As a home inspector my job is to educate the client and find any costly problems associated with the home I am expecting.  This inspection did both, I was called to inspected a small 1600 sq. ft. ranch, built in 1974, on a slab foundation. At some point the house had electric heat, two electrical meter boxes. One meter was missing so I assumed the house was upgraded from electric heat.

One of the most important items of a home inspection is the deck.  If the deck needs to be rebuilt, it can be very costly depending on the size, materials and damage if the current deck is not flashed properly.

Often I am asked by clients if I inspect structure.  Many new homebuyers do not know what structure is or how it can be very important to have an inspector that knows what to look for with regards to structural defects.  Structural problems may cost the buyer thousands of dollars to repair.  In some cases the home may be a complete tear down.

The enclosed video below should help explain what to expect when I perform a home inspection using thermal imaging camera.  Thermal imaging detects heat, hot surfaces appear yellow, cold appears blue. Therefore, during winter months, missing insulation will appear as blue shadows.  See an example of a master bedroom skylight below, missing insulation.

Ice Dam Prevention 

Common garage firewall related issues.

A common problem that I see in older homes here in New Hampshire is the lack of a firewall on the shared wall with the home.  See diagram below.

Structural problems are possibly the number one cause for a buyer to pass on the home. As a home inspector, we are limited to visual inspections only. Therefore, if the problem is not a visual one, we must rely on experience in detecting hidden structural problems.

One week, two separate home inspections one with a new roof and one with a recently patched roof. Thermal imaging spotted two roof leaks that may have gone unnoticed.  Moisture leaks are displayed in blue shadows.

The first roof leak recently patched by “Chuck in the truck” as is evident in the photos included. What makes this different is my moisture meter did not pick up any moisture through the drywall.  Once inside the attic space further review of the sheathing and the insulation confirmed there was in fact an active roof leak.

Short video on how to winterize your A/C unit.  This is a quick process should take you less that 30 minutes.

Questions?

steve@gaudethomeinspections.com

pH:603-714-8628

Recently while taking a plumbers course I learned a way to possibly extend the life of your hot water tank.  The hot water heater in my house is coming up on seven years.  The warranty has expired and I want to extend the life if at all possible.

Hot water tanks do require minimal maintenance. Each year you should drain off at least 1 or 2 gallons of water from the bottom of the tank at the drain valve. This is to remove any sentiment building up at the bottom of the tank.