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.