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What Really Matters in a Home Inspection is...

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What Really Matters in a Home Inspection Author Jason McGuire Re/Max Infinity Are you thinking about selling your home? Did you know that preparing for a home inspection is an important step in selling your property? However, many homeowners don't know what to expect from the inspection. In most cases, home inspections are scheduled after the signing of a purchase agreement, but before the closing date. This time may be stressful. Sometimes it's easy to forget about the inspection. Getting your home prepared for the inspection is always a good idea, says RE/MAX Infinity . That's why, in this article, we'll go over the major points of focus of home inspectors. Also, you'll learn how you can be better prepared when the inspector knocks on your door. What really matters in a home inspection? Home inspections can be daunting. It's hard to predict without any prior knowledge what the home inspector will check. Most of the time, home inspectors...

Defective afci breaker

AFCI protection is sooo important.We often recommend GFI protection and forget to recommend AFCI's. Testing one inside a sub panel recently it did not trip as required leaving the bedroom circuit unprotected. If you have one in your panel you should check it per manufacturers recommendations, typically once per month. An  arc-fault circuit interrupter  ( AFCI ) also known as an  arc-fault detection device  ( AFDD ) [1]  is a  circuit breaker  that breaks the circuit when it detects an  electric arc  in the circuit it protects to prevent electrical fires. An AFCI selectively distinguishes between a harmless arc (incidental to normal operation of switches, plugs, and brushed motors), and a potentially dangerous arc (that can occur, for example, in a lamp cord which has a broken conductor). AFCI breakers have been required for circuits in residential bedrooms by since 1999

Thermal bridging

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Now that we use infrared cameras with some frequency, it's amazing to see things almost like a TSA agent might. The following view was taken in a living room looking up toward the ceiling/attic area Instead of seeing a skeleton of sorts when someone walks through the security camera, we can see framing behind the drywall. We are actually seeing a temperature difference, and in this case it's "Thermal Bridging" Thermal Bridging  is the movement of heat across an object that is more conductive than the materials around it. The conductive material creates a path of least resistance for heat.  Thermal bridging  can be a major source of energy loss in homes and buildings, leading to higher utility bills

New home concerns

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This is a brand new home in an elite neighborhood. Apparently the cost of the home doesn't matter. This builder didn't bother putting in 2 kick out flashings where the roof & wall meet over the back porch. Already water is staining the wood below

Missing flashing results in thousands $$$$$$$$

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This home I inspected was missing some "End Dam" flashing details. Less than $100. worth of material will leave this home owner paying thousands of dollars in repairs. Make sure you get your home inspected

Dishwasher energy tip

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Dishwasher Tip Let dishes air-dry instead of using the drying feature of your dishwasher. Not using the drying feature of your dishwasher reduces its energy usage by about 50%

"DO NOT USE SCREWS"

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The manufacturers installation instructions on most attic pull down stairs that I see state "Drive nail through hole in metal bracket" A huge majority of the time I see them installed with drywall screws, just as the set in this photograph show. This can lead to sudden failure resulting in serious injury.