Structure Tech Home Inspections
A few posts ago I included several photos of attic problems in my blog Reasons to Insulate, and said I would come back to them in a later post with explanations. Here we go! This photo shows a bypass to the attic space around a furnace flue. The square piece of…
With winter officially here, I’m on a big insulation kick. This is the time of year when I can really tell which houses have attic problems, oftentimes just from looking at the house on the outside! Today I’ll talk about a few things I look for when inspecting an attic…
If you have a problem with frost in your attic, you're not alone. With the recent cold snap of weather here in Minnesota, many homeowners are finding frost in their attics. At least the ones who have taken the time to look. With the forecasted warm-up this week, I expect…
If you're thinking about adding attic insulation to your home this year, please read this first. Many homeowners go about re-insulating their attics all wrong. What's far more important than simply adding attic insulation is to have air-sealing performed first. This is the labor-intensive part of an attic insulation job…
What's the best way to insulate your attic? I started out last week's blog post with that question and never got around to the answer. By the time I was finished with that post, I realized that I had two different topics to cover; insulation types and insulation methods. Last…
If you've considered adding attic insulation to your home this year, please read this first. Most homeowners go about re-insulating their attics all wrong. What's far more important than simply adding attic insulation is to have air-sealing performed first. This is the labor-intensive part of an attic insulation job that unscrupulous…
With the recent cold snap, I've seen a rash of frost covered attics. I also received an email this week that inspired me to blog about this: A couple of years ago my husband and I contacted you about frost accumulating in our attic. My husband filled in all the…
For about the last twenty years or so in Minnesota, it's been standard practice to seal up attic bypassses; little passageways for conditioned household air to leak in to the attic. Attic bypasses are also known as attic air leaks. It's important to seal all of the bypasses in an attic,…
If you see black stuff covering or growing on the roof sheathing in your attic, it's probably mold. It's never fun to find out that your house has mold, but the fix for mold in the attic is usually quite straightforward, and doesn't involve the services of any 'mold remediation…
Unfortunately, the easiest way to add insulation to just about any place in your home is to install fiberglass batts. Fiberglass batts are typically the worst insulation for any job, as I complained about in a recent blog. I mentioned at that time that I would follow up with a blog about…
If you're tired of dealing with ice dams and you've decided to finally get your attic re-insulated, please read this first. You might save yourself a lot of time and money. Over the past two months, a large portion of my business has been ice dam inspections in Minnesota. For most…
At the last four home inspections that I've done, every home had frost problems in the attic. Have you checked for frost in your attic yet this year? If you live in Minnesota or a similarly cool climate, now is a good time to check your attic for frost. Temperatures in Minnesota…
We recently inspected a new construction, custom built home in Edina. We did a team inspection at this property, where Neil, Duane, and I all inspected the house at the same time. We really went over this house with a fine tooth comb, but we didn’t come up with much that…
This Minnesota winter has been an especially problematic one for frost in attics, and it seems that most people don’t understand why it happens or how to fix it. There is a lot of mis-information floating around about why frost gets in to the attic and how to fix it,…
MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Minnesota Energy Tips January 2, 2014 Beware the Insulation Contractor Who Does Not Include Air Sealing Consumers should beware of insulation contractors who offer to insulate attics without checking for and sealing attic air leaks. If the offer to insulate does not include sealing air leaks, then the contractor is in violation of the…
In this episode of the Structure Talk podcast, hosts Reuben Saltzman and Tessa Murry are joined by Dusty Jameson, a seasoned home inspector of Inspector Cluseau which is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Together, they delve into the unique challenges posed by the mixed humid climate in their region. Dusty sheds…
Have you ever noticed a big insulated tube dropping down next to the floor near your furnace or boiler in the basement? If you trace this duct down, you'll find it connects to an opening at the exterior of the building. This is basically a hole in the side of…
Reuben recently received a message from a podcast follower who encountered an insulation scam. He shares that the company reportedly had a free dinner and offered multi-layer insulation and solar-power attic fans that are supposed to fix iced dams. Tessa highlights the red flags about the products. Reuben describes and…
Recessed lights need to go. I love recessed lights, but most of them create a ridiculous amount of heat in attics, which can lead to ice dams. Until I started performing infrared inspections in attics, I never understood how much heat recessed lights contributed to attics, but now my eyes…
Reuben and Tessa advise looking for a good, competent, and qualified contractor by getting help from trained and certified professionals through Building Performance Institute (BPI Contractor and Test Center Locator | Building Performance Institute, Inc.). Tessa highlights that a good contractor should discuss air sealing, attic bypasses, and attic ventilation…
Snow was heavy in Minnesota last week. Today, we will talk about what causes ice dams, and how to prevent and fix them. Tessa explains what an ice dam is and how they are formed. She shares that most houses can fix this through proper air sealing and insulating…
Ice dams are literally dams of ice that form on roofs and cause water to back up. Ice dams form when the snow that touches the roof melts, and then that water freezes again before running off the roof. This usually happens at the edges of roofs, but not always.…
In today’s show, we talk about specialized and expensive home inspection equipment and our preferred brands. Eric Houseman, inspection manager at Structure Tech joins the discussion. They talk about telescoping ladders, Xtend+Climb ladders, and Little Giants. Eric shares about his preferred brand, the Werner 28-foot fiberglass with the Glidesafe…
Today, the three-legged stool breaks down and digests the recent podcast about insulation with Patrick Huelman. Tessa starts the discussion by talking about Patrick's applied research and development in residential houses with the Building America Program that is led by the Department of Energy. This program focuses on energy efficiency…
Today we're going to talk about giving context and putting things into perspective for buyers and homeowners. Reuben and Tessa talk about the factors needed to be considered when reporting about different kinds of houses: the age and condition of the house and the unique or typical defects. Tessa shares…
Bill talks about Open Access, a new project, and a training program where they learn more about houses. Open Access is a venue where inspectors answer questions from real estate agents. He mentions the session is appropriate for real estate agents with the same climate zone. Tessa explains the training…
In today's show, Reuben, Bill, and Tessa talk about urinals, spray form, and tiled showers. Bill shares that his cabin is in the phase where they are finishing the bathrooms. Reuben remembers that the urinal (http://www.structuretech1.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Urinal.jpg) he installed in the basement of his last home helped sell the house. They…
Minnesota is a moldy state and there are around 59 places where mold can hide! Today, Vickie Swenson from Minnesota Mold Inspections, LCC and Neil Saltzman from Inspection Services, help us unpack some questions about mold. They talk about how to find mold, how it develops, and how to prevent…
Back when I first started doing home inspections, I was under the impression that roof ventilation was the cure-all for everything. I would look at a lot of problems and quickly point to insufficient roof ventilation as the cause, and I'd recommend more roof ventilation as the cure. Blistered shingles?…
My official position on solar tubes: they rock. They're easy to install, they're inexpensive, they bring in tons of light, and they don't cause problems. For the most part. What's a solar tube? A solar tube is a fantastic alternative to a traditional skylight. It consists of something installed at…
This podcast was recorded in the studio in mid-February of 2020, pre-covid. We brought on a special guest for this episode, residential Realtor® Michael Bartus of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty. The topic was buying a house in the winter, and how to deal with a roof that’s covered in snow,…
The owner and founder of Complete Building Solutions, Robert Vassallo, joins the show to talk about his expertise as a structural engineering consultant. The show starts off with Rob explaining about his company and what they do to find problems and how to solve them. He then answers some specific…
INSPECT WITH THERMAL VISION INCLUDED WITH STANDARD HOME INSPECTIONS Infrared cameras show surface temperature differences, which can give clues to a host of different problems with houses. We offer infrared inspections as part of our standard home inspection, as well as for single-item troubleshooting inspections. We do not offer stand-alone…
The gang discusses hard-to-find home inspection discoveries, which they call Easter Eggs. Reuben talks about a recent inspection that he did, and shares some of the finds from that inspection. One of those was a blocked toe-kick register below the kitchen sink, pictured below. Reuben also discusses finding a hot…
Today the gang discusses a timeline of home inspection defects or issues that might come up, based on when the home was built. Reuben shared this timeline on the Structure Tech blog and on the Structure Tech YouTube channel, but we thought it would be fun to discuss these issues…
Buying a used house in Minnesota? Here's a rough timeline of potential problems to look out for. It's impossible to make a perfect chart like this because so many of these things are generalities, but I think this chart is a great starting point to knowing what types of issues…
Do ceiling fans actually cool down rooms? No! They only cool people. Reuben and Tessa explain how this works, while Bill grumbles about how he still likes running fans all over his house while he's not home. In the sustainable urban core. The gang also discusses the misconceptions that more…
Do ceiling fans actually cool down rooms? No! They only cool people. Reuben and Tessa explain how this works, while Bill grumbles about how he still likes running fans all over his house while he's not home. In the sustainable urban core. The gang also discusses the misconceptions that more…
For this episode, we answer your questions about houses and home inspections. These include the following: Should home inspectors open Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panels? How to deal with ice dams if you don't want to pay a professional to remove them How to best find a drain leak with…
For this episode, we answer your questions about houses and home inspections. These include the following: Should home inspectors open Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panels? How to deal with ice dams if you don't want to pay a professional to remove them How to best find a drain leak with…
We complete our two-part interview with Ross Anderson, president of the Minnesota Building Performance Association. We discuss the myth that ventilation is a cure-all for roof and attic and ice dam issues, and discuss the real reason for these problems, which is attic air leaks (aka attic bypasses). The gang…
We complete our two-part interview with Ross Anderson, president of the Minnesota Building Performance Association. We discuss the myth that ventilation is a cure-all for roof and attic and ice dam issues, and discuss the real reason for these problems, which is attic air leaks (aka attic bypasses). The gang…
We recently did a couple of home inspection podcasts with local mold expert Vickie Swenson, and we asked her about the top five places to find mold in the home. Before giving her a chance to answer this question, we also told her this would turn into a blog post…
moldy carpet One podcast just wasn't enough. For part II, we open the show with Reuben discussing whether or not it's possible to identify mold in attics just by looking at it. We also discuss mold remediation strategies for attics. Tessa asks about the top five places to find mold…
One podcast just wasn't enough. For part II, we open the show with Reuben discussing whether or not it's possible to identify mold in attics just by looking at it. We also discuss mold remediation strategies for attics. Tessa asks about the top five places to find mold in homes,…
Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss repair methods for ice dams on Minnesota homes. Before starting with Structure Tech, Tessa used to spec out insulation and air sealing work for houses with ice dam issues. The team discusses the cause of ice dams, how to fix them the right way, and…
Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss repair methods for ice dams on Minnesota homes. Before starting with Structure Tech, Tessa used to spec out insulation and air sealing work for houses with ice dam issues. The team discusses the cause of ice dams, how to fix them the right way, and…
Reuben and Tessa gang up on Bill, complaining about the shortcomings of story-and-a-half houses found throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The discussion is focused on insulation, ventilation, heating, cooling, and ice dams. Reuben blogged about this topic back in 2011: My beef with 1.5-story houses TRANSCRIPTION The following is a…
Reuben and Tessa gang up on Bill, complaining about the shortcomings of story-and-a-half houses found throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The discussion is focused on insulation, ventilation, heating, cooling, and ice dams. Reuben blogged about this topic back in 2011: My beef with 1.5-story houses TRANSCRIPTION The following is a…
Mold? Mold-like substance? Suspected organic microbial growth? Black fuzzy stuff? Unknown biological matter? Exactly what should we call this stuff? I have come to the conclusion that there is no right answer. None. I’ll go through a bunch of potential descriptions for this stuff, and I’ll explain why there’s a…
It's been about seven years since my company purchased our first infrared camera. Since then, we've amassed quite a collection of infrared images. We used to have one infrared camera that was shared by me and Milind, but it got too difficult to juggle one camera, so we bought a…
I recently had a reader email this question, and thought it would make for a good blog post: We get brown water stains on our siding over the winter, but they mostly go away over the summer. Will you perform an inspection for those stains only (not a whole-house inspection)? While…
Back when I first started doing home inspections, I was under the impression that roof ventilation was the cure-all for everything. I would look at a lot of problems and quickly point to insufficient roof ventilation as the cause, and recommend more roof ventilation as the cure. Blistered shingles? Not…
Minnesota got dumped on this weekend with nearly fifteen inches of snow in some areas. With hardly any snow last winter, we almost forgot what a real snow storm looked like. I haven't heard about any concerns over ice dams yet, but I suspect they'll be coming very soon.…
While most attic spaces in Minnesota are insulated with fiberglass or cellulose insulation, there is a relatively new product that provides superior performance: spray foam. On old one-and-one-half story houses, foam insulation can be an especially nice way to cut down on heat loss, air leakage, ice dams, yet maintain nearly the…
I love recessed lights, but even the best ones create a ridiculous amount of heat in attics, which can lead to ice dams. Until I started performing infrared inspections in attics, I never quite grasped how much heat recessed lights contributed to attics, but now my eyes are wide open. The main…
We've received over 34" of snow in Minnesota in the last 25 days, which makes this the snowiest December on record. While the snow turns our state in to a beautiful white winter wonderland, it also causes nasty ice dams that wreak havoc on homes like never before. The heavy…
I've lived in a one-and-one-half story house in Minneapolis for the last six years, and I feel like I've earned the right to complain about them. My main beef with them is insulation and ventilation; they're a pain in the butt and they're expensive to get right. There are two…
It happens to me several times each year; I inspect a home for a buyer, I point out a construction defect, then I get a call from an angry seller or seller's agent, accusing me of being wrong. If someone challenges my call, I'm always happy to provide an authoritative reference…
Most homes in Minneapolis and Saint Paul are old houses with masonry chimneys. When these masonry chimneys go bad (and they all go bad) the repair can be very expensive. If you call up a chimney contractor to see what can be done about it, they'll tell you the chimney…
For the last 800 years, building codes have allowed bathrooms to be built without exhaust fans. Exhaust fans aren't even a requirement here in Minnesota. This is a great example of how building codes are only minimum standards. I thought about this while doing a home inspection at a rental home…
Top Ten Minnesota Home Inspection Defects 10. Tree Branches Rubbing On The Roof Tree branches do a lot of damage to roofs. Just think about branches rubbing on the roof all day long while the wind is blowing. This adds up to a lot of damage. Tree branches too close…
If you hear about a house getting MAC’d, it usually means that some high-quality “Green” improvements have been done to a house near the MSP airport. The purpose is to minimize noise issues with houses, and that’s great, but I think some of the best benefits of the MAC program…
While most attic spaces in Minnesota are insulated with fiberglass or cellulose insulation, there is a relatively new product that provides superior performance: spray foam. Spray foam is the best way to insulate homes, especially old one-and-a-half story homes, and I'm such a firm believer in this that I had…
After all the recent snowfall, it's a good time to talk about ice dams. Ice dams are caused by the same thing I've been blogging about for the last several entries; heat loss! The most obvious sign of heat loss in attics is ice dams - those huge masses of ice…
Today we reconnect with a client to talk about their first home inspection experience and their path to becoming a diligent homeowner. Alex bought his house 10 months ago and has learned so much since. Alex shares about having zero knowledge about home maintenance and discovering Structure Tech. He also…
Today's show talks about how home inspectors go beyond the call of duty and help homeowners more than expected. Reuben explains wood foundations and moisture testing, polybutylene plumbing and leaking. Tessa talks about health and safety issues such as drafting at combustion appliances, microbial growth in houses and elevated levels…
Bill is thinking about installing a tongue & groove ceiling at his cabin, but Tessa and Reuben give his idea no love. Tessa shares that air leakage and moisture getting into the attic can be prevented in multiple ways. However, the climate zone, amount of air leakage, humidity levels in…
SPECIFIC INFORMATION: MINNEAPOLIS If you’re buying a home in Minneapolis, here’s some helpful information specific to Minneapolis. How do we know? Because we inspect a TON of houses in Minneapolis, and we make it our business to know about the houses we inspect. Nearly 50% of the houses that…
Milind Angolkar was the first home inspector to join the Structure Tech team after Reuben, and we love him. In fact, everyone loves Milind because he's a good, kind person. We start the show by discussing Milind's history with the company, and Milind shares some crazy home inspection fail stories.…
Milind Angolkar was the first home inspector to join the Structure Tech team after Reuben, and we love him. In fact, everyone loves Milind because he's a good, kind person. We start the show by discussing Milind's history with the company, and Milind shares some crazy home inspection fail stories.…
Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss several 'smart home' improvements they've either made or have considered making to their own houses. Reuben also mentions how his Arlo camera caught some kids stealing his pumpkins and his kid's scooter from his front door: Thieves stealing pumpkins and scooter. TRANSCRIPTION The following is a…
Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss several 'smart home' improvements they've either made or have considered making to their own houses. Reuben also mentions how his Arlo camera caught some kids stealing his pumpkins and his kid's scooter from his front door: Thieves stealing pumpkins and scooter. TRANSCRIPTION The following is a…
Should home inspectors walk through insulated attics to fully inspect the attic spaces? I say no. This topic was recently discussed in an online forum for home inspectors, and I was surprised by the number of chest-pounding home inspectors who are willing to trample through the insulation in an attic…