Having a home inspection can be stressful, but knowing the process may help you relax.

By Andy Broomhead, Copperhead Home Inspections

What I Do:

• I visually inspect the home and its major components for safety issues, material defects, and items likely to fail.
• I advocate for my client. I am hired to give them a comprehensive evaluation of their potential purchase.
• I will inspect and operate various systems in the house. If possible, I will walk the roof, open the main electrical service panel, open HVAC access panels, enter the attic/basement/crawlspace, and run certain appliances through their cycles.
• I will deliver a digital report that my clients will use to make important decisions in the purchase process.

What I don’t do:

• I don’t have any interest in personal belongings, so there is no need to clean everything out before the inspection.
• I am not going to cause any damage. The inspection is non-invasive.  However, if there are existing issues (a toilet that overflows, a broken garage door, etc.), tell me or your Realtor about them.  I certainly don’t want to damage anything further.
• I am not issuing a recommendation on whether or not my client purchases the home.
• I am not issuing any “pass/fail” judgments (nor do I have the authority to do so).
• I am not doing a “code” inspection, and I will not cite code anywhere in my report.

What you can do to ensure a smooth inspection:

• Have a pre-listing inspection done. You can get ahead of any issues that may delay your closing.
• Move certain items if they are blocking access to major components. If I can’t access it, I can’t inspect it.
• Have the washer, dryer, and dishwasher empty. I won’t run those items if they are full. I don’t want to shrink anyone’s favorite jeans!
• Try to be flexible in scheduling. Allow your buyers some extra time at the home.  Most of the time they are measuring for furniture, thinking about room layouts, and generally assuming ownership.  This is a good thing for you!
• Relax.  Selling a home can be stressful.  The inspection doesn’t have to be.

On several of my recent inspections, I’ve been asked about lead content in drinking water. Usually, I don’t get those questions, but with the Flint, Michigan story in the news people are curious, and that’s a good thing.  I’m going to briefly summarize the situation, and help you decide if you should be concerned.

What Happened:

Flint, Michigan obtained their water through Detroit for 50 years, sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River. When that became too expensive, officials developed a plan to source it from the Flint River. The water in the Flint River has a lower ph, and more chlorides (salts) in it. That means it’s more corrosive. The corrosive reaction can be controlled with anti-corrosion additives, but local officials did not think they were necessary.  It turns out they were spectacularly wrong.  So, the newly sourced Flint River water began slowly corroding the lead supply pipes all over the area, and that lead ended up in the drinking water. To be clear, the Flint River water was not contaminated, the water supply pipes themselves were the source of the lead.

Should you be concerned:

If you live in Flint, yeah. Concerned and angry.  

Otherwise not really. Here in the Chicagoland area, almost all of our water comes from Lake Michigan, through the Jardine Water Purification Plant, which is next to Navy Pier. Although we have plenty of lead supply pipe in our area, Chicago does utilize anti-corrosion additives, like Polyphosphate. It’s used to treat the inside of Chicago’s pipes, preventing the lead in old plumbing from contaminating the water supply.  You can actually pick up cheap, or even free test kits from stores like Home Depot if you’d like to test your own water at home. Using filters for drinking and cooking water can reduce the probability of ingesting lead or any other contaminants. If you have a lead supply pipe to your home, (common in pre-1950’s construction) you can have it replaced, but the municipal supply might still be lead. Your local public works can most likely provide this information, but don’t be under the impression that they are going to do anything about it. We’re talking about billions of dollars to replace lead piping in major urban areas, so it’s going to happen very, very, slowly. And let’s not forget, when the proper protocols are followed (looking at you, Flint) there is virtually no cause for concern.

In Conclusion:

Chicagoland tap water is really, really safe. Want to be extra extra safe?  You can test your tap water.  Filter your drinking water from the tap. Your fridge probably has a filter in it already, just keep up with changing it according to manufacturer’s guidelines.  And lastly, make sure your local officials know that what happened in Flint is unacceptable.  They work for us you know.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.

Andy Broomhead

License# 450.011279

Resource for Water Filters Here

More about Lead Here

Anti-tip brackets are metal devices designed to prevent freestanding ranges from tipping.

They are normally attached to a rear leg of the range or screwed into the wall behind the range, and are included in all installation kits. A unit that is not equipped with these devices may tip over if enough weight is applied to its open door, such as that from a large Thanksgiving turkey, or even a small child. A falling range can crush, scald, or burn anyone caught beneath.

Inspectors can confirm the presence of anti-tip brackets through the following methods:

• It may be possible to see a wall-mounted bracket by looking over the rear of the range. Floor-mounted brackets are often hidden, although in some models with removable drawers, such as 30-inch electric ranges made by General Electric, the drawers can be removed and a flashlight can be used to search for the bracket. Inspectors should beware that a visual confirmation does not guarantee that the bracket has been properly installed.
• Inspectors can firmly grip the upper-rear section of the range and tip the unit. If equipped with an anti-tip bracket, the unit will not tip more than several inches before coming to a halt. The range should be turned off, and all items should be removed from the stovetop before this action can be performed. It is usually easier to detect a bracket by tipping the range than through a visual search. This test can be performed on all models and it can confirm the functionality of a bracket.

1. Find better ways to heat and cool your house. 

As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:

• Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans can be used in place of air conditioners, which require a large amount of energy.
• Periodically replace air filters in air conditioners and heaters.
• Set thermostats to an appropriate temperature. Specifically, they should be turned down at night and when no one is home. In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day. Turning down the thermostat from 75° F to 70° F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
• Install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat saves money by allowing heating and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times that no one is home and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and, in some climate zones, can save up to $150 per year in energy costs.
  
• Install a wood stove or a pellet stove. These are more efficient sources of heat than furnaces.
• At night, curtains drawn over windows will better insulate the room.

2. Install a tankless water heater.

Demand-type water heaters (tankless or instantaneous) provide hot water only as it is needed. They don’t produce the standby energy losses associated with traditional storage water heaters, which will save on energy costs. Tankless water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. A gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.

3. Replace incandescent lights.

The average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can reduce the energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time that lights are on but not being used. Here are some facts about CFLs and LEDs:

• CFLs use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
• LEDs last even longer than CFLs and consume less energy.
• LEDs have no moving parts and, unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury.

4. Seal and insulate your home.

Sealing and insulating your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy-efficient, and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. 

The following are some common places where leakage may occur:

• electrical receptacles/outlets;
• mail slots;
• around pipes and wires;
• wall- or window-mounted air conditioners;
• attic hatches;
• fireplace dampers;
• inadequate weatherstripping around doors;
• baseboards;
• window frames; and
• switch plates.

Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic. Homeowners can perform a variety of repairs and maintenance to their attics that save them money on cooling and heating, such as:

• Plug the large holes. Locations in the attic where leakage is most likely to be the greatest are where walls meet the attic floor, behind and under attic knee walls, and in dropped-ceiling areas.
• Seal the small holes. You can easily do this by looking for areas where the insulation is darkened. Darkened insulation is a result of dusty interior air being filtered by insulation before leaking through small holes in the building envelope. In cold weather, you may see frosty areas in the insulation caused by warm, moist air condensing and then freezing as it hits the cold attic air. In warmer weather, you’ll find water staining in these same areas. Use expanding foam or caulk to seal the openings around plumbing vent pipes and electrical wires. Cover the areas with insulation after the caulk is dry.
• Seal up the attic access panel with weatherstripping. You can cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foamboard insulation in the same size as the attic hatch and glue it to the back of the attic access panel. If you have pull-down attic stairs or an attic door, these should be sealed in a similar manner.

5. Install efficient showerheads and toilets.

The following systems can be installed to conserve water usage in homes:

• low-flow showerheads. They are available in different flow rates, and some have a pause button which shuts off the water while the bather lathers up;
• low-flow toilets. Toilets consume 30% to 40% of the total water used in homes, making them the biggest water users. Replacing an older 3.5-gallon toilet with a modern, low-flow 1.6-gallon toilet can reduce usage an average of 2 gallons-per-flush (GPF), saving 12,000 gallons of water per year. Low-flow toilets usually have “1.6 GPF” marked on the bowl behind the seat or inside the tank;
• vacuum-assist toilets. This type of toilet has a vacuum chamber that uses a siphon action to suck air from the trap beneath the bowl, allowing it to quickly fill with water to clear waste. Vacuum-assist toilets are relatively quiet; and
• dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets have been used in Europe and Australia for years and are now gaining in popularity in the U.S. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a 1-gallon (or less) flush for liquid waste, and a 1.6-gallon flush for solid waste. Dual-flush 1.6-GPF toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.

6. Use appliances and electronics responsibly.

Appliances and electronics account for about 20% of household energy bills in a typical U.S. home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:

• Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.
• Computers should be shut off when not in use. If unattended computers must be left on, their monitors should be shut off. According to some studies, computers account for approximately 3% of all energy consumption in the United States.
• Use efficient ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and electronics. These devices, approved by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, include TVs, home theater systems, DVD players, CD players, receivers, speakers, and more. According to the EPA, if just 10% of homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 1.7 million acres of trees.
• Chargers, such as those used for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.
• Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.

7. Install daylighting as an alternative to electrical lighting.

Daylighting is the practice of using natural light to illuminate the home’s interior. It can be achieved using the following approaches:

• skylights. It’s important that they be double-pane or they may not be cost-effective. Flashing skylights correctly is key to avoiding leaks;
• light shelves. Light shelves are passive devices designed to bounce light deep into a building. They may be interior or exterior. Light shelves can introduce light into a space up to 2½ times the distance from the floor to the top of the window, and advanced light shelves may introduce four times that amount;
• clerestory windows.  Clerestory windows are short, wide windows set high on the wall. Protected from the summer sun by the roof overhang, they allow winter sun to shine through for natural lighting and warmth; and
• light tubes.  Light tubes use a special lens designed to amplify low-level light and reduce light intensity from the midday sun. Sunlight is channeled through a tube coated with a highly reflective material, and then enters the living space through a diffuser designed to distribute light evenly.

8. Insulate windows and doors.

About one-third of the home’s total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:

• Seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk. This is the cheapest and simplest option.
• Windows can be weatherstripped with a special lining that is inserted between the window and the frame. For doors, apply weatherstripping around the whole perimeter to ensure a tight seal when they’re closed. Install quality door sweeps on the bottom of the doors, if they aren’t already in place.
• Install storm windows at windows with only single panes. A removable glass frame can be installed over an existing window.
• If existing windows have rotted or damaged wood, cracked glass, missing putty, poorly fitting sashes, or locks that don’t work, they should be repaired or replaced.

9. Cook smart.

An enormous amount of energy is wasted while cooking. The following recommendations and statistics illustrate less wasteful ways of cooking:

• Convection ovens are more efficient that conventional ovens. They use fans to force hot air to circulate more evenly, thereby allowing food to be cooked at a lower temperature. Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
• Microwave ovens consume approximately 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
• Pans should be placed on the matching size heating element or flame.
• Using lids on pots and pans will heat food more quickly than cooking in uncovered pots and pans.
• Pressure cookers reduce cooking time dramatically.
• When using conventional ovens, food should be placed on the top rack. The top rack is hotter and will cook food faster.

10. Change the way you do laundry.

• Do not use the medium setting on your washer. Wait until you have a full load of clothes, as the medium setting saves less than half of the water and energy used for a full load.
• Avoid using high-temperature settings when clothes are not very soiled. Water that is 140° F uses far more energy than 103° F for the warm-water setting, but 140° F isn’t that much more effective for getting clothes clean.
• Clean the lint trap every time before you use the dryer. Not only is excess lint a fire hazard, but it will prolong the amount of time required for your clothes to dry.
• If possible, air-dry your clothes on lines and racks.
• Spin-dry or wring clothes out before putting them into a dryer.