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Preston Sandlin

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Psychic Charlotte Home Inspector Predicts A New Roof In the Future

05-14-09
Preston Sandlin

Psychic Charlotte Home Inspector

I Predict a new roof for this Charlotte Home.

Your first mission is to check the ceiling inside your Charlotte home. There might be a small leak somewhere that'll show up first as a spot on the ceiling. Once your ceiling inspection is completed, it's time to take a little trip into the attic. Unless you have one of those unique house plans (and by "unique" we mean "weird"), your attic should be easily accessed from a hatch that has its own drop-down ladder -- no special indoor Little Giant ladder accessories needed (awwww!). Scamper up there with your flashlight and take a close look at the attic ceiling and supports, especially around the air vents and along the sides of beams. Here's what to look for:

Sagging of the roof deck
Dark spots and trails
Obvious water stains
Outside light visible through the roof

If you see any of these problems, then you'll want to do a extensive roof inspection.

What to look for on the roof

Now's the time to break out your Little Giant. After you extend it to the proper height, make sure it's well grounded and ask someone to "spot" you just as you would in the gym (spotters also great for holding the ladder or, failing that, calling 911). You don't have to get up onto the roof, but you should at least get up there and take a good, hard look. Here's what to keep an eye out for:

Damaged or corroded flashing (the metal sheeting around the chimney and such)
Missing shingles
Curling or blistered shingles
Sagging (indicating problems in the roof deck)
Buckling (when shingles are push up in a "peak")
Algal growth (dark or greenish stains)
Rotten wood
Missing granules on asphalt shingles

Even if you don't see missing granules on your shingles, check your rain gutters. Under all those leaves you should have cleaned out last November you're likely to find a layer of what appear to be dark soil. Some of this may be humus from rotten leaves, but if you encounter lots of coarser, sandy particles, you've probably found your granules. Finally, if you have a roof with wooden shakes rather than composite shingles (an increasingly rare case in these fire-conscious days), then you should also look for splitting and (*shudder*) termite damage.

If you find some of these warning signs, don't despair: by themselves they don't always mean you need a new roof, though you certainly do if all or most are present. Blisters can be popped with a knife and repaired with roofing cement, and damaged, missing, and algae-invaded shingles can be individually replaced. Separations in flashing and small depression near vents and pipes are also easily repaired, either by you or someone you trust. For more information or roof predictions from the psychic home inspector go to http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com or http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com

Preston Sandlin

Charlotte NC Home Inspector

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Charlotte Home Inspector Explains The Difference Between Termites & Ants

05-08-09
Preston Sandlin
As spring comes it is the time of swarmers. Swarmers are the reproductive termites that come out by the thousands after the first few warm Spring days usually after a rain. This usually freaks people out if its inside their house. Ants also have swarmers and the purpose of this video is to show the difference between the swarmer termite and a swarmer ant. In this video Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin shows some real termites and a diagram of the differences between ants and termites. The difference begin with the antennae. A termites antennae is curved while an ants anttennae has a 90 degree angle. Both are insects and have three body parts but the termites waist is wide making it look like it only has two body parts. An ant has three very distinct body parts. Then there are the y wings. A termite has four very long wings 3 times the size of its body while an ant has four wings that are just barely longer than the body and the front wings are longer than the back two. If you have any termite or home inspection questions please go to http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com
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Moving Chimney Found During Charlotte Home Inspection

05-08-09
Preston Sandlin
Recently Chip Sprague a Charlotte home inspector was ispecting a house in Charlotte when he noticed the the chimney is on the move. Brick chimnies have their own foundation separate from the house because of the weight of the bricks. The chimney also has flashing and counter flashing where it joins the roof to allow it to settle. The chimney is built to withstand a little settlement. It the foundation is poor or there are tree roots or poor drainage the settlement can go beyond what it was designed for and actually pulls away from the house. This is the case with this chimney that the home inspector found. They are going to have to call a foundation contractor to repair this. http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com/
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Charlotte Home Inspector Finds Leaking Loose Toilet

05-08-09
Preston Sandlin
Charlotte Home Inspector Patrick Waddell found this loose toilet during his home inspection in Charlotte. Tile had been installed causing the toilet to leak. The floor flange is usually mounted on the floor during the original plumbing installation. However, if any additional subflooring (such as a smooth underlayment for vinyl flooring, or additional plywood to stiffen the floor for tile), tile, strip wood flooring, etc. is installed after the flange, what happens? Right... the toilet is now higher and further away from the flange. The wax ring the installer used may not be thick enough to give a good seal! Sure, it would last long enough for the "check to clear", but the probable seepage will cause problems that will be very severe later on! http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com/ http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com/
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Radon Test At Latta Pavillion by Charlotte Home Inspector

05-08-09
Preston Sandlin
Recently high levels of Radon had been found in Latta Pavillion in Dilworth. They have since installed a Radon Mitigation system. Please see the excerpt from the Charlotte Business Journal below. For mor information about Radon pleas go to http://homeinspectioncarolina.com Watch the vidio to see the results of the Radon test performed the first week in May 2009. In the written statement, the association says it's working with Grubb and Rodgers Builders to find a solution. So far, the focus is on installing fans that would funnel the gas out of the building. The cost: $5,000 per unit, or $1.3 million. Grubb pledges that tenants won't bear any of the expense, but it's not clear who will. Grubb believes a faulty ventilation system designed by FMK is the cause of the radon problems. Not so fast, says Allan McGuire, managing principal at the architectural firm. He says his company designed Latta Pavilion to meet the Charlotte-Mecklenburg building codes, and it was constructed accordingly. "Nothing is unique about the Latta Pavilion system that would allow it to contain radon over other systems we have done." Fong says he's unaware of any similar problem in a building in Charlotte. He's seen a few cases of high readings in buildings in Gastonia and Cherryville where soil conditions are more conducive to creating radon emissions. McGuire says Grubb is ultimately responsible for delivering a safe building. Rodgers Builders executives did not return calls. "It's a weird, perfect storm of strange occurrences that are causing this," says Sandy Kindbom, who heads the uptown office of Allen Tate Realtors. Tate is the primary sales representative for Latta Pavilion and 1315 East Blvd., which was converted to condos from apartments in 2005. Caught up in that storm are condo owners such as Brian Cowman, who moved into his $370,000 Latta Pavilion unit a couple of months ago, before the radon issue came to light. Cowman says he's not concerned about the short-term health impact. He is worried about the potential damage to the value of his unit. "If you have place one and place two and there is an issue at one, you are going to choose place two." There are currently 22 units in Latta Pavilion and the adjacent 1315 East Blvd. building listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service, with prices ranging from $194,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $610,000 for a two-bedroom penthouse. While residents do have a justifiable concern about resale values, North Carolina is a "buyer beware" state, says Thomas Miller, general counsel for the N.C. Real Estate Commission in Raleigh. The state's real estate license law imposes upon real estate agents the duty to disclose material facts about the properties they list. But those rules do not apply to the seller. Still selling In spite of the elevated levels of radon, people are still buying units at Latta Pavilion. Allen Tate's Dilworth office has sold three units in Latta Pavilion since the radon was found. "We have not worked with any potential buyers who elected not to purchase in this community, based on this knowledge," says Jane Richey, the office branch manager. Kindbom says Tate has been discussing the radon issue since it was discovered at Latta Pavilion. She says radon tests are not routine in Charlotte, but adds it's always better to be safe than sorry. "It's a fixable problem that's not terribly expensive," Kindbom says. "My hope is that once this is corrected it will be a nonfactor." Grubb says his company has moved quickly to try to resolve the issue. "We're not trying to hide our head in the sand." He'd like to move forward with a mitigation plan that includes the fan installation in each unit over the next couple of months. "We'll have to work through whether this is a design issue, construction materials or an engineering issue. That part won't be fun." GETTING A READ ON RADON What is it? Colorless and odorless radioactive gas formed in rock and soil. How does it get in your home or business? Leaks into basement or crawl space from exposed soil, rock. Also is present in building materials such as natural stone or rock. How dangerous is radon? The EPA says radon causes 100 times more deaths than carbon monoxide poisoning. It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. How to check? EPA-certified radon test kits are available for $20 from hardware, discount stores. How do you cut levels? Seal cracks, openings to prevent from entering via soil; ventilation to carry gas out of a building. http://www.charlottenchomeinspector.com http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com/
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