When is the right time to schedule a home inspection? Part 1
This post is going to be split into our 3 next posts, one for home buyers, one for home sellers and one for home owners. That’s simply because the answer does change depending on the category you fall into.
Let’s dive into the first category, when is the right time to get a home inspection as a home buyer. As Home inspectors, we get most requests for inspections on weekends. We’re happy to oblige, as we do what is easiest for our clients whenever we can, but we’re not always sure clients understand it can sometimes limit the time they have to follow up on anything they that might be in the report. In a “normal” real estate transaction, you put in the offer with a few contingencies. Financing being the one most people worry about, as most of the time that’s the biggest contingency to worry about. There is also normally a contingency to get out of the transaction if something is found in the home inspection. Depending on how your offer is written, it might be repairs exceeding a certain dollar amount, however it could also be as vague as just unsatisfactory information found in the home inspection.
In both of these contingencies, there is a timeframe that they’re attached to. Again, in normal transactions, the home inspection contingency expires first. In transactions we’ve seen, its not abnormal to have anywhere from 7-14 days to get a home inspection after your offer is accepted, but it will not be a range. For this example let’s use 10 days. That can seem like plenty of time but let’s look at that. You see a home on Saturday, put your offer in on Sunday and it is accepted on Monday evening. Monday is Day 1. Now, I know taking time off work is very difficult and it’s easier to wait for a weekend to schedule your inspection, but it doesn’t give you much time after that. Let’s do that, your Home Inspection is now scheduled for next Saturday, Day 6 into your 10 days.
The Inspection happens and if you booked with Short Notice Inspections, you’ll get your report on that day too, some others might send it the day after or the next Business day. We’re going to our delivery schedule for this example and stay on day 6, instead of pushing it out to the next business day, which would land you on day 8.
You get your report is overall good, but there are some areas where it says you want to further consult with a foundation repair specialist, or a roofer….or a plumber and electrician. Depending on the state of the property, you might be looking at a report that says you should consult all of those people for further evaluation of specific issues. That’s not really what you want to see on a Saturday night and the end of day 6 on your timeframe.
Day 7 is a Sunday and you’re trying to setup appointments for day 8 and day 9 in order to get quotes on the cost of the work to determine if you have the funds available to continue. That is going to add stress into your situation. Not just for you, but also for your real estate agent and the seller's agent as well. Everyone wants the transaction to be stress free and everyone knows it’s one of the most stressful transactions you’ll ever be in.
When is the correct time to schedule your home inspection? As soon as you can after your accepted offer. You want as much time as possible to go over the report, and have conversations about what the right choice is for you to make, based on the information you were provided. That may mean scheduling some more consultations to review repair or correction options, and you don’t want to rush that either. You want time to think rationally and not feel rushed. Sure weekends are easy to schedule things on, but it can put you under some unnecessary pressure. On the flip side of that coin, if there’s nothing found in the home inspection, then you’ve also saved yourself a lot of worrying that something is going to be found. Don’t wait, book your home inspection soon!
All these Tanks…Expansion tanks, Pressure Tanks and Water heaters.
There are a few types of Tanks that are common to see in houses. I say common because not each is necessarily going to be in each house. The one that most people think about is the water heater. Now, more recently there are many times where this is not even seen because tankless water heaters are just as common. I’ll talk a little more about tankless in a bit, but for now, let’s start with traditional water heaters.
Water heaters take cold water and use an energy source to heat it. The energy source may be electric, gas or oil. Oil really comes into it in one situation, which we’ll touch on at the end of this. In gas setups, water comes into the tank and the gas is used to fire up a flame that heats it from the bottom. One telltale sign of this is if your water heater has a flue (exhaust vent) at the top. Some places even require a powered exhaust vent on new installations now. If you’re burning something, the exhaust needs to get out. Once the water’s heated, it stays in the tank until you turn the hot water on at a faucet, and then it pulls it from the water heater. With electric water heaters, it’s actually heating elements inside the tank that will heat the water. This is done without combustion, so there is no need for an exhaust to vent from the water heater. It keeps the water stored in them at a temperature and then turn back on to reheat the water whenever it drops too low or needs to refilled. That is the basics on how gas and electric water heaters work.
Now I mentioned Oil as a potential source too. This is common in situations where there is no actual separate water heater and the heating system boiler is acting as the water heater as well. While a completely suitable setup, you should make sure you stay on top of annual service in this situation as your boiler is providing both heat and hot water. Also not uncommon with this situation, is a water storage tank. This looks like a water heater, but they simply store the water and then recirculate it to the boiler when it is below its storage temperature for reheating. There are actually 2 dead giveaways that they are storage tanks and not water heaters. First, it will not have any power source going to it that is capable of providing enough power to heat the water. You’ll see some small electronics on it sometimes, but nothing that could transfer enough power through it to heat 40 gallons. The second dead giveaway, and this is true of every water storage unit I’ve come across, it says it on the label.
Expansion tanks, or thermal expansion tanks, are another tank to see during an inspection. These are required to be installed on all closed loop water systems; quite frankly they’re not a bad idea to have on all systems to help prolong the life of your plumbing. What’s a closed loop water system? It’s where the water flows one way. If your water is provided by the town or city, you have a backflow preventer or pressure reducing valve on your waterline, it’s a closed loop system. Think of it as preventing water from going backwards because it might contaminate the source if it does. Why is the expansion tank required? Well when you heat water, it expands, creating pressure. That pressure is originating in the water heater and pushing on the water heater tank, which is by design. That pressure can’t be released until you turn the faucet on and call for that hot water, releasing that energy. The expansion tank, installed on the cold water supply side, allows some of that water pressure that is being pushed on to go up into the tank and safely equalize your plumbing lines until that time. That tank is essentially just air, waiting to be displaced with water pressure when needed. If the tank is not there, that water pressure is pushed back onto the water lines.
Pressure tanks for Well water systems are also a common item to see in homes, at least in Massachusetts. These tanks often get confused and mistaken for water heaters. While they store some water in them, they definitely do not heat it. Your well pump turns on and well…that pump is a motor going in there, not a big one like your car, give it a break. It’s sucking up water and pushing it into your house. Once it gets into your plumbing it will be connected almost immediately to the pressure tank. The tanks will be filled with water at the bottom half, and air at the top half. This helps maintain the pressure for the water in your house. While well systems don’t technically require a pressure tank, I’ve never seen an installation without one, nor have I ever spoken to a plumber who works on wells that has not felt they should be there.
While those are the 4 most common tanks to come across, it’s also not uncommon nowadays to see other “tank” looking devices with plumbing attached to them. Water filtering and softening systems are not often confused for these, but they definitely can be if you don’t know what you’re looking at.
As mentioned before, tankless water heaters are also commonplace to see. There does tend to be some confusion on them with a perception vs. reality in terms of the use. I remember a time when they were more being advertised as “On Demand” vs tankless. It is true that they heat water on demand. You turn the hot water faucet on and the tankless water heater turns on to heat the water and send it over to you. However, it does still take time for the water heater to heat the water. On demand does not equal instant in this situation. That being said, tankless water heaters tend to be more energy efficient because they’re not keeping a large amount of water at the set temperature.
Why the Material, Bends & Distance of a Dryer Vent Matter
Most people are familiar with the flexible, ribbed metal vent for the dryer. And even though you keep up with removing the lint from the dryer trap after every load, some still gets through to the vent pipe itself. Overtime, these bits turn into balls or even clogs. This is what leads to a potential fire hazard.
As the heat builds up from the dryer running, the clog is unable to allow the vent to function. Therefore, the perfect dry and hot conditions are just waiting for the spark to ignite in the confined space. To help prevent the crevices for lint to get caught in the vent pipe, a rigid metal vent is recommended to be used. The use of screws or anything that will penetrate the pipe is not recommended when installing them as lint can also get caught on these.
So, why are the distance the vent pipe travels as well as the bends it takes important? The maximum length of 35 feet is the furthest distance most dryers are capable of pushing out the exhaust. Otherwise, you’ve got a pipe full of lint once again.
Next, are how 45-90 degree bends and vertical climbs can have an effect on exhaust capabilities and lint trapping as well. By standards, for every 45° angle, the distance the pipe can be from the dryer is shortened by 2.5 feet. For every 90° bend, the length is shortened by 5 feet. So, if you have one 45 and two 90’s, your distance can only be a maximum of 22.5 feet from the dryer to the exterior of the structure. As for the vertical climb, lint is not lighter than air…
Oh, and please do not put screens over the exhaust point because, once again, this will trap lint.