Flip-itty-doo-dah, again

Some houses marketed as having been "newly remodeled" are in the process of being "flipped" - someone bought a distressed house at a bargain price, did some fix-ups, and is now selling it to make a profit. That's fine, but you really need to make certain that the remodeling and the flipping are being done correctly. And the best way to be certain is to schedule your Complete Home Inspection before buying such a house.

Twice in one week, houses listed as having a "New Kitchen" had dishwasher problems. In the first, the "New Dishwasher" was just that, "new". It had been taken out of the box, slid into the dishwasher slot under the "New Granite Countertops", and left there. It wasn't plugged into electricity, wasn't connected to the water supply pipes, and had no drain pipe installed. The "New Dishwasher" was actually a "Useless Dishwasher". You wouldn't discover any of this until AFTER you had moved in and had a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. The second house had a "Newly Remodeled Kitchen" with a dishwasher that had power and water, but no drain pipe had been attached. You wouldn't have discovered that until water began running all over your kitchen floor.

And, the second house also boasted of a roof that was less than a year old. No need to inspect that, right? Sadly, the new roof had been installed over the two existing layers of roofing. Most, if not all, insurance companies will not give you homeowner's insurance on a house with three layers of roofing. In this case, the less-than-a-year-old roof, and the other two layers, will have to be stripped off and yet another new roof will need to be installed.

So, even in the case of a house being flipped, it is critical for you to schedule a Complete Home Inspection of the property BEFORE you buy so that you'll know condition of the house at the time of the 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.

Defect of the Week

Even in the midst of this heatwave, your Complete Home Inspection will include a thorough furnace inspection. The furnace is the furthest thing from your mind when the heat index is over 100 degrees, and that's as it should be. Furnaces are still on my mind, though, and that's why you hire me. Two different furnaces in two different houses this week, were found to have serious problems.

In the first case, the seller of the house had the furnace serviced by a technician last September. So, with the current heat wave and with the technician checking it out less than a year ago, there was probably no reason for me to be thorough, right? Look at the hole I found in the furnace flue pipe. Plus, the furnace was contained in a small, closed room that offered no secondary combustion air. That means that deadly carbon monoxide would be spilling out of this pipe anytime the furnace kicked in.

In the second case, my client was a boilermaker by trade. When we checked the furnace in the house he was looking to buy, I noticed that the gas burner remained lit for only about ten seconds. When the electronic igniter went out  (as it was supposed to), the burner went out, too. This happened repeatedly. Ten seconds of heat just isn't going to cut it in February in Kansas City. Since he has been in the heating business his entire life, he was impressed that I found the problem.

The things you wouldn't even think to check when buying or selling a house are the things that I pay the most attention to in 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.

Defect of the Month

The furthest thing from your mind when you're buying a house is the vent for the clothes dryer. Based on the past couple of weeks, it's the furthest thing from the minds of people selling houses, too. Dryer vents have been found to be disconnected, clogged, bent, and made out of flammable materials.

If the existing clothes dryer is being left in the house for you, I'll check out the venting during your Complete Home Inspection. If you're moving your own dryer into the house, I'll give you tips on properly venting it.

Disconnected dryer vents scatter lint everywhere. Not only is that messy, it's also a fire hazard. That's particularly true if the dryer is near the furnace or water heater. A disconnected vent will also allow moisture from the dryer's air to escape, perhaps leading to mold.

A dryer vent that's clogged with lint, or that is bent, is a fire hazard. And a clogged vent causes the dryer to work less efficiently, increasing your energy costs and the wear and tear on the dryer. Vents need to be cleaned out regularly. And they need to follow a straight path to the outside to allow the lint to be carried along with the airflow.

Finally, older dryer vents were made out of a plastic film-type covering that is actually flammable. Instead, you should use a metal dryer vent, one that will stand up to heat better.

You have so many other things on your mind when buying a house, let me take care of all the little details during 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.

Vote of confidence

A couple of weeks ago, the sellers of a house I inspected for their buyers got a copy of my report on their house. After reviewing it, they called and asked me to inspect the house they were buying for their son. They liked the thoroughness of the report, the inclusion of photos, and the way that the entire inspection process was handled on the house they were selling. So they decided that I was the one to work for their son, as well. It means a lot to earn someone's respect and trust like that.

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 #319 to have your house inspected

A house I was inspecting recently had a high-efficiency heat pump that was virtually brand new. Obviously, there would be no reason to inspect it. The old furnace had already been replaced and everything was, of course, up to date now. So why even bother?

Well, let's call it "the ripple effect". When something is changed in a system, you have to make certain that everything else in that system has been changed accordingly. The old heat pump required two separate feeds of electricity, one a 30 amp and the other a 50 amp feed. The new heat pump required a 50 amp and a 60 amp. In the house's electric panel, the 50 amp breaker had been hooked up correctly to the heat pump. But, the former 30 amp feed was now connected to the heater components rated at 60amp, overloading the breaker, causing it to heat up and become a fire hazard. During the inspection, that breaker was buzzing and hot to the touch.

While you would be feeling all warm and cozy next winter, secure in the knowledge that your new house had a brand new heat pump, you would unknowingly be putting your house and your family at risk due to the faulty wiring. No matter the age of the house, no matter the age of the appliances within the house, you need to have a Complete Home Inspection done on the property before you buy. It's not your job to look for these little, but very critical, things, the "ripple effects" in the house. That's my job. You have enough other things to worry about when buying a 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.

Importance of a home inspection

Yesterday, Steve Rosen wrote a column in The Kansas City Star that read, in part, "Get the house inspected by someone who comes highly recommended. It could be an inspector recommended by your real estate agent, but not necessarily. Even if the inspection costs several hundred dollars, it will be money well spent. The inspector can help you understand what's a big deal and what's not. And if it's a big deal that the seller won't fix, don't move another step toward closing." He was writing about "How first-time homebuyers can avoid a money pit". Here's his entire column - http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/personal-finance/article64501887.html

Sometimes, real estate agents are reluctant to recommend or prohibited from recommending home inspectors. Other times, your realtor might say that you should get the property inspected and you should have it done by Miki Mertz at Complete Home Inspection. One realtor recently got around it all by saying that she wasn't allowed to give specific recommendations for choosing a home inspector, but when her own son was having an inspection done, her son would be having me do the inspection. That convinced my client to hire me. He felt it was high praise for his agent to use me for her own son.

Your Complete Home Inspection tells you the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. That way you'll know what you're getting in to, whether it's a "money pit" or if things are in pretty good shape. Either way, it's money well-spent. Add a radon test to your inspection, and get peace of mind knowing that the house doesn't have a radon problem or that the radon gas has been mitigated and your family will be safe.

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

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/personal-finance/article64501887.html#storylink=cpy

Ice dams

The freezing rain and snowfall in Kansas City over the holidays, probably made you notice the gutters on your house.

Icicles may look pretty and seasonally appropriate, but they're also a sign that heat is escaping through your roof and causing the snow cover to melt. As the melting snow refreezes, it can block the gutters and keep water from draining away as it should. Then, when the ice and snow melted for good, water may have seeped into your walls or dripped onto your house's foundation instead. That can lead to many different problems.

Now that we're not expecting any winter weather for a bit, clear away any debris in your gutters. This will help freezing drizzle and snow melt to drain away more easily next time.

And, next time it snows, consider using a broom to brush away the snow from lowest few feet of your roof. You may feel silly being out in the cold "sweeping" your roof, but giving the snow melt room to drain unobstructed can help you avoid costly problems with mold, a cracked foundation, and damaged soffits, fascia boards and walls.

To prevent ice dams from occurring, you may need to improve the insulation and ventilation of your roof and/or install a heat strip along the lower edge of the roof or in the gutter. For now, sweeping the snow away will help the situation. And then, when it warms up a little, you can consider your other options. 

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.