Buying foreclosers:I never thought about all of the different things that could possibly go wrong when you buy a forecloser.By going through this library I learned about the four ways to buy foreclosers.In any way you buy one there is a lot of room for things to go wrong.Being an inspector,you know more about what to look for.There are so many ways to find these forclosures around any area you live around.When you find what you are looking for,then figure out by investigating if you can buy the property by the type sale that you are willing to buy the property.
The attached photo is a photo of a first floor bathroom shower. The bath tub had been replaced with a shorter new tub. The gap left over at the end opposite from the shower head was closed using a vinyl stair tread and riser with some caulking. As I continued the inspection in the basement and at first I didn’t notice any water stains on the ceiling below the first floor bathroom. I snapped a picture of the ceiling for my records. But that shower kept bothering me. Just prior to completing the inspection, I went to the basement to look at the area under the bathroom again. I removed one of the recessed light fixtures only to find a drywall hung ceiling with plastic sheeting to catch the water from the leaking shower above.
I read the article about Brownfields and Redevelopment. As a civil engineering in NYC I deal with Brownfield sites often. Brownfields are often abandoned, closed or under-used industrial or commercial facilities, such as an abandoned factory in a former industrial section or a closed commercial building or warehouse. Brownfields, however, can be located anywhere and can be quite small. For instance, many dry cleaning establishments and gas stations produced high levels of subsurface contaminants during their operation. A major concern for Brownfield sites is The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 made the buyer of any property liable for the contaminants on this property. CERCLA’s retroactive liability has made the performance of an Environmental Site Assessment(ESA) a necessity for any potential buyer of property. An inspector should make a statement that additional research and expert assistance are required.
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In a home it is important to improve energy efficiency. Programmable thermostats are a good way to dramatically reduce the energy efficiency of the home by reducing the temperature overnight by some degree. Installing a ceiling fan beside an air conditioner and installing a tankless water heater are very efficient eco-friendly measures. Change incandescent lights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which reduces energy consumption from 50% to 75%.
Close and isolate your home is one of the most cost effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy efficient
Install a cheap shower head and toilet.
Household appliances and electronics account for 20% of the energy bill of a house of the importance of using them in a responsible way.
Getting started Now
Composition shingles have been displaced and torn away from the roof due to high winds. The building paper underlayment is doing a temporary job to help prevent water intrusion but this is only to buy time to allow for repairs and if left unrepaired the underlayment will degrade and the roof will leak.
Staples were used here for this roof shingle installation and when composition shingles are improperly installed it is common to see damage like this in high wind circumstances. Recommend repair or replace as needed by a qualified roofing contractor. Advise consideration towards using nails on schedule of 6 per shingle instead of staples.
Article: A Garage inspection.
main premise of article was in regards to structural component roof trusses. They should only bear load on perimeter walls and not on any interior walls. Also observations were made noting that the trusses had been altered with plywood gussets. Improper hangers were used with inadequate deck screws as fasteners that will not provide sufficient sheer. Also noted in the article was how some deficiencies are not so easily noticed and require a close look at the detail. The author illustrated this withy an example of a metal plate that had been improperly re-attached. Also, all electrical outlets in a garage should be GFCI protected.
Upon entering the living room i noticed the windows looked a little high. According to the course, the sill height of the emergency escape and rescue opening should not be more than 44 inches above the floor. I measured the height of this window and it was out of code at 48 inches above the floor.quite enough. It was close but I would recommend to the customer that this should be looked at by a professional to determine whether or not a new window can be installed in this location. An additional window could also be installed in the room to serve as an emergency escape.
This photo shows the trap system under the kitchen sink in a manufactured Mobile Home. The ABS Black drain pipe is standard drainage piping in mobile homes. this is a P-trap system and it is installed on double bowl kitchen sink. There is a cleanout located at the bottom of the vertical drain line for service and cleaning. The vent for this drain line is located under the sink called a studor vent. This traps system shows signs of of leakage but no leaks at time of my inspection. Recommended that Trap be evaluated and repaired by a licensed plumber
During an inspection to a house recently built, with 3 bathrooms, it was detected in one of them that there was no sink trap, as photo attached shows.
When explaining the situation to the owner he realized why in this particular bathroom frequently a strange smell was found. The explanation for this smell is in the sewer gases, emanating out of the drainage system.
As a solution to this problem, an installation of a trap was recommended as it happens in the other bathrooms in this house, which should be required to the contractor that built the house due to the fact it is an house recently built, still under the construction guarantee period.
This component is called a water heater, its function is to heat water for use of the household which is distributed through pipes and deliver in faucets, in the kitchen, bathrooms, showers, and sinks, utilizes natural gas a heating source. This specific water heater is a 40 gal capacity, it should be double strapped to the wall as an anti-earthquake precaution.
The water heater can be found, either inside or outside of the home and in the garage in the newer homes, it must be always double strapped to the wall.
They come in different capacities 30 gallon, 40 gal, 50 gal etc. Now a days we have very small water heaters called tankless those types of water heaters use electricity as a source of heating they are much smaller and are attached to an exterior wall.
Electrical service clearance
It is important to check the vertical electric service clearance around the house, from the public road until the house, not forgetting the sideways, yards and ground, garage, roof deck. There are minimum vertical clearances defined for all this situations which must be respected to avoid serious accidents with electrical power. It is also important to choose carefully where trees are planted and which type of trees are, as during the years they might grow in a way that can interfere with electric service, during normal situations or in specific ones, as windy days or heavy storms.
This component is called a water heater, its function is to heat water for use of the household which is distributed through pipes and deliver in faucets, in the kitchen, bathrooms, showers, and sinks, utilizes natural gas a heating source. This specific water heater is a 40 gal capacity, it should be double strapped to the wall as an anti-earthquake precaution.
The water heater can be found, either inside or outside of the home and in the garage in the newer homes, it must be always double strapped to the wall.
They come in different capacities 30 gallon, 40 gal, 50 gal etc. Now a days we have very small water heaters called tankless those types of water heaters use electricity as a source of heating they are much smaller and are attached to an exterior wall.
Roofing shingles must be securely fastened to the sheathing using proper fasteners in accordance with standards. The starter row of shingles should be attached to the sheathing over a water / ice barrier in colder climates to avoid ice damming and potential backup of rain water under the shingles and potentially causing damage to the roof sheathing or rain water penetration into the structure of the house. in High wind areas, a min of 6 nails should be used to secure each shingle and the nails should be covered by the next course of shingles. nailing should be done through the glue strip provided
All Service entrance cables must be properly sized for the application and meet the Panel manufacturers guidelines for that panel. proper clearance must be maintained to allow for the maintenance of the electrical panel components and all panel circuits must be labeled properly as to their use. Electrical disconnects must be properly sized for their conductors. Neutral and ground conductors must be properly attached to the grounding bars in the main service panel and the neutral and ground bars must be bonded together. Sub panels do not require their own main disconnect if one is provided for in the main panel
My essay is on an article written by Ben Gromicko and Kenton Shepard on Wind Mitigation. I am a Home Inspector in Central Florida. Wind Mitigation is a vital part of determining if any discounts will be awarded for having preventive wind destroying techniques in place on a house or property.According to the article Florida passed legislation requiring all insurance companies to provide there customers with discounts for existing building features and home improvements that reduce damage and loss from wind. Florida is known for having severe weather during hurricane season that produce gale forced winds and rain which create lots of damage to homes and property.
I have taken a photo of a trap in my kitchen. The trap is a P shaped which conforms to the industry norm. The installation of the trap iam not comfortable with as looks like it was not properly done. The joins are loose which is allwing some of the water to leak out. It seems to be doing its function of preventing any odours to come into the house and hopefully any bacteria. There is no evidence of aspiration, siphonage and back pressure. This also gives an indication that the water velocity and distance from the weir are adequate.
Arc Fault Circuit Interupters:
AFCI act circuit braekers when a arch fault is detected in a home circuit. They perform this function by monitoring the waveform in a circuit which when it is not according the norm, they then react by interupting the circuit. They are also design to detect the difference between a normal arc caused by removing plugs from a socket and those that have a potential for a fire. AFCIs are installed in house where the voltages 120 volts with an amparage of 15 to 20 feeding outlets in various rooms in the house and this is as per National Electrical Code guidelines.