Tag Archives: Mold

Buying

What is a Home Inspection?

What is a Home Inspection?

A professional home inspection is an objective, detailed visual assessment of a property’s structure and operating systems. Once a home inspection is performed, you’ll receive a detailed report describing the condition of your home and recommending any repairs or improvements that should be made. Buyers will use the home inspection report to inform their negotiating and purchasing decisions about your home.

Every prospective homeowner is advised to have thorough home inspections done by professionals before purchasing a home. A home inspection can protect you from incurring unexpected costs after completing the purchase. Also, by identifying any problems up front you can often convince the seller to either fix the
problems or reimburse the buyer for the cost of repairs before the purchase is completed.

The most common inspections are an overall home inspection, which evaluates the home’s structural and
mechanical condition, and a pest inspection, which looks for pest and moisture damage. However, these reports may highlight issues that should be investigated by a specialized professional (e.g., a roofer or plumber).

At the conclusion of the home inspection, the home buyer should be well informed and should know the condition of the home; the inspection should be followed up with the inspectors written home
inspection report. If anything is wrong, the home buyer should know what needs to be done to correct problems (or safety hazards), what repair alternatives are available, what priorities to assign to the problems, which repair costs are significant or minor, which costs are non-essential improvements, home inspections are visual and there is always a risk of concealed damage, further destructive investigation is sometimes needed.

Although some home inspection companies will provide you with a pre-printed hand written checklist at the conclusion of the home inspection these boiler plate formats often do not provide the level of detail and advice and that a formal detailed written home inspection report can provide. It is easy for the home inspector to check off good, fair, poor, acceptable, or not acceptable, but it is another thing to describe what’s wrong, why its wrong, and what needs to be done about it. Anybody can check off a form that indicates that a stairway is tilting, but a written home inspection report by a Licensed Professional Engineer can tell you why the stairway is tilting and what needs to be done about it. Remember, only a Professional Engineer is licensed to make professional engineering judgments and provide you with a professional engineer’s design for remedial repair.

Carefully read your home inspection report and make a list of items that need correction; this will help you to determine your future expenditures for repairs and maintenance. The report contains useful information that serves as a reference for you in the future. A home can not fail an inspection, the home inspection report records the condition of the home, both positives and negatives.

If you have questions regarding your inspection report, feel free to me.

Credit to Online Sources:
www.eloan.com
www.inspectamerica.com
www.lowesmoving.com

Mold

What is Mold?

What is mold?

Mold is part of the natural process of decay and renewal. It will begin to digest nearly anything under the right conditions. Building materials offer appealing food.

The main requirement for mold growth is the presence of moisture for over 48 hours. If the water content in building materials reaches 19% for two days mold growth and decay will begin.

Molds can cause extreme health problems including death. Testing for mold is not a usual part of a home inspection. Only a trained licensed professional should provide Indoor Air Quality Testing that samples the air you breath and identifies molds and other pollutants. CHR Inspections offers EPA approved testing protocols for mold testing and inspection as appropriate for the situation.

Listed below are the 10 most important things you should know about mold.

  1. Potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints.
  2. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment. The way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.
  3. If mold is a problem in your home or school, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture.
  4. Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth.
  5. Reduce indoor humidity (to 30-60%) to decrease mold growth by: venting bathrooms, dryers, and other moisture-generating sources to the outside; using air conditioners and de-humidifiers; increasing ventilation; and using exhaust fans whenever cooking, dishwashing and cleaning.
  6. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth.
  7. Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials, such as ceiling tiles that are moldy, may need to be replaced.
  8. Prevent condensation. Reduce the potential for condensation on cold surfaces (i.e., windows, piping, exterior walls, roof or floors) by adding insulation.
  9. In areas where there is a perpetual moisture problem, do not install carpeting (i.e., by drinking fountains, by classroom sinks, or on concrete floors with leaks or frequent condensation).
  10. Molds can be found almost anywhere. They can grow on virtually any substance, providing moisture is present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet and foods.