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10% discounts to first responders, doctors, nurses and hospital workers. Just let us know when booking your inspection.
Flatten The Curve
From the Ohio Department of Health
Preparing for a Home Inspection
If you are selling your house, here are some ways to make your home inspection go smoother, with fewer concerns to delay closing.
- Make sure the inspector has access, not only to the house, but also to the furnace, water heater and air-conditioning units (especially in closets, attics and crawlspaces).
- Remove items blocking access to HVAC equipment, electric service, panels, water heaters, etc.
- Check to see that the garage is open and that any water heater, utility panel and shutoffs and resets for ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) within are accessible.
- Unlock areas the inspector must access, such as attic doors or hatches, electric service panels, closets, fence gates and crawlspaces.
- Ensure that all utility services are on, with gas pilot lights burning.
- Make sure that pets won’t hinder the inspection. Ideally, they should be removed from the premises or secured outside. Tell your agent about any pets at home.
- Replace burned-out bulbs to avoid a “light did not operate” report that may suggest an electrical problem.
- Remove stored items, debris and wood from the foundation. These may be cited as conditions conducive to wood-destroying insects.
- Trim tree limbs to 10 feet from the roof and shrubs to 1 foot from the house to allow access.
- Attend to broken or missing items such as doorknobs, locks and latches, windowpanes, screens and locks, and gutters, downspouts and chimney caps.
Checking these areas before your home inspection is an investment in selling your property, and will expedite your closing.
COVID-19 Guidelines From ASHI
ASHI is the American Society of Home Inspectors
A home inspection is a vital part of a home purchase. ASHI believes that home inspections can continue during the COVID-19 outbreak when prudent safety precautions are practiced, and when performing the inspection does not conflict with government orders and recommendations.
Everyone involved with the home inspection is responsible for helping with safety. The following advice is based on current recommendations from the CDC, NIH, & WHO. People should be aware that the situation is changing constantly and should monitor the CDC for official updates and recommended behavior.
For Home Inspectors:
- Reschedule the inspection if you feel sick, or if you exhibit symptoms of a respiratory illness.
- Bring your own anti-bacterial soap, towel, hand sanitizer, and shoe covers.
- Use hand sanitizer before entering the home, and wash your hands as recommended before and throughout beginning the inspection.
- Wear disposable shoe covers when entering the home.
- Do not shake hands, bump fists, or touch elbows.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Wash your hands after inspecting each bathroom and the kitchen.
- Wipe bathroom and kitchen fixtures and toilet handles with a sanitizing wipe after inspecting these areas. Be sure the wipe instructions allow use on the fixture or handle.
- Wipe door handle/knob inside and outside the home as you enter and leave the home.
For Buyers and Real Estate Agents:
- Do not attend the inspection. If you wish to attend, do so only at the end of the inspection.
- Do not bring children, relatives, contractors, and others to the inspection. Reschedule the inspection if you wish to attend, and if you feel sick, or if you exhibit symptoms of a respiratory illness.
- Use hand sanitizer before entering and before leaving the home.
- Touch as few things in the home as possible.
For Sellers:
- Reschedule the inspection if anyone in the home feels sick, or exhibits symptoms of a respiratory illness.
- Do not attend the inspection. Make arrangements for children, relatives, and others to be out of the home during the inspection.
- Wipe bathroom and kitchen fixtures, toilet handles, and doorknobs with a sanitizing wipe before the inspection. Be sure the wipe instructions allow use on the surface.
January is National Radon Action Month (NRAM)
Get your home tested for radon, it’s easy. In support of National Radon Action Month we are discounting radon measurement testing by 10%. Call, text or Book an Inspection today. Results are usually available within 48 hours of device pickup.
We are a Certified Radon Measurement Technician in NJ: MET13906
Sick Air Conditioning
Now that it’s beginning to warm up it’s time to think of AC. The hot days of summer are just around the corner and many of us are depending on our central air conditioning to help us beat the heat. This photo I took the other day at an inspection is not unusual. This sad piece of AC line I saw in a basement should be free of paint, duct tape, and fully enclosed in insulation.
This is one of the lines coming from the AC compressor that is out in the backyard. When the AC is running this line is filled with cold gas. Like a cold glass of soda you have outside on a hot day, water droplets form on the outside surface of this AC line if it’s not insulated.
Couple of issues with a poorly insulated AC line:
- Since the line is exposed to warm air the gas inside begins to warm up and so it takes longer to cool your home.
- The water droplets that form on the surface begin to drop off the line and can potentially damage anything it falls or drains on.
- Exposed lines can potentially be damaged by anything that comes in contact with it.
Just to clarify there are two line the go out to the compressor, the one that is insulated brings cold gas into your home. The cold gas goes into a cooling unit in your furnace or air exchanger, a fan blows the warm inside air across the unit which cools the air which is then blown through your duct system cooling your home.
When I see an issue like this in a home I recommend a licensed HVAC contractor evaluate the whole system. When I can see a cooling line looking like this one, I can imagine there are many more issues hidden throughout the system.
Manufactures recommend that before each heating/cooling season you should have your system checked and maintained so that when you need it — it will be there for you.
Five Things Your Dryer is Trying to Tell You
Here are the five things your dryer is letting you know it’s time to clean the dryer vent. BTW, according to the National Fire Protection Association, 5% of all house fire are caused by dryers and washing machine, and of the total — dryers accounts for 92%.
If you don’t have the tools, time, or inclination to do this yourself, we recommend you hire a qualified contractor to take care of this for you. There are many companies that specialize in dryer vent cleaning.
Hazards Lurking By The Water Heater
Draft hoods that are pushed down or mispositioned, just like you see in this picture, is an issue I come across all the time. This water heaters draft hood is blocking the indoor air that is normally pulled out through the chimney as well as the poisonous exhaust gases from the water heater. This is an issue called backdrafting.
This issue is dangerous because exhaust gasses may build up in your home and kill you. This is a serious issue and need to be addressed by a licensed HVAC technician.
What should the draft hood look like?
In the photo above you see there is plenty of room for air to enter the vent and allow good drafting up the chimney. That means when the water heater is turned on, the exhaust gases can easily be pulled out the chimney.
Missing Dryer Vent – Ugh!
The dryer vent cap serves several purposes, it prevents rain and debris from entering the vent, it keeps out insects and vermin, and it also prevent lint from making a mess all over the outside of your home. Not to mention a missing cap is spoiling the look of your home. It’s a straightforward repair that most homeowners can do themselves, if you don’t have the skills or tools to do this, any qualified handyman can do this for you.
