Home Inspector Answers House Safety Questions | Tech Support | WIRED

[00:00] Let's answer your questions from the internet. [bright music] "Are termites really that bad of a home pest?"

[00:15] The worst case I've seen was on a really nice house. I could put my finger through a structural two by six Common signs that you might have termites are frass.

[00:30] If you see pellets collecting on the floor Sometimes they're in your attic Sometimes it takes a few years to see any signs,

[00:44] When I see a house that's covered with what looks They have sealed off that house and have gas going inside of it with fans for a few days

[00:58] but any other insect or rodent that's not paying rent. not purchasing a home if found during inspection?"

[01:10] As a builder, I typically gut the houses I buy, from buying a property would be a sinkhole. that is typically created from aquifers that have dried out

[01:28] starts caving in and it can swallow the whole house. PrettylipsS asks, "What's the biggest red flag The two that come to mind are both structural.

[01:44] on the second floor, the floor had dropped You could see where they used to meet up and that's a big drop and that's a red flag to me.

[01:58] Some of the doors would not close between the left and right corner. Doors not closing properly indicates structural issues

[02:12] Other red flags I keep an eye out for are furniture Usually that indicates they're trying to hide something. Also, if your AC vents have a lot of dust coming out,

[02:26] Other red flags include dehumidifiers in the garage. Of the thousands of inspections I've done, it's super rare to see dehumidifiers sitting in a garage

[02:40] Clebird88 wants to know, "Help, new house that we can't figure out. doesn't seem to be coming from the attic."

[02:53] Sewer gas can enter your home or if the P-trap doesn't have water in it. and any rodents or insects from coming into your home.

[03:07] where water is not constantly going through the P-trap, and God knows what else through. as good as the old ones."

[03:20] They're safer building products, better guidelines They're also built more energy efficient than older homes, Case in point, a two by four was called a two by four

[03:35] Two by fours actually measure about three and a half Engineers have determined that that is still sufficient Older homes are built on crawl spaces,

[03:51] and they're very easy to work on. and footers directly onto the ground itself. Some drawbacks is you don't have access to the plumbing

[04:06] Here's a question from the home improvement Subreddit. What steps do I take to remove them?" The last thing you want to start messing

[04:19] Typically that involves hiring a professional. capture the queen and potentially relocate the bees So bees actually give off a heat signature

[04:34] Every object gives off energy is it looks for any variance between surfaces. and that residual heat can be picked up

[04:49] Typically studs are spaced 16 inches on center there will actually be a defined line on each side So that's actually a good indicator

[05:04] not only of where the hive is, but how big the hive is. Pattay712 asks, "What's a common cause of house fires I think the best way to answer this question is to show you

[05:19] The dryer vent itself has been clogging for some time and this is pretty close to a flashpoint I would say The heat can't escape from the dryer

[05:32] You can actually ignite the lint By and large people don't even consider cleaning that but it'll also help extend the life of your dryer

[05:45] They should have a flap to prevent any rodents or birds Ihatelemonlime asks, "Inspection tomorrow. Well, here's what you can expect.

[06:01] to an hour and a half per 1,000 square feet. what common deficiencies I have to rule out. such as a house built in the '70's or before,

[06:15] cast iron drains and cloth wiring. because of a phenomenon known as cold creep. It's actually the connections going into the breakers

[06:29] and contraction and then heat forms, Cast iron drains were used from 1975 and before. So you're looking at 50 year drains at the youngest, right?

[06:46] on the inside, they can have cracks. can fray exposing the wires on on the inside. "So I just saw this beautiful house for sale,

[07:01] When you see Drano, you don't know what the cause is. because it traps water it can also trap debris.

[07:13] You can also mechanically just unscrew it and clear it out. is that it flows by gravity typically. in homes, here's a diagram you see that clean out.

[07:28] That's where we typically access for drain inspections. to the toilet as you see under the house All the way up to the sewer tap is your responsibility.

[07:41] it should be free of any sagging, any roots, For older drain pipes such as clay or cast iron, It can be pretty expensive to fix.

[07:56] It can cost anywhere to 20 to $30,000 to re-pipe a home. "Question for home inspectors. what makes you go uh-oh?"

[08:08] So the first thing I look for is the panel brand. such as overheating, loose breakers. in here from different brands.

[08:22] and there's no listings that have these breakers is messing with electrical. If you notice right here there's been some overheating.

[08:37] and melted part of the bus bar. where these breakers don't sit properly on the busbar. So whenever I see these type of panels,

[08:51] Some other deficiencies I look for is double tapping. All this looks good. There's no over fusing. combined with evidence of overheating,

[09:04] What I also look for in these situations typically they don't protect the panel and these bus bars, and you have a heat point which can create fire,

[09:19] smoldering or melting. U_wot_mat_MD asks, "How [beep] am I? Is this asbestos?"

[09:31] My first question would be how old is the property? or even into the early '90's or before that I would seal up the floor and call in professional

[09:47] One of the applications for asbestos was heat resistance. or furnace flu insulation. so insulation around furnaces is definitely beneficial.

[10:03] it can stay up in the air for a while but if the asbestos has not been touched, it should be safe. The only literal way you can call a roof shot

[10:19] One was coming straight down, And one was coming from an extreme angle, But all kidding aside depends on the roofing material.

[10:32] It's actually an architectural feature. the membranes are hidden and therefore What we go off of here is average life expectancy.

[10:47] If you're hitting that 20, 21, 22 year age mark, Asphalt shingles are easier to tell if you need a new roof which are the protectant from the UV light,

[11:02] the roof starts accelerating, it dries out. When I see asphalt shingle roofs with repairs and washed away granules, it's time to reroof.

[11:14] It just tells you that there's a leak, Ask roofers in your area, what the average lifespan Take the age of the roof and then you'll know

[11:26] you should have on that roof. Is this a leak, condensation, mold, The most common cause I find with stains on the ceiling

[11:41] My first order of business, if I see a stain on the wall to see if it's possibly active. that there's a difference in temperature,

[11:53] You need the moisture meter to determine Place us on this spot in question and then also test a nearby spot to give a comparison.

[12:06] We have a higher reading. 99.9 is the highest this moisture meter reads. under containment because of potential mold exposure.

[12:18] on the house? Gutters help with water management. The gutters not only collect the water falling off the eave

[12:31] Over here you can see that the gutter diversion is proper. In this clip, you can see a gutter that is not properly diverting water away from the home.

[12:45] back to the structure which can lead to structural issues The soil around the structure is actually supporting you can possibly see some cracking.

[12:59] Berto813 asks, "Spray foam versus regular pink insulation. There's open cell and closed cell. Open cell is more of a sponge.

[13:13] you wanna see it before you have structural failure. and will warn you that you're having a roof leak. more of a homogenous temperature within the house.

[13:29] there's still heat coming into the ceiling area. to help keep the air more homogenous. you're actually spraying the interior ceiling of the attic.

[13:43] So on the interior it's very comfortable. Crash_override_exe asks, "What's the worst house Every square inch, I'm talking ceiling floors and walls

[14:01] It was a vacant property. and it had been vacant for several years. "How would you know if there's mold in the house

[14:14] The only way to determine it is to order a mold inspection. What this pump does, it draws air into the sample right here As the air bounces off that plate, little spores

[14:27] and that is sent to the lab. determine what type of species the mold is. if there's elevated molds of concern inside your home.

[14:41] It needs water and time. You have to identify the probable cause

[14:53] elevated moisture from a water event. The duct work is the number one spot I find mold Patbal asks, "How bad is mold really?"

[15:09] Elderly children or anyone with an immune deficiency In addition to allergies and irritation, short-term memory loss.

[15:22] So the most well-known mold would be black mold. in AC duct work. I always find cladosporium and penicillium aspergillus

[15:35] Black mold or Stachybotrys is usually found on backs of drywall that have been soaking for a good time They all have been known to cause issues.

[15:49] Some people have lost some of their lungs from that mold No-Blood1055 asks, "How do you tell the difference How settling is where the weight of the house

[16:04] and some areas might be weaker than others The rule of thumb is if you can fit a dime into the crack, When we're talking about structural failure,

[16:19] the location of the crack is key, especially on load paths. If the cracks originate in those areas, If the crack is offset, that's also a red flag.

[16:32] would be underneath the window. So underneath the window there is no load occurring. It can be patched and there should be no issue.

[16:47] what is it?" You want to not only remove it but block its entry point.

[16:59] According to the EPA, One in 15 homes have elevated levels of radon gas in them.

[17:12] and they're not that expensive. Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the earth What we don't want to do is trap it

[17:25] Oftentimes people think that radon that it's usually affecting buildings or homes However, it can also leach from building materials.

[17:38] So radon can be remediated. It usually costs about $2,500. they create negative pressure under the house. before it can get into your home and accumulate.

[17:52] you've ever made or have seen?" a homeowner actually took a Florida license plate That's right in the attic side.

[18:07] from an open can light. as licensed electrical work, it's unsafe. inside of an electrical panel.

[18:22] "How do carbon monoxide leaks occur in homes?" from leaking gas pipes, damaged appliances, Another often overlooked source of carbon monoxide poisoning

[18:39] These handlers typically draw in garage air. over time you can build up carbon monoxide in your house.

[18:51] So if you have a garage mounted AC handler, done by an AC company and have them seal off all ports

[19:04] Ironies4suckers asks, "How do you figure out Rodents typically leave traces behind them.

[19:16] They can squeeze into really tight areas. They'll get into rooftop vents. You'll see cages on vents. Another raceway for rodents to get into your home

[19:31] The pipes, the gases that are coming they typically go through a chase. Rodents carry diseases such as Hantavirus

[19:45] duct work and plumbing. Nobodysbusiness11, "Is water testing for public water supply While water testing is probably the least ordered

[19:58] if you have heavy metals or bacteria in your water. is a water main break. that there might be a water boil in effect.

[20:13] against such cases in the event that you're unaware Personally, we have a whole home water filtration system That ensures that no matter what the quality of water is

[20:26] So those are all the questions for today. [bright music]