do so at the expense of the poor storm door or doors of the home, they can become bent or even break. Now if the main door entrance to your home doesn't have a storm door to bear the brunt of Mother Nature's stormy wrath, deen the front door itself will take the brunt of stormy weather during the last several months. Check the door for any kind of nicks or scra... 04/03/2009

  Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   Playing doctor with your home:   Don't forget your basment!     For many folks, the basement just is not the most popular place in their home throughout the winter months. That's because cold air descends, making the basment the coldest room in the home. But just because you might have overlooked the basment for the last several months,   that doesn't mean that Mother Nature did the same thing. Water buildup in the basment can lead to dry rot and the accumulation of mold. Make Inspecting your basment a top priority once winter has finally left for the season. There was a study done by Brown ... 04/02/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does! Is there Radon under and Inside the Home? If the home you are looking to buy! Has not yet been tested for Radon. Be sure to have a Radon teat done just as soon as possible. You really should consider including a provisions in your contract specifying: Where the test will be located at in the home Who should condust the test What type of test will be done When to do the test How and if the seller and the buyer will share the test results and the costs of the test When Radon mitigation measures will be taken, and just who is to pay for them Radon testing should be conductin the lowest livable lev... 03/31/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   In the good ole days, we could go to a A&W Root Beer Drive-in. There were no McDonalds, when A&W Root Beer Drive-ins first appeared, they sure were popular to familys and the young folks that were allowed to drive cars and trucks back then. A pretty car hop would come and take your order. They sure would give you good service. Your A&W Root Beer mug was always frosty cold, and your food was always hot.     Roy Allen purchased his A&W Root Beer formula from a pharmacist in Arizona. He opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, California. To this day, the blend of herbs, spices, barks, and berr... 03/29/2009

  Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!   In the good ole days, folks could open there frount door. To get their milk, that the Milk Man had delivered to them. It came to you in a glass bottle. The cream was at the top, and you would have to shake the bottle before you poured it. The bottles had cardboard caps which we used to collest for games. The Ice Man delivered huge blocks of ice, that he would place in our wooden ice-box. To cool a drink, you would use an ice pick to chip off a small chunk to put in to your glass. The good ole days sure were some fun days! Link to The Good Ole Days Part1-Baker Home Inspection Eyes For Today -... 03/28/2009

Baker Home Inspection and Consulting Blog Owner   You are always welcome to visit By the time we compete the Inspection, you will know the home or commercial property better than the owner does!  Maybe you are thinking about a five day summer camp for your kids? You just may want to look in to your local Health Clubs, they very will may offer a five day camp for kids. In Lebanon, New Hampshire, The River Valley Club, The Health Club Of The Upper Valley Offers a five day camp, that include tennis, rock climbing, and swimming. Monday through Friday. From 9:00 A.M. to noon for kids for kids age 5 to 18. They set specific tennis goals for all the camp participants. They will work to enhance your kids hand - eye coordination, agility, speed, and overall physical health. The campers will rot... 03/24/2009