Nashville Home Inspections

GNAR Achievement Awards for 2010

2011-03-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

The Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS (GNAR) has announced Achievement Awards for 2010.

Hagan Stone was selected as REALTOR of the YEAR for 2010. Hagan is an active residential REALTOR at Pilkerton Realty in Nashville, TN. Hagan is currently a Vice President at GNAR and has served on the GNAR Board of Directors since 2009.

Terry DeSelms of ReMax Elite was recognized as the Top Team for Listing and Selling.

Joe Petno of Exit Realty 1st Choice was recognized as both the Top Individual Listing Agent and Top Individual Selling Agent.

Diamond Award Recipients: Dana Battaglia, FCPA; Laura Baugh, Worth Properties; Terry DeSelms, The DeSelms Team; Joe Petno, Exit Realty 1st Choice.

Platinum Award Recipients: Newell Anderson, Village Real Estate Services; Jodie Barringer, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Richard Bryan, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Allen Huggins, BrokerSouthReal Estate Partners; Ted Pins, Village Real Estate Services.

Sapphire Award Recipients: John Brittle Jr., Village Real Estate Services; Kendra Cooke, Bob Parks Realty; Denise Cummins, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Starling Davis, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Jenkins Hardin, Pilkerton REALTORS; Beth Molteni, Worth Properties; Mary Beth Thomas, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Trish Woolwine, Fridrich and Clark Realty.

Gold Award Recipients: Andy Allen, Village Real Estate Services; Lydia Armistead, Freeman Webb Company, REALTORS; Diane Barbee, Coldwell Banker Barnes; Missy Chandler, Parker Peery Properties; Deborah Dawson, Coldwell Banker Barnes; Sharon Lillicrap, American Heritage, Inc.; Jay Lowenthal, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORs; Mike McKee, Adex!Homesellers; Tammy Nauman, Century 21 Premier; Brian Copeland, Village Real Estate Services; John Brackeen, ReMax Choice Properties; Alicia Griffith, The Wilson Group; Suzi Minor, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Stephen Meadows, Crye-Leike, Inc., REALTORS.

Silver Award Recipient: Marilyn Denney Blankenship, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Vernice Bryan, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Julie Casassa, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Cindy Evans, ReMax Choice Properties; John Fairhead, Village Real Estate Properties; Betty Finucane, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Tom Fussell, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Peggy Horne, Chris Dotson and Associates; Mary Elcan May, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Anne McGugin, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Marcie Nash, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORs; Angela Pickney O'Neil, The Wilson Group; Mitzi Rager, Century 21 Premier; Sheila Reed, Century 21 Premier; Paul Russell, Century 21 Charlton Realty; Veryln Stewart, Prudential Woodmont Realty Group; Hagan Stone, Pilkerton Realtors; Mandy Wachtler, Pilkerton REALTORS; Alice Walker, The Wilson Group; Bill Bell, Fridrich and Clark; Keri Cannon, Fridrich and Clark Realty; LuAnn Reid, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Missy Rodriguez-Brower, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Donnie Stanley, Pilkerton REALTORS; Cynthia Wyant, Prudential Woodmont Realty Group; Jessica Averbuch, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Jarratt Bell, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Christie Bradley, Fridrich and Clark Realty; Patricia Carroll, Century 21 Premier; Jennifer Claxton, Pilkerton REALTORS; Sam Coleman, Fridrich and Clark, Realty; Kimberly Cunliffe, The Wilson Group; Dawn Franklin, Bob Parks Realty; Yvonne Kelly, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Laura Monin, the Wilson Group; Forrest Moody; Weichert REALTORS, The Andrews Group; Laron Pendergrass, Pilkerton REALTORS; Sean Simons, Zeitlin and Company, REALTORS; Pam Smith, Parker Peery Properties; Grace Clayton, BrokerSouth Real Estate Partners; Courtney Jenrath, Fridrich and Clark REALTORs; Sarah Kilgore, Pilkerton REALTORS; Marc Michaelson, Crye-Leike Inc., REALTORS; Trish Myatt, Benchmark Realty; Pete Prosser, Village Real Estate Services;

Congratulations to all award recipients!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

REALTOR SEO - Repeat After Me - Content and Backlinks, Content and Backlinks, Content and Backlinks ...

2011-02-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Maximizing SEO performance for those in the the real estate world, such as REALTORS and Home Inspectors, depends primarily on Content and Backlinks. If you don't know what they are, I suggest going to the library and checking out some books on SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you didn't know that, hurry to the library.

SEO for Dummies was one of the books I read. It opened my eyes a lot. One of the things I learned from this book, and from an SEO vendor I interviewed, is that a lot of SEO optimization is not magic. You don't have to have a degree in Mass Comm or IT to make great progress in SEO. If you do no more than work on your content and backlinks while blogging you can make great strides in SEO. Of course you will need a website to link back to.

Blogging and commenting on blogs is one way, and one of the most effective ways, to generate Google Juice. Remember, Google Juice works for all SEs, not just Google.

But how you blog and comment can make a difference. A big difference. Make sure that every time you blog you choose key words for the title and first paragraph that match and are pertinent to the blog. Make sure the blog is pertinent to your cause, such as your business. Keep your eyes on the prize. Unless you like to spend time blogging about different subjects as a hobby, always make sure your blogs support your agenda. Don't waste time blogging about your pet unless you own a pet store.

Commenting on other blogs can also help maximize your SEO. Blogs get more attention than comments usually because they have more content and better content. But comments can be more time effective since you probably don't have to put as much thought (hence, time) into a brief comment compared to a well thought out blog. But, as in a blog, including a backlink (sometimes referred to a linkback, among others) back to your website in your comment or comment signature block can increase SEO just because of the linkback. Every backlink makes your website seem more important in the eyes of the SEs.

Of course it helps if your comment is pertinent to the message of the blog too. Telling the author "Thanks for your helpful blog. I'll start using that.", does little to interest a SE.

All SEO books and guides I have ever read or classes and seminars I have attended emphasize content and backlinks as the two most important components of SEO. Eye on the prize, and happy blogging!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

HABITEC Completes Another Continuing Education Course for REALTORS in TN!

2011-02-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

HABITEC Completes Another Continuing Education course presentation for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee!!

On February 16, 2011, HABITEC presented the TENNESSEE HOME INSPECTION course at the Eastern Middle Tennessee Association (EMTAR) of REALTORS facility at 2588 North Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet, TN, 37122, from 08:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Point of Contact at EMTAR for this class was Cher Dugan, EMTAR Senior Administrative Assistant, DuganC@realtracs.com, 615-758-9851.

HABITEC offers the 6 hour TREC-approved class in Home Inspection topics pertinent to REALTORS. Topics include Exterior Components, Interior Spaces and Components, Foundations, Roof and Attic, HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing. These classes are available in a classroom setting with Richard Acree as the Instructor. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspective offered by Richard. These classes also give REALTORS a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that come up during a Home Inspection.

The purpose of this course is to explain the rules of the State of Tennessee, Department of Commerce and Insurance, for Home Inspection procedures, methods and requirements. The classes will help Realtors understand what the Home Inspector should be looking at and what the Home Inspector should be looking for. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Home Inspection processes will be included. The end result of this course will be to help REALTORS understand the State of Tennessee rules and requirements for Home Inspections and better prepare the REALTOR to discuss the Home Inspection Report with their Client. The Client will then be able to understand the report and make a better decision regarding the real estate transaction.

REFERENCES: The following REALTORS attended the Class and have graciously offered to use their name as references for the course.

Kimberly Lamberson-Brown, Broker Headquarters Group, 456-4014, kimberly@brokerheadquarters.com

Sheila Kennedy, Coldwell Banker Barnes, 423-5158, kennedy55158@att.net

Janice Becker, Cottage Realty, 330-7198, janice@thepowerhouseteam.org

Tracy Reed, Cottage Realty, 335-6000, homeswithtracy@gmail.com

Michael Rogers, Cottage Realty, 426-2238, mike@thepowerhouseteam.org

Karen Mitchell, Cottage Realty, 481-0800, karenmitchell@realtracs.com

Debbie Ford, Keller Williams Realty, 305-1603, dford@realtracs.com

Sandra Brown, Crye-Leike Realtors, 818-5016, sandra.brown@crye-leike.com

Tommy Harvey, Crye-Leike Realtors, 210-4445, harveyt@crye-leike.com

Kitty Woodson, Crye-Leike Realtors, 957-3587, kitty.woodson@crye-leike.com

Mindy Ogle, Gatlin Group, Inc., 587-1111, mindy@gatlingroup.com

Jimmy Hagar, Summit Realty, 429-7792, hagarj@realtracs.com

Jim Martin, Sunbelt Real Estate, 597-9824, jmartin@dtccom.net

Ruth Jenkins, Realty Association, 838-8120, rahillis@comcast.net

Heidi Nanto, Reliant Realty, 268-1416, hnanto@yahoo.com

Fred Cope, Reliant Realty, 587-3500, rfredcope@msn.com

Please check the HABITEC website to see when the next class for TENNESSEE HOME INSPECTION is scheduled.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

US Government Role in Housing Finance Market to be Reduced

2011-02-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was interviewed this morning on CNBC regarding the revised role of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA in the housing mortgage business. Geithner indicated the role of the US Government will be reduced relative to what happened leading up to the latest housing debacle.

The pace of this reform will be over the next 5-7 years, a pace that is too slow for some. Geithner indicates this pace is necessary so as not to destabilize a fragile housing market. Other analyst on CNBC indicated that this pace is not fast enough.

Components of the reform include a minimum of 10% downpayments and a higher fee for the government backed securities. Geithner says the process will encourage private sector involvement in the business of mortgage loan guarantees, although the role of the US Government in mortgage backed securities will not go away.

Hopefully this will be a good thing for the housing market going forward.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

Tennessee Building Inspections - Increased Commercial Building Transactions in Middle Tennessee

2011-02-09T06:47:00.001-08:00

Nashville Building Inspections - HABITEC sees increase in Commercial Building Inspection needs in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Recently HABITEC has experienced an increased interest in Commercial Building Inspections in Middle TN. Calls have come in for inspections of apartment buildings, retail buildings, churches and distribution centers.

Further evidence of an increase in commercial building exchanges was visible in an article by Anita Wadhwani, published on The Tennessean website at http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110209/BUSINESS02/102090346/2095/BUSINESS02/Smith-Halleman-buy-properties-Nashville-Cincinnati, detailing a large commercial building exchange in the Nashville area.

According to Wadhwani, "Nashville real estate investors Smith/Hallemann Partners have partnered with a Birmingham, Ala.-based firm in a $100 million deal to purchase commercial properties in Nashville and Cincinnati, including the offices of the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper, the companies announced Tuesday. The transaction in Nashville includes a three-building plaza near the airport and known as One, Two and Three Lakeview Place in the Century City Office Park. Collectively, the space is about 380,000 square feet. Current tenants include offices leased by Thomas Nelson Publishers, CNA Insurance, Vista-Pro, Amerigroup and Hartford Insurance."

This increased interest in commercial building transactions may indicate the commercial building real estate market has reached a bottom and now is a good time to invest in commercial buildings. If you are considering purchasing a commercial building, make sure to protect your investment with a commercial building inspection by an experienced commercial building inspection company like HABITEC.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

Nashville Home Inspector - Lasko Space Heater Recall

2011-02-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

Space heater recall announced by Nashville TN Channel 4 TV. Channel 4 informed viewers in Nashville and Middle Tennessee on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, about a recall of space heaters announced by Lasko Products. Over 100,000 Lasko and Air King space heater units have been recalled because they can melt. For the complete story please see the article at http://www.wsmv.com/news/26795929/detail.html .

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

Nashville Home Inspector - "Ready for Inspection", What Does That Mean?

2011-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

One of the phrases we use as Nashville Home Inspectors is "Ready for Inspection". A home that is scheduled for a Nashville area Home Inspection needs to be ready for inspection. What does that mean?

In a nut shell, ready for inspection means all utilities are ON and the owner/occupant has granted permission for the Inspection to take place. If the home is occupied the business of "ready for inspection" is usually not an issue. If the home is not occupied, this can be an issue.

HUD homes, or any banked owned home, presents a special challenge for the Home Inspector. HABITEC Home Inspectors have inspected HUD homes, or bank owned homes, on many occasions in the Nashville area and throughout Middle Tennessee. These homes present a special challenge usually because the home has been abandoned and/or winterized for a period of time. The main issue is utilities. Keeping in mind the definition of ready for inspection I offered earlier, in order for a home to be ready for inspection the home needs to be de-winterized, or re-energized, so that those components that depend on the utilities can be evaluated.

This includes plumbing appliances that depend on a source of water, HVAC appliances that depend on gas or electricity, and any other device that depends on electricity. When it comes to utilities, ready for inspection means the gas needs to be turned ON at the meter, the water needs to be turned ON at the street side shutoff valve, and the electricity needs to be turned ON at the main panel and all circuit breakers need to be CLOSED. Home Inspectors are not authorized to turn these utilities ON. In fact, if they do, often times their insurance companies will not provide coverage, hence damage protection, should their be a malfunction when the utility is turned ON. That includes closing circuit breakers.

So listing agent REALTORS and HUD officials, please make sure the home you are responsible for selling is ready for inspection. And please do not send word via the buyer that "You're Home Inspector can do that [turn the utilities ON]." I have seen significant disasters when utilities are turned ON for the first time in a long time. Especially when the water is turned ON. You need a plumber to do that.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .

Mold Assessment in Nashville - For or Against?

2011-02-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

HABITEC offers mold assessment services (inspection and sampling) in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Some have suggested that mold services including testing and assessments are not necessary. I disagree and here is why.

First let me say that mold services are not for everybody. At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we have undergone training at two agencies and I can say that this is a complicated subject and a very serious service to offer. It is not unreasonable for some to go through the training and find that they simply do not understand the material. If you are poorly trained, or you just cannot understand the information, then you will not be able to offer a quality service. I encourage those people not to engage in mold assessments.

Second, I agree with those who see a conflict of interest when an individual is trained, tested and "certified" by the same agency (like a lab) that will provide support lab services for the assessor. How could you ever fail? I think it is important that third party agencies do the training and certification, not the company offering lab services.

Third, lab support is critical to successful mold services. If you have poor lab support in the form of sample processing or the physical report, you will not offer a quality mold service. At HABITEC we use the MoldREPORT which is an excellent presentation of the lab results.

Fourth, some suggest that you can determine whether or not you have mold in your house just by using your eyes or nose. Therefore, there is no need to test. I strongly disagree. The EPA and many in the business of IAQ will tell you that scientific knowledge of mold is growing every day. What is known today will be enhanced tomorrow. An example is that there are hundreds of species of mold and many more suspected. They come in many different colors, shapes, sizes and textures. They are created from different sources. Some have little smell at all, especially if it is dormant. To suggest that an individual can "know" they have mold in their building based solely on their senses of sight or smell is a mistake. This mistake can waste money cleaning or removing material that is normal household dirt or, worse, endanger someone's health if not identified correctly.

Mold assessments should only be conducted by individuals who have undergone quality training and testing, individuals who can clearly explain to their Client the many aspects of mold including options for mitigation, and individuals willing and able to help the Client through the complete mitigation process including mitigation verification.

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill, Lebanon, Gallatin and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress, and Blogger, and Founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and comment on those blogs and group. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook and Richard on Linked. Thank you!

HABITEC Completes Another Continuing Education course for TN REALTORS!

2011-01-20T09:43:00.001-08:00

HABITEC Completes Another Continuing Education course presentation for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee!!

On January 19, 2011, HABITEC presented the TENNESSEE HOME INSPECTION course at the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS (MTAR) facility at 311 Butler Drive, Murfreesboro, TN, 37127, from 08:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Point of Contact at MTAR for this class was Roshawnda Perry-Barlow, MTAR Education Manager roshawnda@mtar.org 615-893-2242, 877-893-2242.

HABITEC offers the 6 hour TREC-approved class in Home Inspection topics pertinent to REALTORS. Topics include Exterior Components, Interior Spaces and Components, Foundations, Roof and Attic, HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing. These classes are available in a classroom setting with Richard Acree as the Instructor. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspective offered by Richard. These classes also give REALTORS a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that come up during a Home Inspection.

The purpose of this course is to explain the rules of the State of Tennessee, Department of Commerce and Insurance, for Home Inspection procedures, methods and requirements. The classes will help Realtors understand what the Home Inspector should be looking at and what the Home Inspector should be looking for. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Home Inspection processes will be included.

The end result of this course will be to help REALTORS understand the State of Tennessee rules and requirements for Home Inspections and better prepare the REALTOR to discuss the Home Inspection Report with their Client. The Client will then be able to understand the report and make a better decision regarding the real estate transaction.

REFERENCES: The following REALTORS attended the Class and have graciously offered to use their name as references for the course.

Chery Damron, 931-308-5593, cdamron@realtracs.com

Fernard Hennings, 615-556-8431, fhennings@realtracs.com

Steve Gibson, 615-796-8663, sgibson@realtracs.com

Lynne Davis, 615-394-5299, lynnedavisrealtor@gmail.com

Hayden Bryson, 615-812-8871, hbryson@realtracs.com

Sandra Watson, 615-545-2914, sandrawatson@realtracs.com

Vanessa Coe, 615-415-4954, vand95@comcast.net

Sharon Swafford, 931-224-4663, Sharon@SharonSwafford.com

Haven Arnold, 615-417-2299, myagenthaven@aol.com

Ed Stinson, 615-828-8821, edstinson@realtracs.com

Margie Maurer, 615-481-9496, mmaurer@realtracs.com

Wayne Yancey, 615-887-0212, wayne@mid-tn-realestate.com

Richard Atkinson, 615-574-0001, ratkinson@realtracs.com

Gary Middleton, 615-310-6475, gmiddleton@greenvalehomes.net

The next class is scheduled for: February 16, 2011 at the Eastern Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS, 2588 North Mt. Juliet Road, Mt, Juliet, TN, 37122, from 08:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The EMTAR Point of Contact is Cher Dugan, Senior Administrative Assistant, DuganC@realtracs.com, 615-758-9851.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill, Lebanon, Gallatin and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress, and Blogger, and Founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and comment on those blogs and group. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook and Richard on Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Building Inspector - HABITEC Completes PCA of Professional Medical Clinic

2011-01-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

HABITEC COMPLETES PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF A PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CLINIC

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, has completed a Commercial Building Property Condition Assessment of a Professional Medical Clinic. This unique, one-story medical clinic is composed of numerous interior spaces including patient waiting lobbies, patient examination and treatment rooms, laboratories, Nurse’s station, offices and a Clean Room.

The building is complex in design consistent with the purpose of the building. Eight Heating, Air Conditioning and Ventilation systems are incorporated to control temperature and humidity. One of these systems is specialized to support the Clean Room.

The Electrical System is sophisticated and complex including a primary three-phase system incorporating 7 electrical panels and a backup emergency generator with dedicated control panels and components.

The structure of the building includes a brick veneer exterior shell over concrete and steel structural members supporting a flat roof, all mounted on a slab-on-grade. There is a small apartment on the top of the main building and a detached medical annex building located behind the main building.

This project was completed by HABITEC Inspectors Ron Rittiner, HABITEC Chief Inspector and Inspector of Record for this project, and Richard Acree, President.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Pre-Auction Home Inspection

2010-12-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

HABITEC offers Pre-Auction Home Inspections in Nashville Tennessee. Please see the article below for details.

PRE-AUCTION HOME INSPECTION

A Pre-Auction Home Inspection is recommended before you make an offer on a home for sale by auction. Making an offer without knowing what condition the home is in can cause you to lose a lot of money! Be informed and protect your investment!

Time permitting, the Pre-Auction Inspection is a walk-through of the home to evaluate from a Home Inspector's perspective. With the Client present a HABITEC Inspector will visibly inspect the house in a manner consistent with the time allowed for the Inspection. A verbal report is provided to the Client as the Inspection progresses.

Frequently a house for sale by auction is offered for viewing and inspection for only a limited time on the day of the auction. This limitation makes a normal Home Inspection impossible but does usually provide enough time for a reasonable yet quick visual inspection by an experienced Home Inspector. If time constraints are in place only a representative number of some components may be inspected.

Also, in a normal real estate transaction, when an offer to buy a house accepted, the buyer has a period of time to secure financing and have the home inspected. In a home for sale by auction transaction, the deal is often finalized on the day of the auction and the general rule is usually for sale "as is, where is". It's the "as is" part that can cost you a lot of money.

The Pre-Auction Home Inspection is not like a normal Home Inspection. There are no pictures taken and no Home Inspection Report is written. But, the cost is also a lot less than a normal Home Inspection.

Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 for more information about the Pre-Auction Home Inspection!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

REALTOR Responsibilities During a Home Inspection?

2010-12-07T01:14:00.001-08:00

Recently a Home Inspector in Minnesota, Rueben Saltzman of Structure Tech Home Inspections, posted on his ActiveRain Blog an interesting comment offering his opinion about REALTOR responsibilities regarding the Home Inspection. Judging by the response, over 100 comments so far, some agreeing with him and some not, Rueben may have struck a nerve. Please see his comments below. You can read all the comments at his BlogSite at http://activerain.com/blogsview/1863518/dear-real-estate-agent-this-is-your-job .

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Dear Real Estate Agent,

This is YOUR JOB. While I could spend my time explaining all of these things to you while scheduling every single inspection, I feel that as a real estate professional, you should already know this stuff. I shouldn't have to tell you. Most real estate professionals do know this stuff and follow through, but certainly not all. I come across offenders almost daily.

Tell your seller to leave for the inspection. The seller should not be home for the inspection - it's uncomfortable for everyone present to have a home inspector pointing out defects while a seller winces or gets defensive. If I show up to a house and the seller isn't planning to leave for the inspection, I politely ask them to take a hike. Sellers are usually very accommodating, but I always think to myself "Why the heck am I telling them this?"

Tell your seller that the buyers will also be attending the inspection. I could personally care less, but it's always funny when the sellers obviously thought it would just be the inspector, and they didn't bother to clean up the house. Here's how it goes: the buyers have already been through the house twice, and the house looked immaculate both times. Now the inspection happens, the buyers are there, and everything is a mess; there are dishes in the sink, dishes on the counters, clothes all over the floor... it's always quite a shock for the buyers. The sellers should clean up their house for the inspection the same way they do for a showing.

Schedule more than an hour for the inspection. There's no reason why the seller should be coming home an hour in to the inspection and asking me why I'm not done yet.

Tell your seller to lock up any animals or take them with. Please don't expect the home inspector to be in charge of not letting the cat out, not letting the cat in the crawl space, not letting the cat in to the attic... etc.

Tell your seller to give the home inspector access to everything. The home inspector will need to check the crawl space, the garage, the attic... everything. If the garage is locked, leave a key. If the attic access is blocked with stored stuff, please move it. This is just basic stuff that many sellers don't think of. I'm not 'special' when it comes to needing access to these items - every home inspector needs this.

Tell your buyer about radon. The first time your buyer hears about radon shouldn't be at the time the home inspector asks them if they want a radon test with the inspection. I can understand not mentioning radon if it doesn't exist in your part of the country, but here in Minnesota, it's huge. New houses can't even be built without a passive radon mitigation system.

Make sure the utilities are on. If the water, gas, or electricity isn't turned on at the time of the inspection, this severely limits what the home inspector can check. I'm not a real estate agent, so I don't get involved with this, but I've been told that the purchase agreement will typically specify who is responsible for getting the water turned on. If the home buyer calls me, the home inspector, and asks if I will contact the various utility companies to get everything turned on, someone else isn't doing their job.

Supervise your clients during the inspection, if necessary. The home inspector is there to inspect the house, not babysit the buyers kids and keep them from messing up the sellers house. If you know your buyer has unruly children, tell your buyer not to bring them. If your buyer lacks basic social graces like not stealing food from the seller or not trying on their clothes, you damn well better attend the inspection.

Tell your buyer that the home inspection is not a stick to beat the seller over the head with. I cringe when buyers tell me they want the sellers to fix every little thing that I find. Settle down. It's a used house.

While I could email this list to all involved real estate agents for every home inspection that I schedule (and I know home inspectors that do), it would be much easier if agents could just do this stuff without being asked. You're the real estate professional. You're supposed to do this stuff.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Home Inspections

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So where do you come down on these points?

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this article are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Poor Brick Step System Installation, 11-4-10

2010-11-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Poor Brick Step Installation

Ever seen a set of exterior entry steps that are falling apart or caving in. Why is that? Look at the picture below.

HINT: Actually, two hints. First, mortar is porous and, second, brick steps need a solid foundation.

So in the photo above perhaps you can see the deteriorated mortar around the brick. Look closely at the poor repair where the steps meet the stoop. A DIY installation of mortar is unsightly and not serving much purpose. And, if you follow the line of the mortar just above the DIY mortar installation, you should be able to see the steps starting to drop down on the right hand side. What can cause this?

Well, like the hint above indicates, mortar is porous and can allow water to penetrate and cause problems inside the brick structure. Usually that shows up in loose bricks, not bricks caving in. Another possibility is the slab that the steps rests on has started to fail and drop down, taking the brick step system with it. But I happen to know that in this case that slab had already been repaired and lifted back into the correct position. So what else can be wrong? You would never guess unless I showed it to you. What do you think is holding those bricks up? Concrete? Look below.

In the pic above you are looking down into the area below the top step in the earlier pic. What is holding the brick steps up is more brick. But loose brick. Most of the bricks below the steps are just laid in place to add vertical support. No mortar was used to put the bricks in place permanently. So over time they can move due to vibration, weight, or poor installation. And that is what happened. When the slab dropped first, separation between these bricks was present. Without vertical pressure to keep them in place, they were free to react to vibrations and weight. Then, when the slab lift was completed, some of the bricks were knocked out of place. So they did not do anything to support the brick steps. Look at the closeups in the following two pix.

Can you beleive it? Nothing but pressure held the support bricks in place. How do you think this should have been done? For the answer, see below.

ANSWER: The correct way to support brick steps is with poured concrete and metal rebar reinforcement. Above is the first layer of concrete and rebar going into postion. Below is a closeup of how the rebar connects into the porch behind the steps.

Now these steps are not going anywhere!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on FaceBook or Linked. Thank you!

Electrical Panel Issues - 10-17-10

2010-10-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Electrical Panel Issues

Bugs in the electrical panel, what harm can that be? Well, look at the picture below. Any harm there? How did this happen?

HINT: Bugs, like water, need a hole to get inside the panel.

ANSWER: Electrical panels have concentric circles called knockouts. They are used for entry/exit of conductors (wires). An electrician can literally knock them out to allow conductors to pass through, a great little feature of all electrical panels. But, if they are knocked out and then not used, a hole will remain. Holes in the electrical panels can allow all kinds of bad things to get into the panel. Things like water, insects, little fingers, or little fingers holding metal things like Daddy's screwdriver. All bad things to pass through an open knockout and into the panel where live electricity is located. In the pic above we see the effect of water and insects entering the panel through open knockouts on the top and bottom of the panel. A lot of damage has been done and this panel needs to be replaced.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on FaceBook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspections - Residential Security System Battery System

2010-10-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Residential Security System Battery Issue

So you wake up one night and you hear the security system in your home making a beeping noise. Since it is intermittent and unusual because it does not stop, you know it is not an intruder. What can that be all about? So you go to the control panel and you see what is in the picture below.

HINT: Most security systems have a backup power source.

In the picture above you can see the "TROUBLE" light is illuminated. But what trouble? There are no other lights illuminated. So you remember you have a manual for this system. Once (if?) you find the manual, you look under troubleshooting to find guidance for these symptoms: the "TROUBLE" light is ON and the system is beeping intermittently. The manual has you enter a set of keys to interrogate the system. For this ACE system the keys are *2. You do that and you see the following indication on the control panel. (NOTE: The manual can also be found on-line for most manufacturers.)

In the pic above you can see the "TROUBLE" light is still ON but that the #1 light is also ON. Again back to the manual, #1 indicates a "weak battery" Battery, what battery? This system is hard-wired electrical isn't it?

ANSWER: Yes the security system is electrically hard-wired to the house electrical system, but with a battery backup for when the power goes out. So the security system monitors the battery and if it loses ability, the system signals the error with a "TROUBLE" light and intermittent beeping to draw your attention to the problem. But where is the battery? See the pic below.

This panel is usually behind a bunch of personal items in a hall closet and rarely given a thought. So you open the panel to look for the battery. See the pic below.

AHA, a battery! Now what do I do? Well, you can either call for a technician to replace the battery, or you can disconnect the battery and take it in for a replacement yourself. If you do it yourself you'll save yourself the technician fee. The replacement battery is about $50. A technician fee can add $100. To replace the battery yourself, simply disconnect the two cables at the top by pulling on them. You will not hurt or impact the system by doing this. Remember, the battery has failed already anyway. So removing it now won't make things any worse. Take the battery to a local dealer and get a replacement. Once the battery is replaced the system should automatically return to normal.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

MTAR Nominees for Officers and Directors, 2011

2010-10-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

MTAR Nominees for Officers and Directors, 2011

The Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS (MTAR) has announced the following nominations for Officers and Directors for 2011. Please see the list below.

Electronic voting by eligible REALTOR® members will be available online at www.mtar.org beginning Wednesday, October 13th, 2010. Each REALTOR® member shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. Proxies are prohibited. If there are no additional petition candidates presented for election, the slate of Officers and Directors can be approved by acclamation.

The Nominations Committee has presented a slate of Officers and Directors to the MTAR Board of Directors for approval for 2011. The proposed slate listed here has been approved by the Board and is presented to our members for election. Officer and Director nominees, upon election, shall serve on the Board of Directors beginning January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2013.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® - NOMINATION OF 2011 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

2011 PRESIDENT-ELECT - CHARLIE MONTGOMERY

2011 SECRETARY - BILL PARSLEY

2011 TRESURER - RICHARD LEWIS

DIRECTORS FOR 2011-2013

Scott Abernathy, Reliant Realty, Murfreesboro

Chris Garrett, Century 21 United Realty, Murfreesboro

Willie Mangrum, Crye-Leike REALTORS®, Murfreesboro

Kay Petty, Bob Parks Realty/Land/Auction, Murfreesboro

Director for 2011

Lynne Davis, Exit Realty Bob Lamb & Associates, Murfreesboro

Returning Directors:

Pam Boles - Crye-Leike, REALTORS®, Murfreesboro

Joyce Johnson - Vance Clay Realty & Auction, Shelbyville

Mack Meeks, Century 21 Mid-State Realty, Monteagle

Mark Messick - Weichert REALTORS®, Joe Orr & Associates, Tullahoma

Dale Patterson - Keller Williams Realty, Murfreesboro

2011 President - Janet Nettles

Past President - Dave Patton

Electronic voting by eligible REALTOR® members will be available online at www.mtar.org beginning Wednesday, October 13th, 2010. Each REALTOR® member shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. Proxies are prohibited. If there are no additional petition candidates presented for election, the slate of Officers and Directors can be approved by acclamation.

HABITEC is an Affiliate Member of MTAR and presents this information in an effort to help get out the vote!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspections - Orange Plumbing Pipe - What is That For?

2010-09-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Orange plumbing pipe, what is that for?

So you are walking around the new house you bought and you see a panel on the wall in the garage. You look inside and you see the orange plumbing pipe in the picture below. What is that? I thought most plastic plumbing pipe was white. Like PVC.

HINT: Orange is one of the colors in a flame.

ANSWER: So this orange plumbing pipe is used for a fire suppression sprinkler system. It should not be accessed by a plumber for any part of the supply system to the potable water for the house. And the sprinkler heads could look like the white dot in the picture below, mounted on the ceiling throughout the house. These are "pop-down" devices designed to descend into the area below to allow water to be distributed down.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

SALE on Home Inspections in Nashville and Middle Tennessee!

2010-09-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

FALL HOME INSPECTION SALE IN NASHVILLE AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE!

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, (HABITEC) is pleased to announce that our FALL HOME INSPECTION SALE starts October 1, 2010 and goes through December 20, 2010!! During this time, if our schedule will allow, HABITEC will beat by 10% any reasonable and written price for a Home Inspection that is offered in the Nashville, Tennessee Metropolitan Area to include the Tennessee counties of Davidson, Dickson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, and Cheatham. *

For this limited time your Client can have one of the best home inspections in Middle Tennessee at the best price in the Middle Tennessee!

Please forward this exciting offer to your associates!!

Please click here to see details of this offer.

Please call me, Rick Cozby or Ron Rittiner at 615-376-2753 should you have any questions.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Public Speakers: DIY Home Inspections - Interior Spaces

2010-09-27T19:08:00.001-07:00

Nashville Public - Guest Speaker: Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspections - Interior Spaces

HABITEC Home and Building Inpections, LLC, offers public guest speaker classes in Home Inspection topics of interest to all home owners and renters. This post is specifically about the presentation for Interior Spaces.

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Interior Spaces and Components - 1.0 hour - The purpose of this class is to learn how to evaluate interior components common to all interior spaces such as walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows and to discuss topics particular to kitchens, bathroom and laundry rooms such as appliances, sinks, showers, toilets, GFCI electrical, drains and ventilation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------These classes are available to your group with Richard Acree as the Guest Speaker. Whether it be a civic organization, church congregation, work group, renters association, or just a group of friends, these classes will educate and entertain your group with information everyone needs to know.

The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspectives offered by Richard. These classes also give those attending a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that all home owners or renters should be aware of. The classes are offered for a small fee. Please call 376-2753 for more information about the fee and to schedule Richard to speak to your group.

PURPOSE: The purpose of these classes is to explain to home owners or residents how they can look at their own homes or residence to better maintain them. Many of the issues that are identified by a Home Inspector could have been identified by a home owner or renter if they simply knew where and how to look at their own residence. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspection processes will be included. The end result of these courses will be to help home owners know and understand how to safely and visually look at their residence to better maintain their residence.

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FEES: Fees for these classes are very affordable, especially if your group can provide the venue, projector and projector screen. Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to discuss fees and scheduling a presentation. Thank you!

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Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Guest-Public Speaker - DIY Exterior Surface and Components Inspection - 9.24.10

2010-09-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Do-It-Yourself Exterior Surface and Components Inspection

HABITEC offers public guest speaker classes in Home Inspection Topics of interest to all home owners and renters. This post is about the Exterior Surface and Components presentation. This is a one hour course with Richard Acree providing the presentation. The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate all exterior components of the residence to include exterior shell material, windows, doors, drainage, landscape material, driveways, walkways, patios, decks, steps, stoops, porches, electrical connection, and plumbing devices. This is similar to the Water Management System Course but goes even further to include components not directly related in the management of water mostly outside the residence. Look at the picture below to see an example of items covered in this presentation.

These classes are available to your group with Richard Acree as the Guest Speaker. Whether it be a homeowners association, civic organization, church congregation, work group, renters association, or just a group of friends, these classes will educate and entertain your group with information everyone needs to know. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspectives offered by Richard. These classes also give those attending a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that all home owners or renters should be aware of. The classes are offered for a small fee. Please call 376-2753 for more information about the fee and to schedule Richard to speak to your group.

Nashville Guest Speaker
The purpose of these classes is to explain to home owners or residents how they can look at their own homes or residence to better maintain them. Many of the issues that are identified by a Home Inspector could have been identified by a home owner or renter if they simply knew where and how to look at their own residence. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspection processes will be included. The end result of these courses will be to help home owners know and understand how to safely and visually look at their residence to better maintain their residence.

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FEES Fees for these classes are very affordable, especially if your group can provide the venue, projector and projector screen. Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to discuss fees and scheduling a presentation. Thank you!

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Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Public-Guest Speaker: The Top 10 Most Common Home Inspection Issues - 9.24.10

2010-09-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker, Nashville - The Top 10 Most Common Home Inspection Items You Need to Know About

This one hour presentation lists the Top 10 Most Common Items identified by HABITEC Home Inspectors in Middle Tennessee Home Inspections and these are items you need to know about. Richard Acree, President of HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, uses a power point presentation to show and explain what the most likely issues are with any home that HABITEC sees in a Home Inspection. Knowing about these 10 issues will help the home owner or resident avoid some of the most costly and difficult issues that can be a problem in any home, whether it is for sale or not. Once you know what to look for and how to spot these issues, you can prevent these issues from becoming a problem in your residence. Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to book Richard at your next gathering! See the picture below for a sample of the Top 10.

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COURSES OFFERED: HABITEC offers public guest speaker classes in Home Inspection topics of interest to all home owners and renters. These classes are available to your group with Richard Acree as the Guest Speaker. Whether it be a homeowners association, civic organization, church congregation, work group, renters association, or just a group of friends, these classes will educate and entertain your group with information everyone needs to know. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspectives offered by Richard. These classes also give those attending a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that all home owners or renters should be aware of. The classes are offered for a small fee. Please call 376-2753 for more information about the fee and to schedule Richard to speak to your group.

PURPOSE: The purpose of these classes is to explain to home owners or residents how they can look at their own homes or residence to better maintain them. Many of the issues that are identified by a Home Inspector could have been identified by a home owner or renter if they simply knew where and how to look at their own residence. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspection processes will be included. The end result of these courses will be to help home owners know and understand how to safely and visually look at their residence to better maintain their residence.

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FEES: Fees for these classes are very affordable, especially if your group can provide the venue, projector and projector screen. Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to discuss fees and scheduling a presentation. Thank you!

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Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Public-Guest Speaker - DIY Home Maintenance Inspections

2010-09-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

Nashville Public - Guest Speaker: Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspections

HABITEC Home and Building Inpections, LLC, offers public guest speaker classes in Home Inspection topics of interest to all home owners and renters. Please see the list of subjects below. These classes are available to your group with Richard Acree as the Guest Speaker. Whether it be a civic organization, church congregation, work group, renters association, or just a group of friends, these classes will educate and entertain your group with information everyone needs to know.

The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspectives offered by Richard. These classes also give those attending a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that all home owners or renters should be aware of. The classes are offered for a small fee. Please call 376-2753 for more information about the fee and to schedule Richard to speak to your group.

PURPOSE: The purpose of these classes is to explain to home owners or residents how they can look at their own homes or residence to better maintain them. Many of the issues that are identified by a Home Inspector could have been identified by a home owner or renter if they simply knew where and how to look at their own residence. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance Inspection processes will be included. The end result of these courses will be to help home owners know and understand how to safely and visually look at their residence to better maintain their residence.

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SUBJECTS

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Top 10 Items You Need to Know About - 1.0 hours - The Top 10 Items identified by HABITEC in most Home Inspections are things you need to know about. Hear from Richard what the most likely issues are with any home that HABITEC sees in a Home Inspection. Knowing about these 10 issues will help the home owner or resident avoid some of the most costly and difficult issues that can be a problem in any home. Once you know what to look for and how to spot these issues, you can prevent these issues from becoming a problem in your residence.

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Amazing Home Inspection Pictures - 1.0 Hour - Richard presents a full hour of amazing photographs of issues found on Home Inspections. You won't believe some of the things HABITEC Home Inspectors find while completing everyday Home Inspections. Informative, funny, scary - you name it. You will feel all these emotions as you see what we see as we go about the business of completing Home and Commercial Building Inspections. See the pic below for an example of these amazing pictures.

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Water Management Systems - 1.5 hours - The #1 issue in most Home Inspections and Commercial Building Inspections is a failure of one or more component of the building water management system. Mostly located on the outside of the house, failure of any components of this system can lead to structural failure and/or mold, two of the most costly and difficult issues to deal with. Listen to Richard explain what the components of this system include and what you can do to prevent failure within this system from costing you thousands of dollars and a lot of headaches.

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Exterior Surface and Components - 1.0 hour - The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate all exterior components of the residence to include exterior shell material, windows, doors, drainage, landscape material, driveways, walkways, patios, decks, steps, stoops, porches, electrical connection, and plumbing devices. This is similar to the Water Management System Course above but goes even further to include components not directly related in the management of water mostly outside the residence.

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Interior Spaces and Components - 1.0 hour - The purpose of this class is to learn how to evaluate interior components common to all interior spaces such as walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows and to discuss topics particular to kitchens, bathroom and laundry rooms such as appliances, sinks, showers, toilets, GFCI electrical, drains and ventilation.

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Plumbing Systems and Components - 1.0 hour - The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate plumbing issues including supply piping, drain/waste/vent system, leak identification, pipe support, faucets and fixtures, plumbing fixtures and hot water heaters. Issues pertaining specifically to kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms are discussed.

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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - 1.0 hour - The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate the systems used for heating, venting and air conditioning the structure. Session discusses furnaces, air conditioning systems, fireplaces, and insulation.

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Structure and Foundation; Roof and Attic - 1.5 hour - The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate the building structure is constructed looking at the building from the foundation up, into the attic and on the roof. Items covered include materials used, construction methods and installation, ventilation, insulation, water management, the exterior roof coverings and the inside of the attic spaces with special attention as to how the attic components make up the roof and attic ventilation.

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Electrical Systems - 1 hour - The purpose of this session is to learn how to evaluate electrical components including panels, conductors, circuit breakers, outlets, switches, lights, and the grounding electrode system. Richard helps make sense out of the mystery that often surrounds a home or commercial electrical system.

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Environmental Issues: Radon and Mold - 1 hour - The purpose of this session is to discuss two of the most significant environmental issues common to many homes and buildings in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Radon is a colorless and odorless gas that can seep into any building and create elevated concentrations of radon gas. The EPA credits radon with approximately 20,000 deaths per year due to lung cancer caused by radon gas. Mold is common in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Richard will explain how mold can become an issue inside your residence or building and what you can do to prevent mold growth or mitigate should you already have a mold issue.

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FEES: Fees for these classes are very affordable, especially if your group can provide the venue, projector and projector screen. Please call HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to discuss fees and scheduling a presentation. Thank you!

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Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Continuing Education Course for REALTORS in Tennessee!

2010-09-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

Continuing Education Course for REALTORS in TN!!

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, is pleased to announce that our Continuing Education Course for REALTORS licensed in TN has been approved again by TREC for 2011-2012!! This 6 hour course is taught by Richard Acree, President of HABITEC shown in the pic below, and is available at very affordable rates. Additional information about this course is available on our website at http://habitecinspections.com/EducationMaterial.aspx .

HABITEC offers this course in Home Inspection topics pertinent to REALTORS. Please see the list below. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with hundreds of fascinating pictures and interesting perspective offered by Richard. These classes also give REALTORS a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that come up during a Home Inspection.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this course is to explain the rules of the State of Tennessee, Department of Commerce and Insurance, for Home Inspection procedures, methods and requirements. The classes will help REALTORS understand what the Home Inspector should be looking at and what the Home Inspector should be looking for. Terminology, methods of inspection, tools and limitations of the Home Inspection processes will be included. The end result of this course will be to help REALTORS understand the State of Tennessee rules and requirements for Home Inspections and better prepare the REALTOR to discuss the Home Inspection Report with their Client. The Client will then be able to understand the report and make a better decision regarding the real estate transaction.

COURSE SUBJECTS:

Introduction, Sign-In and Overview - 30 minutes - 0 Credits - This time is spent introducing the Instructor, signing in for class, collecting fees, going through an overview of the following classes and schedule, and discussing general requirements of Home Inspections. This class is best suited for realtors new to the business although experienced realtors may also find this session informative.

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Exterior Surface and Components - 50 minutes - 1 credit - The purpose of this session is to review exterior components of the house to include exterior shell material, windows, doors, drainage, landscape material, driveways, walkways, patios, decks, steps, stoops, porches, electrical connection, and plumbing devices.

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Interior Spaces and Components - 50 minutes - 1 credit - The purpose is to review interior topics common to all interior spaces such as walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows and to discuss topics particular to kitchens, bathroom and laundry rooms such as appliances, sinks, showers, toilets, GFCI electrical, drains and ventilation.

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Plumbing Systems and Components - 50 minutes - 1 credit - The purpose of this session is to review plumbing issues including supply piping, drain/waste/vent system, leak identification, pipe support, faucets and fixtures, plumbing fixtures and hot water heaters. Issues pertaining specifically to kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms are discussed.

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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - 50 minutes - 1 credit - The purpose of this session is to review the systems used for heating, venting and air conditioning the structure. Session discusses furnaces, air conditioning systems and fireplaces.

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Structure and Foundation; Roof and Attic - 50 minutes - 1 credit - The purpose of this session is to discuss how the building structure is constructed looking at the building from the foundation up, into the attic and on the roof. Items covered include materials used, construction methods and installation, ventilation, insulation, water management, the exterior roof coverings and the inside of the attic spaces with special attention as to how the attic components make up the roof and attic ventilation.

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Electrical Systems - 50 minutes - 1 credit - Purpose of the session is to discuss electrical components including panels, conductors, circuit breakers, outlets, switches, lights, and the grounding electrode system.

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LOCATION: Classes will be conducted either at a facility of choice provided by a group of realtors or at a location provided by HABITEC. Class locations must be consistent with rules established by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC). According to TREC, "No course in real estate which is designed to satisfy educational requirements ... may be conducted in a facility which is also used for conducting business of a [real estate] broker or a brokerage firm". All classes will be open to any REALTOR licensed in the State of Tennessee. Permission to attend any class will be granted on a first come, first served basis and may be restricted by the number of seats available. REALTORS with reservations will be guaranteed a seat. Walkups will be granted access if seats are still available.

FEES: Attendance for all credited courses is charged at one low sum. Special Group Rates are available! Please call 615-376-2753 for details and reservations!

REFERENCES: The following REALTORS have attended the Class and have graciously offered to use their name as references for the course.

Susan Diebolt, 497-4344, susan@thedieboltgroup.com, Bill Edwards, 516-4736, EdwardsW@crye-leike.com Donna Goff, 293-8734, dgoff@realtracs.com, Danielle Hagar, 429-7333, danielle.hagar@crye-leike.com, Sherita Hill, 397-3871, sherita.hill@crye-leike.com, Carol Horan, 370-1303, carolhoran@comcast.net, Annette Hutchinson, annette.hutchinson@crye-leike.com, Billie Lewis, 373-2044, lewisb@crye-leike.com , Tina Perry, 417-9982, tinaperry@realtracs.com Martha Sloan, 330-1771, sloanm@crye-leike.com, Debra Snodgrass, 583-5050, snodgrass@realtracs.com Mykalynne Taylor, 419-9130, tnhousehunter@gmail.com, Jon Young, 403-8254, jon@thinkyoungrealtors.com

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - Crawl Space Insulation Damage - 9.20.10

2010-09-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

Crawl Space Insulation Damage

Did you know that sometimes the insulation in the crawl space gets damaged? "How can that be?", you ask. Well, at least I did. Take a look at the pic below. What do you think caused this?

HINT: Look down as well as up.

ANSWER: This is what insulation can look like after it has gotten wet. The pooled water on the moisture barrier is left over after the May 2010 floods in Nashville, TN. The water was high enough in the crawl space to reach the joists and insulation. See another picture below.

Depending on the extent of the damage, this insulation may have to be replaced. Surely the area above the insulation has to be checked for water damage as well. Below is what the insulation should look like.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - Roof Failure and the Ripple Effect - 9.18.10

2010-09-17T14:45:00.001-07:00

Roof Failure and the Ripple Effect!

So I was walking around the outside of a home the other day doing a Home Inspection in Nashville Tennessee and saw something frightening, yet all too familiar. See the picture below. I wondered how the seller could leave this for a potential buyer to see, easily, and I wondered what caused this damage to begin with. Then I also thought, how far does this go? Where does the damage stop? What is the ripple effect? So if you see this type of damage, what do you think caused it and where does the damage stop?

HINT: Water follows the path of least resistance. What could be the water source of the damage in this pic?

ANSWER: A possible source of this damage is in the background of the pic above. Note the gutter and downspout behind the damaged eave. To see how this all got started you have to go up on the roof. Look at the pic below. This is the view looking down from the roof on this same corner of the house. Notice the loose and lifted shingle. You can see debris has a path into the gutter from here. What you cannot see is how clogged the gutter is. A lot! Sometimes people think that once they install gutter guards they are done cleaning gutters. NOT SO! Even in a well maintained gutter system with gutter guards a lot of little stuff gets by gutter guards and can eventually clog the gutter/downspout. Not sure why the shingle broke loose, but it is consistent with all else that is going on in this corner. Was the loose shingle a victim of the ripple effect or ground zero for the start of the ripple. You can see that by color this shingle looks newer than those around it so this may be a poor attempt at a roof repair that also failed.

So, back to the ripple effect. Hard to know what came first in the pic above, the loose/damaged shingle or a failed/clogged gutter/downspout system. Regardless, the water management system failed at this point and the ripple effect was to damage the eave below as the gutter/downspout clogged and water followed the path of least resistance to the eave. So do you think the ripple effect is done? Think again.

Let's take a walk inside the attic to this same area of the home. Remember, the roof, eaves and attic are all connected and rather closely. Look at the pic below. This is the area of the attic opposite the corner of the failed gutter and the damaged eave. Look how much water intruded and all the damage it did inside the attic. All because of a failed gutter. The only question remaining is how long was this allowed to go on. I suspect a long time.

Fortunately this did not show up inside the home, yet. But it is only a matter of time before it does, because of the ripple effect.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Tennessee Home Inspector - Beware the Home Addition - 9.17.10

2010-09-17T06:56:00.001-07:00

Beware the Home Addition!

One fairly frequent and common theme noticed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, while completing home inspections in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, is that many home additions do not stand the test of time when it comes to structural integrity. Take a look at the pictures below. See if you can find any structural issues.

HINT: Structural stress cracks commonly appear in the downslope corner of the home/addition.

In the pic above you are looking at an addition to the original ranch style home. You should be able to see that the downslope corner of the addition is the one in the foreground. Looking at that corner, note that we have a crawl space vent to the right and an access to the crawl space to the left. Also at that corner is located a downspout that connects to an underground composite extension.

Now in the picture below we have zoomed in on the crawl space vent to the right. What do you see that could be a symptom of a structural event?

ANSWER: The grey mortar repair. In this case these gray lines of newer mortar indicate someone has been here to make a repair. Fortunately, it looks like it was done by a professional. But one thing to keep in mind when evaluating a stress crack is to look for sympathetic cracks on the other side of the wall, if possible. We do this to see how significant this crack is. Is it just the veneer that cracked, or something more than that? So now lets go inside that crawl space access we saw above. See the pic below.

AHA! There is more to it. This is a significant structural crack almost 1" in width in places. And it is located near the area where the crawl space vent is located. So these two events are related. Now the good news in this case is that the brick veneer was professionally repaired and the probable cause of this failure, water management failure at the corner downspout/extension, was also repaired. So life goes on here. But when you are looking at homes, beware the home addition!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Mold Inspector - Red Flags for Mold - 9.16.10

2010-09-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

Red Flags for Mold

Tennessee Mold Assessments/Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, involve first a mold survey or inspection where we look for "red flags" that are indicative of conditions conducive to mold growth. Common red flags include a musty odor in the building, growth of foreign material on a wall, water leaks, and so forth. Sometimes the red flags can include non-standard issues like those common issues mentioned before. Look at the two pics below. Why would a home owner have these components as part of there air conditioning system?

HINT: Sometimes homeowners try everything under the sun that they can think of to deal with mold issues.

In the pic above you are looking at a UV cleanser that is bolted onto the HVAC ductwork near the interior unit of a split system. Now look at the pic below. This cannister of Bad Air Sponge was found near the same unit as is in the pic above. Hmmm! What do you think this is for?

ANSWER: The Eclipse UV Cleanser is available as an air purfication system for controlling mold, mildew, bacteria, germs, viruses, etc. UV stands for ultra violet, like rays from the sun. Get it, the sun?

The can of Bart Simpson Bad Air Sponge (get it?) is available, apparantly at Bed Bath and Beyond, to aid as an air freshener and odor removal.

So these two components have some common ground. They are used to mitigate air quality issues like those caused by mold. Hmmm. Someone better check the disclosure statement regarding mold issues in this home. If not there, maybe someone should ask the owner why these components are needed. Both of these components will qualify as red flags for mold growth in this home.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - Settlement Issues - 9.15.10

2010-09-15T01:45:00.000-07:00

Settlement Issues.

Settlement around the outside of a home can show up in many different ways when a HABITEC Home Inspector is conducting a Home Inspection in Nashville and throughout Middle Tennessee. Look at the picture below. Can you see an indication of settlement at this front porch?

HINT: Despite all the hype lately about the "green movement", going green is not always a good thing when talking about a home.

In the view above look across the front brick steps at the color changes. Now look below at the closeup of the left corner of the entryway. Hmmm. Now something is suspicious. Why is the brick so green?

ANSWER: So what we have here is an area where water pools due to the negative slope in front of the house. Negative slope is when the grade, and hence rainwater, runs towards the house. Due to the way this sidewalk has settled and the water that is trapped in this corner when it rains, a green fungal growth has started to grow. In fact the fungal growth has started to grow up the side of the house. Not good. The fix here is to repair the slope of the walkway and grade in front of the house so that the grade slopes away from the house at least 6" over the first 10'. Otherwise, this condition is only going to get worse.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - When Should You Repaint Exterior Components of Your House? 9.14.10

2010-09-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Re-Painting your house. When should you do that?

When is it time to repaint your home? Depending on many circumstances such as where you live and what kind of paint you use, the need to repaint can vary. At other times, you can just inspect the paint on your home and make a judgement call. Look at the picture below of a home front porch. Take particular note of the roof support posts in the foreground. From this distance do you think they need to be repainted?

HINT: If you can see what is behind the paint, it is time to repaint.

In the view above things look pretty good, right. So let's move in a little closer. See the pic below. Hmmm. Now something is suspicious. What are all those cracks?

In the pic below we see a closeup of a vertical crack in the paint and some of the many horizontal cracks in the paint. Clearly water can penetrate this vertical crack.

Another closeup below shows more cracks on these posts. And look in the middle. You can see a rectangle of missing paint material and the wood post behind.

ANSWER: Clearly, at this close-in picture you can see that these posts need to be resurfaced. Unfortunately, these posts have been allowed to deteriorate so far that simply re-applying more paint probably won't work. The old paint probably needs to be scraped down/off and the post wood needs to be coated with a primer before re-applying two coats of exterior paint. And next time, the homeowner should be more proactive and not allow the exterior paint to deteriorate this far before re-painting.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - Chimney Cap Failure - 9.13.10

2010-09-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

Chimney Cap Failed

Imagine you are a HABITEC Home Inspector walking around the outside of the house as you start a Home Inspection. As you walk past the chimney you look up at the top of the chimney and see what is in the photo below. Hmmm. That's different. Probably should make a mental note about that and check it out when on the roof. What do you think it is?

HINT: Chimney caps are notariously famous for coming apart. Especially in older homes. Buyer beware!

ANSWER: The worse case scenario. After later getting out onto the roof, below is what you see. And it's not pretty.

And the closeup below confirms the condition of the cap. It has failed and needs immediate repair.

Makes you wonder why someone left it in this condition.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspector - Staircase Dimensions - 9.13.10

2010-09-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

Staircase Dimensions

Staircases seem to always be a part of Nashville Tennessee Home Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC. In older homes staircases can present a problem when it comes to dimensions. Look at the picture below. Does this look OK?

HINT: You are looking down the staircase leading to a basement in a house about 100 years old.

The pic below is a closeup of the stairs while standing in front of the stairs in the basement.

ANSWER: It is hard to know for sure without using a tape measure, but these stairs are very steep and therefore present a falling hazard. Look at the pic below to see the measurement of the step rise. Almost 9 inches!

The pic below shows the step run, or horizontal measurement. Less than 8"!

Proper step rise and run dimensions are shown below in a drawing from Code Check. Most municipalities use IRC numbers. In this staircase described above, both dimensions are wrong. If either measurement is inadequate the Client for the Home Inspection needs to know because this presents a safety hazard. When both dimensions are wrong, this is a serious falling hazard. So the answer is NO, this is not OK.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Tennessee Building Inspector - Roof Penetrations Gone Wild! 9.9.10

2010-09-09T18:56:00.003-07:00

Roof Penetrations Gone Wild!

Tennessee Commercial Building Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, can include a inspection of the roof, if accessible, and any roof penetration we may find there. Sometimes we find some very interesting ones. Look at the picture below. What happened here?

HINT: Roof Penetrations Gone Wild!

The pic below is a closeup of the fungal growth that has developed under this penetration flashing.

ANSWER: This is a strange case involving a loose roof membrane that allowed water and debris to collect near and under the roof penetration flashing. The fungal matter appears to have grown so much that it has pushed the flashing up! Clearly this needs immediate attention.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Tennessee Building Inspector - ADA Compliance - Entry/Exit Doors - 9.9.10

2010-09-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

ADA Compliance in a Commercial Building Inspection

Tennessee Commercial Building Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, can include a Tier II Abbreviated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Survey as part of the Property Condition Assessment. Among the many components of this Survey one of the main components is the entrance(s)/exit(s) to the building. Look at the picture below. Does this entrance/exit looks like it complies with ADA guidelines?

HINT: Think about turning a wheel chair around in a circle.

ANSWER: The answer is NO, this entrance/exit does not comply with ADA guidelines. When there are two main entry/exit doors mounted in a series, as these are, the minimum recommended space between the doors is 48", including the width of any door swinging into the space. In this case, the first door, when exiting from the interior, swings in towards the space between the doors. This would encroach on that space making it very difficult to turn a wheel chair. To comply with ADA guidelines both sets of doors should have been mounted to open away from each other.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Mold Inspector - Mold on a Concrete Block Wall, Is That Possible? 9.9.10

2010-09-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Mold on a concrete block wall? Is that possible?

Tennessee Mold Assessments/Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, can find mold-like material in the strangest of places, like on a concrete block wall. Look at the pic below. How did this happen?

HINT: For mold to grow it needs moisture, food and a surface to grow on. Why does this mold-like material follow the lines of the concrete block wall? And if this is mold, where did the moisture come from?

The closeup below confirms we are looking at mold-like material. So how did this get started?

ANSWER: See the pic below. This is the sympathetic crack outside on this same wall.

The crack went all the way through the block wall and provided a path for moisture intrusion. The wall and paint are the surface and food (along with some dust from the inside and dirt brought in through the crack from the outside) and there you have it, mold growth on a concrete block wall. Not a lot, compared to what can happen on drywall, but mold growth none the less.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Mold Inspection - Window Mold - 9.7.10

2010-09-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Nashville Mold Inspection - Window Mold

Tennessee Mold Assessments completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, involve at first a mold survey (ie. inspection) looking for red flags that provide an indication of mold in the building. One of the red flags is what we call mold-like material. Foreign material that looks suspiciously like mold. Another red flag is moisture found where it is not suppose to be. Look at the pic below. Do you see any red flags?

HINT: For mold to grow it needs moisture, food and a surface to grow on.

ANSWER: Yes, there are red flags for mold growth. In the pic above you are looking down at the interior side of a plate glass exterior window. Look at the close up of the area in the pic below.

You should be able to see moisture (from condensation), food (dust) and a surface to grow on (metal window frame, drywall and caulk). And voila, we have mold growth. In fact lab analysis proved this mold growth to be yeast and cladosporium. Not the more famous species of mold but fairly common in this scenario. This mold should be remediated (removed).

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Tennessee Mold Inspections - What's That Black Stuff on the Garage Wall? 9.6.10

2010-09-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Mold Assessments - Mold-Like Material?

Tennessee Mold Assessments completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, involve at first a mold survey (ie. inspection) looking for red flags that provide an indication of mold in the building. One of the red flags is what we call mold-like material. Foreign material that looks suspiciously like mold. Look at the pic below. Do you see any mold-like material that would qualify as a red flag?

HINT: Black stuff on drywall is mold-like material?

ANSWER: Yes, this is a red flag for mold-like material. In fact if you look around the picture you will see several areas of black mold-like material on this wall. Why is that? Look what the wall is used for. This is a drywall wall in the garage used to hang/store tools, like mops and such. Most of these tools have dirt on them. Some of these tools, like mops, are wet. Mold loves drywall, moisture and dirt. AHA! We have a match. We can call this Mop Mold. Wet dirty tools allowed to remain in contact with drywall is like an incubator for mold. Don't do that. Make sure your tools hang in such a way as to keep the wet part away from the wall. If you don't, get ready for some mold remediation.

(NOTE: Why do we call highly suspicious black material mold-like? At HABITEC, as trained and certified mold assessment technicians, we know that the only true way to confirm if a foreign material is mold is to have a trained mold assessment lab tech look at the material under a microscope. Trying to decide if a mold-like material is truly mold based on your senses of smell or site can be a mistake.)

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Tennessee Building Inspections - Missing Mortar, Where Did it Go?

2010-09-05T19:37:00.001-07:00

Tennessee Building Inspections - Missing Mortar

Tennessee Building Inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, involve inspecting the exterior surface of the building. Sometimes brick or stone exterior surfaces have missing mortar. Where did it go? Look at the pic below. What's could cause mortar to fall out?

HINT: What's that pipe to the right for?

ANSWER: Missing mortar in a close pattern like this is usually a sign of water damage. The pipe on the right is an abandoned downspout. Water from the roof is simply running down the side of the building and has for years. This vertical river has eroded the mortar out of the stone foundation and brick above (not visible in the pic). See the pic below for a closeup of this damage.

These situation can allow water to penetrate into the building and the foundation to collapse. The water management issue should be fixed first, then the mortar repaired.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspection - Why Are the Radon Numbers so High this Year?

2010-09-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Radon Numbers High this Year? Why is that?

Have you noticed an increase in radon gas measurements and/or radon tests failures this winter? Don't feel alone, everybody has. At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, providing home inspections and radon tests in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, we have seen the same thing. Why is that?

Simply put, the weather this past winter created a perfect storm for elevated radon measurement results. The EPA recommends testing for radon in the winter anyway, because winter is the time of the year when radon gas measurements should be at their highest. But this year was something not seen in a long time. The reason, the weather. This cold and wet winter season we had produced what I call a perfect storm for radon. An incubator, if you will, for elevated radon measurement results.

First the temperature. Despite all the pundits who claim we are in a period of global warming, the winter of 2009-2010 was colder than average. Colder temps mean more heating of our homes and buildings. Heating our buildings creates something called the "stack effect". The stack effect is when the hot air we use to heat our buildings rises up inside the building. When it does it pulls air from the lower areas of the building such as the basement or crawl space. Regardless, this pull of air draws air from below the building into the home to replace the rising hot air. This air that is drawn in can have radon gas and there you go, you have your stack effect and increased radon gas measurements.

Then along comes the rain or snow, and we had a lot of that in most parts of the country this year. Moisture in any form that saturates the ground causes the ground to swell. Any cracks or openings that were in the ground before can swell shut. Vapors in the ground, including radon gas, will try to escape the ground using the path of least resistance. If the ground swells shut, that path of least resistance may now be in your crawl space or below your basement. And there you go, you have an increase in radon gas penetration into the building.

Many realtors have reported higher than normal radon measurment values this winter and one realtor said every home she sold had radon gas measurements that exceeded EPA guidelines. All of them! Now you know why.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspection - Toilet Leaks, How Bad Can it Be?

2010-09-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Toilet Leaks, How Bad Can it Be?

What happens when a toilet leaks below the toilet? Sure, that can be bad, but how bad can it be? Brace for the following pics, because it can be real bad.

WARNING - IF YOU ARE SQUEEMISH, DO NOT LOOK AT THESE PICTURES!

In the pics below the wood has rotted and mold-like material has developed, the metal support structure has rusted significantly, and stalactites of waste material have grown on the framing. This is a situation out of control and in need of immediate repair.

Below is a closeup of the rotted wood and stalactite of bacteria.

The following picture is from the other side of the last pic, showing the rusted framing, rotted wood and unfortunately, the stalactite of bacteria.

And the last picture is of the mold-like material growing on the dropped ceiling tile.

Obviously, this toilet leak has created a problem that has gotten out of hand. This is why, at HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, offering home and commercial building inspections in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, we have virtually zero tolerance for loose toilets. Immediate attention is required in this case.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Building Inspection - 100 Year Old Church

2010-09-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Nashville Building Inspection - Church Inspection

HABITEC COMPLETES PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF 100 YEAR OLD CHURCH

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, (http://habitecinspections.com) is pleased to announce the completion of a Commercial Building Property Condition Assessment (PCA) on a 100 year old 10,000 square foot Church! The PCA was completed by Ron Rittiner, Chief Inspector and Business Manager, Richard Acree, President and Rick Cozby, Associate Inspector at HABITEC. Ron Rittiner was the Inspector of Record.

The original concrete block framed building was constructed in approximately 1900 with an annex added to the rear of the Church in 1951. The original sanctuary is capable of seating approximately 250 people and there is a basement below for a fellowship hall. All major systems were inspected including the roof, exterior shell, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. The HVAC system consisted of one furnace for the sanctuary building and wall mounted electrical heat units for the annex. The electrical system is a 3-phase surface mast mounted system.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspections - Bathroom Fan Venting

2010-09-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Bathroom Fan Venting

Recently I read an article on Realty Times by Pheobe Chongchua that said that Bathroom Remodels Become More Popular, compared to other renovations. It is an interesting article and made one point that I especially liked as a Home Inspector in Nashville. In note 4 she is talking about bathroom fans and she say, "but bathroom ventilation systems that exhaust to the outside are vital". This I really liked!

One of the common issues we find in attics is bathroom fan vent lines that terminate either to the inside of the soffit or to the attic itself. Both situations are bad! See the pic below.

This situation can and has caused mold growth to start in the attic and spread elsewhere inside the house. HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, recommends that all bathroom fan vent lines terminate at the exterior of the house.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspections - Where is the "Wall" at Wall Street?

2010-09-03T18:32:00.001-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Wall Inspections - Where is the "Wall" at Wall Street?

At Nashville Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we are frequently involved in the process of inspecting walls of a home or building. So one day on a recent trip to NYC, I went looking for one of the most famous walls in the world, the wall that gave Wall Street its name. Hence the blog - Where is the wall at Wall Street?

If you ever go to Manhattan you might want to take a walk down Wall Street. Long the center of the financial world, Wall Street looks like many other streets in New York City. Large and very tall buildings lining a wide paved road. See the pic below. But wait, where is the wall? How did Wall Street gets its name?

Fortunately, and perhaps for security, several blocks of Wall Street are closed to vehicular traffic and only pedestrians can use the space. There is where you will find the secret to the name "Wall Street". Dotting the center of Wall Street are several dark wooden rectangles cut off flush with the street. See the pic below.

Below is a closeup picture of one of these wooden rectangles. Look closely and you will see that you are actually looking at a cluster of wood posts stood vertically on end and cut off now flush with the street. What could they be?

Fortunately, near the center of Wall Street, there is a placard explaining what the rectangles were for and, hence, the history of "Wall Street". See the picture below.

Its a little hard to read, but what it is saying is that the original "Wall" that gave this street it's name, was constructed in 1653 out of wood logs that were fastened to wooden pillars. So the clusters of wood posts you can still see are the remnants of the original wood pillars for the wall.

The wall was built by Dutch settlers as a defensive position for the border of then New Amsterdam. The Dutch settlers built the wall to protect themselves from the threats from Indians and pirates. The wall stretched from the banks of the Hudson River to the East River. The path that developed on the back side of the "Wall" became a commercial thoroughfare and eventually was named Wall Street. And now you know how Wall Street got its name!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

The Freedom Tower - Ground Zero Rising

2010-09-03T18:28:00.001-07:00

The Freedom Tower - Ground Zero Rising

If you get a chance to go the New York City you might want to stop by Ground Zero to see what's going on. Below is a pic of one of the new buildings going up on the site of the former World Trade Center. This is what can be seen above the ground. There is a large portion of the underground components of the new World Trade Center that is difficult to see when walking around the site.

Below is what the main building will look like when it is out of the ground at the site. This building is called the Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center. Should be beautiful!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC

http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections blog at ActiveRain, WordPress and Blogger and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also follow HABITEC on Facebook or Linked. Thank you!

Nashville Home Inspection - Chimney Cap Issues

2010-09-03T18:19:00.001-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Chimney Cap Issues

Chimney Caps are sometimes difficult to see from the ground. But from rooftop, like we see in a Nashville area home inspection, they are easier to see and a lot can be learned from that view. Look at the pic below of the chimney cap. What's wrong with this picture?

HINT: Where is the rain water going to go?

The picture below is from the same house, different chimney. A modified damper has been installed but the concrete chimney cap has broken and some parts have departed.

The pic below is a closeup of the chimney cap above. See how the concrete is very loose. Water from rain will easily flow by and down inside the chimney.

In both situations the water will run down inside the chimney and damage the fireplace components with rust and weaken the mortar for the brick fireplace. The mortar will then fall out, leaving gaps through the brick hearth to the wood structure behind the hearth walls. Heat, flame, ashes, and smoke then has a direct gap to follow outside of the hearth. This is called a secondary chimney and is a fire hazard.

So not only is a missing or broken chimney cap a problem for water intrusion, these situations can also damage the fireplace hearth and create a fire hazard. This needs repair before fires are attempted in this fireplace.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Home Inspections - Closet Light Clearances

2010-09-03T17:52:00.001-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Closet Light Clearances

Light bulbs in a closet can be very helpful. So what's wrong with this picture?

HINT: Light bulb temperatures can reach 150 degrees!

ANSWER: Incandescent light bulbs in closets should be enclosed in a protective bulb and maintain minimum spacing to combustibles. Failure to do so has been blamed for a tragic fire that killed 5 people in the Seattle area recently. In that situation a foam mattress is believed to have come in contact with a light bulb. Notice how close the pillows are to the light in this closet. Too close. The surface glass of a 60 watt incandescent light bulb can reach 150 degrees! That's HOT! Even if it is enclosed in a protective globe, minimum distances to combustibles still apply. See the recommended spacing guidelines offered by Code Check below.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

2010-09-03T17:33:00.001-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Mold and the Empty House

Lately the issue of mold and the empty house has come to the forefront in Nashville area home inspections. Unfortunately because there are obviously a lot of empty houses on the market.

The problems come when the owner, an individual who has moved already, or a bank, thinks it is a good idea to turn the HVAC off to save money on utilities. WRONG! The reason is humidity. Especially in the warmer summer months. Remember a primary component of the air conditioning process is to dehumidify the air, versus cooling the air. If you turn the A/C OFF during the warm months, humidity in the building will skyrocket. Guess what comes next. MOLD. Lots of it! At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we have seen this a lot this summer. Plus, no one is around to realize what is going on.

So what you should do? If you own or represent the seller of an empty house, make sure they leave the A/C turned ON to some reasonable level. At least no higher than 80 degrees when using the A/C. We want to avoid what you can see in the pic below!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Building Inspections - Roof Drainage Systems - 9.2.10

2010-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Nashville Building Inspections: Roof Drainage Systems

Nashville area building inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, involve inspecting the roof drainage systems. These systems are critical to maintain the condition of the foundation and avoid issues with mold. Look at the pic below of a downspout to extension system at a Church. What's wrong?

HINT: Two things need to be mentioned to the Client.

ANSWER: First, it should be apparent that the downspout-to-plastic extension connection has separated and should be repaired. Failure to do so will allow water from the roof to be deposited at the foundation wall. This defect is known to cause foundation movement and resultant structural failure as well as water intrusion into crawl spaces and basements.

What may not be so apparent is the open plastic underground drain pipe in the background and below the downspout. What's up with that? Some may think this is there to catch the downspout water, which was true at one time. Originally the downspout connected to an underground drainage system that carried water away from the building to hopefully a functioning termination point. But, in this case, that underground system has been abandoned and the above ground extension has been installed to carry the roof drainage away. This is OK, but the Client who is buying this property needs to know that, in addition to the disconnected downspout, there is an underground system present but that it has been abandoned, versus being repaired to work properly.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http:habitecinspections.com

Nashville Home Inspections - Attic Staircases - 9.1.10

2010-09-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Attic Staircases

HABITEC offers home and building inspections in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Almost all home inspections involve an attic staircase. What's wrong with the pictures below?

HINT: Both staircases are in the same home. In the pic below the ladder seems a bit short.

In the pic below the ladder seems a bit too long.

ANSWER: Hmmm! Could it be that they installed them in the wrong locations??!! As in backwards?? What were they thinking??

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Building Inspections - Parking Lot Issues - 9.1.10

2010-09-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Nashville Building Inspections - Parking Lot Issues

Commercial building inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, sometimes involve parking lots. Look at the pic below of a parking stall at an apartment complex. What's wrong?

HINT: Think about pedestrians?

ANSWER: Where will the car stop based on the barrier? Right at the end of the sidewalk for the pedestrians. Look at the photo below to see how that turns out (same lot, different location). And that car could have pulled forward another 2 feet.

What is unfortunate is that sometimes the obvious is not enforced. In this apartment complex, the pedestrians were left to fend for themselves. The barriers need to be repositioned and fastened to the pavement to prevent inadvertent movement and allow pedestrians unimpeded access to the parking lot. Think about young children and elderly trying to maneuver around this car out to the lot. This car makes that difficult for those people. At least in these cases there are still markings on the pavement as to where the barriers were originally placed. Shouldn't be too hard to make this right. Now look at the pic below for another situation.

In this case, a barrier is needed but was never installed. That green box in the grass is an electrical component. Look at the car on the left. If that car was parked in the space in front of the box, it would probably have hit it. That could be interesting! In this case a new barrier needs to be installed.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Home Inspection - Plumbing Issues - 9.1.10

2010-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Nashville Home Inspections - Plumbing Issues - 9.1.10

Nashville home inspections completed by HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, sometimes find multiple issues at the same device. Look at the pic below of components of a hot water heater. What's wrong?

HINT: Two at a time saves the Inspector time?

ANSWER: It is easy to focus on the corroded and damaged shutoff rotary handle in the background. And rightfully so. Who would want to grab that handle in even a maintenance situation, not to mention an emergency due to a leak. The handle should be replaced. But what is subtle is the missing TPR valve drain pipe in the foreground. Every TPR valve needs a suitable drain pipe that terminates with 24" of the floor and not within 6" of the floor. If someone is working in the area of this TPR valve and the valve releases hot water under pressure, that can cause a nasty burn. A drain pipe also needs to be installed.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Home Inspection - Settlement Issues

2010-08-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

Nashville Home Inspection - Settlement Issues

When completing home inspections in the Nashville area, HABITEC Home and Building Inspectors check the service entrance conductors for proper attachment to the exterior meter panel or main panel. Look at the pic below. What's wrong?

HINT: Settling soil can be a powerful force.

ANSWER: Settlement around the foundation can do a lot of damage. In this case, settlement of the soil at the foundation wall has pulled the service conductor conduit down and out of the electrical panel to which it was originally attached. Now the cable is exposed and it should not be. This needs to be fixed. And yes, the open knockout on the right panel should be closed as well.

Thank you,

Richard Acree
http://habitecinspections.com

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspector - New REALTOR Training - Home Construction

2010-08-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

What are new REALTORS taught about home construction? I have been asking around lately and the answer is the same, and its surprising! NOTHING!

Sure, new REALTORS appear to get ample training in legal and financial issues, but what about the basics of how a house is put together? How is a new REALTOR ever going to understand the Home Inspection Report if they do not have the basic understanding of how a house is built?

I suggest all new REALTORS should take an entry level course in the following topics regarding Home Construction and Home Inspections. Emphasis should be on terminology, methods, what is required in a Home Inspection, and what is not required.

Basic Home Inspection Requirements - The purpose of this session is to provide the general requirements of a Home Inspection and what is not required by a Home Inspector. Topics covered include an overview of general systems included in a house, the need for a Contract for the Home Inspection, insurance requirements for Home Inspectors, and the Home Inspection Report.

Exterior Surface and Components - The purpose of this session is to review exterior components of the house to include exterior shell material, windows, doors, drainage, landscape material, driveways, walkways, patios, decks, steps, stoops, porches, electrical connection, and plumbing devices.

Interior Spaces and Components - The purpose is to review interior topics common to all interior spaces such as walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and windows and to discuss topics particular to kitchens, bathroom and laundry rooms such as appliances, sinks, showers, toilets, GFCI electrical, drains and ventilation.

Plumbing Systems and Components - The purpose of this session is to review plumbing issues including supply piping, drain/waste/vent system, leak identification, pipe support, faucets and fixtures, plumbing fixtures and hot water heaters. Issues pertaining specifically to kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms are discussed.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning; - The purpose of this session is to review the systems used for heating, venting and air conditioning the structure. Session discusses furnaces, air conditioning systems and fireplaces.

Structure and Foundation; Roof and Attic - The purpose of this session is to discuss how the building structure is constructed looking at the building from the foundation up, into the attic and on the roof. Items covered include materials used, construction methods and installation, ventilation, insulation, water management, the exterior roof coverings and the inside of the attic spaces with special attention as to how the attic components make up the roof and attic ventilation.

Electrical Systems - Purpose of the session is to discuss electrical components including panels, conductors, circuit breakers, outlets, switches, lights, and the grounding electrode system.

Environmental Issues - Radon and Mold - These issues are the most significant issues in most Home Inspections. A one hour course to explain what these issues are and how they can be mitigated would be helpful to all REALTORS.

And guess what! HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, offers just such a course. Please see a description on our website at http://habitecinspections.com/EducationMaterial.aspx. The Radon/Mold course is on the shelf for now, but available if needed. This course is approved for Continuing Education for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee, but not for initial training. In fact, there is no requirement for this type of course for new REALTORS. Do you think there should be?

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Aug 12, 2010 Continuing Education Class Complete for Nashville area REALTORS!

2010-08-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, is pleased to announce the completion of another 6 hour course in Continuing Education for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee! Thursday, August 12, 2010, 29 REALTORS participated in the TREC-approved course for Tennessee Home Inspection. Lunch was served by a local mortgage company and comments after the class indicated that the REALTORS had a good time and learned some new things about Home Inspections!

Information about this course is available on our website at http://habitecinspections.com/EducationMaterial.aspx. References for this particular class include the following:

Susan Diebolt, 497-4344, susan@thedieboltgroup.com
Danielle Hagar, 429-7333, danielle.hagar@crye-leike.com
Sherita Hill, 397-3871, sherita.hill@crye-leike.com
Carol Horan, 370-1303, carolhoran@comcast.net
Annette Hutchinson, annette.hutchinson@crye-leike.com
Billie Lewis, 373-2044, lewisb@crye-leike.com
Martha Sloan, 330-1771, sloanm@crye-leike.com
Mykalynne Taylor, 419-9130, tnhousehunter@gmail.com
Jon Young, 403-8254, jon@thinkyoungrealtors.com

Please contact me or Ron Rittiner at 376-2753 if you would like to schedule this course for your office or organization.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Nashville Home Inspection - Attic Stairs - What's Wrong With This Picture? 4/16/10

2010-04-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

(Welcome to the HABITEC Blog at BlogSpot. If you are looking for the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, website please click on http://habitecinspections.com. Thank you!)

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Now onto the blog! What's Wrong With This Picture? HINT: I am taking the picture from inside the attic looking down at the attic stairs coming up into the attic. The attic furnace is behind me.

Answer: Now imagine you are the HVAC tech coming to work on the furnace or a homeowner carrying personal items into the attic for storage. How do you get to the furnace or landing area, shown in the foreground, without crossing over or near the attic entry opening? Precariously at best. And if you are carrying anything like tools or a box of Christmas decorations, all the more dangerous. The stairs are installed backwards. They should have been installed so that the top of the staircase terminates at the flooring in the foreground of the pic. And guess what. It's a brand new home!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the BlogSpot and Blogger network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspection - What's Wrong With This Picture? 3/18/10

2010-04-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

(This is the HABITEC Blog at BlogSpot. If you are looking for the HABITEC website, please click on http://habitecinspections.com)
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Now onto the article: What's Wrong With This Picture?

HINT: Another foreclosed home. When do you think the roofer found about that?

ANSWER: The roofer probably found about the foreclosure just before he installed the final roof ridge vent. As a show of professionalism, at least he covered the opening into the house at the ridge. In this case the roofer just hammered down a few shingles and left the rest sitting on the roof. An easy fix, but an ugly testament to the times we live in.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Blogger network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspection - What's Wrong With This Picture? - 3/29/10

2010-04-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

(Welcome to the HABITEC Blog at Blogger. If you are looking for the HABITEC website please click on http://habitecinspections.com. Thank you!)

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Now onto the article. What Is Wrong With this Picture??

HINT: Just do it? Works on the track, not in a house.

ANSWER: I don't really have an answer for this, except maybe "Just don't do it?!" But for those who cannot see it clearly, yes, that is a NIKE shoe box used to complete a line of HVAC. The box and a tube of caulk! :(

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Blogger network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspection - HVAC - 4/3/10

2010-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to HABITEC at BlogSpot. If you are looking for the HABITEC website please click on http://habitecinspections.com.
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Now onto the article.

Those large metal boxes on the outside of a home, like the one in the picture below, are called Package Units. They get the name from the fact that they supply heat and air conditioning to all or some of the house, versus a split unit. A split unit is a HVAC unit that is composed of two parts, an interior furnace and evaporator unit and an exterior compressor unit. A package unit has all those components in the one large unit at the exterior.

At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, offering Home and Commercial Building Inspections in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, we often see issues with these package units during our Home Inspections. This unit pictured below is an older unit and, like a lot of older components in a house, has some issues. This article will focus on one component of the unit, the large metal shroud to the right.

The purpose of this metal shroud is to provide protection from the elements and whatever for the ductwork that runs from the package unit inside the house.

When that ductwork is installed the openings it passes through in the foundation or house wall is rather ragged, leaving gaps that could be a point of entry for rain, insects and other critters. The shroud provides cover and also an opportunity to prevent entry of unwanted things like I mentioned above. The picture below shows a newer unit shroud and how it should look when the installation is complete.

Note how clean and neat the installation is against the brick. No water or insects entering here. Now let's go back to the older unit and get a closeup of the shroud-to-brick installation. See the photo below.

Look how the shroud is actually bent as if it has been impacted by something that maybe fell on it. Regardless of the cause, the situation now is wrong for two reasons. The shroud has been pulled away from the brick at the top and has been bent down so that it holds water and debris now. The openings at the top and sides can allow water, insects and other critters inside the house. And the depression that is holding water and debris becomes a breeding ground for mold. What we call mold soup. This is all wrong and must be flagged in a Home Inspection. Closeups of the situation follow below.

In the photo above if that mold soup gets high enough and flows over into that bend in the shroud, the mold soup can then drip down onto the ductwork that is below the shroud and guess what happens next. Then you have an opportunity to introduce mold to the HVAC ductwork system, which becomes the distribution mechanism to spread mold spores throughout the building. YIKES!!

In the photo below you can see a closeup of the old caulking that was originally installed at the shroud-to-house connection. Not doing much good now.

If the gaps at the sides and bottom of the shroud get large enough, and it doesn't take much, this opening becomes a highway for insects and critters.

Guess what critter is first to enter here and set up a household inside somewhere. Mice. Guess what critter is second. SNAKES! Look at the picture below. That is a snake skin just inside the basement and the metal in the background is part of the HVAC entry system.

So now you know why we grade these shrouds so harshly when we see them with these issues.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the BlogSpot network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspection: What's Wrong With This Picture? 1/27/10

2010-01-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

HINT: None! Everybody knows what's wrong with this picture. The real question is, How do you get it down from there?

Answer: Hire someone who knows what they're doing! Trying to get this down without experience in this kind of work can easily damage the house and cause injury to people involved.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of BlogSpot, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog at www.activerain.com/blogs/habitec, and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors at http://activerain.com/groups/TennesseeHomeInspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspections: What's Wrong With this Picture? 1/25/10

2010-01-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

HINT: A radon mitigation system is suppose to take air/vapor/radon from below the home and transport it to the outside of the home, usually at the roof line.

ANSWER: The idea is to capture the radon gas before it enters the home, including the crawl space. It usually works best if the pipe is under the moisture barrier, not on top of it.

January is National Radon Awareness Month. With all these cold temps we've seen this year, the radon test numbers have been impressively high!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of BlogSpot, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections Blog at www.activerain.com/blogs/habitec, and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors at http://activerain.com/groups/TennesseeHomeInspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.

Nashville Home Inspections: What's Wrong With This Picture? 1/4/10

2010-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

HINT: Well, I suppose I could make a pool out of it??

ANSWER: The Cone of Compression is the area from the base of a foundation extending out and down at a 45 degree angle. The Cone of Compression is not suppose to be disturbed once it is established. Otherwise the Cone can become unstable and start to move. In this picture the foundation for the piers running through the middle of the crawl space of this home has been significantly disturbed. We're not sure why or how this happened to such a significant degree, but you can see where the black plastic moisture barrier has been carried down the hill and into the sink hole. On site the plastic was also starting to be buried under more runoff. If something isn't done soon to stabilize the piers they too will start to slide down into the hole. Then the entire floor house will start to collapse.

Thanks,

Richard

For more interesting blogs like this go to the HABITEC blog on ActiveRain at http://activerain.com/blogs/habitec .

Richard Acree is President of HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC. HABITEC offers Home and Commercial Building Inspections and Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis in Middle Tennessee including Nashville and surrounding counties. Please contact HABITEC at 615-376-2753