John Martino's (looksmart) Blog

One structural defect that NJ home inspectors encounter almost on a weekly basis is the improper use of adjustable columns as permanent supports.  I have to say that we encounter these a lot. These columns are also referred to as Screw Jacks and Beam Jacks. Whatever name there are called these co...

Should home buyers attend their New Jersey home inspection? It is crucial to attend the home inspection because of you attend you get so much more out of the experience.    When you attend your NJ Home inspection you get a firsthand view of the issues that exist in the home that you are buying. I...

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a NJ Home Inspector Other than hiring the right agent hiring the right New Jersey home inspector is the most important decision of the home buying process. Hiring a poorly trained or inexperienced home inspector can cost you thousands of dollars, even tens of thousa...

 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...