Reuben's Home Inspection Blog

Tankless water heaters are sexy.  They take up less floor space, they provide an endless flow of hot water, they're environmentally conscious... and they're really expensive.   If you enjoy showing off your home's mechanical equipment to your friends or you're in to being green at any cost, get a...

About six months ago, I tested out a product for StayDry Systems, called a Deluxe Shower Curtain Kit.   This is a solution for people that don't like water splashing out of their shower curtain and rotting their sub-floor and walls.  While a standard shower door would accomplish this, some people...

Will your home inspector tell you if your electric service is too small? While it goes beyond the scope of a home inspection to perform load calculations, occasionally I'll do a rough calculation if I get concerned that an electric service is too small for a house.  If the service size from my ro...

You're all set to try out your new whirlpool.  You've lit your candles, you're turned on some Enya, you've poured yourself a glass of wine, you cleaned the gunk out of the jets last week, and you've filled your tub with hot water... oh wait.  Your tub is only halfway full, and you're out of hot w...

Have you ever turned on a whirlpool and seen a bunch of nasty black gunk shoot out of the jets?  I've heard it's either mold or some kind of bacteria that feeds off dead skin cells.  Personally, I don't care what the stuff is - it's gross no matter what.  If the water in the circulation piping si...

There's a prevailing myth in the real estate industry that a townhouse inspection is far easier than a single family home, takes less time, and uncovers fewer defects.  False, false, and false.  When we quote a price for a townhouse inspection, we always quote the inspection fee exactly as we wou...

While everyone thinks about gutters being one of the most important aspects of maintaining a dry basement, gutters can also play a major role in preventing water intrusion at the exterior of the home. As water drains off the roof and hits hard surfaces next to the house, such as decks and patios,...

I'm not a fan of gas log fireplaces because they waste energy and they're a potential safety hazard.  These fireplaces start out as wood burning fireplaces, but at some point someone decides that building a wood fire is too much work and artificial firelogs are ugly, so they have a gas log instal...

The two most common issues I find with overhead power lines during home inspections are trees rubbing up against them and exposed contacts that present an immediate shock hazard. When I find either one of these conditions, I recommend repair. The question that always follows is “Who’s responsible...

I don't know where this idea got started, but there's a rumor goin' round that artificial firelogs are bad for your fireplace.  This is a myth.  Artificial firelogs are not bad for your fireplace; in fact, they're cleaner, safer, easier, and cheaper than regular wood.  Artificial firelogs are als...