This information is from the book I wrote for home buyers a couple of years back. This was from the Chapter “What falls through the cracks”
Carbon monoxide detectors may not be required in many states, but I recommend you install them prior to moving in. Consult your fire department for suggested (or required) locations. Don’t put one right next to the heating system. Replace all units over five years of age. BOX/HIGHLIGHT
IMPORTANT! Carbon monoxide detectors are intended to prevent people from dying due to high CO levels. Most are designed to go off if the levels rise above 30 PPM (parts per million) for a specified time. What they are not designed to do is detect the lower levels that will seriously affect the health of the home’s occupants and possibly leave them with chronic respiratory or other health problems. Why is this? The reason stems from the fact that, due to temperature inversions that occasionally occur, the CO levels the outside air can, for a short time (a week or so?) can exceed 20 ppm. When this happened in Chicago some years back many of the early generation CO detectors went off and the fire department spent long days responding to calls from homeowners who thought they were being poisoned from internally generated CO. Out of necessity, the carbon monoxide detectors now sold to the public will sound alarms only when they detect levels that are higher than possible background levels of CO.
*#12 Special case: The presence of urea formaldehyde insulation in the walls. *
I’ll discuss this a bit more in the chapter on environmental hazards, but this type of insulation will not typically be visible to the home inspector. The presence of this insulation is no longer regarded as a concern – other than the stuff crumbles and tends to fall to the bottom of the wall cavities, so it is no longer effective. Ignore.
This chapter will cover many important systems, components and concerns that are not covered by the home inspection) – but that you may need to follow up on…
If you’ve read the previous chapters you’ve learned how to get a quality inspection and how to follow up on concerns that may be raised by the inspection. Unfortunately, your journey hasn’t ended. The fact is: the home inspection does not deal with many important systems and concerns that could be a source of aggravation or expense. You need to be aware of these and follow up, where appropriate.
Please note that, out of the below list typically only one to as much as seven of these concerns may be relevant to the property you are buying. They are the outliers, the problems or systems not typically found in most homes. Some of these items are included because everyone thinks are part of the home inspection – but they aren’t. Some are excluded as they may require specialized knowledge while other are excluded for the opposite reason: they require no special knowledge and any buyer can recognize their condition. Other excluded items, I should note, require invasive procedures. But all of the concerns in this chapter are potentially important and you neglect them at your peril.
If you purchased a home in the last couple of years – or are just a homeowner who has not had your home inspected in the last five years – I am offering a special Post-Sale/Homeowner’s inspection at $200 off the price of a regular inspection.
Through the pandemic, there were many people who were considering moving out of their houses. With the changes taking place with businesses and companies, people were allowed to work remotely and attend their meetings virtually. For the most part, people were moving back to the countryside, while others were traveling the world as long as they were meeting their timelines and deadlines and getting their work done.
As an ASHI Certified Home Inspector Serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Evergreen Home Inspection is happy to announce that we are offering a special discount on a post sale or homeowner inspection.
This warrants inclusion here as you may, as a new homeowner, be faced to keeping the existing windows or having them replaced. Below are the reasons to replace and not replace windows. (You may not get this feedback from a company selling new windows).
When to keep the existing windows? Intact and operable single glazed windows with decent combination storm units (or interior storms) do not warrant replacement on heat loss grounds. If the existing windows are reasonably tight-fitting – or can be made so through weather-stripping, the energy savings from window replacement are not large. They are often minimal. As the cost of new windows typically runs anywhere from $300 to $800 per unit, the payback in energy savings will very often be 30 to 50 years.
I just had a friend of my son call to cancel his inspection for this week. I wasn’t upset about this. I think he (and wife and kids) probably dodged a bullet. How?
For those of you who heat with oil (as I do), I suggest that you take a look at your oil tank. Especially do this if you think your tank is older or simply has not been looked at for some time.
Recently I’ve been doing more and more home inspections for both new homeowners and those who have owned their home for some time. If you are a new homeowner, you may be ‘In the same boat’ as the roughly 50 to 70 percent of home buyers over the last year who did not have a home inspection in order to get your offer accepted.
While most home inspections are done for the buyers of homes and properties, home inspectors sometimes also do Pre-sale inspections for the sellers. The rationale for doing this inspection is that if a sellers knows what problems will be revealed by a buyer’s inspection they can deal with these issues ahead of time.
This week I did an inspection for a couple who had lots of questions and concerns about their home. Most of these concerns were not warranted. The walls showed numerous seam cracks where the drywall met the trim. Hairline straight cracks at wall/ceiling intersections – or even just on the walls – are butt (seam) cracks. You can ignore these: they aren’t structural.
While termite control outfits are often called pest control companies, pests are a different thing. Many of the below creatures warrant removal by ‘pest control’ companies.
A termite/wood boring insect inspection may or may not be offered by your home inspection company. If not, I recommend that you have this done by a termite/pest control company. (This assumes that you are in area where termites may be present – which is most of the country, excluding the far northern states and dry/desert areas). This will not typically be a required inspection unless you are getting a VA mortgage or your mortgage lender requires this. Ask your inspection company ahead of time whether they offer this.
This blog is from my book, “The Ultimate Homebuyer’s Handbook” (available on Amazon with a free copy at the inspection) just notes the first of the many systems and structures that a home inspection does not cover.
In my opinion, this may be the most important exclusion from the home inspection. The fact is, home inspectors are required to look at the exterior of chimneys and the venting of heating systems and other
Even if you haven’t spotted it yet, mold is probably in your home right now. Read on to learn which species are most prevalent, where they grow, and when you have a problem.
