I do home inspections during the rain. I joke that it is the best time to find a leak, which does happen, but going up to the roof in the rain is not the safest proposition. I do not advise people to go on a roof during the rain, yet I have done so during inspections. The one benefit is that you begin to see what you suspected. Deflections in the roof sheathing do funnel water like a small creek, causing more damage to shingles in the “creek bed” than the surrounding surfaces. You can discover that your assumption about where sealing/caulking needs to be done was correct as you see the water hold on to vents or slight nail depressions. I also had an assumption about a particular type of plumbing vent confirmed.

    A builder thought that I was being too detailed when I made a comment about a plastic flashing on a plumbing vent. “Home inspectors have to find things to justify their cost, so they point out things that are not really problems.” (How many home inspectors have heard that line?) In this case, I had pointed out that the installation of a plumbing vent had been done incorrectly. The fix was not going to be too hard to accomplish, but this builder wanted to create the idea that I make a big deal out of nothing. I am sure that sellers looking at my reports could feel the same way as well. However, I know that small problems left untreated can lead to a big mess. When I do roof inspections, I do have the tendency to be wary of plastic flashing on plumbing vents, because I do find more leaks with them than I do with lead flashing on plumbing vents. Lead flashing is not perfect, but I encounter fewer problems with them. These newer style vents can be effected by bad installation or movement in the house.
    The main problem with the plastic flashing is that it does not last as long as lead flashing. The plastic relies on a tight seal on the vent pipe to stop leaks. This seal can break through exposure to the elements outside faster than the roof covering. The seal can also be damaged through excessive movement in the home. Another problem is that the bell part of the plastic can bend down to form a cup around the vent. This happens with a bad installation job, but I have seen this with movement or objects hitting the flashing. In the above photograph, I was on the roof during a rain. You can see a little pool of water being held in the flashing. This can begin to leak through the roof surface, down the vent pipe. Logically, I knew that this would happen, although I have had others tell me that I am making this up.
    How can I repair these plastic flashing pieces on a plumbing vent? I have seen the broken seals caulked, and this has worked. I have seen people use foam insulation on the interior, but this is a temporary fix. The best repair may be placing a new plastic cover over the older one, gluing the cover on with caulk. As for this cup effect seen in the photograph, I would suggest going into your attic. From below you can push the flashing back up into place. Then you can check for traces of light, which will show you there is a gap (the pvc vent pipes will glow with the sun light). Gaps can be caulked on the roof. Pulling this flashing bowl up form above may lead to more problems. You may not see the gaps, so that is why repairing from the attic would be better.
    I am sticking with lead flashing, but I know the plastic flashing is here to stay. I am sure that this type of flashing will improve over time. I do feel that this something homeowners or home buyers should check. This can happen to these vents at any time, and a small leak left unrepaired could lead to more damage than you may expect.

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After one home inspection, a real estate agent called me up to ask about one of my findings. Her question was how was it that five other home inspectors in the last two years did not report this problem in the breaker panel (service entrance panel is the name used on reports), and you did. Is this really a problem. I replied that I could not say why this was not reported, but that it was a problem. She admitted that she knew that it was an issue, because her husband is an electrician. I felt that she might be implying that I was listing an issue for no reason, or that it might not be there (I did include a photo). There have been times when reading reports where I wonder if the home inspector was making something up. “The wiring could be better organized in the panel” was one statement that I questioned. I guess examining the panel would be the only way to understand that sentence. On a home inspection the other day, the buyer asked how did I know immediately that there was a problem, so I thought basic observations may help homeowners.

    The size of the wire is important. We may not think about the gage of a wire. They all convey electricity. Everything is working, so why would the wire gage matter? (Wire gage can be explained as the diameter of the wire or the wire thickness). Different wire gages are meant for different amperages. An improperly sized wire may work, but it can cause problems. An easy problem to imagine is overheating. A smaller wire is dealing with a higher amperage could overheat, causing a fire. If you are doing a visual inspection of the breaker box, you need to remove the interior panel. Before removing the panel, place the back of your hand along the breakers. If you feel heat, the breaker may have a problem. If there is a problem with the panel being energized, your hand will pull away when you use the back of the hand. Once the panel is off, how do you tell if the wire is the wrong size? Look at the amperage listed on the breaker, then look at the wire size. Without having a gage to measure the wires, look at the wire sizes. A lower amperage should have a smaller wire. Compare wires from different breakers to see if they look similar or different. In the photograph, you will see two larger wires coming from a breaker. The breaker is rated for 30amps, whereas these wires are probably meant for 60amps. Here comes the next problem: is the wire size wrong or is the breaker wrong? This cannot be determined by a quick visual here. You have to know what the maximum required amperage for that breaker should be.
    Is there a quick visual way to see if the breaker is the wrong amperage for the circuit? The optimum method is finding out what that breaker serves, then looking what amperage it uses. An air conditioning unit may use 60amps at start-up. If you have a 50amp breaker, the air conditioning may trip the breaker when the unit starts. Tripping breakers can be explained by incorrect amperage. There are other explanations though. The breaker can be bad. There could be a problem in the wiring. If breakers switches feel loose, and they will not flip back into position, the breaker can be the problem, but you may still have a wiring issue. If a breaker keeps tripping, then you should call a qualified electrician to examine the unit.
    What about wires and their organization? Thinking back to that statement in the opening paragraph, I may have an explanation for what that home inspector saw. Service panels can be messy places. You have many wires  going out to circuits in the house, and the electrician may not have them pulled into the breaker box in a neat fashion. This may not be a huge issue, but neat work does help track down an issue. Sometimes you will see electric tape on the wires. This may be used by the electrician as an indicator as to the purpose of the wire. This may indicate a problem though. The sheathing on the wires helps protect the wire, but the sheathing also protects other items from the electricity in the wire. The sheathing should be in good shape. If you see nicks and cuts, there may be a problem with the wiring. I have seen where wire was improperly fished through a wall, damaging the sheathing This lead to shorts in that circuit. You will also want to look for scorch marks. This is an indicator of an electrical fire. Another problem can be double lugging. This is when two wires are in one breaker. The problem with this situation is that you have two circuits drawing power, which can lead to tripping. A disorganized wiring system in the box could be an indicator of poor workmanship in the wiring of the circuits. The last item to determine by a visual inspection is the power lines in the panel. Power lines are called the service entrance cables. Copper lines are great, but often aluminum lines are used. This is not a problem by itself. Aluminum wiring is not good in the house, but for the power lines, aluminum cables are fine. The one common problem with aluminum entrance cables is that they can rust, so they should have an anti-oxidant paste on them. This paste is often black, but it may be blue.
    What about loose breakers? With the panel back in place, you can check the seating of the breakers. However, let us stop for a moment before replacing the panel. What do the screws for the interior panel look like? You do not want a screw with a sharp point. The point could cut into the sheathing of a wire. All panel screws should be flat on their end. WI th the panel back in place, check to see if the breakers can wiggle. This is the big problem with FPE panels. The breakers have a tendency to come off, which can cause arcing. Arcing leads to fires. Do not attempt to move the breaker a great deal, because you do not want an arc. If the breaker feels as if it may be to loose, then you will want this checked. 
    Is that really a problem? Before we leave our breaker box, I would like to mention AFCI breakers. This part of the home inspection bothers sellers, because we are reporting an item as deficient, when everything is working. There are a few similar items, but the lack of AFCI breakers is often something I am marking down on my report. AFCI means “arc fault circuit interrupter”. These breakers have “AFCI” marked on them, and they have a test button. Old versions of the GFCI system also used breakers to make a circuit GFCI compliant, so look at the label. Push the test button, and the breaker should trip. If the breaker does not trip, the AFCI protection is not working. Sparks (or arcs) from wires can cause fires, so having breakers that will shut off when they detect these arcs is a great safety measure. You do not put them on your house, but this is a new standard, and home inspectors will report on their presence. Another issue seen as a non-issue by many is labeling. I do not always know if a panel has the proper labels telling me what the breakers are intended to operate. However, a breaker box should have labels telling the owner what the breaker operates. For example, I was working on replacing plugs in a bedroom. I shut down the breaker, and I found the power was off to certain breakers, but not others. You would have thought that one breaker would be responsible for the power in one room, but I had to turn off two breakers. A label would have helped.
    I notice that most problems with the service panel stem from time. A house was built fifty years ago, and you want modern comforts. How about a workshop or sauna in the backyard? This adds more wiring, which has to be brought back into the panel or attached to an existing circuit. Fifty years ago we used less electricity, but now our homes have computers, gaming stations, and large media systems. Sometimes we try to have the work done cheaply, so we use older wires when putting in a new panel, or we use the wire at hand, which in either case could be the wrong size. I think we need to speak to our electricians to find out what is best, but you should have a basis for what they are discussing, which is the reason for this post. For example, yesterday a roofer came to my door. He told me that my year old covering was really old, nearing the end of its life. It needed to be replaced, but I should not worry about the cost; he works with the insurance companies. He tells them that there was hail damage. First, how does a new covering look that old from the ground? Next, how could I have obtained hail damage when we have had no rain? I know someone who feel for this line. They had the roofer replace their roof, then they discovered that they would have to pay the bill. Why? The insurance company said that the original roof was perfectly good, so why should they pay for a new one? If the electrician is telling you that you need extensive work with only a glance, be careful. Look over the panel yourself, then check out what they are saying. You may need work done, but understand what is happening.

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There are many ways you can protect your home and contents. Things that intruders tend to target include cash, jewellery, appliances, computer equipment, televisions and stereos and even important documents. There are things you can do to help protect your home, but it is a good idea to take out contents insurance in case anything is ever stolen. Your contents insurance will cover things like your furniture, your clothes and personal belongings, your carpet, your Westinghouse fridge and your computer equipment.

Security alarm

A great way to help protect your home is to install a security alarm. It is a great way to protect your home and contents from intruders. An alarm will detect any movement within your home which this is easily controlled with a pin code that you enter into the computer. If someone does break into your home the alarm will go off and the security company will be notified by their systems and they will send the police around to your property.

Security door and security screens

A security door acts as a great deterrent to an intruder as it does make it more difficult to break into your home. It also improves the safety of your home for your family as you can open the door to strangers but still keep the security door locked. It can also improve the look of your entrance way if you choose a more decorative security door. You can also have security screens fitted on to your windows. Windows are often easier to break into than doors so don’t think that an intruder will only come in through the front door. You can buy screens that won’t spoil your view and it means you can keep your windows open during the summer to let the cool breeze in. The screens will also stop insects from coming in.

Security cameras

If you have a high wall and front gate on your property it is a good idea to have security cameras mounted on your wall so you can see who is at the front gate. They also work well if you have a multi-storey home because you can keep an eye on who is at the front door without having to go downstairs and check. You could even have an electric gate which you need a security code to activate.

High wall and gates

Having a high wall around your property is a good idea, although it will be expensive to build and you will need council approval. It will, however, give you added privacy, and make it very hard for an intruder to get in. It would also make it extremely difficult for them to get any of your possessions out of the property. You should fit a secure gate and have an intercom system. This is where it is also a good idea to mount security cameras on the gate as well. This type of security is only really necessary if you have a very valuable property. You will find that mostly houses in more expensive suburbs have security that extends this far.

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You see this wall plate with two switches.

You see only this on the ceiling.

If you remove the cover of the wall plate, you see that both switches have wiring.
    I was walking through a home with my client while the seller was there. We walked into the room, and I pointing out my findings, while my client flipped the light switches. One worked, and the other did not, or at least that was the perception. I mentioned that the second switch was for a ceiling fan. The seller said “oh, that is what it is for!” The builder had installed the wiring, but he had not installed the fan. Why not? If you contract to build the home, then you would have stated if you want the fan or simply a light fixture. Builders will place the wiring in the walls to make it easier for you to install a ceiling fan on its own switch later. Many builders will also install the wiring for a garage door operator, even if you do not order one. On a spec home, the builder had done the wiring, but he only installed light fixtures, since there was no client to request a ceiling fan. There is another possibility for the second switch. The switch might control a plug on an outlet. These outlets should be turned upside down, Not all builders remember to indicate this outlet by turning it upside down, and I have been in homes where every outlet was turned upside down, so you do need to check.
    I try to include useful information in my report that has nothing to do with concerns in the home. Homeowners might not know where their water shutoff is located. They might not know what to do with a water manifold. If a home inspector wants to produce a better report, we need to help buyers understand their potential home.

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I am a big fan of insulation, but insulation has to come with some concerns, such as ventilation. Recently, on an inspection of an older home, I suggested insulating below the house. I also discovered that the walls might well not be insulated. You may be thinking to yourself that heat rises, so this is not so bad. Insulating the attic does take priority over walls and below a pier and beam home. There are however those who suggest insulating the walls or under the home is a bad idea. Not long after this inspection, I had two conversations with contractors who had the same idea: you do not want to insulate these spaces because of moisture damage. There are people who would argue that not only should you insulate the walls, but you should encapsulate the attic and foundation crawl space. Some people have a problem with this idea (particularly the foundation crawlspace).
     What does encapsulation mean, and why would you do enclose these spaces? There are a few terms out there describing the same process. The most common would be encapsulate, sealing, and conditioning these spaces. The idea is that your foundation crawl space and your attic would become something like livable spaces of your home would be the basic way of explaining it. For people concerned with energy efficiency, we become aware of where the building envelope is located. Most people would think that building envelope would refer to any space that is part of the structure. This makes sense to some degree. The roof is part of the building envelope, right? Well, the roof does enclose the attic, but to a building professional, especially one studying energy efficiency, the attic is not typically part of your envelope. A better definition would be if you thought of any area of your home that is air conditioned as part of the building envelope, so attached garages, attic, and crawl spaces are not part of the building envelope. By sealing off these spaces from the outside air, I create fewer points where conditioned air and exterior air can mingle, causing heat transfer. Reducing these points where thermal bridging may occur means that my air conditioning system will not have to work so hard. An encapsulated attic or crawlspace becomes a conditioned air space, so the areas are then part of the envelope.
   Why would encapsulation be considered a bad idea if it could reduce air conditioning costs? Turning your attic into a conditioned space is generally viewed as a good thing along the Gulf Coast. More people advising the building industry are making this suggestion, and we generally do not see a downside to this. For the foundation crawlspace, we do have individuals not so convinced of this being a smart move. The problem lies with moisture. Liquid water will travel down, so eventually a leak will leave the attic space. Where will it go in an encapsulated crawlspace?  If you have a leak in the crawlspace, when will you know about it, and how will you get the water out? Sometimes large leaks in this area are not corrected by the homeowners in a timely manner, and this is why there are building professionals who do not like the encapsulated crawlspace. There are solutions though. Moisture detection equipment is readily available. You can buy detectors that sit on your floor near a water heater to detect leaks. This same technology can be used in a crawlspace.  Sump pumps are already commonly used in basements to rid them of water; a similar system can be used for crawlspaces. The methods for dealing with the main issue of an encapsulated crawl space are already commonly available; they simply need to be installed.
   What about using only insulation under a pier and beam? What about insulation in the walls of a home built in the 1920s? Again, the concern of contractors is moisture, and this can be a problem, but I have not seen an issue with homes that have had insulation added. I will not deny that some homes did experience problems, but I think that the issues may be different than what the contractors believed the cause to be. The question revolves around moisture barriers. Insulation is not neccessarily a moisture barrier, but it could have a moisture barrier on it. The general rule is that moisture barriers are placed on the interior of homes built in colder climates, and on the exterior of homes built in warmer, humid areas like my Houston. Some will say that a home should not have a moisture barrier at all. Where the moisture barrier is paced, and if you should even have a moisture barrier is Dependant on the design of the home. A Strawbale house should breathe, or else you will have moisture problems in the walls, so I would not use a moisture barrier. A home built in the 1920s was designed with this same need to breathe concept. Simplifying the design of a 1920s house, you can imagine a box. This box has framing from the foundation to the attic. For each story, you can imagine that you have another box. You have a two story house? One big box covering two small boxes inside the larger one. (This description is not exactly correct, but the general concept is). During this time period, we did not have air conditioning as we do in the modern sense. They had a whole house fan. The fan was in the attic, and it pulled air through a central shaft in the home. Air would be pulled from all of the rooms, being expelled out of the top of the home. You were not conditioning the air (making the air cooler), but you did create an air flow that dealt with moisture, while making you feel cooler (much like a ceiling fan will make you feel cooler). When air conditioning came into the picture, we left the whole house fans to rust, and in Houston we added forced air cooling systems. We did not quite understand the value of insulation, so we added little to our attics (maybe three inches), and we may have added it to our walls.
    When you change how a house functions, you need to make design changes that help this new function method. You may have heard of making buildings tight, or maybe you have heard of sealing/caulking cracks. Our current thinking is to prevent conditioned air by not allowing the exterior temperature effecting the interior. A home built in the 1920s deals with its environment by being leaky. This may sound bad when you are familiar with a contemporary home, but the home will function well, if you live in it as intended. Once we introduce a central forced air system to condition the internal environment, we change the function, so we need to address a design change. This fact negates the argument that you should not insulate the walls and crawlspace of an older home. Yes, they were not designed to be insulated, but they were also not designed for air conditioning. Changing to air conditioning means changes to the design should be made to ensure the home functions better.
    How do we deal with the moisture question when insulating an older home? A builder in the 1920s had to deal with moisture as much as a contemporary builder. They had a different method, so we have to examine how our ideas can work in these older homes. We can install insulation which is not a moisture barrier. We can create air passages to allow air flow to deal with moisture. Take spray foam insulation as an example. We want air flow under the roof sheathing to deal with moisture. Spray foam directly onto the sheathing eliminates the air flow. If we place baffles under the sheathing, and then add spray foam, we have a solution. We even could create the air flow above the sheathing under the roof covering (a metal roof may be better at creating this air gap). My point is that we do have solutions; you need a professional who can examine the home to provide you with the best advice.
    Insulation is great, but insulating alone will cause moisture issues. Coming back to the argument that insulation is bad for an older home, such contractors do have one valid point (but not for the reason they all realize). When we insulate, we usually also work at stopping thermal bridging by making the home tighter. In a contemporary home, we have means of venting moisture: range hood vent for cooking, and mechanical vents in bathrooms.  In the 1920s, we opened windows to vent moisture. In fact, this idea is still used, even if homeowners will not open the windows. The solution is that we need to add ventilators to rid the home of moisture as we begin to seal and insulate. We think about insulating, but talk of insulation is not coupled with talk of ventilation and good design choices. This is where maybe we fail the public at large when discussing energy efficiency. “Cash for caulkers” and “tax rebates for insulating your home” are common enough phrases, but what about ventilation? We forget to discuss the idea. If you are insulating a home, start thinking about ventilation (even if the home is newer than 1920).
    The building industry is going through a change. Building science is on the rise, and we are understanding how to build better. We are not quite there yet when understanding on how to deal with an older home. I mentioned that there are homes where we may want the walls to breathe (allow movement of air and moisture through the walls). Suggesting insulation or sealing may not be the best advice, but we may make those changes if we consider other design elements. Unfortunately, we all are not on the same page yet when it comes to the information, mainly because all of this is new, and the building industry is slow to accept certain changes. All we can do is seek out different opinions to make informed decisions.

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I enjoy walking through a home with my clients, explaining what I am seeing. This may be due to my educator tendencies. I want people to be able to see the signs that there is a problem with the function of their home, so they can act upon what the home is telling them. During one inspection, I pointed a tube coming out of the soffit above a window. There was a constant water dripping down. I said here is a problem. My client looked at me and asked what problem. The dripping water, I replied. He said this happens on his current home, and he did not know that it was an issue. I explained that the cooling system for his air conditioner consisted of a device called an evaporator. This cooled the air by letting the air pass by tubes carrying the refrigerant from the compressor. This caused moisture in the air to condense on the tubes. This water would fall down to drain off in the primary drain line. The line over the window is the secondary drain line. When water is coming out of the secondary line, then something is not working properly. The tube is placed over a window, so you can see the dripping water to know that there is a problem. I told him that the air conditioning system was not running well, and that this was the sign.  Some homes do not have this secondary line, and this is where a homeowner can become confused as to why his air conditioning stopped working.

    If you live in a town home or a condominium, you may see a device with a lever on your pan under your evaporator. This one was found in a home. The picture shows the evaporator with three lines. The top line looks bigger, and it is insulated. This is the return line with the cooled refrigerant. The next tube is a small copper tube. This line has the heated refrigerant going to your compressor. The next line down, which is partially insulated, is the primary drain line. This can go to a sink in the home, or it could drain to the exterior. On the exterior, the primary drain line will go to the ground, not over a window. Then we see a rusty pan with water in the pan. On the pan is a white box with a metal lever on it. This is a sensor, which is taking place of the secondary drain line.
   If the secondary drain line tells me that there is a problem with my air conditioning, is it not better than this sensor? The sensor is another method for indicating to you that something is wrong with the system, and the sensor accomplishes this in a more dramatic way by turning off your air conditioner. The device is a simple pressure sensor. Water rising in your safety pan causes the lever to rise. The rising lever pushes down on the switch. Once the switch is engage (the lever pushing on the switch to its fullest when the water is at its highest), the sensor sends a signal to the AC to turn off. If the sensor fails to turn off your unit, the safety pan will overflow causing moisture damage below. The secondary drain line allows your system to keep working while the problem persists, and the sensor will cause the unit to suddenly stop working without warning. This sudden stop catches homeowners off guard, so many prefer the secondary drain line, but that does not mean that it is better.
    A dripping line or a unit shutting off means you need to call your HVAC technician. You could empty the pan to restart the unit, but you will have the problem again. In the case of this photograph, you can see that the pan has rust stains all over. This would only happen if water has been in the pan quite a bit. One thing to note is if your air conditioning system uses this type of  a sensor shutting off the unit, there should be a note indicating that this sensor is present.  If your air conditioning suddenly stopped working, look at the safety pan. Is the pan filled with water? Then you may have a sensor turning the system off.

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If you have decided to buy a kit home you also need to think about whether you have the right skills to build it yourself. Building kit homes is not as difficult as you first might think and with even a little help you may find it possible to do yourself. There are kit homes in Victoria and all over Australia being built by owner builders and many are finding they have skills they never knew they had. Building your kit home yourself will save you a lot of money and if you want you could get the whole family involved.

Following plans

Your kit home will be delivered as a whole and will just require you to assemble it. The kit will come with a comprehensive instruction manual as to how to put your new home together. It is important that you follow these steps exactly otherwise you might void the warranty as well as risk your home not being stable enough. Don’t take any short cuts even if you think it will be alright. If you have any problems make sure you contact the supplier and they will be able to either talk you through the problem or might suggest a qualified builder to handle that specific section for you.

Construction

Having some building skills is of great benefit when building your own kit home. Knowing how to handle power tools and being good with your hands is a necessary skill to have. You also may find that you need a bit of strength when it comes to erecting framework, roofing and other parts of the building. Being physically fit enough will also make it a lot easier.

Plastering

It is likely that your kit home will come with enough parts to build it to lock up stage. Generally this means that the inside of your home is not complete and you still need to do the plastering, install the kitchen and bathroom, do any tiling, install the wiring and the plumbing. You will need to hire a professional electrician to do the wiring and hiring a fully qualified plumber is also a good idea. You may find that you should be able to handle the plastering. You may be able to find out what the best methods are and avoid hiring a plasterer.

Tiling

It is possible to do the tiling yourself, again saving a significant amount of money. There are a few specific things you will need, such as a tile cutter, a spirit level and the right tools to spread the grout. A good tip is when doing a room that has both floor and wall tiles, such as the bathroom, do the floor tiles first which will then hide the cuts on the floor tiles.

Knowing when to get help

When building your kit home properly one of the best skills you can have is knowing when to get help when you need it. Don’t be stubborn and think that you have to do it all yourself if you are struggling. Even if it is going to cost you a bit more it is better to have the job done right the first time around rather than having to hire someone later to correct any mistakes, which could end up costing more than if you just hired a professional in the first place.

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For homeowners with older furnaces, each winter seems to bring higher energy bills. Instead of continuing to struggle with an older furnace, it makes sense to switch to an energy efficient furnace.

Older furnaces incur costly energy bills and can be frustrating to repair. For homeowners willing to upgrade, energy efficient furnaces provide needed warmth at comfortable prices.

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After I had finished giving a lecture, many attendees came up to ask me questions about their windows. For most people concerned with energy efficiency, we obsess about how inefficient they are. We are told to leave window replacement to the end of our green renovations, since they have a lower return on investment than other renovation items. What did surprise me is that people did not understand the design/function of the parts of the window. I guess this is a case of this is my job, so I should know, but on a normal basis, why should a homeowner think about it? I had a homeowner tell me that thought windows made with vinyl were inferior, because they associated vinyl with cheap. I explained that vinyl clad windows had the strength in the frame that they desired, but the vinyl helped with the problem of thermal bridging. Aluminum frames allow heat to transfer quickly, where vinyl takes longer. This is part of the U-factor. The U-factor is a description that places a value on the rate of heat transferring through materials (in this case a window). We want a low U-factor, since this will indicate better efficiencies.
    Another aspect of windows is that they control aspects of climate in the house, which we forget to control. They allow light to flood a space. They can be opened to allow in a breeze. This is why home inspectors check the quality of the screen. If you open the window for a breeze, you do not want insects or other pests coming into the home.  We keep the weather out of the home when we close them. As windows advance in design, they can provide these functions better. Keeping the rain out, while allowing light is one function. This may not seem important to you, but windows do play their part in moisture control, which is essential in maintaining the home. Opening windows to allow moisture to flow out may not be a common practice anymore, but this used to be the main method of dealing with bathroom moisture. Closing the window to prevent rain from entering is another form of moisture control. During my home inspections, I do find water damage on the interior portions of the home due to open windows. With the old window design, we did not have to worry water staying by the window frame. Modern window design has one problem: the frame can hold water. The resolution to this is a simple fix: a slit (or hole) at the base of the frame allows water to escape. I mention this, because a few homeowners did not understand why those holes were there. After one inspection, I realized that maybe some builders did not know either.

    I was a manager for some years. I noticed that the best managers observed the work of their employees, and then reacted to those observations. Some managers made assumptions, and they pontificated on those beliefs. They were frequently wrong. I wonder if the construction managers know what to observe. In the case of the home in the photograph, There were a few careless mistakes, and one was at the base of the window frame. These windows have the slits, because water could be held inside the frame. The person responsible for caulking the wall joints smeared the caulk along the base of the frame, covering the hole. To correct this situation, they should clear the caulk away from the hole.
    Is caulking over the window frame slit a real issue? A perrennial question to home inspectors is asking about the importance of our findings. A common complaint is that we should not list some issues, since they are too minor of a concern. The problem becomes that minor concerns left untended can become major. Continual water damage at the frame leads to a situation where major damage can occur ( a rusted frame leads to a hole, which leads to water damage in the framing).Little things matter.

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In my old home, the garage was my workspace; the shed was simply storage.  The garage was large enough to contain two cars as well as my workshop. When I moved into my current home, the shed was larger, and the garage was small. It made sense to use the shed as a work space.  Thankfully, this outbuilding had power. During my home inspections, I noticed that most homes do not have sheds. Maybe this is because most people have other people do their yard work? Still, I do encounter sheds, and about half of them do have electrical outlets. Usually, there is something wrong with these outlets. During one home inspection, I came across another problem with running the electricity to this workspace, so I thought maybe going over different problems with bringing power to an outbuilding would help those looking to create their own space.

    My habit during a home inspection is to first walk around the home (inside and out). This gives me a sense of what I will be seeing, once I begin my inspection. I came to this one home where I spotted a conduit coming down on the right side behind the fence. Maybe the service panel (breaker box) was located there. I opened up the home. Going to the back door to unlock it, I saw a slab for a small foundation in the backyard. I went back out the front door to begin my initial walk around the home. The gate was on the right, so I headed to the left side first. I found the service panel  there. Going back to the right side past the fence, I found the conduit was coming out from the attic, but nothing was in it. Looking down on the ground, I found an electrical cable. Looking back to the yard, I saw the slab, so I walked over to this foundation. This could have been for a spa. Clues made me think of an outbuilding. This is where the electrical cable ended. This set up was not connected to the panel, but I could see that it was wrong.
    This electrical cable was not in a conduit under the ground, and it was not buried deeply. This is one reason why having an qualified electrician install the power to your shed, because they will know the local rules. What was wrong with this wiring were common mistakes: the conduit was not attached to the wall; and the cable under the ground was not buried properly. This conduit came out of the soffit straight down, about four feet from the ground. Conduits should be secured to the wall. This prevents damage to the conduit by movement (think equipment hitting the conduit).  I realized by looking at the end of conduit that nothing had been attached to the end. This caused me to believe that the wire came out of the conduit to the ground. At the ground the cut cable was laying on the ground. This was not going under the ground till a few feet away from the end of the conduit. Back at the slab, the wire comes out of the ground a foot away from the slab. You will have to check your local codes, but in general, you will want the conduit to run all the way from the house to the outbuilding. Where ever  the conduit is above ground, you will want the conduit securely attached to the building. Under the ground, you will want this conduit to be below the frost line in your area (anywhere from two to four feet can be common).
    This was not the case at this home, but I do find other problems on a consistent basis. Double lugging happens frequently. If your breaker box has no more space for a new breaker, then you may consider adding the wire for the new circuit to an existing breaker. This is called double lugging, and this is not proper wiring practice. This can lead to electrical problems as well as fire. You need a new breaker for each new circuit (which you can think of as a run of wire). If there is no space for a new breaker in your box, then you need to have a sub-panel to accommodate the new circuit. Inside the shed, you should think of the outlets as if they were in a garage. This means that you will want them to be GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets. You will also want them to be weather resistant (WR) outlet. This is a safety issue if the outlets come into contact with water, which can easily happen in this space. The other issue that I find during the inspection is that the outlets should be secured to the framing. The outlet should have a cover. Wiring connections should be in a junction box that has a cover. Lastly, the wiring between outlets and fixtures should be secured to the framing. These are all items that deal with safety, and in sheds we do not seem to think that this is so important, or we are not sure what to do. Again, this is where asking someone who knows your local code helps. You should apply for a building permit, so that you know that it is right.
    Obtaining a building permit can be a hurdle, yet this may be your best option. At least then you will be secure. I have found having the ability to use my little shop in the shed as such a great benefit, so I feel bringing power to an outbuilding can be a benefit to anyone.

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