Tag archive: home maintenance advice

Asbestos in Your Home, Part One

First Part of Asbestos in Your Home
Does a statement “you have asbestos in your home” sound scary?
As usual, many of the “scary” things in our homes are scary because we don’t have any background / knowledge about them. One of those “things” is ASBESTOS – a mineral made out of microscopic fibers.

Exposure to a high concentration of asbestos airborne fibers puts us at a great risk of developing asbestos related diseases, and no safe level of asbestos exposure has yet been determined.
Those diseases are:

Lung, colon, and stomach cancer
Mesothelioma – A rare form of cancer of the chest lining and [...]

Roof / Attic Ventilation Inspection

This is a very extensive topic, so please use reference links to my other posts, especially if everything is new for you and you really want to do most of the inspector’s work. The house roof / attic needs to be ventilated for its own and home owner’s benefit – non or poor ventilation might…

Chimney Inspection | Home Inspector Tips

House chimney inspection

No climbing on and leaning the ladder against your chimney stack while performing chimney inspection!

You are going to start chimney inspection by examining its structure from the ground. Depending on chimney’s height, position, roof pitch, and clearances around the house, you may be able to perform most of the chimney inspection from the ground level using a pair of good quality binoculars.
House chimney inspection – masonry chimney
For a brick chimney inspection (it would also apply to stone and cinder block) – check the condition of mortar lines between the bricks, and the bricks themselves. Heavily deteriorated / missing mortar [...]

Roof and Gutters inspection

Roof – the safest way to inspect it would be … to hire a licensed roofing contractor (from the ground of course), and sometimes, it will be the only possible way without using some special equipment or a combination of ladders. Don’t attempt to access its surface if it is too steep (you have to…

Home Pre-Inspection Manual

Hello brave one I just hope that you are fully insured because some of the things on my checklist requires acrobatics, resistance to the high voltage current, swimming through the flooded crawlspaces, crawling through the scary attics, and many more nasty things – yes my friend, this is what I ,and many other home inspectors,…

Home Pre-Inspection – the new real estate trend or … wishful thinking?

Being a home inspector puts me in an awkward position for writing this post because I don’t want it to sound like a commercial about me. But, let me assure you that (at least in this case) I’ll let you be the judge. In 10 years of my home inspection business-adventure, I was hired twice…

Attached Garage Firewall | Garage To Room Entrance

Garage fire wall / separation wall between the house and an attached garage is very often mistreated  by the home owners.
I’m assuming that they are simply unaware of the fire safety requirements and how critical it might be to gain those extra minutes that garage fire wall should provide in case of fire.
As always. check your local jurisdiction requirements, because they might exceed the IRC (International Building Code).
#1. Garage fire wall / separation wall – materials used on the garage side of walls and ceiling common to the house must meet certain requirements in order to slow [...]

Carbon Monoxide – Toxic Gas Without Taste, Smell or Color

Carbon Monoxide Detectors should be replaced every 2-6 years / based on the particular model manufacturer recommendation. Mechanically operating device – warning sound when you push the button, does not mean that its CO sensor is still functional.

Garage Door Opener Safety Manual Bottom Line

Garage Door Opener Safety Manual Bottom Line

There is one extremely important reason for presenting you this garage door opener safety manual.
Because it is a mechanical device, and if improperly installed , combined with a 400 pounds garage door (give or take some), it will hurt you badly! It might even kill you!
There is a well known phrase – “if it works, don’t touch it” (or fix it) – but maybe there should be also another one added to it “if it was properly installed”… Most of us hate instructions but please stay with me till the end of this [...]

Garage Door Springs Safety, Avoiding Serious Injury

Garage Door Springs Safety

Usually, the largest mechanical thing around your house is the overhead garage door – the one you’re driving your car through, sometimes without even opening it – I know that you do.
The major, and the most dangerous component of the overhead door is the garage door spring – (or springs depending on the design), which supports the entire weight of the door panels (sometimes over 400 pounds) and helps you to lift / lower the entire door assembly.
I have personally installed 3 overhead garage doors with 2 different types of springs, and you [...]

Laundry Chute Hazard – a Convenient Way to a … Disaster

Laundry Chute Hazard

Maybe because I’m a home inspector, or maybe because I have my own children, I over-react sometimes (mentally – my personal imagination just takes off) in situations where common sense and a little imagination is required.
I always prefer taking extra safety precautions; it makes sense for me to go that one extra inch just to be sure that possibility of an accident has been minimized. But apparently many other people don’t. Imagine having a small child, maybe a 2 year old, playing in your second floor bedroom closet … and suddenly the child is gone …
This is a [...]

Radon the #1 Cause of Lung Cancer Among Non Smokers

With new laws invading our lives on an every day basis, the Illinois Radon Awareness Act became one of them in the Real Estate business starting January 1, 2008. It’s just another form to sign, attached to the transaction contract called “Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards.”
This new law only applies to residential properties containing between one and four dwelling units (single family, two flat, 3 flat, and 4 flat buildings). The Radon concern is a very serious one, and since January 2008 I’ve encountered many homeowners asking for additional information and suggestions.
Since I’m not licensed to perform such testing, [...]