John Martino's (looksmart) Blog

It is important for New Jersey Home Inspectors and real estate agents to understand how septic systems operate in order to be able to educate their home buying clients about their function and maintenance. Inspecting septic systems is beyond the scope of a home inspection in New Jersey but having...

luminum wiring is a major electrical defect and New Jersey home inspectors should be careful and inspect for this potentially wire during the electrical inspection of the home. During the years of 1965 and 1973 aluminum single strand wire was at times used in place of copper wire in residential h...

Temperature pressure relief valves are a component that NJ home inspectors will encounter almost daily. A temperature pressure relief valve is a specialty safety valve that is designed to discharge if pressure in a hot water appliance such as water heater and boiler gets to unsafe levels. The val...

A question that NJ Home inspectors get often from clients is what is an expansion tank and why do I need one on my water heater? Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to increase in volume when it is heated.  This thermal expansion is especially important in homes because there is a water s...

It is important for NJ Home Inspectors to inspect and educate their clients about the condition and importance of a properly configured chimney crown. The Crown if often confused with a cap or rain hat. The crown is made of cement and the cap or rain guard is a metal cage like cover installed at ...

One of the important things that a NJ home inspector can look for is a properly installed dryer vent pipe.  I can't speak for other home inspectors, but I really try to inspect the dryer vent. The dryer vent pipe is a crucial part of a safe clothes dryer system. Yes, at times the dryer vent pipe ...

 Making sure that an attached garage meets fire rating requirements is something that is crucial when performing home inspections in NJ.  Garages that are attached to a home should meet certain fire rating requirements so a fire that starts in the garage will not quickly breach the garage walls a...

Knob and tube wiring still exists in older homes today and it still can be found during New Jersey Home Inspections. Knob and Tube (K&T) was an early residential wiring that was used in homes from the 1880's to the 1940's. It is considered to be obsolete and by some unsafe. Knob and tube wire is ...

Both real estate agents and New Jersey home inspectors should know how to identify efflorescence and the important role it can play at identifying water intrusion. Efflorescence refers to the deposit of salts on the surface masonry materials such as concrete, cement block, and brick.  It has been...

Something so simple is often done incorrectly. I am talking about bathroom exhaust fans. Bathroom exhaust fans must be ducted to the exterior of the home. They can't be ducted to attics, garages, other enclosed spaces or into other venting systems installed in the attic. These other venting syste...