Yeary Inspection's Blog

Proper grading and drainage is very important to home maintenance.  Many homes that I see have improper grading and drainage that can sometimes result in foundation and other issues.  The top 3 issues I see and comment on are:

1) Improper drainage from foundation and not a decline at all locations away from the slab and/or a 6 inch decline at 10 feet away or less than a 5 % slope to swale when barrier prevents 6 in/10ft.  When this is correct it is called a protective slope. 

Q;You may ask what does this mean? 

A; text book calls for above but in most homes you do not have this, however we must attempt to have any slope away from the slab at all locations.

A; so as you are doing yard work this spring please look for this and address those locations.  

2) Erosion or ponding next to the foundation;

Q; Why not what does this hurt?

A; again as mentioned above this can result in foundation problems not to mention cause other insect, mosquito concerns etc. EX. if the dog or other animal digs a hole, the downspout erodes a hole, the runoff of water from the above roof valley digs a hole or shrubs cause- please fill it in as long as you still have good slab coverage it will save your home.

3)Inadequate grading clearance (high soil) to exterior wall surface;

Q; why and what does this matter?

A; many reasons-high soil can cause foundation problems, high soil to brick, cement based or wood based siding is a big cause of termite and other insect damage and is always a conducive condition, high soil results in wood rot, covers weep holes so cannot drain properly etc.  Also watch and monitor the mulch by your slab.  I see mulch piled up high by the slab every day and it’s not good.  Think about this, you may hire the yard guy or if your the yard guy you pile another yard around the beds every year or two and after several years its past the slab.

A; IRC code states that Stucco requires a min of 4 inch to earth, 2 inch above paving, brick requires 4 inch from finished ground and all other siding requires 6 inch from ground.  Wow, eyeopening because MOST of us do not have this perfect house or yard, however we must maintain our home, repair these issues when noticed to preserve our home.

This is one of the categories overlooked by homeowners and some builders most often and again its diffuciult to have a perfect home/yard to what the codes require, however please attempt to have some reasonableslab showing, a decline away from the slab, no ponding of water (do not overlook underneath a porch or a pier an beam house) because water should not pond there either.

Call if you would like to discuss or have questions or better yet employee a drainage specialist, (if you know you have this problem) to design a plan for your house to properly take water away from these unwanted areas by way of french/corrugated, or underground drainage etc.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy Spring Break

With the drought we had last year and all the rain we are currently having, be sure and watch for ponding water around your house. If the water ponds/stands against your slab and doesn’t drain it could cause foundation problems. Be aware and repair and watch for this situtaion.  The best maintenance is to be proactive, don’t wait for it to cause a problem.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and New Year!

Hey Friendly homeowners,

Hope everyone is having a great November thus far and ready to give thanks to our Lord and Savior and spend time with family this 2011 Thanksgiving.  Our small Community Church Body, SummerCreek Baptist gathered this past weekend and reminded us and each other how thankful we truly are to be able to live in this part of Texas.   Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

Wanted to also remind everyone to wrap the above ground sprinkler siphon’s before a freeze this year.  Seems every year a few tops blow off the above ground sprinkler anti siphons so wanted to remind everyone again to turn the sprinkler off or unplug control prior to a freeze, wrap/insulate the tops and all above ground pipes (even softner systems etc.) and this will usually protect from the types of light freezes we have.  There are a few extra steps to take if you want to be sure and very easy to winterize the system prior to freezing.  Please see the diagram attached and call or drop a note with any questions.  Looks like warmer weather the rest of this week, however you know how our Houston weather can change from day to day and please don’t get caught out of town with one of our very infrequent last minute freezes.  As you read this now at 72 F on this lovely rainy Humble TX night you may disregard, however please place a note or a reminder to do this so you don’t go through this unnecessary repair as many folks around here do each year.

Wanted to remind you to check all your sinks and tubs for leaks.  The best way is to run each sink and tub independently, which all hot valves should be on the left and cold on the right to see if any leaks around the faucet valves.  Also fill up each sink or tub to see if the overflow drains properly and that the pop off drains hold and do not leak and just run water for a while to ensure no leaks.  In past experience some folks think you have to change the entire faucet to repair a leak when most times a cartridge or washer may fix a leak.  First, turn the water shut off valve under the sink to the off position or if tub or not a shut off, then locate the house water shut off, (usually in garage, outside wall at hose faucet or in a closet) and shut off.  Find a small allen wrench and remove the faucet, then remove the nut, pull out the cartridge and either replace or may adjust or replace washer and you may be surprised that this will stop and fix in a lot of cases.  Now of course if older and you’re looking for an updated or new look it’s fairly easy to replace the entire fixture and is sold at the hardware store in a kit (fixture, pop up valve, all new parts).  You can also exchange the older galvanized or copper water lines with the new flex lines which are very easy to work with when changing a complete fixture.  As far as the drains are concerned only the p-traps are truly the proper drains, no s-traps please and stay away from replacing the schedule C pvc or older metal/iron with flex corrugated drains since in most cases are out of code, even when they do not leak. 

If you have an older home you may have already had gaskets leak or had to do some of this.  I have a 14 year old home and have started having to replace fixtures and cartridges around and the most important issue is you must inspect to ensure you have no leaks at any wet area.  Two other maintenance items that are good to do on older properties is to replace or change out the aerators on the fixtures if you notice lower water pressure or just because you want to maintain and to check your tub overflow gaskets for leaks.  Simply look inside the access panel behind the tubs, (or cut in the sheet rock and add a plastic door), a big issue on my reports when not present then run to the overflow and if leaking replace that gasket, (if on 2nd floor you must be very careful to shut of water and drain if leaking before causing damage below).  Believe it or not this is a big issue on older homes.  Ex. a 10 year old house will not usually leak, however it gets around 15 to 20 yrs old, the kids have grown and moved out, then what do you know the grandkids start coming over or you buy this age house and the first time they run water to overflow, there goes the waterfall below on a 2nd story and if on the 1st this or any constant water source attracts wood destroying insects or other rodents.  Please maintain your home for all water leaks and call if you have questions or need a local plumber.  These above items are big issues on our report when inspecting for plumbing.  These are habitable issues that must be addressed.  I have heard good things from Les Con plumbing and know Tracy and Gary personally if you need them.

When you are listing your home you are not thinking about issues that have NOT affected your family over the years that may be new regulations now. This does not mean that you are required to talk about them, repair or address them, however it may be helpful to know in advanced in case you have friends in the electrical, plumbing, contracting business that may be able to save you a lot of time and stress during the selling transaction. If you are like most people getting your home ready to sell you get more concerned about painting, flooring and cosmetic issues which we always recommend to get with your realtor for staging and cosmetic listing tips. Usually by considering some of these big topics and ensuring your house is well maintained may be YOUR POINT OF DIFFERENCE when buyers are looking in your neighborhood.

Have you thought about this?  Have you ever ordered a real estate (new construction, pre-owned, or pre-listing), new final, phase, warranty or maintenance inspection before?  Many of you have and hopefully you got a great home inspection.  There are some good companies out there that truly care about YOU the CUSTOMER and attempt to find all the potential issues they can and there are some that try and do 2 to 3 home inspections every day, or a complete inspection in just 2 or so hours and getting in and getting out is the first priority.  We are one of the good, detailed inspectors that care about YOU, that inspects each home as they were buying it themselves and attempts to find all the potential issues before you move in, or the warranty expires and always has the customers best interest in mind. 

First, the TREC SOPs (standards of practice) does not require an inspector to walk the roof so many do not.  As of 2009, TREC requirements now at least require the inspector to list how they viewed the roof.  My question without walking or physically being eye level with the roof: how will anyone truly know the condition behind the chimney, in the dead spots (those areas that cannot be viewed from the ground with binoculars or from  two open eyes), the waste vent boot, flashing or stack condition.  From the ground can anybody fully know if the roof penetrations are loose, if shingles are missing on the top out of the way ridge or if the roof has a hidden layer underneath?  God has blessed us tremendously and allowed Yeary Inspection to perform 1,000′s of inspections and we have physically walked 95% of the roofs.  Yeary carries three ladders, a step ladder to go through the house checking smoke detectors, return vents and higher wall and ceiling areas, a fold up ladder for the 1 stories or 2 stories with access from the first level and a 32 foot ladder for all 2 stories (straight up box).  These type of homes need the roof checked also.  One of the largest complaints that TREC receives is the condition of the roof or that the inspector did not tell them enough about the roof. 

Please allow Yeary Inspection to check your roof for defects.  Most of the time Yeary walks the roof, however if a 2 story with no access from the first level, we will place the 32 foot  ladder against the front, back and sides if needed so that all angles are viewed if over 8 or 9:12 pitch and if under that pitch will usually walk the roof.  Yeary checks for proper flashing and reports if valley flashing is present, reports on the type of flashing, if properly flashed (sometimes it has raised areas), reports if the penetrations require flashing such as flues, skylights, if a second layer is present, reports if gaps exist around the penetrations, if loose to name a few.  Also views from the attic if daylight is in certain areas and views and pictures those suspect areas from the attic and the roof when possible.  Yeary also pictures roof covering issues such as curling, raised, damaged, missing or loose shingles and will comment and picture on worn, torn or missing granules and shingles.  Yeary reports on exposed nails, if the builder or contractor has used staples or nails and views under the shingles which will report how many fasteners per tab if can do so without damaging the integrity.  Yeary also reports on the felt placement and if over the drip edge in the front, back, if a good starter course was installed, does it have a drip edge and an overall opinion of the roof covering along with anything that is on the roof.  If Yeary inspectors can touch it they report on it.  I highly recommend for you as the one who needs the inspection to ask if the inspector you are hiring reports, pictures and inspects for these items.  Please view a sample report on our website if you would like to see more potential roof issues and don’t forget Yeary inspectors take a lot of pictures, has a state of the art slate top computer on site so the customer can view the roof pics as soon as the inspector climbs off the roof.  They also generate a report the same night or the next morning delivered via e-mail.  Please give us a chance to earn your inspection business, you will be happy you did and let us hear from you with any questions or comments.

One of the issues that I see far too often that causes big damage are trees rubbing the roof and walls of the house.  Not only will it scare your kids at night!! it will damage your roof, (sometimes to the point that water can enter) along with providing easy access for squirrels and raccoons to find an entrance in your attic.  Now that the weather is cooler trim your limbs that touch the roof, the wall or close to the roof before it results in $$$$ out of your pocket from repairs or roof replacement.  Spend that money on something fun or beneficial for the whole family to do together.  Also don’t forget to clean the pine straw, leaves and other debris from your gutters and your roof.  I had a slow day this week and caught up on a few of these ONGOING  maintenance items.

Be sure and clean out your gutters. With fall here (and the drought we’ve had) leaves and pine needles are filling up the gutters. Clear them and the downspouts out and repair as needed.

Please don’t forgot to change your air return filters each month if you use the non pleated filters or every 2.5 to 3 months if using the pleated filters.  Off course the media filters on the unit in the attic are suppose to last for 6 months.  This is the simplest thing a homeowner or tenant can do to preserve the life of your HVAC unit(s) and to keep your property clean.  A good practice is too write on the outside of the filter in a bright color when your next replacement is needed so it will prompt you to see and think about often.  I find so many homes and offices during the inspection process with 1 or more filthy/dirty return chases or build up on the supply vent registers which could have easily been prevented.  It will also clog your AC Evaporator coil.  If not already, please get in the habit of doing this.  Thanks and let me know if any questions.