Kent's Blog

Did you hear this story about a girl that was taking a shower and all the sudden a snake came out of the drain and bit her on the ankle and then slid back into the drain? Good gosh, are we not safe anywhere? By the way, the chances of this happening is very slim, so don't think about it when you ...

I was talking to a friend tonight after her and her husband returned from a ten day cruise and thought I would pass along a tip that might be useful. She indicated that while they were gone their electricity apparently went out because the alarm clock on their nightstand was blinking 12:00am. She...

I know this is a silly post but it did prompt me wonder if this is one of those regional things. I got a call today from an agent in Atlanta that was working with another local agent here to sell a home to a client moving to the Fort Worth area and wanted to set up a home inspection. She identifi...

I'm still sitting of the fence on whether I want to participate in this program. When I first heard about the passing of this bill, I was excited and thought "cool, more inspection work for us". As of September 1st 2008, the Texas Residential Construction Commission began policing rural construc...

I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago about how to see if your deadbolt is installed right. Here is another blog about door locks that may interest some and bore most.....but hey, what can I say.....I want my fellow Active Rainers to be safe. Many exterior door locks have a security feature and m...

This post is a reminder for inspectors to be so careful when it comes to breaker panels. Yesterday I was inspecting a new home and almost got the shock of my life, and could have lost it as well. We sometimes get in a flow with our inspecting and don't think to check certain things. I now have  n...

I performed a home inspection today on a house that had just been previously inspected by another inspector. I noticed right away that he (or she) had marked defective items such as doors, windows and receptacles with blue painters tape with information on the tape as what the problem was. Unless...

While performing a home inspection today, I was reminded to make sure everyone check their dryer hoses and make sure you don't have one of the old plastic hoses. These are no longer sold or allowed and can be fire hazards. Look behind your dryer and see if it a plastic, nylon or vinyl hose. They ...

With winter just around the corner, it's time to start checking door weather stripping and thresholds, caulking around windows and other areas that cold air can get into your house and warm air inside can escape. A very cheap and easy way to accomplish this is to install receptacle and switch ins...

      You mother in law is coming over and....darn, forgot to pick up more toilet bowl cleaner. If you have Alka Seltzer in the medicine cabinet, just plop in a couple of tablets, let sit twenty minutes, and flush. If the toilet is really bad, here is another way. Shut off the water valve to the...