Properties, Houses and Condos for Sale in St Petersburg Treasure Island Florida

     Galvanized drains installed prior to the mid 50’s are likely to be at the end of their life.  These are fairly general guidelines that the inspector will use when he or she finds them in your dream house, to let you know that you should be prepared for replacement of the pipes----even if they seem to be draining OK at the time of inspection.

     These pipes usually do not spontaneously start leaking.  In fact, failure happens pretty much continuously over the life of the pipe, gradually deteriorating on the inside, until small pin-holes start to develop.  These tiny leaks will seal themselves with rust until they corrode through again and then start to leak again.  Eventually the leaks can’t seal themselves any longer and the pipe leaks all the time.

     It is common to see these holes patched in a variety of ways from duct tape and tar to banding clamps.  I have sometimes seen repairs that would cost more than replacement of the pipe----well except that the plumber would have to be paid for his time.  So the homeowner looks at the leak, and will spend 40 bucks or 10 bucks and figure out a way to beat a little more life out of the pipes.

     These pipes drained just fine at the time of inspection-----and were not even leaking----and they are certainly WAY past the end of their expected life.  The inspector would be remiss to not recommend replacement NOW.

     For arguments sake, let’s just say you are a “Pipe-Beater,” and you really need to get a little more life out of the drain before you call in the plumber----and then have to fork over the big bucks.  The stainless steel no-hub couplings that one can see in the lower picture cost about $4.00 each, of which there are four----for a total of $16.00.  To replace that same section of damaged pipe with new plastic pipe would have required about $1.00 worth of pipe and two connectors for a total of $9.00----assuming you didn’t have to buy a hack-saw.

     Those of you that read my blog religiously will recognize the Asbestos wrapped pipes below the leak----the subject of yesterdays post.

     Will the plumber be willing to work around the stuff?  Good question.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

 

 

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PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

 

 

     I have no idea what the “Bar” in REBarCamp stands for.  I do know that there were no piles of beer cans around, no “Barflies,” no “Bears”-----and no members of the Bar in sight either.

     Of course as a builder and inspector I can’t look at the title and not think of concrete reinforcement rods----but that ain’t it either.

   

      I do know that in terms Social Networking (so cool to actually meet some of the people we hang out with on ActiveRain) and for what is happening in the world of SEO, Blogging, and general use of the Internet (for everything we do in the world of Real Estate)----REBarCamp is cutting edge.  It takes the idea of “free” that we have all come to expect from the internet, into the realm of learning and sharing with each other in the real world.

     Someone at REBarCamp Seattle this past Friday defined the event as a, "Spontaneous, eclectic event of people who are passionate about what they know and are willing to share freely with those that are hungry to know." 

     It almost sounds like the internet doesn’t it? 

     This is the way of the future, a paradigm where people come to find that the more they give away the more that will come to them.

     One of the interesting things that came out of the many discussions was that the next generation of buyers is going to be the embodiment of the internet and if your business model doesn’t include use of the internet these people are not going to find you or even be interested in finding you.  They WILL have done their homework already and if they have not gotten to know you ahead of time through your transparency on the internet----YOU WILL BE INVISIBLE to them.

     My advice?  Get with the program (literally).  Places like ActiveRain are at the cutting edge of what these consumers are looking for.

     Rumor has it that the next REBarCamp will be in Portland in April----make plans now to be there if you can----it is worth the trip.

     Don’t be invisible.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

      It is routine for me to record the temperatures of refrigerators and freezers in the course of the Home Inspection.  Many inspectors don’t perform this service for their buyers.

     For food safety it is recommended that refrigerators be kept at approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit and that freezers be kept at around 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

     I frequently find temperatures much warmer than these recommended temperatures----often even in the 50’s for the refrigerator.  Freezers are less often inadequate because people can judge temperature by how hard the ice-cream is.  If the ice-cream digs out without breaking the spoon it is probably too warm.

                                                                                            

     Some of the newer refrigerators come with digital read-outs that keep track of the freezer and refrigerator temperatures----sometimes even these are not accurate and should not be “relied” on----they should be checked periodically with an actual thermometer.

     OK----now go and check the temperatures of your refrigerator and Freezer.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

 

    I have posted in the past about attic ventilation and how there are many ways to achieve good attic ventilation.  Ventilation can consist of passive means that utilize soffit vents, roof vents, gable vents and ridge vents.  Sometimes mechanical means are utilized with the installation of wind driven turbine type vents, and sometimes electrically or solar powered vents are installed.  See these three links to past posts to learn more about roof ventilation:

     When the trades don't talk to each other, @#$% happens!

    What is Giovanni Venturi doing in my attic?  

    Not all "short-circuits" are electrical!

    For my money, any time passive approaches can be utilized to do the job this should be encouraged as the use of electricity is costly.

     By far the best passive approach is the use of soffit vents in conjunction with ridge vents.  I have done several posts in the past regarding the Venturi effect that is created with the use of ridge vents and how this effect helps this approach be superior to roof vents and gable vents.  I have also posted as to why combinations of systems are a problem.

     At a recent inspection of a 5 year old townhouse, inadequate ventilation of the attic was evidenced by the beginning presence of mold or mold-like/fungal growth on the roof sheathing.  Movement of air through the attic needs to be sufficient to prevent moisture laden air to stagnate where it can condense on the cold roof surface.  Moisture was likely finding its way into this attic through poorly sealed ceiling fans and an attic access hatch that was not weather-stripped.  The ventilation system was not adequate to keep this moisture flushed out of the attic space.  Moisture laden air can also move into the attic from the exterior as well.

     In this first picture one can see the darkening of the roof surface between the trusses where the mold or mold-like fungal growth is beginning to form.

     The interesting thing about this structure was that provision for a ridge vent was made for installation of a ridge vent but it was never installed.  Note the gap at the ridge in the next picture.  The black area is the roof felt paper covering over the hole that was left for the ridge vent.  At the center bottom of the picture can be seen the lone gable vent that is cut in half by the end wall framing----further compromising the effectiveness of what was already inadequate.

     While most aspects of home construction are not in themselves “rocket science,” the building science aspect of the home comes pretty close.   All of the trades----all of those putting the pieces together, should have proper interdisciplinary training in Building Science in order to better understand how the building works as a whole.

     In this case all openings into the attic space will need to be properly sealed and/or weather-stripped, the continuous type ridge vent will need to be installed, and the gable vent will need to be removed.

 

 

 

Charles Buell

 

 

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Why should you pay for home inspection? After all Dad knows pretty much everything there is to know about houses. Part 5 in a continuing series...

In contrast to a real estate appraiser, a home inspector zeroes in on safety and soundness aspects of your new home. A home inspection will determine if the structure, construction, and mechanical systems are safe as well as working correctly. In addition, your professional home inspector will point out immediate and pending repairs with the associated estimate of cost.

Here is where real estate agents can help a lot. Take advantage of their expertise. They have been trained how to write an offer in good faith that protects you if it turns out the home needs repairs.

When you find a house you are serious about buying, request that your real estate agent... Don't miss part 6, Kate

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