It’s hard to believe, but this week marks the 200th Upon Closer Inspection column! When we started sharing tales from the field back in October of 2019, who would have thought there would be so much to say about home inspections!
We’ve discussed everything from the foundation to the roof, and all the details in between. We’ve covered tips for home maintenance, dangerous conditions and equipment to watch out for, and epic DIY fails. As long as there are home systems aging, building codes updating, new construction changing, and homeowners DIYing, there will be a wealth of information for us to report, and we’ll be there to take a closer look.
This week, it just so happens that my family completed the purchase of a new home, so two weeks ago, I had my own home inspection with Green Scene Home Inspections. To mark the occasion of our 200th column, we’re taking a closer look at my house. And you’re all invited over for margaritas! Just kidding.
Attic Insulation
The first Upon Closer Inspection column began in the attic, so it’s only appropriate that we start there at my house. In that edition, we saw the first of what became an “evergreen” fix-it-fail, where you leave a bucket or some other random receptacle under the AC or water heater in the attic to catch a leak and then forget about it.
In my picture above, you’re seeing a screen grab of the actual inspection report. This is real behind the scenes stuff, people. In my attic, the inspector noted that not only do we have only seven to nine inches of insulation on the floor (rather than the recommended 10 or more inches), the side wall insulation is missing entirely. In layman’s terms, that means I’ve got a hot attic. Which is bad. (This is the kind of in-depth reporting I’ve come to pride myself on over the years.)
Another handy tool I’ll point out, is that little yellow flag on the report. On Green Scene’s reports, they color code the deficiencies they call out to make the report easier to read and use. The flags indicate the seriousness of the issue. This helps you figure out which items to prioritize during the option period, which items to call a professional for further evaluation, and which items are just things you should know about. See the explanations below.
Grading and Drainage
Grading and drainage refer to the way your lot is engineered to deal with water runoff. As you can see in the picture, we have slight negative drainage in the backyard. We are going to put a deck right where that big yellow square is, but if that weren’t the case, we would want to look at options for dealing with water runoff so it’s not pooling at the foundation.
This was a topic we discussed in Upon Closer Inspection last spring during some of the big storms we experienced in North Texas. In the spring in particular, it’s important to have your drainage system functioning.
HVAC Needs Service
Red Flag! Ugh, it feels so personal when it’s your house. That’s right, we have an older aged AC, at the end of its life.
If you’ve been following our coverage of HVAC care and maintenance, you’ll see that this part of the report shows the age, brand, size, SEER rating, and type of coolant the AC uses. It also shows the temperature differential the inspector measured, which was nine degrees. He does this by measuring the difference between readings at both a supply vent and a return vent (see the article link below for more on these). This gives a rough idea how effectively air is cooling with the system working at full power. You want it to measure from 9-15 degrees, so mine just squeaked by.
All that other info basically tells us how old the AC is, how efficient it is, and what type of coolant I’ll need. This is important so I’ll know how soon I need to buy a new one, and how expensive that coolant will be if/when I need to refill it. Mine is an R-22 coolant, which has been discontinued as of 2020. These HVAC units are now obsolete.
Recently, we talked about new AC systems and the importance of being able to plan for their purchase. A reader commented about the impending ban on R410A coolant, which starts in 2025. This coolant will soon go the way of R-22 and the units that use it, and the remaining stock of R410A will go up in price. The new units will run on more efficient, environmentally-friendly A2L refrigerants, and the phase out has already begun, so if you find yourself in the market for a new AC sometime soon, consider future-proofing with a unit that runs on the new refrigerants. Stay tuned for an upcoming Upon Closer Inspection on this topic!
Home Inspection LOL!
Our 200th column wouldn’t be complete without a good home inspection LOL. Therefore, I give you, the parting gifts from the sellers in the garage. Here we have one life-size Venus de Milo and two massive Greco-Roman columns. So. We are all set for the ancient Greek play I am planning to stage in my living room later this month, and we may, or may not, have some plans for Venus for Halloween. Maybe she can wear my “Gobble Till You Wobble” apron this year at Thanksgiving. Santa and his reindeer will look extra fancy emerging from betwixt the columns this year, methinks. We have a little extra style and taste over here at the Masse house, let me tell you.
And here are some more LOLs from the vault to take us out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this simultaneous dive into my home inspection report, and walk down memory lane! You’re cordially invited to join Green Scene Home Inspections and daltxrealestate.com for another 200 editions of Upon Closer Inspection, or for now, click on that category tab, and take a deep dive into past columns while you share a virtual margarita, or the beverage of your choice, with me to celebrate.
