Kansas/National Radon Action Month

January 2019 is Kansas Radon Action Month, and National Radon Action Month, designed to educate you about the dangers of radon exposure and encourage you to identify and address radon problems in your home. Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas found in nearly all soils, resulting from the breakdown of uranium. Outdoors, radon is diluted to low concentrations. But once inside an enclosed space, radon can accumulate to significant levels.

About one out of every three radon measurements performed in Kansas are elevated, being above 4 pCi/l (picoCuries per liter). This is true for Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties in Kansas, too.

The best way to find out if your house, or the house you're looking to buy, has a radon problem is to have a certified radon professional, such as Miki Mertz of Complete Home Inspection, do a 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". In Kansas, all residential real estate contracts include a recommendation that home buyers include a radon test on homes purchased. All radon tests performed during real estate transactions in Kansas must be conducted 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/radon, 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.

It's that 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 this is a great time to handle this, since the really cold weather hasn't set in yet.

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.

Reputations are earned

Yesterday, at the end of the inspection, my client said, "Our agent referred you to be our home inspector. I can see why he was so impressed with you. You are very thorough and really know your stuff." It's always great to live up to your reputation and to exceed expectations.

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.

Google review from a client

One of yesterday's clients wrote a nice Google review following her Kansas City home inspection - "Miki did a wonderful job inspecting our soon to be new home! She is very thorough and explained everything she was doing and why. We will definitely recommend her to our friends and family in the future. Thank you!"

"Complete" doesn't necessarily mean S-L-O-W

My out-of-town client had little time to spend on his Complete Home Inspection and was pleased with how quickly his inspection was handled from start to finish. After receiving his E-mailed report the next morning, he wrote, “Thank you for doing the inspection so quick. The report looks very thorough and easy to understand.” Being thorough and doing a “Complete” Home Inspection, doesn’t necessarily mean that it takes a long time. You have so many other things on your mind and so many other things to do when buying or selling a house, I strive to do a fast home inspection as well as a thorough one.

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.

Learn about your new house

A nice comment from a satisfied customer - My clients were a young couple of first-time home buyers. They had done a lot of research on me, on my company, and on home inspections in general. They even showed up at their inspection with three pages of written-out questions they wanted to make they certain got answered. They did. Every one of them. Then, after receiving her E-mailed report, my client responded with, "Thank you, Miki, for your time yesterday. It was very informative and gave us a much better sense of the house and we feel good about everything we learned from you in person. We will let you know if we have any follow up questions after reading your report." That's perfect. Ask questions. Follow me around during your Complete Home Inspection. That's how you learn.

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 #8,627 to have a house inspected

During a Complete Home Inspection recently, I could tell that there was something drastically wrong with a basement wall. It was out-of-plumb. Not having X-ray vision, I couldn't see exactly what was happening behind the drywall. But I told my clients and their realtor what I suspected was going on. And, I explained to them that this was a major problem.

At my suggestion, they brought in a structural engineer and a contractor to take a look. They were allowed to cut open the drywall, something I can't do during an inspection. Here's what the realtor passed along - "The structural engineer and my contractor agreed that the single beam that is 'spliced' should have been a double beam and not spliced in that location. They are going to work together--(the engineer) will work up specs and (my contractor) will do the job--build a support column and push the wall back to plumb. (My contractor) can do the work for $2500-3500. (The engineer) said that the home is structurally sound other than that framing defect. Thank you for making a big deal--because it is a structural problem, and the structural engineer did confirm that. Would be awful if you didn't call it out and these buyers had to pay for the repair when it was discovered later. That is what happened to the current sellers and I can tell you they are very angry right now, for good reason. I appreciate your attention to detail and integrity!"

I don't usually refer clients to specialists like structural engineers. I can make repair determinations on most issues. But, in this case, a referral was what was needed. And my clients are satisfied with the outcome. That's what's most important. When they were looking at the house, they had too many other things on their minds to notice an out-of-plumb basement wall. That's what they hired me for. And that's why you should have any house inspected BEFORE you buy. You just never know what might be hidden from plain view.

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.