You have been in your new home for almost a year.  The clock is ticking on that one year builder warranty. At the one year anniversary you give up almost any chance you have in getting your builder to correct any issues you may have. 

Once your builder is put on notice about these problems the builder has no recourse but to correct or address the problems under state law, even if it goes beyond the twelve months.  The key is putting them on notice with the report before the first year anniversary date of your new home.  Our Warranty Inspection is designed just for this purpose, so you can give your builder a written document that has all of the warranty issues known to date.  

We will inspect all of the readily visible structural elements and major systems of the home. Items that will typically be included in an inspection are:

• Framing (structure) This also includes the exterior cladding.
• Roof and attic
• Foundation (basements, slab foundations, crawl space, etc)
• Grading of soil (drainage around the home)
• Doors & windows
• Garage & garage doors
• Electrical system
• Plumbing system
• Heating and air conditioning systems
•  Insulation
• Ventilation
• Kitchen
• Bathrooms
•  Appliances
•  Swimming pools & Spas; Lawn irrigation systems (additional fee required)

Additional items and systems unique to a particular home can also be inspected.  Cosmetic related issues such as paint issue are also addressed in the report.When the inspection is complete, we will tell you of any additional problems that were discovered and discuss them with you. We'll point out any safety concerns we notice. You'll also receive a full written report with photos of the inspection via email shortly after the inspection.

 We will also tell you about any routine maintenance that should be performed, as well as answer any questions you may have. Our goal is to discover and inform you of anything we find that might affect your new home.

 Don’t let the time run out on your warranty before you get everything corrected.  You can schedule your Warranty Inspection anytime.  An industry recommendation is to have one performed between the  9th to the 11th month of ownership. We even have folks that schedule a warranty inspection months in advance so that it will not be forgotten.  Just call or office or book online. ​

Well I'm sure we have all seen this type of statement on a brochure or on a listing before.  Over the years I have learned that 75% of the time this is CODE for "Buyer beware" and it just makes me look a little harder to see what I can find that was covered up. Many times updates are only skin deep or what the eye can see. 

Have you ever heard this saying "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig"!

This is from a recent inspection, this was on a 125 year old home in historic East Nashville, TN.  I have looked at many homes in this area and for the most they are all in the 100 year old range and those that have been properly updated are really fine homes.  But, I have also found many where the owners or agents claim that they have been updated when I'm sure they meant to say that they have been freshly painted!

The next few pictures are what I found in the basement of this updated home:

We had a home inspection and the home inspector said that the water heater needed an "Expansion Tank" installed on the cold water supply line.  What does this mean?

All tank type water heaters, regardless of heat source (gas, oil, electric, solar or indirect), can suffer the effects of thermal expansion. In every tank-type water heater, cold water is heated as it enters the water heater tank.. This increases the overall water volume and pressure inside the tank. For safety, the increase in volume and pressure must be relieved in some way. The most common is a dripping at the (temperature pressure relief)TPR valve. While this will reduce some of the pressure it can also damage the valve and prevent it from working properly.

We've never had to have one before, so why now?

Before major controls were placed upon city water supplies, it was possible for excess water pressure build-up in a water heater to flow back into the city water supply. This created a simple and efficient system for removing excess pressure in water heaters. Now most city water supplies are protected by backflow preventers at the meter or home. If a home has a pressure reducing valve (PRV) to reduce the city water pressure to a usable pressure inside the home this also acts as a backflow preventer.

The installation of a thermal expansion tank in the cold water line of the water heater can protect the system from the damaging effects of thermal expansion and increased pressure. Most plumbers will install one for around $200 and if it is installed with a new water heater the cost is usually around $50 to $75 extra.

The thermal expansion tank controls the increased pressure generated within the normal operating temperature range of the water heater. The small tank with a sealed, compressible air cushion provides a space to store and hold the additional expanded water volume.

While performing an EIFS and moisture inspection on a seven year old home I discovered something that was very unique. After my exterior inspection and scanning of the EIFS with various moisture meters I moved to the interior.  After looking at over 3500 EIFS structures since 1998 I have discovered that it is just as important to inspect the interior walls and to scan them with special moisture meters and with an infrared camera.

Well what I found was not moisture, which I was actually looking for and expecting to find! I found a cold spot on the ceiling in one of the rooms in this home. It was about three feet out from the wall and in the middle of the ceiling.  What had I found?  I found an HVAC air duct supply register that had been covered over when the home was built and the drywall was installed.  The drywall contractor just failed to cut the hole out for the register and covered it!

Fast forward seven years……..  The home inspector that referred the buyer to me for the EIFS inspection noted that the room was a little warmer than the other rooms, but they failed to notice that the room had no HVAC supply register in the ceiling.  That is why it was warmer than any other room in the home.  It is a fairly easy fix but I still chuckle when I think about how many years went by and nobody ever noticed that the room did not have a supply register in the ceiling.

Being one of only a handful of qualified EIFS/Stucco inspectors in our area, I'm often called out to inspect the EIFS or stucco cladding on a home.  Many times, I can see glaring issues from the street when I drive up to the home.  Those issues do not take any special equipment or really much knowledge after you know what to look for. Hopefully this Blog will allow readers to identify some issues prior to making an offer on a home.

This is a hardcoat or real stucco home. This was about 12 hours after a rain shower and the water stain is a telltale sign that we have a problem. The flashing dead ends into the wall and the water has no place to go but down the wall. A simple piece of kick-out or diverter flashing could have been fabricated to direct the water off the roof instead of down the wall.  The lack of rain gutters is not much help either.  Look for stains, dry or wet!

Same house, but this time they have added the kick-out flashing, but it was not installed properly!  The stain is telling us that something is wrong!

This is an EIFS home. The EIFS is on the roof line, it should be 2" above the roof surface! Also we have no visible flashing at the sidewall and the roof!  It is also missing the kickout diverter flashing at the bottom to kick roof water runoff into the gutter.  This you can see from the street!

Here we have the diverter flashing, but it was just stuck into place and now it is funneling more water into the wall!  The first picture is the interior of the window next to this diverter flashing. The wall is wet and the wood is swollen!

The following are just some common issues that you can spot now that you know what to look for!  

I hope that this little bit of on EIFS and Stucco problems will help you with your current home or if you are looking for a new home. Keep in mind that we are one of just a few companies in our area that can offer an EIFS/Stucco inspection with your home inspection.  Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions on what you might be looking at! 

So many times during our inspections we run across "unique" designs or unusual designs that have worked for years at the home, but would not be allowed under current building standards.   This type of situation is what makes our job difficult at times! We need to identify improperly installed or built items at the home and make our client aware of the possible implications that might arise out of the item or items we are identifying. But, we also know that this item has functioned for a long period of time and most likely will never cause an issue, but we really cant say that in so many words!  Often, as experienced inspectors we also know that the owner will most likely not do anything about the issue!

This is one such find on a 25 year old log home! the stairs to the second floor bedroom, bathroom and loft end at the exterior wall! It is impossible to extend that wall and it is impossible to rebuild the stairs!  The owners that built the home, learned to live with this "unique" design and believe it or not the new buyers did not even notice it until I pointed it out!  This home was built in a rural setting with no code inspections.

 Here we have a set of stairs and the builder could not figure out a way to make the handrail go all the way to the top at the landing! So, you have about four steps that do not have a handrail.... This is really a dangerous design that can be corrected, it will just take some thought and a little talent to correct it.  This house was only two years old and it had passed the local city inspections!  If the owners had only had a home inspection prior to buying the home from the builder this would have been caught.  Now they are being forced to correct it at their own expense

So if you are looking at a new home be sure to take those "blinders" off and really look at that home!  Ask yourself if you will be OK with the design of the home and any of those "unique" items in it.  Most of all be sure you get an inspection of you new home regardless if it is new construction or of it is 100 years old!

Through trial and error I have made one of the better buttermilk biscuits that I have had in a long long time!  It takes about 15 minutes of prep and about the same time cooking.  I prefer a square biscuit over the round ones, but you can cut them into any shape you desire. These biscuits have multiple layers of tender love!  This recipe will make about 8-10 biscuits.

This is the recipe:

1. 2 cups AP flour (a little more for the working surface and hands to keep from sticking)
2. 1 cup buttermilk
3. 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (salted or non both work)
4. 2 tbl spoons of baking powder
5. 1/4 tsp of baking soda
6. 1/2 tsp salt

For starters the butter and buttermilk must be very cold! This is very important for fluffy biscuits!  Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium size mixing bowl. I use a fork to make sure it is mixed well.  Next get you cold stick of butter and cut in half. Take each half and slice lengthways, you should get about 4 thin slices. Next slice those slices lengthways (Hint: I stack them up 4 slices to a stack to make it easier to slice again). Then slice those stacks into small cubes.. This is key to a fluffy biscuit!  Add the cubed butter to the flour mix.

Using a fork mix the butter into the flour until it is a crumbly texture. (Hint: I have used my hands to kind of break up the clumps, you just do not want the butter to melt from the heat of your hands!). Next, add the buttermilk and mix with the fork until it comes together into a rough ball.  Dump out onto a floured surface and mix any unmixed pieces into the ball. With a rolling pin, work the dough into a 12" square and an inch thick. With a knife cut that square into about four strips and stack on top of each other.  You might need some more flour at this point to keep things from sticking.... Roll the strips out into another square and repeat this process one more time!  Next roll the dough into a rectangle about an inch in thickness.  At this point you are ready to cut the biscuits into the shape you want.  (Hint: Push the cutter down onto the dough, do not twist as you cut! Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuit from rising!)

Place each cut biscuit onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I have found it is better for the biscuits to touch each other, it will help them rise a little more. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake at 425f for about 13-16 minutes depending on your oven.  When golden brown, remove and brush the tops again with melted butter..  Enjoy!  Makes about 8-10 biscuits.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter or GFCI
A ground fault circuit interrupter, called a GFCI or GFI, is an inexpensive electrical device that can either be installed in your electrical system or built into a power cord to protect you from severe electrical shocks.  Most handheld hairdryers have a GFCI as part of their power cord. GFCIs have played a key role in reducing electrocutions. Greater use of GFCIs could further reduce electrocutions and mitigate thousands of electrical burn and shock injuries still occurring in and around the home each year. 

Ground fault protection is integrated into GFCI receptacles and GFCI circuit breakers for installation into your electrical system, especially for circuit outlets in particularly vulnerable areas such as where electrical equipment is near water. Portable GFCIs are also available to provide on-the-spot ground fault protection even if a GFCI is not installed on the circuit. 

The GFCI is designed to protect people from severe or fatal electric shocks but because a GFCI detects ground faults, it can also prevent some electrical fires and reduce the severity of other fires by interrupting the flow of electric current. 

What Is A Ground Fault? 
A ground fault is an unintentional electrical path between a power source and a grounded surface. Ground faults most often occur when equipment is damaged or defective, such that live electrical parts are no longer adequately protected from unintended contact. If your body provides a path to the ground for this current, you could be burned, severely shocked or electrocuted. 

How Do They Work? 
A GFCI constantly monitors current flowing through a circuit. If the current flowing into the circuit differs by a very small amount (as little as 0.006 amperes) from the returning current, the GFCI interrupts power faster than a blink of an eye to prevent a lethal dose of electricity. GFCIs are designed to operate before the electricity can affect your heartbeat. A GFCI works even on two-slot receptacles as it does not require a grounding conductor for it to work!  Actually, GFCI’s were first used to provide protection on older ungrounded electrical systems in homes.  They worked so well,  they soon became the standard in all homes.

Here's an example: A bare wire inside an appliance touches its metal case. The case is then charged with electricity. If you touch the appliance with one hand while another part of your body is touching a grounded metal object, such as a water faucet, you will get shocked. If the appliance is plugged into an outlet protected by a GFCI, the power will be shut off before a fatal shock can occur. 

Where to Install/Use 
The circuits that require GFCI protection are designated by the National Electrical Code (NEC).1 The NEC typically only applies to new construction/major renovations. The coverage of GFCI protection has gradually increased over the years. 
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NEC GFCI requirements (and effective date-most common are listed): 
1968 Underwater pool lighting
1971 Receptacles within 15 feet of pool walls
1971 All equipment used with storable swimming pools
1973 All outdoor receptacles
1974 Construction Sites
1975 Bathrooms, 120-volt pool lights, and fountain equipment
1978 Garages, spas, and hydromassage tubs
1978 Outdoor receptacles above 6ft.6in. grade access exempted
1984 Replacement of non-grounding receptacles with no grounding conductor allowed
1984 Pool cover motors
1984 Distance of GFCI protection extended to 20 feet from pool walls
1987 Unfinished basements
1987 Kitchen countertop receptacles within 6 feet of sink
1987 Boathouses
1990 Crawlspaces (with exception for sump pumps or other dedicated equip.)
1993 Wet bar countertops within 6 feet of sink
1993 Any receptacle replaced in an area presently requiring GFCI
1996 All kitchen counters – not just those within 6 feet of sink
1996 All exterior receptacles except dedicated de-icing tape receptacle
1996 Unfinished accessory buildings at or below grade
1999 Exemption for dedicated equipment in crawlspace removed
2003 Smart “Lock-out” type receptacles required (Mfg. requirement)
2005 Laundry and Utility sinks
2005 Wetbar sinks
2008 All receptacle outlets in damp locations required to be listed as weather resistant. "WR" must show
2011 All receptacle outlets in unfinished basements, except permanently installed fire alarm or burglar alarm system.
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