I love to get these types of compliments from my clients. A home inspection will help you make a better more informed decision on your home purchase:
“Thank you very much for your home inspection. Without your services, we would have ended up with a house that needed some very important work done to it and we would have been stuck footing the bill. Your services were efficient and you were patient and detailed when explaining everything.
Thanks for your work”!
Mitch”
What is included?
Your Louisville Home Inspection company, Know Before You Buy offers full and comprehensive inspection services to help you understand the condition of the property you are considering. I will give your house a thorough examination. If I discover any issues or symptoms of problems I will help you understand the implications and advise to the seriousness of the issue.
I use sophisticated computer software designed to give you the best inspection possible. I use the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors Standards of Practice allowing for a complete and informative inspection. Know Before You Buy also includes digital photos inserted in the report to help you remember the issues and have a photo documentation of any issues.
I will start the inspection by answering any questions you may have about the process and to allow you the opportunity to state any issues you may have noticed on your walk-through. I will have you review and sign the Know Before You Buy Pre-Inspection Agreement allowing me the opportunity to begin the through visual examination of your potential homes major systems which includes but is not limited to:
The Know Before You Buy Full Home Inspection can usually be completed in 2 – 4 hours, depending on home size and style some may take longer. Know Before You Buy welcomes you to join us and encourages questions to help you better understand the process. At Know Before You Buy we DO NOT use handwritten reports that can be difficult to read or understand, I only provide one type of report and that is a computerized, easy to read report.
Know Before You Buy is available to schedule your Full Home Inspection 7 days a week, Monday thru Sunday with no extra charge for Sunday service or later hours. Know Before You Buy only needs one hour before it gets dark so that I have time to fully evaluate the exterior of the home. I encourage my clients to accompany me during the Full Home Inspection to ask questions and discuss the conditions of the property. Once the inspection is completed I will return to the office to research and write your custom report that will be delivered to you the same day it is completed.
Truss 'modification'
I just completed a Radcliff Ky Home Inspection and there were a few interesting finds, however; one that was most interesting is pictured here. The home had two furnaces installed in the attic. Fairly common to find the furnace in a slab home in the attic in this area but what was not common was the installation method. See this installer had an issue with the truss system in the attic- it was in the way of the install. Complex solution is to get an engineer to evaluate, reconfigure a truss cord or two correctly and then complete the install-wall of which takes some time.
Easy solution- reciprocating saw, new wood blade and cut on the dotted line. While I have seen my fair share of truss /rafter ‘modification’ on inspections this is one of the better ones. This installer left the other end of the truss just laying on the attic floor. IF you are going to ‘alter’ a truss then at least clean up your mess.
Remember that when hiring a contractor for repairs- make sure they are reputable and check references. This alteratiuon is fixable-but it will nto be cheap. 
Remember for your Meade County, Elizabethtown, Radcliff and of course Louisville Home Inspection needs call Know Before You Buy, or it may be too late……
I get asked all of the time by clients if it is really necessary to inspect a condo before purchase. While it is true that many patio home/condo communities have master agreements that take care of the exterior of the community (roofs, lots, facade, ect) there are still issues that can be discovered. You will be responsible for the interior of the unit and if it is discovered that the exterior has issues- you may be able to resolve them before closing using the current owner to help navigate the community board.
On my recent condo inspection there were a few issues discovered on the inside including a roof leak-but the exterior offered a find that could be real serious in an emergency. When the condo unit (8 units in this one building) was built the electrician did not label the main distribution panel which houses the main disconnect breakers. While this is not normally a big issue- if you had an emergency and had to shut off the power it would be a guess. Not of course you would shut them all off in an emergency- it would be some much easier if they were labeled.
There were some other issues discovered-but issues regarding safety should never be ignored. Should you get your patio home/ condo inspected? It is an inexpensive process to make sure you are covered.
Ever had a drip of water appear from no where? On the last Rineyville home inspection the clients and I noticed a small water puddle forming along a garage wall. Seem odd to us at the time- we had just finished running water in the bathroom so could this be the cause? Turns out YES. Upon a little further investigation- we discovered a leaking pipe behind the garage wall. What made
Plumbing Leak
this worse is that the plumbing in this area included a compression type fitting hidden behind the wall and had probably been leaking for some time. Since the water only appeared in the garage no one probably noticed it. This catch save the prospective buyers a plumbing repair bill and probably helped the sellers since know they know the rest of the story.
Fall Leaves
Fall is here and the leaves are beginning to ( if they have not already) fall. There are a few things we need to start doing to get our homes ready for the fall season and one of the first items to address is gutters. Although not real glamorous-gutters serve a great purpose for our home.
First they keep the water from running right down on our heads when we are trying to enter our homes, second they make great nesting places for birds and finally and more importantly they keep water away from the foundation of our home. That is the reason for the post- I hate to tell you this but it is time to think about cleaning our gutters.
Keep in mind that if you have a tall home, do not like heights or lack the skills to clean your gutters please call someone to help you. There are many company’s out there cleaning gutters for reasonable prices. If you are comfortable, make sure your ladder has a sold foundation on the ground and be careful,you do not want to turn a pleasurable experience like cleaning the gutters into a trip to the emergency room!
Make sure you get all of the wet leaves away from your downspouts and the foundation of your home- also check to make sure the splash blocks point AWAY from your home and if needed add extenders to the downspouts to get the water away from your foundation.
Downspout
While gutters may not be that glamorous- they need some basic care to perform the intended function which is to keep water from harming the foundation of your home.
Stay tuned for the next fall/winter preperation tip.
Today’s Elizabethtown Home Inspection revealed a few items that need to be addressed this spring and may also be on your deck as well. The deck is a painted wood deck, two stories high and is bolted to the home. The deck is actually bolted to the home correctly, which is a rare find today and the overall structure was in good condition. However, there are a few things that stood out, so check your deck.
1. The were several (actually many) nails that had begun to rise from the handrail and the deck boards. The nails overtime will come loose and the nails stick up from the boards. These need to be reset or replaced with screws, they will actually bite you if you are not careful. A toe will find these nails every time. 
2. The top rail had begun to splinter. This is where everyone wants to run thier hands across and nothing worse than a splinter. Make sure the rails where people grab are sanded and smooth.
3. The biggest issue was where the band boards joined in one corner, the boards had pulled loose. It is a repairable issue, but if this is not corrected the band board could pull loose and cause the deck to become unsafe.
4. This is a good time to check your handrail and spindles to make sure that they are tight and in good condition. You do not want a person leaning on the rail taking a header so you need to make sure it is secure.
5. Pressure wash or otherwise clean your deck. Over the winter the deck may have had some moss or mold grow on top. This will be very slippery when it gets wet and could cause a fall.
Check over your deck this spring, look for loose nails, ‘splinter’ traps and make sure all of the joints are properly secured. You want to enjoy your deck this summer, not become victim to it.
When we add a deck to our home, it can add to the outdoor enjoyment; but if not done correctly can lead to misery later. On my inspection Saturday the client and I saw firsthand what can happen if you build your deck directly against the house without using a flashing. When building a deck an attaching it to the homes band board, you must use a flashing to direct the water away from the siding and potentially the homes structure.
On Saturday it was raining fairly hard (actually a good thing on an inspection) and we noticed that water was pooling along the edge of the deck where it met the house. This was concerning for multiple reasons, but mostly due to the home also having wood siding. Along the edge where the deck came into contact with the house, the exterior siding boards showed wood rot, and that was only the beginning. This home was on an unfinished basement (fortunately) so we were able to observe the band board, sill plate, floor decking and the floor joists. All along this area where the house and deck meet was water damage to the homes structure. The band board and the floor decking had taken the worst of it, but all of the area had some water damage. 
The repair for this can be substantial since it will involve a great deal of demolition and then who knows what else is uncovered. Keep in mind that as you start your summer deck project that a simple metal flashing installed while you are building the deck can save you trouble later. 
Attic access can be limited or quite often impossible to enter. When we are trying to look in our attics at home, it is tempting to add attic stairs to allow easier access. While these stairs offer a great ease of access, they also pose a risk of falls, failures and other dangers you should be aware of. In the first picture you can see that the legs for the steps are not cut correctly. This leads to the steps being under stress as you use them and could lead to the stairs warping while you are climbing them and could lead to injury.
In the second picture you will see a common mistake on installation of the stairs. The sign clearly states that a nail should be driven into these holes, but most people have a drill and screws handy so screws it is. The issue is that a nail has a higher strength resistance than a screw, and the screw head could snap of and leave you hanging-literally. Easy repair, easy mistake but injury could result. 
The stairs are also a good place for heat loss. Always make sure that you have an insulation blanket of some type the covered the stairs in the attic when not in use. Remember that you should also plan to install a floor in the attic directly in front of the stairs, this will give you a landing as you enter the attic and keep you from searching for the roof joists that you may find, or the drywall ceiling which you will probably find with your foot. This floor should be at least 24″ wide and made of 3/4″ plywood and run a length that allows ease of access and a clear path to the attic.
There are a great deal of these stairs on the market, some are better than others. Just be careful when using them.
Outlet
On an inspection Friday I discovered that several basement outlets tested as having an ‘open ground’. If you inspector tells you that you have an outlet that has an open ground it is more than likely a three prong outlet that has a loose ground wire. The three prong outlets have a Hot, Neutral, and Ground and if any of these wires becomes loose it show during the inspection.
An open ground occurs whenever the ground wire is not correctly attached to the outlet or in some cases the wiring for the house does not have a ground wire. In some older home the wiring only had two wires, the hot wire and the neutral wire. If there is no ground wire present in the house wiring, then a three prong outlet is not a solution and should not be used. The only exception would be to install a GFCI outlet and place a sticker that states “NO Equipment Ground”. The outlet will still not be grounded but with the GFCI protection, it will be safer than a regular two prong outlet or a three prong outlet with an open ground. An electrician can make this repair for you.
If your home has a three wires system the repair can be easier to achieve. Remember also that it is not uncommon for more than one outlet to test as an open ground as the outlets are usually installed in a ‘stream.’ This stream will cause outlets that are between the offending outlet and the end of the stream to also test as open. It could simply be a lose wire on the outlet or it could also be a loose ground in the electrical panel. While this is can be an easy repair on a three wire system, it is always best to consult and electrician to make any needed repairs. One wrong more in an electrical panel could be your last.
Weather forecast by WP Wunderground & Denver Snow Removal
