ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2014
REOs should hire home inspectors BEFORE they put a house up for sale! The buyer called to ask for an inspection, and said the house was "in rough shape." But, he also said the bank had done roof repairs. The realtor representing the bank said the roofer was done with "the roof repairs." I guess...
01/30/2014
When I see this, canister lights in the ceiling of an upstairs room, I have two thoughts: So, what's above the canister lights? Are they insulation compatible? Relevant questions both. These may not be brand new light fixtures, but they are not very old either. And if they are not insulation co...
01/29/2014
When doing reports for thermal imaging - using different palettes can lend more information. A palette is defined as the board which an artist uses to lay and mix colors. Thermal imaging programs come with a variety of color palettes which a thermographer can choose from. When doing thermal imag...
01/28/2014
"The settlers now began to consider corn more precious than silver."Governor William Bradford (1590 - 1657) And why wouldn't they? Something is only money insofar as it is accepted. What would silver have bought the colonists of the Mayflower Ship? For various reasons, including bad pla...
01/27/2014
I was contacted recently by an engineering firm to help with a Transition Study on various condo buildings. This study is to turn the properties over to the residents, and their HOA management company. As such, they had never included a thermal image examination of any building. The purpose of...
01/26/2014
29
Comments
Do you wonder sometimes about modern vernacular or phraseology? Why we "dial" the phone comes to mind. Or ask for "cream" and sugar? So, when we push a button near the front door and get an electronic tone (or sometimes a little song or clock chime), why do we call pushing that button "ringing t...
01/24/2014
When I saw this, all over the roof of this 32 year old townhouse, and knew that the shingles were 10 or 12 years old, I wondered, "Is this new FRT plywood acting like old FRT plywood?" The famous FRT, required by fire-code law on townhouses, stands for Fire Retardant Treated plywood. They began ...
01/23/2014
45
Comments
This was a down and then up day, offering me a tale of two reports, and two home inspectors. I stopped by early to retrieve a radon device and was met at the door by the seller. This was a very well-kept house, and there was very little to report. That didn't matter. He had questions. And for ...
01/21/2014
"The increase of social wealth is not accompanied by a diminishing number of capitalist magnates, but by an increasing number of capitalists of all degrees."Eduard Bernstein (1850 - 1932) We should define a word - magnate. What does Dr. Bernstein mean by magnate? It is a word derived ...
01/20/2014
You don't anticipate seeing this, but I have never seen a completely rotting roof. I smelled something funny when we got to the upper level. But we saw nothing amiss moisture wise anywhere. Then opening the attic access I got a whiff and wow, lots of something was going on up there! Everywhere I...
01/19/2014
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.