Why I climb roofs..

This might explain why the walls and ceiling were wet in the office below..

Erol Kartal

Pro Inspect

Home and Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

Home Safety Issues

I find safety hazards in many homes that I inspect, new and old. Here are some of them:

Plumbing: Hot and cold water lines reversed are more common than you think. So are water faucet temperatures exceeding 130 degrees, which is an extreme scalding hazard especially for children. Lower the heat setting on your water heater if needed. A few days ago I took a reading of 148 F at a half bath faucet.

Shower Door: If the door is made of glass that is non-tempered material, you have an extremely serious safety issue that you need to correct immediately.

Electric: GFCI outlets in bathrooms, kitchens, exterior outlets and garages. These grounded outlets help protect against electric shock should someone come into contact with water when operating an electrical appliance. Do you know if your outlets are grounded? Is your service equipment capacity adequate? If you don't know, forget about adding any more electric appliances until you find out.

Furnace: Nice looking two year old furnace in your new home? Good for you. However the furnace filter may also be two years old, which is a potential carbon monoxide issue. Don't assume that the current homeowner changed the filters as required.

Exterior: Uneven patio slabs. I often find that portions of concrete patio slabs have settled while other portions stay intact. This a serious trip hazard that often goes unnoticed until someone gets hurt. Window well covers provide additional security for your home. But if you have a well that is not covered, it is a serious safety issue you need to correct immediately. If someone fell in because you failed to cover it, injuries are likely to occur. When a well cover is in place it locks from the inside near the basement window with a pin type mechanism. If you needed to escape your home from the basement window, would the window and well cover mechanisms release as intended? How do you know? Did you ever test them?

Roof: Feel like cleaning tree branches off the roof of your new home? Before you placed the metal ladder against the side of the home, would you have checked to make sure that overhead electrical wiring is not in contact with any portion of the gutters?

Attics: If for some reason you must venture into this area of your home, one bad step may send you crashing to the ground. The attic floor (which is your living space ceiling) is usually nothing more than a thin sheet of drywall.

Clothes Dryer: Did you know that in many homes the dryer exhaust vent is made of vinyl that can melt and cause a fire? The vent material should be flexible metal.

Exterior Doors: Do you have a nice secure deadbolt installed that you lock from the inside before going to sleep? How are you going to get out of the home should there be a fire and you can't find your door keys? Even if it's during the day, don't leave your keys in the lock. That's what burglars look for if you have a small window next to the door.

Garage Door: Your door may open and close just fine. But would it reverse if it came into contact with someone who might be underneath when closing it? Reverse features sometimes fail and cause severe, even fatal injuries. Test regularly. If you don't have optical motion sensors they would be a very worthwhile investment.

Deck/Balcony Balusters: Are you aware that a very young child can squeeze between balusters that are more than four inches a part?

Stairs: Any stairway with four or more steps without a handrail is considered a trip hazard and depending on the municipality, may also be a code violation.

Stair Railings: They always look safe and secure from a distance. Once I barely touched a railing and it fell off. Are yours firm and securely fastened?

Crawl Space: Besides the long list of maintenance issues that are common especially in unconditioned crawl spaces, many have wires strewn across the ground or dangling overhead. Add a wet ground and you have a recipe for a disaster. Possibly live wires in direct contact with water. Would you have known to stay out of the crawl space? Same goes for the basement. Don't eve go into a basement that's flooded. A fatal charge may await you. Call an electrician and your utility company immediately.

Erol Kartal

Home Inspection Chicago

A Gem

This was near another home I inspected in Chicago yesterday. Just a few blocks away is a trendy neighborhood with nice expensive two flat buildings. Both siding materials if you want to call it that, are very old and quite possibly contain asbestos.

Erol Kartal

Home Inspection Chicago

I Give Up!

Yesterday's inspection of a $800,000 new subdivion beauty. Some people in the home construction business will never understand the potentially severe consequences of draining water next to a home. Did you notice the brick decay in the backgound? It's not related to the drainage issue. The brick erosion on this new home is another issue...

Pro Inspect

Condo Inspection Chicago

Moist Air Wreaks Havoc

High humidity and poor air circulation is the perfect condition for mold growth. This was found in a newer home. The home had five ceiling fans off, humidifier on high, windows shut and the heat on low during a sunny 75 degree day. 

Pro Inspect

Condo Inspection Chicago

You Can't Hide Mold

Homeowner tried to paint over mold, but it just didn't work. Drenching an unfinished basement with white paint is often an attempt to hide moisture related issues. Mold tests were positive.

Condo Inspection Chicago

Confused Splash Block

A splash block doesn't do much good if it's dumping water next to the home's foundation wall. The proper method would be to add a plastic hose extension and position it so that water can drain away from home by at least six feet. This is so easy to correct, yet it continues to be an overlooked maintenace issue that often ends up wreaking havoc to homes everyday.

Home Inspection Chicago

Effects of Poor Drainage

Poor landscaping design has allowed water to pond near this home's exterior causing a variety of problems including the early stages of erosion on this concrete step. Some of the most serious problems I find during a home inspection such as foundation cracks and leaks are a direct result of improper landscaping.

Home Inspector Chicago

Where's The Window Well Drain?

A drain is useless if it's buried under dirt and leaves. Four window well drains were completely covered and water was seeping through basement windows. This is home owner neglect at it's finest.

Erol Kartal

Looks Are Quite Deceiving.

Nice home right? It's beautiful in and out and was a pleasure to inspect. However, there was one big problem - a disaster waiting to happen...

Neither garage door reversed when tested. They were completely shot in this 13 year old $$ home. A quiet, single man lives here and rarely had any children in or outside the home. If one of these doors had closed on a person or pet, severe injuries at the very minimum would have been the result.

When was the last time your garage doors were tested??

Home Inspector Chicago

Painting Over Wood Rot

Painting over wood rot is not too smart. It's doesn't work for one, and secondly hiding a problem is a great way to get into trouble.

Erol Kartal

Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

I guess this is the 'screen free' style

Another case for home maintenance inspections...

Perforated Vent Cover?

Why buy a vent cover when bees will provide one for free...

Doesn't anyone look around?

Missing flashing at the end of roof/wall junction has allowed water to 'soak' wood framing big time. Roof shingles and aluminum siding will now have to be removed for further evalutaion which will likely be bad news.

Condo Inspection Chicago

Load Bearing Column Shim Decay

Load bearing columns for most homes in this area just don't quite make it to the ground. The shim between this column and concrete post is decaying and if not fixed soon will ignite $$ repairs. Who ever said maintenance inspections on existing homes are not worth it?

Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

Great way to draw insects to your home.

There's nothing wrong with having wood around for your cozy fireplace. But placing against your siding so close that it dents it, is not to bright. In the warmer months this area will be a haven for bugs and small animals. Insects can easily enter siding expansion joints.

Erol Kartal

Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

Defective Chimney Flashing

Homeowner wanted to know why he had soaked insulation in attic.

Home Inspector Chicago

Driveway Displacement

This driveway is 'heaving' because a nearby tree root system (not shown) is pushing the concrete slabs up. The roots will need to be removed before pouring a new driveway.

Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

Bad Deck Installation

The deck installations seem to get worse each day. Instead of bolting (required with staggered bolts) deck to a header on the homes exterior, let's just use cheap nails and puncture holes in the siding instead. Then wait a few months and watch deck tear off!

Condo Inspection Chicago Suburbs

Dryer Vent Hazard

Clothes dryer exhaust made of vinyl. This material is known to melt or even catch fire because of high temperatures. If you have it, replace with a flexible metal material. 

Home Inspection Chicago Suburbs

Missing Handrail

Missing handrails are a significant safety hazard. They must run the entire length of the stairway and are required with four or more steps.

Homeowner Neglect..

This chimney has decayed to the point where I could have stuck my pen through some bricks. Water had wicked all the way through to the interior side. Defective flashing and gutter with a slight pitch in wrong direction has created the need for a major $$ repair. It took years to get this bad.

Home Inspector Chicago Suburbs