New informative video for you

We've added a new informative video for you to our web site - www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

This video shows how your needs will be met in your Kansas City home inspection when you hire Complete Home Inspection to do your inspection for you - both what you need, and what you DON'T need. Here's the video link on the web site - http://www.completehomeinspectionkc.com/kansas_city_home_inspection_012.htm.

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.

Reason #6,437 to have your home inspected

Here's something you wouldn't have noticed until well after you bought the property and moved in.

Fire damage in the attic. When you're shopping for a new home, you look at the floor plan, curb appeal, kitchen layout, and the like. You don't go into the attic and look for signs of damage from a previous fire. That's why you hire Complete Home Inspection. We do that for you.

Unless you're thinking of converting the attic space to living space, you would never even look there. Since this fire damage was not on the seller's disclosure form, my client would have completed the purchase completely unaware of what was lurking overhead. My discovery was quite a surprise to the home buyer and to the realtors involved.

You have so many things on your mind when you're looking to buy a home. And there can be so many pitfalls for you along the way. Get the peace of mind that comes from having Complete Home Inspection do your Kansas City home inspection for you. It'll be one less thing for you to worry about.

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. 

The very real danger of radon gas

Radon gas, a colorless, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas, could very well be present in the home you're looking to buy. Statistically, on either side of the state line in the Kansas City area, one of every three houses tested is found to have elevated radon levels. Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. For non-smokers, it is the first. What is the level of radon in your house? The only way to know is to have it tested. And that's why the State of Kansas has gone so far as to name January Kansas Radon Action Month.

In fact, the secretary for the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment says that homeowners "...should test their homes, address any elevated radon levels and use radon-resistant construction techniques when building new homes." That's how serious a threat to your health radon gas is.

Miki Mertz is a certified radon tester, certified by both the National Radon Proficiency Program and by the State of Kansas. A radon test conducted by Complete Home Inspection costs only $100, and uses a continuous radon monitor that takes samples over a period of two full days. The test unit is 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. If the radon level is higher than 4.0piC/l, then it should be fixed, or "mitigated". Inexpensive do-it-yourself test kits are not what you want to rely on when it comes to your family's health and well-being. Instead, rely on the knowledge and competence of a certified radon tester like Miki.

Fortunately, radon is a fixable problem. A small suction fan is installed in a pipe that goes through the basement floor to suck out the radon from under the house and vent it to the exterior of the house. That way, the radon gas isn’t in the breathing air inside the house. The system becomes a permanent part of the house and uses about the same amount of electricity as a clock radio.Such a radon mitigation system costs about $700-900 in the Kansas City area. 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.

Regardless of whether you're in the process of buying or selling a house, have the level of radon gas tested in the house you're living in. It's too important to your family's health to be put off for some other time.

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

Would you go in the crawl space?

Of course you wouldn't go into the crawl space when you're looking to buy a house. That's why you hire Complete Home Inspection to do your complete Kansas City home inspection for you. You're too busy looking at the floor plan, figuring out who gets which bedroom and where to put the couch and the piano. But look what you may miss if you DON'T have your home inspected by Complete Home Inspection before you buy it.

These photos are from the crawl space under a home I inspected recently. These first two show that one of the floor joists, seen here from two different angles, has been eaten all the way through by termites. And a very poor repair has been done to try to shore up the joist. Damage like this may cause the floor above it to sag since the joist is there to support the weight of the house. And that can cause many other structural problems to develop over time in this part of the house. I also like to run a simple test when a floor looks like it slopes one way or the other - putting a ball on the floor and seeing if it rolls by itself.

This third photo shows the roughly 2-inch crack in the found- ation wall that was also revealed during the crawl space inspection. A crack like this can cause even more structural problems to develop over time. It's not something that you would see when you're looking at the property, deciding if the kitchen is big enough, and if there's room for your mother-in-law to live with you. But it is definitely something you need to be aware of before you buy. Armed with knowledge like this, you can make a more-informed purchase decision. And you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing the condition of the property at the time of the inspection.

That's why it's worth your while to make a home inspection from Complete Home Inspection a part of your home purchase. You just don't know what you might be missing otherwise.

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

Complete Home Inspection Earns Esteemed 2012 Angie's List Super Service Award

Award reflects company’s consistently high level of customer service

Complete Home Inspection has earned the service industry-coveted 2012 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor awarded annually to approximately 5 percent of all the companies rated on Angie’s List, the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service companies.

“It’s a select group of companies rated on Angie’s List that can claim the exemplary customer service record of being a Super Service Award winner,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “Our standards for the Super Service Award are quite high. The fact that Complete Home Inspection earned this recognition speaks volumes about its dedication providing great service to its customers.”

Angie’s List Super Service Award 2012 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, including earning a minimum number of reports, an excellent rating from their customers and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. Members can find the 2012 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Customer Service

Recently, a customer called with some great questions regarding what to do following his Kansas City home inspection. As often is the case with homes built before the 1960, the electrical outlets in the home he was looking to buy were two-wire outlets. Some of the original outlets had been replaced with today's three-prong receptacles, but they were still two-wire outlets. He had asked the seller, as part of their negotiations following his Complete Home Inspection, to have the outlets rewired to meet today's standards. The seller refused. So our customer called for more information on how serious a "problem" this represented.

He asked a lot of intelligent questions about whether he should walk away from the deal, about safety issues, about electrical surges, and more. Now, he understands his options and can better decide what he wants to do going forward. In this particular case, contacting an electrician to get an estimate of the cost to ground the outlets sounded good to him. it was great to spend the time further explaining things to him and easing his mind. It's part of our Customer Service that we value so highly.

But overall, this is a shining example of the home inspection process. I've been doing Kansas City home inspections for more than twenty years now. But, I'm not the "house police". Because something is uncovered during your inspection does not mean that the seller is required to "fix" it, or that you're required to do anything about it after you move in. That is entirely up to you, your situation, and your negotiations with the seller. But, since it was uncovered during your inspection, it must be documented so that you know the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. What happens next depends on what you want to do about it.

Back to the electrical outlets in our customer's house, the house doesn't need to be rewired. Outlets can be grounded. GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets can be installed for safety. It is possible that new owner could live safely in the house without doing anything about the outlets, as the seller had been living there safely for years. So there are many possible courses of action now. Knowledge is the key in making the correct decision for you and your situation, the knowledge you get from your Complete Home Inspection.

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

Thank you

Thank you to the people who put together and publish the American Society of Home Inspectors' "Reporter" magazine each month. It's fun to be included on the cover of the December issue. The photo was taken during our recent Chapter Leadership Conference in Chicago.