Denny McAuley

Follow these suggestions to keep mold from growing in your home:

1.Check the exterior of your home regularly for accumulation of ground water. Route water away from the home (this means, routing downspouts and regrading to slope water away).

2. If you ever see bubbling or dampness in a wall, open the wall to see what's causing it.

3. If your house sits above a foundation and there's a heavy rain, put electric fans under the house to dry the ground. Dehumidifying crawlspaces and basements is recommended.

4. Fix leaky faucets, pipes and other leaks as soon as you find them.

5. Have your heating and air conditioning system serviced each year. Keep humidity low in the home during the summer. Do not block crawlspace vent.

6. Clean and dry out wet or damp areas within 48 hours.

7. Keep indoor humidity below 60 percent by venting bathrooms and dryers to the outside (not into the attic or crawlspaces), using air conditioners and dehumidifiers, using exhaust fans or opening windows when cooking, washing dishes or cleaning, and increasing ventilation.

8. If you have a leak that saturates carpet, ceiling tiles, or upholstery, remove them.

9. Use paint that has an EPA-approved mold inhibitor.

10. Clean kitchens and bathrooms with mold-killing cleaners.

11. Don't carpet bathrooms.

12. Don't put vinyl wallpaper on walls that are at risk of sustaining water damage.

Following these simple suggestions can eliminate or greatly reduce the chances of mold in the home.

The importance of proper grading around the home

Proper grading and draining around a home is one of those things that few people see when shopping for a home, and yet it can have one of the most significant impacts on a homes condition and the health of its occupants. As a professional home inspector, I would say improper grading is one of the more common defects I find.

Improper Slope

When the grading of a lot slopes toward the home, it is called negative slope (or improper slope). In times of heavy rain or thaw, negative slopes can allow flooding to occur. Even during moderate conditions, water that runs toward the home saturates the ground around the foundation, which over time will damage the foundation with freezing and the natural corrosive properties of water. Saturation around the home also encourages seepage into basements, crawlspaces and even under slab foundation homes. Seepage can rot wood framing and develop harmful mold problems, and cause excessive floor sweating in slab foundation homes, causing the inside flooring to rot, mold & deteriorate.

Water that freezes is extremely powerful and can lift a whole house, causing significant damage. It would be a mistake to assume that just piling more dirt around the house would solve the problem. Some ouses do not have room below the siding to create a positive slope away from the home by adding more dirt. Covering up the siding with earth or landscaping materials could cause more damage could occur with ground moisture rotting the framing of the house. Or in the case of brick, water seeps into the porous brick then freezes, deteriorating the brick.

Having the ground too close to, or in contact with the siding promotes wood destroying insect infestations as well. So, just applying more dirt around the home is not always the best remedy.

Proper grade

The grade away from the home should not be less than 1 inch per foot of the grade for a distance of about 6-10 feet. If this condition is not possible with the level of the house siding, more serious re-grading and lot swale improvement will need to occur. Sometimes I have inspected homes that were originally built too low on the lot, with elevations that put the house at the bottom of a bowl. Solving these kinds of elevation problems can be expensive and usually involve a landscape engineer.

Routing downspouts

Drain water from gutters far away from the house, making sure the water doesn't run back. It may be necessary to install dry wells or subsurface drains to carry water out to the street or city storm sewer systems. Check annually to ensure the subsurface drains are clear and working properly.

Keep debris away

Debris and glass clippings can retain water and promote seepage and insect infestations.

Sump Pumps

Sump pumps are designed to drain naturally occurring ground water away from the foundation's footer, not necessarily to handle the excessive amount of water run off a normal size roof can shed. If water is permitted to run up against the foundation, the sump pump could be over utilized. If the sump pump fails, the basement or crawlspace could flood pretty quickly. Reliance on your sump pump to effectively discharge the water from a 1/4 acre lot, is well, a little like playing Russian roulette.

Ah, spring time and thoughts turn to yard cleanup, getting outside and "de-winterizing", golf and other outdoor sports. With the melting snow, spring rains and such it can also mean wet basements or crawlspaces. The words are all-too-familiar and many times "blow the deal" between buyers and sellers. But a wet basement or crawlspace does not necessarily mean a significant problem exists. It has been reported that more than ninety-five percent of all houses have had, or will have, basement leakage at some point. If your inspector sites a wet basement or crawlspace, keep a cool head and listen carefully if he or she recommends further investigation.

Identifying the Problem:

The presence of efflorescence, a white powdery mineral deposit on the interior foundation walls, indicates moisture penetration. The severity of the problem, or whether the problem is active, is not indicated by the amount of efflorescence. In other words, just because a basement has efflorescence or stains does not mean it has a current water seepage problem. Other clues are rusty nails in baseboards, rotted wood near floor level, rusted metal feet on appliances, mold and mildew, lifted floor tiles, storage on skids, peeling paint and the presence of dehumidifiers. One home I was in had three old broken dehumidifiers piled in the corner, kind-of-a-clue the seepage had been there for a while.

Corrective Action:

Poor surface drainage is one of the main causes of basement leaks or seepage. The ground should slope away from the house a rate of one inch per foot for at least the first six feet. The gutters and downspout systems must also drain water six feet away from the foundation. If the downspouts are disconnected, too short, broken or clogged, they should be redirected to discharge water above soil grade at least six feet away from the house. Also, gutters should be kept clear of debris, otherwise they may leak water around the foundation and into the home. Downspouts should be placed around the home every 30-40 feet from each other, otherwise a hard rain could overload the downspouts and saturate the soil around the foundation.

Basement stairwells and window wells may allow water to collect. Drains should be provided in the bottom of these. Where there are no drains, plastic dome covers over the window wells allow light into the basement while minimizing water and snow accumulation.

More Extreme Measures:

In the vast majority of cases, basement seepage is not significant from a structural point of view and can be controlled relatively inexpensively, as discussed above. Many older stone foundations have been seeping water for over a hundred years and are still in good condition. However, the presence of foundation cracks, damaged perimeter drainage tiles, a high water table (saturation around the home) or underground streams may call for more extreme corrective measures. These measures are used when chronic flooding occurs.

Sealing foundation cracks can be performed several ways with the cost of repairs varying. The approach taken depends on the specific crack; however, the most successful approach is sealing from the outside (Cost $500 - $900). Urethane or epoxy injection repairs can be done from the interior on poured concrete walls only (cost $300 - $500 per crack). Many companies perform this type of work in northern Illinois and guarantee there work for life.

Excavating, damp-proofing and installing drainage tiles should be used as a last resort. Damp-proofing on the exterior typically involves parging a masonry foundation wall with a one-quarter inch layer of mortar covered with a bituminous or plastic membrane which extends down to the footings.

The drainage tile laid beside the footing is covered with gravel and filter paper. These tiles can often be damaged or clogged by roots and some localized repairs may be required. Because excavating on the exterior is expensive ($8,000 - $15,000 typically), an alternative is an interior drainage system. The cost of this approach is one-third to one quarter the cost of exterior work. There are many cases where this proves satisfactory, although this must be judged on a case by case basis.

Where underground streams and/or a high water table are present, sump pumps are usually required. But for the vast majority of homes built in northeastern Illinois, the lower priced repairs are usually adequate.

Serious structural problems in houses are not very common, but when they occur they are expensive to repair. Some can't be fixed at all. This report won't turn you into an expert, but it will give you some of the common indicators.

Uneven Floors

Uneven floors are typical, particularly in older homes. Here is a trick to help distinguish between a typical home with character and a structural problem. If the floor sags to the middle of the home, it's probably just a charming old home. On the other hand, if the floor slopes toward an outside wall, there is a good chance that the house has significant structural problems.

Leaning House

While no house is perfect, this is one area where you should be very careful. Take a look at the house from across the street. If the house appears to be leaning one way or the other, there may be a structural problem. It may help to line up a front corner of the house with the back corner of an adjacent house just for reference. The corners should be parallel. Stepping back from the house to take a look is always a good idea. It is easy to miss something major by standing too close to it! If there is a lean that is detectable by eye, don't take any chances, get it checked out.

HORIZONTAL FOUNDATION CRACKS ARE BAD

It is not uncommon to find cracks in the foundation, especially poured concrete foundations. This goes for new houses as well as old ones. While there is a great deal of engineering that goes into "reading" these cracks, there is one rule that you should never forget. "Horizontal cracks are a problem". Of course not all vertical cracks are acceptable, but they are generally not as serious as a horizontal crack.

Leaning Walls

A leaning foundation wall is not ideal either, but may not be a significant defect if movement does not appear to be recent. Home Check America inspectors use the 1/3 rule for wall stability.

Harmless Cracks

Poured concrete shrinks as it cures. Shrinkage cracks in a new house are common and can be small vertical cracks or small 45 degree cracks at the basement windows. These cracks are about 1 /8 inch wide or less. They don't affect the structure. The only concern is leakage. If you see small cracks in a new foundation, don't panic. In fact, in a new home, some builders will Pre-crack the foundation and fill the crack with flexible material.

Plaster or Drywall Cracks:

Few things are more misunderstood than plaster or drywall cracks on the inside of the house.

The following crack types are not generally related to structural movement: We call these "stress cracks" or "surface cracks".

• A small crack (less than 1 /8 inch) that follows the corner of the room where two walls meet, or at the ceiling and wall joint.
• Small cracks that extend up from the upper corner of a door opening

The following cracks may be related to structural movement -

• Large cracks (larger than 1 /8 inch in width) or cracks that have deflection (a lip, where one side of the crack is beyond the other side of the crack).
• Cracks that run diagonally across the wall, or in a stair step fashion.
• Cracks on the interior finish that is in the same vicinity as cracks on the exterior of the house.

Structural movement or structural damage cracks can be repaired in a number of ways, such as; building buttresses, pilasters, steel tie-backs, steel channel columns, sister walls, etc. A good inspector can describe these methods to you should the need arise.

I hope this helps new and seasoned home buyers on the issue of cracks in a house.

Get It Together With These 3 Tips
by Terri Cooper
www.realestatemastery.com.au

Tip Number One: Copy Someone Who's Already Getting the Results You Want

As the saying goes: "Success leaves Clues!"The great thing is that to be incredibly successful in real estate, you don't need to re-invent the wheel!

Agents who are consistently making huge commissions right now, have left clues to their success. If you were to study the top real estate performers, you would notice strong consistencies:

These top agents regard themselves as C.E.O.s of their own company. They might work under a franchise banner but they take full responsibility for what happens each day in their business.

They think in terms of solutions rather than problems; of opportunities rather than obstacles. Their motto could be: "If it's to be, it's up to me".

They take credit for their successes and learn from their mistakes. They look on everything as feedback and use this feedback as fuel to propel them forward.

Look for a coach, look for a mentor, look around you in your own office, your suburb and even further afield. You will find that if you are serious and committed, the top agents will always have time to show you the ropes, the clues to their own success.

Tip Number Two: Get a Plan

Take time-out to work "ON" not "IN" your business. Use a friend, a coach, use anyone you know who can help you to clearly articulate your goals. Work out what you would like to earn, how long you want it to take, and the steps you need to take to make this happen. This more than anything will move you forward and will give you the motivation you need to take the necessary action steps to be hugely successful.

Real estate is a numbers game. If you do the right things often enough and consistently enough, you will succeed, it is as simple as that. But you will not succeed if you have no plan. The most exciting thing happens when the goals are your own -- the most important person they benefit is YOU. Your Principal is there to help you and share knowledge, but in the end, it is you and you alone who are responsible for setting your targets and planning your future.

Have a business plan which shows you exactly how much you want to earn this year and exactly how you need to go about it. How many appraisals, how many listing appointments, how many sales etc.? The actual targets are not half as frightening as you think they might be - the most frightening thing is the unknown. This process will clarify your thinking, and keep you on track when things don't go according to plan. As I said earlier, real estate is a numbers game. As long as you focus only on the numbers you will move forward.

Tip Number Three: Get Over It

The last lesson in this mini-series is such an important one for me to share with you. When I first entered the world of real estate sales, this was one of the most important pieces of advice that I received. Everyone is only human - when things don't work out, yes you may get angry, you may feel disappointed and let-down, but the important thing is to give yourself only a limited time to wallow.

You must let it go and move on, otherwise this industry will kill your joy and turn you into a walking bundle of stress (which will not endear you to your clients I can tell you!)

So, to recap: You will be guaranteed of making more sales when you: Consistently model the attitudes and habits of top performers, Get a clear plan, a clear direction with action steps to achieve your goals, and then Continually practice the attitude of being in the moment, learning from the past, but letting go of the disappointments and creating the future as you want it to be!