But, it has a new roof

Don't make the mistake of concluding that, because the house you're looking to buy has a new roof, the roof doesn't need to be included in your Kansas City home inspection. Recently, I inspected one half of a duplex that had a new roof installed over both sides of the duplex. The half that my client was buying had no ventilation installed with the new roof. Soffit vents had been installed, but there were no other vents in the new roof. The other half of the duplex had a vent installed, but a wall separated the two attic spaces from each other. So, none of that ventilation would reach my client's half of the duplex.

The original roofing had wood shingles and that type of roofing is, essentially, self-ventilating. Perhaps the roofer simply replaced what was already there instead of realizing that new venting needed to be installed. Regardless, an unvented roof leads to many problems, including the formation of mold. So my report says that yes, it has a new roof. But the new roof needs to be fixed. Without an inspection, my client would have felt secure in the knowledge that his new house had a new roof. But when problems began showing up a few years later, he wouldn't have been quite so happy. And checking the roof ventilation is not something you're likely to do when you're looking to buy a house. That's why you hire me.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Your air conditioner is under attack

It's easy to think that you can just let your dog out into your backyard to do his business and everything will be okay. But, Fido might actually be ruining your air conditioner. These photos show damage caused by dog urine to an air conditioner in a recent inspection. This type of damage is found in about one Kansas City home inspection each month.

The acid in dog urine disintegrates the aluminum air flow tubes on your air conditioner's compressor unit, reducing the flow of air that cools the compressor while the air conditioner is running. Not only is your air conditioner now more likely to overheat, but this type of damage can also lead to a freon gas leak. So, while it's great to give Rover free reign in the yard to mark his territory, discourage him from treating your air conditioner like it's a fire hydrant.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

People are talking

It's fun to often follow the connections between my Kansas City home inspection clients. Last week, my client worked with a man who had me do two inspections for him. Years ago, I inspected the house he was buying. A few years later, he left town. Then, I inspected the house he bought upon his return to KC. When he found out that this woman in his office was buying a house, he told her to have me do the inspection because I was "very thorough". She told me this story and added, "He was right. You ARE very thorough."

Then, I was hired by a couple who had just seen me inspect the house they were selling. They liked the way I treated my client who was buying their house, and the way I treated them during that inspection. So now, they wanted me to inspect the brand-new house they were buying. They wanted me to do the same thorough job on their brand-new house that I had done of the one they had been living in, though they originally had decided that the new one didn't need an inspection at all.

That's one of the great things about Kansas City - it's a big city and a small town.

Also, this past week, two different clients replied by E-mail when they received their written home inspection reports. One wrote, "Thank you very much for your prompt and helpful report on this condo!" and the other, "Thank you for your thorough report. I feel comfortable in making this my new home."

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Reminders for Fall

It hasn't always felt like Fall yet, but the Royals were playing in something called the Fall Classic. So, it's time to talk about important steps to take this time of year.

It's very important to keep the rain gutters on your house free of debris this Fall. Letting all of the falling leaves clog things up will cause a lot of problems for your house's foundation. Clogged gutters and downspouts lead to overflows and back ups that can put water in your basement. The clogs keep rain water from flowing away from your house's foundation. It, instead, seeks out the cracks in your basement walls.

And, you should have your fireplace and flue inspected and cleaned. Whether it's the house you're living in now or the house you want to buy, creosote build up in a chimney's flue is very dangerous. Since it is out of sight, it's very easily out of mind, as well. When you have Complete Home Inspection do your Kansas City home inspection, I look at the fireplace, the chimney and the liner, and look up into the flue. If I see signs of trouble, that's when you need to call an expert to do a thorough fireplace inspection for you. Cracks, blockages, and creosote build-up are all going to cause you problems. So, for your safety and your family's safety, have your wood-burning fireplace checked and cleaned yearly.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Thank you for your kind words

Thank you to the editors of the American Society of Home Inspectors' magazine, The ASHI Reporter, for their recent feature highlighting my focus on educating myself to be the best home inspector possible. Education has always been an important part of my life. And I see, every day, how important further education is to me as a Kansas City home inspector.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

New CSST certification

I am now certified to inspect CSST, Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing that is used to pipe gas to furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces and other gas appliances. That may not mean anything at all to you. You, perhaps, have never heard of CSST before now. That's fine. That's why you hire me to do your home inspection for you.

For decades, black iron pipe has been used to pipe gas to furnaces, water heaters, and such. Now, CSST is showing up in more and more residential, commercial, and industrial structures. CSST must be installed correctly to be safe. That's where I come in. I'm certified to check that the CSST is both grounded correctly and bonded correctly.

So, while it may not mean much to you, and it may be something you weren't even aware of until now, it could be an important part of your Complete Home Inspection. Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Sprinkler system backflow valves

At the recent Great Plains ASHI conference, I did a presentation to the other inspectors on how to inspect and report on lawn sprinkler systems. While stressing the importance of a backflow valve, I confused  the inspectors who had traveled to the conference from Oklahoma. They had never heard of backflow valves and said that their state didn't require the installation of such valves. That's why it's important for you to have a professional, like me, inspect your sprinkler system to make certain that it has been installed properly.

A backflow valve does just what it says - it's a one-way valve that keeps water from flowing backward from your sprinkler pipes into your main water pipes. You really don't want water that has been in your underground sprinkler pipes to end up coming out of your kitchen faucet. Sometimes, to save money or to save time a backflow valve isn't included in a sprinkler system. Some older irrigation systems may not have a backflow valve. It's one of the first things I check in a sprinkler inspection.

Obviously, this isn't the time of year to talk about lawn sprinklers. It was just fascinating at the September ASHI conference to find out how different things can be in different states.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

"I've never heard of anyone dying of radon poisoning."

My client had a great question and observation the other day - “Is radon really a big deal? I’ve never heard of anyone dying from radon poisoning.” He had heard of lead poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning, but never radon poisoning. That’s simply because “radon poisoning” is called “lung cancer”.
 

In fact, radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in smokers. Radon gas is not to be taken lightly. My blog post from June 19, 2013, mentions two case studies of lung cancer caused by radon gas. 

Statistically, in the Kansas City area, one of every three houses tested is found to have elevated radon levels. So the answer to his question is, “Yes. Radon is a big deal, especially here in Kansas City.” A Complete Home Inspection radon test costs $100. If you are buying a house, test for radon as a part of your home inspection process. If the test shows a high radon level, you might negotiate with the seller to correct it. If it comes in low, you have peace of mind knowing that you’re buying a healthier house. In Kansas, radon testers must be certified. I have been a certified radon tester for more than 20 years.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Flip-ah-dee-doo-dah!

The host of a new TV show about buying and flipping houses was interviewed on CNBC recently and twice mentioned that careful home buyers were having home inspections done for them nowadays. He said that, for a while, the real estate market was pretty frenzied, that you had to get your offer in quickly, and you had to avoid any contingency clauses that might make your offer less attractive. But, he said, that's not the case anymore. People are being more cautious, they're "opening the electric panel, they're looking for mold, they're doing home inspections". And, as a guy who flips houses for a living, he considers that to be good thing.

He talked about how he strives to get everything done correctly in a house he's flipping, that he won't just cover up a problem with a wall and then sell the house. But many flippers do just that. And that's why it's so important for you to have Complete Home Inspection look at your dream house BEFORE you buy. In your Kansas City home inspection, we can't see through walls. If someone has tried to hide a defect or problem, I can't start breaking through the drywall to see what's behind it. But, I can look for other signs that there might be a problem - things I've found in inspections include evidence of a previous fire in a house, evidence of termite damage, and signs of water entry into a house. Those are all things you're not looking for, and can't be expected to look for, when you're shopping for a house. That's why you hire me.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

"Remodeled" doesn't mean "fixed" - once again

This is so commonplace that blog posts from 9/14/13 and 3/29/14 addressed it, too - the words, "remodeled" and "rehabbed" don't necessarily mean that things were done correctly. Last week, a house featured a "newly remodeled and updated kitchen". Sounds great, right?

While you're looking at the kitchen, you're picturing the workspace, the traffic flow in the room, and whether it's big enough for your needs. You might notice that the remodeling included beautiful new wooden cabinets throughout the kitchen. But what you might not notice is what jumped out at me during my inspection.

A wooden shelf spanned the area over the sink, connecting the cabinets on either side of the sink. Sadly, the lighting fixture over the sink was now above this solid shelf. Turn the light on and it shines down on top of the shelf. It no longer illuminates the sink area. In order to be able to see at the sink, someone would need to cut a hole in the new shelf. That's not the kind of detail you're looking to find when you're looking to buy a house. And that's why it's so important for you to get a Complete Home Inspection before you buy - even if the house is "new", "remodeled", or "rehabbed". Know the condition of the property before you buy. Don't take someone else's word for it.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Defect of the Week

Three different houses in the past week had a very dangerous problem in the garage, a problem that the owners of the houses had caused. The sensors for the garage door opener had been defeated, taped or tied together, and hung out the way near the garage ceiling. That’s akin to fastening your seat belt behind you in the car. It defeats the warning system, but it no longer protects you. Having this done to the garage door in your new house is a good way to accidentally injure or kill your family pet, or Grandma, for that matter.

Garage door openers have safety sensors that are designed to detect anything in the path of a closing garage door. They are to be mounted 2-8 inches off the garage floor and they shoot a beam of light to each other. When that beam of light is interrupted, the sensors are tripped and the garage door automatically stops closing and goes back up. If something or someone is beneath a closing garage door, he, she, or it will not be crushed by the door. This also protects the garage door and opener from being damaged when trying to close onto an object under the door.

This is another reason to have me inspect the house you’re looking to buy. When you’re considering buying a house, the last thing you’re going to do is to check the sensors on the garage door. You have enough other things on your mind and plenty of other things to look at. Let me play with the garage doors for you while you just enjoy the peace of mind you get from knowing that your dream home is being thoroughly inspected by a trained professional.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Defect of the Week

Twice in the past week, furnace flue pipes were found to be venting into the attics. This is a very serious problem as it can lead to structural problems for the house and can be deadly for the occupants. And what's more, it's a problem you would be unaware of when you buy your new house because you're not going to stick your head into the attic and check the flue pipe. That's why you hire me.

Whether the furnace flue pipe is installed improperly or has simply become disconnected for some reason, furnace exhaust gases that collect in an attic can cause mold problems, lead to wood rot, and can cause carbon monoxide poisoning if they backdraft into the living areas of the house. The furnace should be vented to the outside where the gases and the moisture dissipate harmlessly. Frequently, when a roof is being replaced, the flue pipe is lifted up by the roofers. This can cause the vent pipe sections to disconnect if they weren't properly screwed together and that creates a leak for the gases to escape into the attic. Other times, as in the past week, improper remodeling work might vent the gases just into the attic in order to save time, money and effort. Regardless, it's a fatal flaw that I always check for during an inspection. And, since it's the Defect of the Week, you see that it is a fairly common occurrence.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Reason #5,804 to have your house inspected

A brand new house, costing $300,000, was in beautiful condition. Until I poked my head into the attic during my recent inspection and saw that there was no insulation whatsoever.

So many misconceptions exposed in just one inspection:

1. A new home doesn't need to be inspected
2. An expensive home doesn't need to be inspected
3. The builder is offering a one-year warranty, so I don't need an inspection
4. No one has ever lived in this house, so there can't be anything wrong with it
5. Newly constructed houses don't need to be tested for radon - this house was tested and has a radon gas problem

Imagine your reaction when your heating and cooling bills were, literally and figuratively, through the roof in your brand-new, expensive home. And, the builder's warranty might eventually get you some insulation but it won't reimburse you for your gas and electric bills.

New houses can have as many defects as older houses. Sales price doesn't indicate quality. Warranties simply mean that you will live with problems before they are discovered and corrected. And all houses, new or existing, should be inspected before you buy so that you know the condition of the property at the time of the inspection and can negotiate to get necessary repairs done before you move in.

You're focused on floor plans, aesthetics, neighborhoods, and other factors when looking to buy a house. Let me look at the other aspects of the property for you and then give you a complete, written report (including photos) detailing my findings. Unless you want to climb a ladder, squeeze through an attic access, and see for yourself if there's adequate insulation in the house.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Timely maintenance

The year's flying by and it's time for some spring/summer maintenance on your house. First, clean out your gutters. Whether you're buying or selling a home, or just maintaining the on you live in, it's time for this twice-a-year chore.

It's easy to remember to do this in the Fall because all of the falling leaves clog things up. But, it's just as important to do in the Spring now that the maple tree "helicopter seeds"and the blossoms from flowering trees are down. Clogged gutters and downspouts lead to overflows and back ups that can put water in your basement. The clogs keep rainwater from flowing away from your house's foundation. Instead, it seeks out the cracks in your basement walls. So, now's the time to improve the drainage around your house's foundation by sloping the ground away from the house. And, keep the gutters and downspouts free from debris.

Then, check the condition of the outdoor section of your air conditioner. It should be relatively level and the outer coil should be clean. Dirt, pollen, cottonwood fluff, dryer lint and vegetation can clog the outdoor coil, causing it to work harder and waste money. I don't recommend power washing the outer coil. That is too harsh and can damage the coil or force the dirt farther into it. Gently brushing the debris down off of the coil or washing it with a garden hose is better. Some types of condenser units do need professional cleaning because of their design.

Thirdly, check the drainage on the interior part of your air conditioner, usually right above your furnace. If the drain hose is clogged, it can flood your furnace and ruin it. Once, a client buying a million-dollar condo simply said, "This inspection just paid for itself" when I opened the closet door to the air conditioner and found the drain pan overflowing, flooding the furnace and the floor, and starting to get the carpet wet. Make certain that the drain hose/pipe is near a floor drain or whatever your system is supposed to drain into. Sadly, simply seeing water flow doesn't necessarily mean that everything's okay. Remove the furnace's access panel and look for water. Remove the drain hose from the air conditioner and check for current or future clogs.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your own Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Not so fast

You have to move quickly to buy a house in Kansas City this spring as the inventory of existing homes keeps shrinking. In this "seller's market", your offer on a house may/will have competition. And you may begin to feel that you don't have time to really mull things over, revisit a house, or check things out thoroughly because you might lose the house to someone else.

This makes it even more important for you build a home inspection clause into your offer so that, before you sign on the dotted line, you'll be able to slow down and find out the condition of the house. Let me thoroughly inspect the property for you, from top to bottom, and give you a written report, complete with photos, detailing my findings. Buying a house is too important to just rush through the process trying to beat everyone else. Do what you have to do to get your offer in before others. But then treat yourself to a Complete Home Inspection before everything's finalized. You'll get some peace of mind knowing that your haste didn't stick you with a problem house.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Your inspection report

The written report you receive following your Kansas City home inspection is something I take very seriously. In fact, I was asked to give a seminar to other home inspectors during last January's ASHI Inspection World national conference on how to improve their inspection reports.

Following your Complete Home Inspection you receive a thorough and complete written report, customized to your house, detailing the results of the inspection. Your report begins with the summary of Recommended Repairs. This list of items that were found to be improperly installed, not functioning as intended, unsafe, or otherwise defective is organized by category to help you in your negotiations and in your decision making. Your report includes photos of the house, some showing various views of the house and its features, others pointing out problem areas that need to be addressed. And your report is laid out in an organized fashion, complete with a Table of Contents and Bookmarks to each topic, making it easy to navigate through the information. Essentially, it’s a whole lot of peace of mind for you.  (Watch a video about Your Inspection Report).

A realtor who had just experienced her first Complete Home Inspection sent a follow-up E-mail last week that said, "I just finished going over the report. I wanted to thank you for the professional report. Even though there are issues with the house, you didn't blow them out of proportion and terrify my buyer. This is his first home so he's already overwhelmed. Thanks again and I will definitely use you in the future."

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-02222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Mold hazards

The Johnson County (KS) Museum is having to limit visitors and close some of its exhibits due to mold in the building. Flooding in 2009 rendered the museum's basement unusable for employees and volunteers to work in. Now, new water damage from around the roof's guttering and from condensation off the building's stone exterior has led to mold between the museum's interior and exterior walls.

It's another example of how mold can make a building uninhabitable. And, it just underscores the importance of checking the air quality in your home. If it's important enough to force employees, volunteers, and visitors to alter their plans at the museum, it's important enough to find out if mold is a problem in your home. Let Complete Home Inspection do your air quality test for you, in the house you're looking to buy or in the house you live in now, so that you'll know what type of mold might be in the air you're breathing and how much of it there is. Whether your mold test is an air-quality test or a swab test, you'll know, in just a couple of days, if your family's respiratory health is at risk.

The museum's predicament also serves as a reminder that it's very important to keep the rain gutters on your house free of debris. It's easy to remember to do this in the Fall with all of the falling leaves clogging things up. But, it's just as important to do in the Spring with all of the "helicopter seeds" from maple trees, Sugar Gum balls, and the like. Clogged gutters and downspouts lead to overflows and back ups that can put water in your basement. The clogs keep rain water from flowing away from your house's foundation. The water, instead, seeks out the cracks in your basement walls. Or, in the case of the Johnson County Museum, leads to mold between the interior and exterior walls.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection and, perhaps, your mold test, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

"Remodeled" doesn't mean "fixed", either (see also 9/14/13 post)

The defect of the week, sadly, is that "newly remodeled" doesn't necessarily mean that it was remodeled well. Two different houses in the past week were just remodeled to be sold. My clients were correct to have the properties inspected regardless. Among the problems found in my inspections -

• Hot and cold water pipes reversed at a bathroom sink
• No cold water supply to a bathroom sink
• A live electrical wire lying underneath the garbage disposal, waiting for the outlet to be installed
• A house being converted to all-electrical, but without sufficient electrical service to the house
• Two different electric panels in the house being updated, neither correctly installed
• No backup heater in a house that just added a heat pump
• A kitchen exhaust fan vented through the house roof, with duct work disconnected in two places
• The old, disconnected furnace flue was now simply an open pipe to the outside through the roof
• The old, disconnected plumbing vent was now simply an open hole through the plumbing flashing to the outside through the roof
• A new fireplace stove insert installed in such a way that the exhaust couldn't vent through the old chimney
• The only heating register in a room was now enclosed in the closet, not the room.

The list continues. The point is that while it may be easy to think that a "newly remodeled" house won't need to be inspected, you can't let yourself be misled. Find out the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. Eliminate the surprises problems like this can give you. Know what you're buying before you buy it. My clients for these two properties are both very glad they insisted on inspections.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Million-dollar home

A couple of things from this past week's inspection of a house costing more than $1 million -

1) It is a brand-new house replacing the house that had stood on the lot for years. A brand-new house with a million-dollar price tag. Why have it inspected, right? Well, among other things, I found that the hot and the cold water pipes were reversed on one of the bathroom sinks. I also found that one of the ground-fault interrupter (GFI) outlets didn't work. You'd think for $1 million, you might get better quality than that. Not in this case. And it goes to show, once again, that no matter the age of the house you're looking to buy, no matter the sales price of the house you're looking to buy, it should be inspected so that you know the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. In a follow-up phone call, my clients asked me to pencil them in for another inspection of the house eleven months from now, just before their twelve-month builder's warranty expires. Good thinking.

2) My client's realtor for the million-dollar house had never seen a Complete Home Inspection before. He said that my name was on the top of his office's list of home inspectors, but we hadn't yet met. Following the inspection, he said that he could see why I was at the top of their list because even he learned some things during the inspection. He liked how quickly the inspection went, while still being thorough (see #1 above), compared to other inspections he had seen. And he said that he would be using Complete Home Inspection in the future because he liked the way I dealt with his client. I'm now at the top of his list, too.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Debunking radon myths

Two different houses, miles apart, had the same problem this week - a radon mitigation system had been installed and the house still had high levels of radon. In one house, the radon mitigation system wasn't functioning. In the other, the mitigation system, installed the week before my inspection, hadn't been installed properly. So, radon myth #1 that is, as TV's "Mythbusters" would say, "busted" is that if a house has a radon mitigation system installed, there's no need to do a radon test. As this week showed, that's wrong.

In the first house, my client didn't schedule a radon test because of the mitigation system. During my inspection, a quick check of the system showed that it wasn't working. A radon mitigation system features a fluid-filled u-shaped tube that can be checked easily and visually to see if the unit is working. The fluid should be higher on one side of the tube than it is on the other side. In this case, the fluid levels were even. That means that no suction was present to remove the radioactive radon gas from under the house and disperse it harmlessly into the air. So, the high levels of radon that originally led to the installation of the mitigation system were again present in the home.

In the second house, my client said that he wanted a radon test done even though the mitigation system had just been installed. Without being overly dramatic, that move may have saved the lives of his family. The house had a basement under part of it and a small crawl space under the rest of it. The new mitigation system was installed to remove radon from only the basement side of the house. The radon present in the soil of the crawl space side of the house was enough to affect the entire structure. My clients would have lived in their new home confident that they were safe from radon because they had a brand new mitigation system. Tragically, they would have been wrong.

So, together with my blog post from 2/1/14, let's debunk some radon myths:

• Myth #1 - You don't need to do a radon test in a house that has a mitigation system. Wrong. It's better to know for certain that the system is functioning properly than it is to risk your health and the health of your family.
• Myths #2, #3, and #4 - Houses with walk-out basements, houses built on concrete slabs, and houses with crawl spaces don't need to be tested for radon. Wrong. What matters is whether the ground underneath the house has high levels of radon. The type of foundation doesn't make any difference at all.

Since it's the second leading cause of lung cancer, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, radon is a very serious problem. Don't rely on things you might have heard from someone else. Don't take chances with your family's health. Schedule a radon test along with your Kansas City home inspection.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

New houses need to be inspected, too

Recently, a market analyst on cable network CNBC mentioned that, nationwide, there haven't been a lot of new homes constructed in the last five years or so due to the economy. That's why the inventory of available houses has been so drastically reduced and it's what's led us to the current "seller's market" in home sales. And that is particularly true in Kansas City, especially based on the January numbers just released. Now, as the economy recovers, more and more new houses will be built.

So, it's important for you to remember that a new house needs to be inspected just as much as an older house does. Previous posts on this blog have detailed some of the problems I've found in newly constructed homes.

The brand new house pictured here didn't have any insulation in the attic.In another new construction, I couldn't get the kitchen sink spray hose to extend from its resting place. The dishwasher's drain hose and the spray hose were tangled up under the sink. Further, the dishwasher was susceptible to backflow from the sink's garbage disposal because of the way its drainage hose had been placed. One new house featured a whirlpool bathtub in the master bath, but the tub's drain pipe hadn't been connected to anything. Recently, I inspected a new house that had no heating or cooling in the laundry room on the second floor. Turns out the floor tile had covered it up. And yet another new house had the control wire for the furnace connected to the doorbell instead of the house's thermostat and no power cord connected to the kitchen garbage disposal.

Yes, your builder's warranty covers things in your just-built home. Yes, you have a year to make a list of what needs to be repaired. Getting a Kansas City home inspection from Complete Home Inspection BEFORE you move in, though, gets you a jump start on that list and allows you to get many of those things fixed before you take occupancy. While warranties may protect you, the time lost, the inconvenience and the frustration you'll experience can only be handled by getting a Complete Home Inspection for your new property. So let me handle you final walk-through for you. Put my experienced eye to work for you and your family.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and new construction final walk-throughs, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Additional information about the dangers of radon gas

Continuing the focus on radon gas begun last month with National Radon Action Month and Kansas Radon Action Month, here are a couple of other things for you to know -

It's easy to think that houses without full basements will also be without radon gas. That's not true at all. In fact, one of the highest radon levels I've seen in more than twenty years of testing was in a house with a walk-out basement. It matters whether the ground under the house has a high concentration of radon, not what kind of foundation the house has. Houses with full basements, houses with walk-out basements, houses built on a concrete slab, and houses with a crawl space underneath are each susceptible to high levels of radon. So don't let anyone tell you that a certain type of house doesn't need to be tested for radon. For your peace of mind, and for the health of you and your family, test the house you're living in now and/or the house you're looking to buy.

How serious are the health issues caused by radon gas? The Secretary of the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment asked all Kansas physicians to:

• educate their patients about radon and the risk of lung cancer.
• advise patients who smoke to stop smoking. The risk of lung cancer from radon exposure is 10 to 20 times greater for persons who smoke.
• encourage patients to test their homes and to fix any home with elevated radon levels.
• provide patients with information about radon, radon testing and mitigation by visiting www.kansasradonprogram.org.

As the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in smokers, radon gas is not to be taken lightly. That's why I've installed a radon mitigation system in my own house.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

January is Kansas Radon Action Month

The Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Governor Brownback have proclaimed January "Kansas Radon Action Month" to help educate residents about the dangers of radon exposure and encourage actions to identify and address radon problems in the home. Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas found in nearly all soils which comes from the breakdown of uranium. Outdoors, radon is diluted to low concentrations, but once inside an enclosed space, radon can accumulate to significant levels.

In January, KDHE offers free home radon test kits in various Kansas counties in the Kansas City area. Check www.kdheks.gov and follow the Radon Action Month link for locations and specifics. 

About one out of every three radon measurements performed in Kansas are elevated, being above 4 pCi/l (picoCuries per liter). Some areas have higher levels than others, though elevated levels of radon have been detected in every county in the state. As many as one in 15 homes across the U.S. has elevated radon levels that often go undetected. “Radon is the first leading cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked and is estimated to cause over 200 lung cancer deaths in Kansas every year,” said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “All Kansans should test their homes, fix any homes with elevated radon levels and build new homes using radon-resistant methods.” Bruce Snead, Director of Engineering Extension at Kansas State University said, “Unfortunately, the reality is that radon is everywhere, and the only way to know the radon concentration anywhere, is to test. Kansas Radon Action Month is an ideal time to take action to identify your risk by testing your home.”

These home test kits are a great way for you to begin checking the level of radon in your home. But, the best way to be certain of your test results is to have a certified radon professional, such as Miki Mertz of Complete Home Inspection, handle the test for you. Complete Home Inspection uses a continuous radon monitor that takes samples over a period of two full days, with the test unit placed in the lowest livable level of the house. Windows are kept closed throughout the time of the test. The test results are then averaged into an overall number for your final report. As mentioned earlier, if the radon level is higher than 4.0piC/l, then it should be fixed, or "mitigated".All radon tests done as part of real estate transactions in Kansas must be handled by a state-certified radon tester, such as Miki Mertz of Complete Home Inspection.

Additional information about radon can be found on the Complete Home Inspection web site at http://www.completehomeinspectionkc.com/kansas_city_home_inspection_036.htm, at www.kansasradonprogram.org, and at www.epa.gov/radon.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.