Blue River Home Inspections Blog

Talking with my friends who are custom home builders I've learned it's just not the same world.  When they build a home of course it's from the ground up with, foundation, framed walls, trusses, and the installation of all the plumbing, heating and electrical, appliances and final finishes.  All brand new stuff.  One of my builder friends I occasionally hire to assist inspecting larger homes told me it's a real eye opener because when you see a house 5 or 10 years older you see all the mistakes the original builder made. You see the wear and tear of the components the occupants touch, use and control. Weather related problems, water infiltration issues, vermin intrusion. Issues he never imagined in the course of building the original home.  Inspecting a house is almost completely different than building a house.  

Comments (0)     

Some people think the infrared camera inspection is cool but it's not as important or meaningful as perhaps a sewer line scope.  For just $200 you can have the sewer line scoped for holes, crush points and cracks.  Issues that can ruin your day and maybe a lot more.  This is much more important that a "behind the walls video of  who knows what!"  Call me for a sewer scope.  

Comments (0)     

This is what I have read recently on the subject of using INFRARED CAMERAS IN HOME INSPECTIONS:  . All too often the cameras will give indications of problems that are not really problems. A nail head, a screw head or the lack of insulation in a wall will show a difference in heat in a wall on the camera. This indicates that there is a problem in the wall. In fact, no problem exists. But the actual “problem” cannot be determined until the wall covering material such as the drywall is removed and that obviously exceeds the ASHI Standards of Practice.

Comments (0)     

In Bill Bryson's book At Home Bill writes an amusing part about what caused dining rooms to come into existence.  Bill writes: The dining room didn't acquire its modern meaning until the late seventeen century.  "When Thomas Jefferson put a dining room in Monticello, it was quite a dashing thing to do.  Previously, meals had been served at little tables in any convenient room.   It "wasn't the sudden universal urge to dine in a space exclusively dedicated to the purpose, but rather, by and large, a simple desire on the part of the mistress of the house to save her lovely upholstered furniture from greasy desecration.  Upholstered furniture was expensive and the last thing a proud owner wanted was to have anyone wiping fingers on it. 

Comments (0)     

Pressure discharge tubes are found on water heaters and hydronic heating systems requiring a boiler and are needed to help regulate the pressure buildup due to hot water expanding in the system.  A little water should discharge from the relief valve through the tube onto the floor  when the system is heating up the and creating pressure.  If a lot of water is discharging after heating up this means there is a problem with the relief valve or perhaps an expansion tank.    Liquid should not discharge when the system is cold. This would mean there is a problem with the relief valve or expansion tank.  We can only see if excessive water is discharging from the discharge tube if the bottom of the tube is visible.  During approximately 30% of my inspections I find the bottom of the tube hidden in the crawl space or in a wall cavity.   If you can't see the discharge you can't see if there is any discharge. If the bottom of the the tube is hidden the fix it easy.... simply cut off the tube about 6" above the floor where the appliance is located.  

Comments (0)