Inspection

The Other Rolling Stones – In your basement

Mar 5th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Home Repair, Inspection

The Other Rolling Stones by Don R. Carter PE Granted, this report is only relevant to a small percentage of Kansas City Homes – those who have pre-1960’s mortared limestone basement walls.  That said, we are seeing enough problems with these walls that knowledge of a potential risk should benefit those who do have them. [...]

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Asbestos Prevention and Healthy Tips for the Home

Feb 27th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Home Repair, Inspection

Asbestos Prevention and Healthy Tips for the Home The road to owning a home is a wonderful experience, but one that requires new responsibilities. Homes that are newly purchased may require additional remodeling or repairs.

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Kansas Home Inspectors Now Need License

Feb 25th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Inspection, Legislation

To protect the consumer, new legislation went into effect January 1, 2010, requires all Kansas home inspectors be registered with the Kansas Home Inspectors Registration Board (KHIRB) in order to provide home inspection services. If a home inspector does not register with KHIRB by this date, they are prohibited from performing home inspections.  KS Home [...]

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Radon Info – EPA Links

Feb 8th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Buyer Info, Inspection, Seller Info

If your radon level is 4.0 pC/L or greater, you can call your state radon office to obtain more information, including a list of EPA or State-approved radon contractors who can fix or can help you develop a plan for fixing a radon problem. Reduction methods can be as simple as sealing cracks in floors [...]

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Structural Pier Types

Feb 2nd, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Home Repair, Inspection

Home Front by Don R. Carter PE The day the house fell The Day the House Fell1 is the title of a book by Richard Handy, wherein he states, “About half the houses built every year in the U.S. are founded on expansive clays.  Half of those will eventually show some distress. Of the houses [...]

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Some KC Home Inspectors

Jan 31st, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Buyer Info, Inspection

The second most important person in the real estate transaction is the Home Inspector. Get a good one you can trust. A buyer may use any home inspector they like. Here are a few home inspectors that I trust. No one is perfect, but these are some of the better ones. These are licensed and insured. It is [...]

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Some Typical Home Inspections

Jan 16th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Buyer Info, Inspection, Seller Info

Typical Home Inspections Buyers are encouraged to conduct any and all inspections by qualified experts to verify the condition of a property. This list summarizes many types of inspections, but you should investigate anything that concerns you. Be careful to watch the dates and other requirements about inspections in your sales contract.

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Home Inspection Process

Jan 11th, 2010 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Buyer Info, Inspection

Now it is time to begin the inspection process. It is CRITICAL that we watch the dates. We must complete ALL inspections and respond before the deadline. Otherwise the seller does not have to fix a thing and you own the home “as-is”. Relax it is not quite as bad as that, if something does [...]

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Some Common Types of Mold

Feb 23rd, 2009 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Home Repair, Inspection

Aspergillus / Penicillium: are two separate genera of molds so visibly similar, they are often grouped together. They comprise of approximately 400 different species, produce dry spore that are easily dispersed through the air, and serve as a source of food for mites therefore also being dispersed by mites and other insects. Outside: They may [...]

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Mold

Feb 23rd, 2009 | By Steve Kornspan | Category: Home Repair, Inspection

What is it? Where is it? Medical research indicates that mold is the number one cause of allergic symptoms. Mold naturally occurs in home, office, and school environments, and many thousands of different molds exist, but only a few of them are known to cause significant health problems, of which Stachybotrys chartarum (toxic black mold) and Aspergillus niger(widespread [...]

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