South Charlotte 411: July 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Air Condition Problem Found on Charlotte Home Inspection

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin was inspecting a home in Waxhaw NC when he noticed the pan was full of water meaning the primary line was clogged up. The primary line usually clogs when the filter hasn't been changed in a long time. What happen then is that air that is unfiltered gets around the filter and into the coil which winds up in the condensation line. The condensation line then clogs causing and overflow into the pan.

There are many home inspection companies you can choose from when you need a home inspector in Charlotte NC. Let me tell you why Home Inspection Carolina is your best choice. These guys have over 100 years of combined home inspection and construction experience. They fix the small things like rubbing doors and sticking windows instead of putting them on the home inspection report like other home inspectors. They have a preinspection program designed to help you sell your house by offering you a discount on the inspection and providing you with multiple copies of the report to give out. They also put out a just inspected sign in the yard of your Charlotte NC home. Home Inspection Carolina then sends out a "just inspected" email to their data base. They like to think of it as a premarketing inspection instead of a prelisting inspection.

Two new things that Home Inspection Carolina has started doing are home maintenance videos and customer coupons. They have a large library of home maintenance videos on youtube so they link to these within the appropriate points in the report. They also have established relationships with many vendors and contractors that allow them to give coupons to their home inspection clients. The idea is to provide am entertainment book or citi pass book for new homeowners. These are just some of the benefits of using Home Inspection Carolina. If you are buying a home near Charlotte NC call them today.

Home Inspection Carolina

(704) 542-6575

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Charlotte Home Inspector Reveal Reason for Water Stain

Charlotte home inspector Chip Sprague of Home Inspection Carolina was inspecting a home off of Stonehenge Ln in Charlotte NC when he discovered a stain around on of the registers. You may notice on of these in your home even when it hasn't rained for some time. It actually looks worse or wet when it's hot. Here is what is going on here. The insulation is not sealed real well on the end of that register. The metal nipple for that register/duct gets really cold and without insulation it will begin to sweat and that water will just run down onto the drywall. The bottom line is that you have to get more insulation on that register.

Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina in Charlotte NC has been on HGTV My First Sale. He has also been interviewed by Fox News and is a regular on “Your Real Estate Today” on WBT radio program. He has also taught home inspection continuing education classes for realtors. He has been performing, teaching and consulting home inspections for over 15 years. Home Inspection Carolina has over 10 home inspectors and over a 100 years of combined experience in home inspection and construction. They perform home inspections, termite inspections, Radon testing, and infrared scanning in Charlotte, Gastonia, Waxhaw, Monroe, Matthews, Concord, Huntersville, Denver and many surrounding areas. Call Home Inspection Carolina and let them put their experience to work for you.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Air Conditioning Problem Found on Charlotte Home Inspection

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin was inspecting a home in the Ballantyne subdivision in Charlotte when he noticed an air conditioning problem. He noticed there was evidence of prior water in the pan and around the pan. You can see the evidence from staining. The pan had rust and salt staining wich came from. the block holding up the furnace. What is causing this is that the primary condensation line has clogged up. and caused and overflow into the pan and the pan is also leaking. The primary line needs to be cleaned out and the pan needs to be patched.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Charlotte Home Inspector Discovers Hail Damage

One of Home Inspection Carolina's inspectors was recently inspecting a home in Waxhaw NC when he noticed several pits and nicks in the shingles on a roof that was less than 5 years old. So upon futher investigation the inspector noticed that several other roofs in the same neighborhood had been replaced recently. When the inspector added all the clues up together he deducted that his Waxhaw home had hail damage. It is good that the home inspector realized this when he did because it was still under coverage of the current home owner. If they had went ahead and bought the house then their insurance would not cover it and the other insurance company had canceled their policy at this point so they would have had to have paid for their own roof.

Hail Damage Found on Charlotte Home Inspection

Charlotte Home Inspector Discovers Leak Around Flue

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin was inspecting a home in Waxhaw when he noticed a bucket under the elbow of a flue pipe in the attic. What is happening is that water is coming down between the flue flashing and the flue. There is some caulk there but it is obviously failing because water is leaking down and when it gets down to the elbow it was dripping down on to the ceiling and creating a stain. The home owner noticed the leak because of the stain. They put a bucket there for a temporary fix but this cannot be considered a permamant fix. They are going to have to reseal this flue.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Charlotte Home Inspector Says Measure Your Garage

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina in Charlotte NC was performing a home inspection in Waxhax NC when he noticed that he couldn't even walk around the cars while inspecting the garage. From the looks of this car where they fold the mirror back the people who live here have trouble too. Most spaces for a car is '10 x '20. This means that a 2 car garage would be '20 x '20 and a 3 car garage is '30 x '20. When Preston inspected this house he noticed this 2 car garage is less than '20 x '20 and then there is a set of stairs that come down into that so it cuts it down even more. This makes it extremely tight and these owners only have medium size cars. Imagine if they had big SUV's. The moral of this story is when buying a home or inspecting a home measure your garage and measure your cars and make sure you will have room to move around them.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Charlotte Home Inspector Explains Downside of Closed Crawl Spaces

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin was recently inspecting a home in South Charlotte with one of the new sealed crawl spaces when he noticed a problem. The problem was that their was water standing on top of the plastic. Another word water was on the wrong side of the sealed crawl space. The cause of this water was a malfunctioning pump on the condensation line. Now because the crawl is sealed the water has nowhere to go except up into the wood where we don't want it. Normally I am a big fan of sealed crawl spaces but the downside is that if water gets in somehow it can't get out.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Charlotte Home Inspector Finds Termite Damage on Charlotte Home

A Home Inspection Carolina inspector found quite a bit of termite damage on this Charlotte home. The termites had eaten through the band sill and the ledger boards. This has compromised the the structural integrity of the structure. Have you been under your house lately? If not call Home Inspection Carolina to check out your crawl space today.

Damaged Floor Joists Found on Charlotte Home Inspection

While performing an inspection in South Charlotte a Home Inspection Carolina inspector found there was moisture damage at the rear band sill because the deck wasn't flashed properly. If the deck isn't flashed properly water gets trapped in behind the wood and causes rot like your see here. It wasn't as obvious while the deck was still there but became more obvious once it was removed.

Structural Problems Revealed on Charlotte Home Inspection

While performing an inspection near Ballantyne, Home Inspection Carolina inspector Preston Sandlin found many structural cracks that went beyond the normal settlement cracks. Several of these cracks had differntation and movement. These foundations have moved due to poor drainage. If you are worried that you might have foundation problems and are in need of a home inspection Call Home Inspection Carolina today.

Charlotte Home Inspector Has Xray Vision

Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin has something like xray vision in the form of a an infrared camera. The infrared camera scans the surface temperature of everything and he can tell if there is an anomally. If there is an anomally there might be a moisture leak or missing insulation. In this picture there was a leak in the drain pipe coming from upstairs and it was leaking into the wall. It was leaking into the wall from where the microwave was installed . When they installed the microwave a screw was put in through the pipe. Without the infrared camera the inspector would never have seen this.