This is a picture of water supply lines from a well pump. They were located in the ceiling of an unfinished basement. They were not properly insulated, causing condensation to form on the PVC piping. It was actually dipping enough on the floor to cause descent sized puddles.
I would upload the picture but it seems the attachments icon has disappeared, and since I don’t have a URL link to upload my picture from not sure what to do.
How to Inspect the Attic, Insulation, Ventilation and Interior Course
Research Essay
I read the article “installing Attic Insulation”
After reading this article. I found myself checking my own attic space for insulation and air flow deficiencies and found several problems i.e. compressed insulation and not enough insulation. Plus with the rate increase the city so graciously added to the monthly electric bill. I am seeing dollars lost every year most of which could be prevented. According to the literature cooling and heating a home can be 48% +/- of the energy used in a typical home. it is encouraging to know i could cut my cost of heating and cooling by up 20% simply by adding insulation and air sealing the house. By performing these few steps I could possibly save approximately $900.00/year.
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In this photo of a bathroom fan you can see that the fan is not vented to the exterior of the house. This issue needs to be fixed by a qualified contractor. All bathroom fans need to be vented to the exterior of the house. improper venting will add unwanted moister to the attic space which can lead to mold, water damage, and other issues.
The pine beetle has been a major nuisance to the Colorado lodge pole pine tree since 1996. These beetles are spreading unchecked through out our forests. The beetle kills these pines by boring into the tree and creating galleries and tunnels. The beetles also leave behind a fungus. These two things choke out the trees ability to survive . Once the infected tree dies the beetles move on to infect other trees.
A forest of dead and fallen trees creates a major fire hazard. People living in areas infected with the pine beetle should take extra precautions to protect their house and property from wild fires. An inspector could inform his client to remove any and all dead pine trees from the property and destroy any wood infected with the beetle. Informing the client about defensible spaces and proper wood storage could save them from losing a house in a wildfire.
The attached photo shows a ridge vent for exhaust of ventilation coming through the vents in the soffit at the eaves of the home. Generally, ridgevents offer the best venting system for a roof through natural (unpowered) ventilation. In colder climates, some ridgevents will allow blowing-powdery snow to enter the attic area during unusual climatic events. Newer products, such as the one shown in this picture minimize the likelihood of this due to the overhang of shingles attached to the top of the ridgevent.
Leaking bathroom vents often cause problems in the winter. The warm moist air from the home (particularly when bathroom vents are used to remove steam when bathing or showering) enters the cold attic area and condensates on the nearest cold surface forming ice which will melt on warm days and drip to the top of the ceiling.
You may also find areas where bath vents exhaust directly to the attic area. Again, this will cause problems in cold weather by condensating and/or freezing in the attic area.
This picture is of a bathroom exhaust vent with an obvious water leak discoloration in the ceiling drywall. The discoloration may be from condensation of the vent, or a leak in the attic. Either way action should be taken in the attic before serious damage is caused to the insulation and/or the exhaust system.
I chose to read about electrical service panels. Although I assumed it was common knowledge to be careful around all potentially live electrical equipment, I learned that an inspector should allow themselves enough room for them and the client to dodge out of the way should a panel prove hazardous and arc upon opening. Looking and listening for signs of damage like rust, chewed wires, and arcing sounds are fairly straightforward, but of course very necessary as electrocution is no joke.
hello. starting course.
This photo shows some obvious sign of moisture penetration from outside through a concrete wall , causing damage to the interior wall. The source of this leak appears to be coming from water leaking down the roof into a crack in the outside wall. Immediate repair recommended.
Installing Attic Insulation (essay)
When inspecting an attic, ensuring that there is a free flow of outside air from the soffits to the roof vents is key to a well-functioning insulation system. The lack of adequate ventilation in insulated attics is a common defect. When inspecting the attic, look behind the baffles to see if there is any misplaced insulation obstructing the natural air flow, and check the roof vents to make sure that outside air is exhausting properly. Check for a moisture barrier under the insulation. Also, look for spots where the insulation is compacted; it may need to be fluffed out. In the case of loose-fill insulation, check for any thinly spread areas that may need topping up. Finally, look for dirty spots in the insulation where incoming air is admitting dust into the material.
Attached is an image of blown in cellulose inside of an attic. This method is common within newer model homes. There are no visible defects in this image.
I conducted my research on installing attic insulation from the library. The aim should be to insulate the living space of the house while allowing the roof to remain the same temperature as the outside. This prevents cold outside air from traveling through the attic and into the living area of the home. In order to accomplish this, an adequate venting system must be in place to vent the roof by allowing air flow to enter through soffit-intake vents and out through ridge vents, gable vents or louver vents. This was a excerpt from that article in the library.
I chose an entry door as my component for this assignment. It is 3/0 x 6/8 and complaint as an egress door and the step down is 7 1/2 inches which is also complaint.
As my research article I chose : Crawl Space Hazards & Inspection ".
It is a very good article. I’ve come across most of the hazards including sewage and live wires, but never thought about hantavirus. That will back you up and make you sure you put the PPE in the truck,
As you can see in the picture there is proper soffit vents installed through out the home. In addition the attic has sufficient air flow between the proper vent, suffix vents and insulation. The insulation is approximately 2 inches from the proper vent through out.
My essay in this section is in regards to insulation and the type used. In the newer homes in my area the attics are generally insulated using blown in insulation with batt insulation between floor joists in the basement. The importance of a vapor retarder seems to be something we lack a bit of here. I find it maybe half of the times on the homes I work on, this includes newer homes. As an inspector the proper insulation and air flow is something I find extremely important to point out to people not just for energy purposes but also health hazards.
Pictureof a non-circular handgrip. Thecross-section is 2-1/4” of this handgrip. The handgrip has a recessed area on both sides of the handgrip. The total length of the handrail is 55” whichis the full length of this section of the stairs. The stairs lead to a landingwhich is a 40”x40” landing. There are no material defects
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Ants are a common problem in homes. Ants do not harm people as much as they can do damage to a home structure. The best way to prevent ant damge is to keep the ants out of the home. Keeping foods contained and cleaning up food spills is one way of keeping ants out of the home. There are products that can be purchased at hardware stores to help get rid of ants if you have an infestation. Contact your local hardware for the name of these products.
