Reuben's Home Inspection Blog
Home inspection topics in the Minneapolis / Saint Paul area.
ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2009
26
Comments
I recently had a friend ask me if I could do an air test on the water pipes of a bank-owned home he's buying. Traditionally, these types of requests have been few and far between, but I've been getting more and more people asking about this with the high number of winterized bank owned properti...
03/31/2009
10
Comments
While most attic spaces in Minnesota are insulated with fiberglass or cellulose insulation, there is a relatively new product that provides superior performance: spray foam. Spray foam is the best way to insulate homes, especially old one-and-a-half story homes, and I'm such a firm believer in...
03/28/2009
3
Comments
For my clients that need a Truth-in-Housing inspection but are worried about having 'The City' come through their house, I offer pre-inspection. A pre-inspection is done by a private evaluator to let the owner about the items in the home that would require repair on an official Truth-in-Housing ...
03/23/2009
I've heard the same tired old argument from other home inspectors 342 times - the more testing and services you provide with your inspections, the better chance you have of being sued. I think this whole argument is based on home inspector folklore, and it all comes down to proper communication ...
03/20/2009
36
Comments
New water heaters don't need insulation blankets. Many generations of water heaters ago, insulation blankets helped to retain some of the heat that water heaters would lose through poorly insulated tanks, but today's water heaters are insulated well enough to not need extra insulation. The US Dep...
03/18/2009
10
Comments
A few ‘Green' buzzwords I've been hearing about lately are ‘Vampire Loads', ‘Vampire Power' or ‘Phantom Power'. They all mean the same thing. If you haven't heard about these yet, just wait, you will. Wikipedia defines these terms as "the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while the...
03/17/2009
The City of Robbinsdale has implemented a new Truth in Housing program which becomes mandatory May 1st. Robbinsdale will call this a Point of Sale program. The Robbinsdale Point of Sale program will be almost identical to the Hopkins Truth in Housing program. Below are the main points - this i...
03/16/2009
15
Comments
I had a ridiculously frustrating conversation with a building official from a local city recently (I won't say which - I'm licensed in six cities). I called Mr. Building Official to argue about a permit that he approved, but I ended up backing down after I talked to him. Here's the story. Whil...
03/15/2009
8
Comments
Whole house humidifiers can cause serious problems with houses, especially in Minnesota. Sometimes they destroy houses. This topic gets a lot of people whipped up, and I always hear the same arguments for having a humidifier: they prevent hardwood floors from cracking and splitting, they make t...
03/11/2009
53
Comments
I received a very odd phone call last month; a customer (I'll call Mary) called to tell me her insurance company was dropping her policy immediately after reading my inspection report for her home. They told her there were 'too many problems'. I've heard of insurance companies having specific r...
03/10/2009
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Reuben Saltzman
Delivering the Unbiased Truth.
Home inspection topics in the Minneapolis / Saint Paul area.