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.

January is Kansas Radon Action Month

January 2016 is both Kansas Radon Action Month (KRAM) (sponsored by the Kansas Radon Program (KRP) and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE)) and National Radon Action Month (NRAM) (sponsored nationally by the EPA), designed to 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.

About one out of every three radon measurements performed in Kansas are elevated, being above 4 pCi/l (picoCuries per liter). In 2015, Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties in Kansas each recorded average radon values in excess of 4.0 pCi/L from all tests conducted.

The best way to ascertain 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/kansas_city_home_inspection_051.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.

Trend in housing

Housing experts say that the Millennial Generation likes to move into urban areas versus suburban areas. The trends indicate that living in the city is what appeals to Millennials and that their lifestyles don't require a lot of living space. If a loft or a condo is in your future, whether in an urban area or not, make certain to get the property inspected before you buy.

It's sometimes easy to think that you don't need to have a complete home inspection done on a condo or loft because they don't have many of the same concerns as a free-standing home (perhaps no roof immediately over your living space, perhaps no basement or crawl space immediately below your living space, etc.). But, as many have found by having a complete home inspection done for them, condos and lofts still had many systems and features that needed a complete inspection.

Your inspection includes the plumbing, electric, heating and cooling systems, as well as the appliances, doors, walls and windows. You get a lot of peace of mind from knowing the condition of each of these systems and items BEFORE you buy. You can test for mold, too, if you wish.

Whether it's a high-rise condo downtown or in the Plaza area, a townhouse-type condo with its own roof and foundation, or a loft in one of the magnificent old buildings downtown, have your property thoroughly inspected by Complete Home Inspection.

Condo inspections, whole house inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we can do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your appointment, 913-268-0222. www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.