Let’s walk down memory lane for a moment and see the evolution of the home inspection industry since it started in the early 70’s. Before the home inspector there were three categories of people that would inspect parts of homes as part of a real estate transaction. The first was “inspect by committee”. Buyers would have to coordinate with a …
Recognizing the Symptoms of Ice Dams for Better Prevention
Icicles may add a bit of sparkle to the bleak winter months, but the reality is ice can tear gutters down, damage roof shingles and cause water to back up into your house. All of these contribute to expensive repair costs. The reality is, the evidence of ice damming may not always be evident year round. A home inspection with …
Homeowner’s Guide to Residential Oil Tanks
We often get various questions from our customers about their oil tanks, so we put together a list of frequently asked questions along with answers from our experts on residential oil tanks. We hope it will help you get to know your oil tank better and avoid major costs in the future. How Costly Can an Oil Spill Be? It …
10 Key Questions Homebuyers Should Ask Their Home Inspector
Hi, Dave here! After performing over 15,000 home inspections over a 30 year timespan, I have made a list of instrumental questions all buyers should be asking before hiring a home inspector, followed by some questions after the home inspection is complete. I’ve put together the questions for each section (before, during, and after the inspection) in order of importance: …
The Lifespan of Your Home’s Oil Tank
We are frequently asked how long an oil tank lasts. This is hard to answer because there are so many variables that can contribute to the corrosion and maintenance of your oil tank. Let’s talk about these variables; some of which you won’t have control over. Tank Thickness The first being the thickness of the tank. The most common is …
How to Spot Crumbling Foundations and Fix It
Crumbling Foundation Concerns Issues with what I call crumbling concrete, because as you probably know it is not just foundations, it is a characteristic of the concrete itself. Whether it‘s steps, porches, lamp posts, septic tanks or foundations what we are really talking about is the reaction of the concrete that is causing a crumbling effect. When looking at these …