Colorado Springs InterNACHI chapter meetings

ANNOUNCEMENT!

The Colorado Springs chapter of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors is in full swing.  We meet 2nd Monday of every month at Mi Mi’s Cafe at 6:30 p. m. 7133 N ACADEMY, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. 80920.

All are invited…

For additional information go to:  http://co.nachi.org/coloradosprings/about.html

Or give A Precise Home Inspection, Inc a call at 719-272-0100

Lance C. Hayward, President COS InterNACHI Chapter

Colorado’s new lead paint law

Hello Colorado Springs!

Here is a brief rundown on the new lead paint law.

This law went into effect April 22, 2010

What property is affected?

 Any residential dwelling, or day care facility built prior to 1978

 

What is the fine? 

 $37,500 per day, per incident.

 

Who must comply?

 Anyone disturbing more than 6 sqft of interior paint, or 20 sqft of exterior paint, or any window replacement.

 Fix and flippers doing the work themselves, even if the home is vacant.

 Property managers having work done on any rental unit, even if it is vacant.

 Owners who manage their own rental property.

 

Who must do the work?

 Certified Renovator must test prior to work, supervise work, and certify clean up.

 

What must happen during the work?

 ”Renovate Right” booklet must be given to any occupant and signed disclosure at the back filled out.

 http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf

 Warning must be posted during work, and public / occupants are not allowed to enter work area.

 Renovation area must be sealed off from other parts of the home.

 Lead-save practices must be followed during work.

 Forced air heating and A/C must be turned off in work area (vents sealed to prevent spread of dust).

 Clean up must be done with HEPA vacuum and all clean up must be certified.

 

Who is excluded?

 Owner “Occupants”, that certify that no children under 6, or pregnant women live in the home.

  Key word is occupants, thus why fix and flippers are not excluded since a child or pregnant woman may purchase.

 Emergency repairs on areas that would be a safety hazard, or create more damage if not immediately repaired.

 

What impact does this have on Brokers?

 First, inform you investors, clients and contractors on this new law.

 Lead Paint Disclosures on renovated homes will need to include “knowledge” and “reports” if they exist.

 ”Don’t Know” and “Have No Reports” will be a red flag if it is obvious walls were moved or exterior was scraped.

 

For more information, please visit: http://epa.gov/lead/

 If you have questions for us call 719-272-0100 or visit us on-line at www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

Should I get my brand new home inspected?

Hello Colorado Springs!

OK, you’re buying a brand new home with a one year warranty.  Then the question arises, “Should I get the home inspected?”  We’ll let you decide…

My daughter and I used to read these kind of books when she was a toddler.

What’s under flap #1

A laundry room dryer vent…

There has been much debate over whether or not you should have your brand new home inspected prior to closing or waiting until right before the warranty runs out.  We don’t believe there is a wrong answer, as long as you get it inspected, but in this case can you imagine the lint build up in this dryer vent if you waited 11 months, not to mention the fire hazard! 

Give A Precise Home Inspection, Inc. a call today at 719-272-0100 or visit us on-line at www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

The truth about Polybutylene Plumbing

Hello Colorado Springs!

As a home inspector, I see and get asked a lot of questions about polybutylene plumbing.  The truth is it’s in a lot of properties here in Colorado.  This is what you will read on a typical home inspection report in regards to polybutylene plumbing: 

Major Concern:  It appears that the home is plumbed with polybutylene water piping; recommend a licensed plumber examine and certify water piping prior to closing.

The truth is not many, if any licensed plumber will certify polybutylene plumbing so here is some information that might be of some help.

It’s in up to 10 Million Properties Nationwide.
From 1978 to 1995, up to ten million homes, mobile homes apartment buildings, and commercial structures were built with poly or had poly installed during remodeling. It’s commonly found in properties in the Sun Belt, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Pacific Northwest.

The Problem With Poly.
Poly systems may fail without warning, damaging properties and personal belongings, and disrupting lives. Factors that may contribute to poly’s failure include: chemicals in our water supply, such as chlorine, that slowly destroy the structural integrity of poly pipes and fittings; the age of the pipe — the older the pipe, the more likely a problem will occur; and faulty installation.

Replacement of Poly Pipes.
Although replacement can be done at anytime, it’s easier and less expensive if you replace it while the house is vacant. You may even be able to roll the cost into your mortgage.

Replacement entails abandoning all poly pipes and installing a new system. You should look for a company that specializes in poly replacement, not just plumbing in general. A suitable company will offer a turnkey job, and the entire process including drywall and paint repair should take about five days. But most importantly, you need to confirm that the company is licensed properly.

For example, in Virginia plumbers have a contractor’s license that says plumbing is their specialty. But, unless a company also has a listed specialty in building or home improvement, they cannot legally provide a turnkey job—they cannot repair the drywall and paint. You should always call the licensing authority in your state to confirm that a company offering repair services is properly licensed. Any legitimate contractor will be happy to provide you with contact information for the applicable state licensing board.

Class Action Lawsuit Settlements.
Throughout the 1980’s lawsuits were filed complaining of allegedly defective manufacturing and defective installation causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Ultimately, the class action suits were settled and hundreds of millions of dollars were set aside to help consumers. However, strict qualification guidelines make participation in the benefits of a fund uncertain. You should contact the appropriate settlement facility to find out if you qualify for assistance.

Not all homes have had leaks, but the problem is, it’s impossible to tell if a home will have problems, or when.
Unlike most other home maintenance issues, delaying poly replacement may have devastating consequences. While pipe replacement is a “hidden” investment, it will increase the value of your home, unlike many other home improvements.

Well, there you have it.  I hope this information helps, if you have any questions about polybutylene plumbing don’t hesitate to give A Precise Home inspection a call at 719-272-0100 or visit us on-line at:  www.aprecisehomeinspection.com 

Source of information:  http://www.repipenews.com/

Home De-winterization alternative

Hello Colorado Springs!

A Precise Home Inspection is happy to announce:

Don't get surprised

 

We can now perform air pressure testing on the home’s water piping for only $50.  We understand that on some homes the water can not be turned on during the inspection.  We also understand that it is costly to pay a plumbing contractor hundreds of dollars to de-winterize and re-winterize a home.

So in conjunction with a full home inspection we can air pressure test the water piping while the water remains off.  The test will take 20-30 minutes to confirm that the water pipes are holding proper pressure.  Please understand that the drain/waste piping cannot not be tested with the use of this method.  There is no better alternative to having the water turned on during the entire home inspection, having the water on is always the BEST method for testing plumbing systems. 

This is just an inexpensive alternative and it’s cost is $50 in conjunction with a home inspection.

If you have any questions about this new service, please give us a call.

A Precise Home Inspection, Inc. 719-272-0100 or visit us on-line @ www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

 

Radon testing: Charcoal Canisters versus Other Devices

Hello Colorado Springs, this is an article written by Dr. James Burkhart, Director of the Radon Measurements Lab at UCCS.  I can’t count the amount of times I am asked about charcoal canisters versus other radon measuring devices.  So this article should help clear up a lot.

Charcoal Canisters versus Other Devices

Charcoal canisters are, as far as I can determine, the most recent technology invented for measuring radon. Prior to the invention of charcoal canisters, most radon was measured using alpha track detectors and continuous monitors. Both of these technologies are quite old, dating back to the early 1900’s in some cases. Radon monitors, in particular, use zinc sulfide as a scintillant, an ionization chamber or a solid state chip to measure the alpha particles coming from radon and the radon decay products. There is nothing new at all about these technologies, since they date back to the 1940’s or 1960’s (for the solid state chip). Even the most recent monitor on the market uses nothing more than one of these three technologies, all of which pre-date charcoal canisters. These newer monitors may have new components and new bells and whistles, but the technology for measuring the radon is not new.

Some clients wish to know if continuous radon monitors are more accurate than charcoal canisters. If we define accuracy to mean how close the reported radon is to the actual average radon over a 48 hour test, than no monitor commercially available to home inspectors is more accurate than a charcoal canister. This has been shown over and over by running monitors side-by-side with charcoal canisters in homes and in scientifically controlled situations (as in a radon chamber). Some monitors do have the feature of being sufficiently sensitive that they can measure hourly variations of radon in the home. This makes these monitors helpful to the home inspector in trying to determine if the home owners ventilated the house during the test. However, quite frankly, only the very best monitors are sensitive enough to show whole house ventilation unambiguously and none of them are sensitive enough to show ventilation of one or two rooms in a house. Thus, the main feature of a continuous monitor, its ability to measure hourly variations in radon is usually not used or not precise enough to be used.

If you do decide to use a home inspector with a continuous monitor, double check that the home inspector has had a formal 2-day course in radon measurements, is currently certified with NEHA or NRSB, has had his or her monitor calibrated within the last year and has passed the NEHA and/or NRSB performance test within the last two years. Failure to produce proof of any of the above documentation should concern you as the lack of any of the above means that the home inspector is probably simply placing a machine in your home for which they have had no formal training and/or the machine is not being properly maintained as per manufacturer’s specifications.

Charcoal canisters have been shown to over-respond if placed in fast, moving air. They also, because of their quick response, can be biased by a large swing in radon toward the end of the 48 hour exposure time. It is not true, however, that charcoal canisters only read the last 12 hours that they are in the house. This is manifestly incorrect. As stated earlier in this paragraph, if there is a very pronounced swing in radon during the last several hours of the 48 hour exposure period (a very unusual situation in a typical house), the canister may be biased upward or downward in response to this swing. The author has never personally seen a single instance when this characteristic of a charcoal canister has biased the reading so much that a house that would normally be below 4.0 pCi/L incorrectly was reported to be above, or, conversely, that a house above 4.0 pCi/L was incorrectly reported to be below.

I hope this helps shed some light on radon testing and why A Precise Home Inspection, Inc. continues to use and support our local Radon Measurements Laboratory at UCCS.  There simply is NOT any better alternative to radon testing.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to blog back or call A Precise Home Inspection, Inc. @ 719-272-0100 or visit us on-line @ www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

Where to Mount a Carbon Monoxide Detector?

There has been much debate on where to mount your Carbon Monoxide detector, well hopefully this article will help.

Where to Mount a Carbon Monoxide Detector?  

So you just bought a carbon monoxide detector to put in your home. You feel a sense of security wrap around your body as your plug it into the electrical socket near the ground. Stop right there though. You just made a crucial mistake that many other people make when choosing the location to mount their carbon monoxide detector.

It is known that some companies recommend mounting their units near the floor, but in general it is a potential risk due to the chemical properties of carbon monoxide. The key point that we want to focus on is the specific gravity of CO which is 0.966. Compared to the air we breathe (1.0), carbon monoxide is slightly lighter which means it will rise. Having a carbon monoxide detector mounted near the ground means there is the possibility that it may not detect CO when it is present in your home. Consequently, you will want to mount carbon monoxide detectors on the ceiling the same way you would mount a smoke alarm.

Additionally, here are some other guidelines you should follow when choosing a mounting location. You will want to keep CO detectors out of bathrooms or any other humid areas. You will also want to place them at least 15 feet away from heating or cooking appliances. Placing a CO dectector near a furnace may also set off false alarms since these devices are known to emit a small amount of carbon monoxide upon start-up.

Sources

“The Answer Man”.Belleville News-Democrat. 12 Feb 2007, Final Ed.: C8

For more information on home inspection issues, please call Lance Hayward, A Precise Home Inspection, Inc @ 719-272-0100 or visit us on line at www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

Home Inspection Picture of the Month (July)

Hello Colorado Springs!

Here is a picture of how NOT to run a dryer vent through a roof.

See the holes in the tar?

For more inspection picutres, go to: www.aprecisehomeinspection.com, or just give us a call @ 719-272-0100.

kitchen/bathroom caulking maintenance

 Hello Colorado Springs, here is an article written by Randy Flanery of Tri-Valley Tile & Stone, one of the most trusted and experienced tile craftsman in Colorado.

CAULK REPAIR If you have been in your current home for more than five years, make sure you inspect your caulking in your shower or your tub surround. Look for an appearance where the edges of the caulk are either peeling or have a break in the body of your caulk. If either of these are the case at your home, you need to either call me for more ‘hands on advice’ or try to repair this situation yourself. Remember, to have an effective outcome with this repair you MUST use SILICONE caulk. DO NOT USE latex or latex-siliconized caulk-they only last for six to twelve months. If you are looking to buy a home, here are a few important things to look out for as well… TILE AND GROUT INSPECTION If the entry way or kitchen has tile already installed on the floor, pull off one of the heater vent covers and look to verify if the tile installation was done on top of the sub-floor only (you will see only wood and mortar under the tiles), this was done with out a proper tile substrate or you will see a cement or gray looking board on the top of the plywood/sub-floor and mortar in between them. This was a correct installation.

1. If this installation was done on the top of the sub-floor, you will see hair-line cracks all over your floor area OR it will begin to crack very soon. In either case you should have the seller or your agent request a CREDIT towards a new floor.

2. Also, if you step on a tile that was installed by a person in a hurry, or inexperienced, you will hear a ‘Hollow’ sound. Tap this tile with your hand/knuckles and it should give a ‘dull’ or ‘hollow’ sound as well. This is a problem because the installer did not cover enough of the back of the tile with ‘Thin-set Mortar’, which is what affixes the tiles to the underlayment on your floor.

3. Remember, the state of Colorado DOES NOT REQUIRE anyone who installs tile or stone to have any type of license. So be very alert to who comes over to YOUR HOME and find out how they received their schooling in this amazing trade that adds so much elegance to the place where you live. If done by a person who THINKS he is doing it right, the out come will be noticed by everyone AND, if done by a licensed professional with state schooling under his belt, this also will be noticed by everyone.

4. I do my best to go beyond what is required in every installation which I’m involved in. To show this I give either a THREE, FIVE or TEN YEAR WARRANTY on all of my installations.

Again, if you have any questions at all please call me. Best Regards to everyone who loves the elegance of TILE OR STONE

RANDY FLANERY ‘TRI VALLEY TILE & STONE, INC’ 719)641-9538 tilestoneartisanship@gmail.com Since 1987: Schooled through the state of California, C-54 licensed, trained through the ‘Tile Setters Union’ from 1987-1992

For additional information on home maintenance give A Precise Home Inspection a call at 719-272-0100 or visit us on line at:  www.aprecisehomeinspection.com

Exclusive Home Security System Offer

Hello Colorado Springs!

A Precise Home Inspection, Inc. & 911 Alarm are proud to offer you and your clients an exclusive offer.  You and your clients (past & present) can receive a home security system free of charge.  Stan Kelley of 911 Alarm writes:

“One thing I would say is that with increased home intrusions and peoples families and valuables at risk it is becoming increasingly important to keep “what matters most protected”!  In going with a home burglar system we can offer  a range of security products to fit your every need.  We protect the doors , windows , crawl spaces, attics and any walkway that is accessible to your home.

We do all of this for the best prices in the industry, and for A Precise Home Inspection customers we will do it all for way less than the competition.  Besides just the piece of mind of having an alarm system you will also receive a discount on your homeowners policy as well!  With all the security benefits and financial benefits of having an alarm in your home there is little reason why not to own your own today!  911 alarm is a local independently owned security company that has 24/7 customer service and when you call us you will not go into a phones system , you will talk with a real licensed individual who can walk you through this process.  Call  for your free in home installation today, 719-358-9687 or toll free 866-395-3167 or visit us on line at www.911alarmpro.com!  911 Alarm thanks you for your business!”

So, although the redneck alarm system may be working for now, it never hurts to add to that “piece of mind”.

Compliments of A Precise Home Inspection, Inc.  If you have any other questions concerning home security, home preservation, energy conservation don’t hesitate to give us a call at 719-272-0100 or visit us on line at:  www.aprecisehomeinspection.com.