Popular Articles

• Sloppy Evaporator Coil Install

  Came across this a/c systems evaporator coil today. It’s amazing how lazy some people are. If you pay a professional to do a job, you expect to get a professional job done. The coil was so off level, condensation was standing on the left side of the pan whenever the a/c was running. Here in Texas, that’s most of the year. After years of this happening, the pan finally rusted through and is now leaking into the secondary pan and beyond to the plenum. The plenum is leaking onto the ceiling and wall of the bedroom below. Now we have a huge mess with water damage and mold.… Read the rest

• Inspecting with a Moisture Meter

  A moisture meter is a device designed to measure the moisture content of various building materials, such as roofing, siding, insulation, drywall, plaster, wood, tile and fiberglass. Structural and safety hazards, such as mold, rot and decay are all potential consequences of elevated moisture levels in these materials. An inspector can use a moisture meter to locate moisture that would not otherwise be apparent.
  Here are a few ways that inspectors may find moisture meters useful:
  •A moisture meter can be used to determine whether a material is moist enough to allow mold to grow. Mold will begin to accumulate on surfaces that contain approximately 20% moisture, although this value varies based on vapor pressure and other factors.… Read the rest

• Homeowner Tips on Saving Energy

  Being a Fort Worth and Dallas area home inspector has taught me some simple methods homeowners can perform to help reduce your energy bills.
  Homeowners can easily conduct a simple home energy audit for themselves to find and repair obvious issues. With a simple walk-through, you can spot many problems within the house.
  Locating Air Leaks
  It’s possible to save 5% to 30% per year in energy savings from reducing drafts in a home, and the home is generally much more comfortable afterward. Homeowners can check for indoor air leaks, such as gaps along the baseboard or edge of the flooring, and at junctures of the walls and ceiling.… Read the rest

• What Our Kids Wanted in a Bedroom

  Kids Enjoy Decorating Their Own Bedrooms

  Our kids are busy, smart, and clever. They have well-formed opinions for youngsters, and they firmly know exactly what they like and what they do not like. Unfortunately, that makes for some particularly vocal, opinionated kids. When we moved into our new home, we decided to let our clever, opinionated kids share their ideas on how their new bedrooms should be decorated. Any other decision would have spelled disaster.

  Your Kids Might Surprise You with Their Sense of Style

  Our nine-year-old son loves sports. He eats, drinks, and dreams football. His soccer cleats are always on his feet; he even tried to wear them to church on Easter Sunday.… Read the rest

• Do You Have Bed Bugs

  When people think about blood sucking insects, they first picture a mosquito or tick. Did you know bed bugs are also blood suckers. The tiny, sneaky insects are spreading so rapidly across the United States that almost no region or area is unbitten, a new survey suggests. The United States has seen a 50-fold increase in bed bug infestations over the last five years, according to the National Pest Management Association. An entomologist told MSNBC, “It’s like the return of the wooly mammoth,” as many of his peers had previously never seen a single bed bug in their careers. The outbreak has affected most parts of North America and Europe, especially in urban areas.… Read the rest

• Top 5 Reasons to Get a Building Inspection Before Buying a Home

  One of the most important things you should do before purchasing a home is to have it checked out by a professional. They will be able to investigate your potential home for termites, mold, water damage and a host of other problems. These building inspections could save you from making one of the biggest financial blunders in your life. The following are the top five reasons it’s a good investment to have a building inspected before you decide to purchase it.

  1. It Allows You Peace of Mind

  A home inspection will help you better understand the condition that your potential home is in and if there are any defects.… Read the rest

• Solar Power for the Home

  Although it seems quite expensive initially, when it comes to providing electricity for your household, solar power is the best way to go long-term wise. If you want to save money on your electricity bill or live a greener lifestyle, then you should consider solar power for the home.

  Advantages

  The initial cost of solar panels is very hefty, often costing a homeowner tens of thousands of dollars. However, once you get solar panels, the cost of your electricity bill will go down or you may not have to pay anything for electricity at all.

  Basically, solar panels are a one-time cost while you’ll need to pay electricity bills every single month for the rest of your life.… Read the rest

• Cleaning and Maintaining Your Jetted Tub

  I recently performed my routine maintenance on the jacuzzi tub we have in the master bath. I thought I would share some of the tips I’ve picked up during my home inspection career. I’m always seeking to better my knowledge on questions that may come up during one of my home inspections.
  All whirlpool bathtubs have a small amount of residual water left in the pipeline. Minerals in water begin a process of calcifying around the insides of your pipes. This hard scale build up not only restricts water flow, but becomes a perfect breading ground for infectious bacteria. As the algae breaks off, you will see it in your bath water as ugly black flecks.… Read the rest

• Hidden Reason to Get a Home Inspection

  Just another example of why you should get a home inspection prior to spending your hard earned money on your dream home. As you can see by the picture, a shoddy repair job would have given a few clues something wasn’t right. As a buyer of a house, what would you have done next?

  Part of my passion as a Dallas and Fort Worth area home inspector is to get to the bottom of little things that others wouldn’t think to observe. My first move was to look at different areas located around this particular area, ie, laundry room, bathroom, etc.… Read the rest

• Keeping Your Children Safe During Playtime

  When I decided to become a home inspector, I got into a habit of inspecting things everywhere I went. I honestly cannot help myself anymore, it’s just what I do. Being a father and just loving kids in general, I started noticing things when I would go to playgrounds in the Arlington, Mansfield and Burleson areas with my own kids or with my nieces and nephews that worried me about their safety. I recently pulled some information from the CDC website I thought I would share to remind parents of how important it is to keep you children safe from serious injury.… Read the rest