Is your Gas Fireplace Safe?

As a Delaware Home Inspector I take my inspections very seriously, Read more

Leaking Front and Rear Door

In this video I show you from the underside of the front door what happens when water enters the underside with out you ever knowing it, As this seller found out. Sometimes the damage can be Minor or other times it can be a major problem as was the case for this house.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Schedule online or give us a Call today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Is Your Vent System Safe?

As a Delaware Home Inspector we see all kinds of things during a routine home inspection. While inspecting the heater and hot water heater I came across the vent pipe that was not properly installed. Anytime you have two appliance venting into your chimney the small diameter pipe should be above the large pipe. This is to help prevent carbon monoxide spilling back into your home if the two appliance our running at the same time. In addition if you look at the picture closely you will also see that the heater vent pipe is not properly pitched, It slopes on a downward angle. If the angle is not correct the heater will have to work twice as hard to get the carbon monoxide out of the pipe, This strain could cause the inducer motor and or pressure switch to fail. Notice the rust on the vent pipe for the heater this is caused by condensation build up, the condensation drips onto the pipe from the hot gases.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Schedule online or give us a Call today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Leaking Basement

As a Delaware Home Inspector we see many homes some require only maintenance items to be repaired and others require contractor involvement. On this house the front and rear basement walls have cracks that go all the way thru allowing water to enter the structure, In addition to that the rear entrance door was leaking and damaged. This was one of the homes that require contractor involvement because the cracks will have to be handled a certain way in order for the walls to stop leaking. The heater return air duct was a whole separate issue, The buyer asked if they (seller) could seal that up with spray foam, My reply was no that duct should be taken apart and put back together either with a transition to go around the pipe or move the heater and duct work. The reason is this if the plumbing waste pipe broke not only would you have waste water in the basement but now its in the heater and could damage the motor and controls not to mention think of the foul odor that could permeate thru the rest of the home.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Schedule online or give us a Call today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Leaking Bathroon Sink

I was inspecting a condo the other day and found a bathroom sink that was leaking. When we preform inspections on the plumbing we always fill up the sinks, This is the best way to find leaks. Not every inspection company does this and this is why they get call backs for inspection items missed. You know with our firm you will get a complete inspection of the systems and components in and around your new home.

Click Link below to watch the video

 Leaking Bathroom Sink

 

 

 

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Schedule online or give us a Call today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Pressure Relief Valve Gone Wrong

Is your boiler safe? Not in this house Read more

Unsafe Electrical System

I scheduled a home inspection the other day and when the realtor told me the development, I knew right away that the houses in there have a mix of copper and aluminum wiring. Although there are many mixed feelings about aluminum wiring it is relatively safe for homes if you know how to handle that type of wiring. Aluminum wiring has to be maintained in order for it to function properly in the home. Ok you are probably thinking what does that mean; Well you can only use fixtures and outlets rated for that particular wire. There are warning signs you should be aware of, These symptoms will let you know that there is a potenial problem. Here is a list of the warning signs, Intermittent flickering of lights, Unusual static in the TV or computer, Cover Plates on Switches and outlets that are warm or hot to the touch, Strange odor ( burnt plastic) Circuit breakers or fuses that trip for no reason. If you experience any of these symptoms call an electrical contractor. I would also like to mention that if you do change fixtures in the home that you watch what your purchasing as the newer fixtures should say on them CU-AL which means they are rated for use with either copper or aluminum, Upgrading the aluminum to copper is simple enough to do and you can make these changes without replacing every wire in the home or tearing apart walls and ceilings but I would leave that up to the professionals. In this video, you will see that this seller did not know how to handle the wiring and neither did the person who updated the panel. If left alone this could cause property damage or worse.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Schedule online or give us a Call today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Oil Fired Furnace with Coal and Wood

I have to say, I love what I do. I came across this heater the other day and I haven’t seen one of these in awhile, In this picture is a Oil fired hot air furnace with a wood or coal back up heat. Althought I did find a few problems with the equipment. The combustion chamber for the oil side was pulling away.

The Vent pipe for the heater was not properly pitched. You generally want to see a 1/4inch of rise per foot. Also the pipe was not completely entering the chimney and the entry point was not properly sealed, As this could allow spillage of carbon monixide. This is a safety hazard.

The combustion chamber is made out of steel and lining the firebox in most cases is fire brick. The fire brick is what keeps the fire contained and prevents the cabinet from damage. In this case the fire brick is cracked, This is a safety concern. Imagine what could happen with continuous expansion and conrtaction of the material, It will become brittle and fall apart allowing the flame to damage the outer casing of the furnace. This could be a fire hazard.

The wood and coal side of the furnace has two doors one allows access to the fire box, This is were you put your wood or coal to burn. The other door is below the upper door. This is a cleanout for the ash and or soot. The ash will fall in to a tray that allows for easy cleaning. Both doors have a gasketing material that keeps the door sealed tight. The gasket material is applied with a high temperature adhesive that with stands 2000F. In this case the gasket material needs to be replaced for two resaons first it does not completely cover the door and second the material is worn. This could allow the flame to roll out or even spillage of carbon monixide.

Althought this is an older furnace and there were a few issues that can be easliy corrected the furnace was working fine. As with all of are inspections we evaluate the equipment from top to bottom. We always recommend that the equipment no matter what type of fuel it is burning be serviced atleast once a year to ensure that these things do not go unnoticed, As with anything if you can catch it early enough it will be less expansive to repair and maintain. Plus it will extend the life of the equipment, burn more efficiently and save you money.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Call us today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time!

Services Provided:

General Home Inspection
Radon
Termite
Well Water Testing
Spa

Improper Sump Pump Discharge

I was inspecting a 20yr old house last week and when I entered the home I could smell sewer gases, I thought because the house was vacant for 6 months that it just needed to be aired out. Upon entering the basement I found that the sump pump was dicharged into the main sewer line. This is a big problem for several reasons. 1) The sewer gasses entering the home can make the occupants sick or worse because the gases could contain methan. 2) This is the lowest point so if the sewer line backs up it is heading straight for the sump pump and the the basement floor. It may not back up if there is a back check valve installed, And in this case they did not have one installed. As you see in the picture the home owner removed the clean out cap to allow for the discharge hose, Then they shoved a rag around the discharge pipe to help prevent the odor from entering the home, However that did not work. I was very puzzled by this set up because there is a hole in the foundation wall from the builder to allow for exterior drainage of the sump pump.

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Door Damage

I found this door the other day while I was standing in the kitchen And I wanted to share this. If you look on the upper right hand side of the door you will see the gap. The frame of the door had seperated from the glass causing water to enter the home run down the door and was leaking into the basement. I did not take a picture of the underside or basement area but there was rot to the wood framing members.

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