Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Septic Systems and Their Maintenance
Anybody interested in getting down and dirty about this hot topic? I'll start a multi-part posting about this subject soon. I gota go.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Are the Utilities ON?
This year has started out with a number of potential clients who want an inspection completed on their home under contract, but the home does not have the utilities on. The home is winterized, for good reason. It's freezing out there.
Remember that a home inspection is a visual examination of the home and includes operating all components and systems by their normal controls. If the power is off, nothing can be operated. No gas = no heat.
Winterized homes provide the biggest challenge to home inspectors, since water problems can create big problems. Some folks think the home inspector should turn the water on or de-winterize the house. But this is usually not within their scope of work, can be time consuming and usually is a two man job (one at the water meter shut-off and one inside the home looking/listening for leaks or open valves). It also puts the home inspector in a postion for potential damages due to water problems during or after the inspection, when the seller turns the power off again but does not re-winterize the home.
Best advise is to have the home professionally de-winterized and all utilities turned on prior to the home inspection. I believe this should be the seller's responsibility since they want to sell their home.
I'm looking forward to a better year in 2010.
Remember that a home inspection is a visual examination of the home and includes operating all components and systems by their normal controls. If the power is off, nothing can be operated. No gas = no heat.
Winterized homes provide the biggest challenge to home inspectors, since water problems can create big problems. Some folks think the home inspector should turn the water on or de-winterize the house. But this is usually not within their scope of work, can be time consuming and usually is a two man job (one at the water meter shut-off and one inside the home looking/listening for leaks or open valves). It also puts the home inspector in a postion for potential damages due to water problems during or after the inspection, when the seller turns the power off again but does not re-winterize the home.
Best advise is to have the home professionally de-winterized and all utilities turned on prior to the home inspection. I believe this should be the seller's responsibility since they want to sell their home.
I'm looking forward to a better year in 2010.
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