Home Explore Inspections Inc.

For #FirePreventionWeek Sarnia Fire Rescue Services wanted to demonstrate why you should NEVER throw water on a grease fire! Always look while you cook but if... your cooking oil ever catches on fire safely put on a tight fitting lid or cookie sheet, turn off the heat and let it completely cool. See more

Sorry for the double notification. Something happened and this post disappeared, and I couldn't get it back! Hope you all remembered to set your clocks back an hour last night! It's also a good time to check your smoke and CO detectors/alarms. Change out the batteries and test each unit. If yours are hard-wired, make sure there is a battery backup. All of these systems expire at around 10 years. There should be an expiry date on the detector - or a date of manufacture. Replac...e as necessary. I recommend both photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms outside sleeping areas. You must have some sort of working smoke detection system, as required by law. The photoelectric alarms are also a good idea near bathrooms and the kitchen, since they don't produce those nuisance alarms every time someone showers or burns the toast! You should have a CO detector placed low outside of sleeping areas. It has been a legal requirement for several years now. I recommend having a digital detector on every level of the home. You only need these if you have fuel-burning appliances - i.e. furnace, space heaters, water heater, wood stove, fireplace, etc. If you have ONLY electrical appliances, you do not require CO detection. Most people have a combination of electrical and fuel-burning. See the diagram in the last post for more info.

At our house, the leaves are pretty much down. Time to clean the eavestroughs one last time! I have gutter guards on our upper eavestroughs, so no need to climb way up there. I really don't recommend anyone climb to the second storey for this task. Just not safe, especially if you have a very high, older home like ours. Better to hire someone who has the proper equipment - or best to install gutter guards. It's worth the extra cost. Better safe than sorry! And please don't lean out while on a ladder. Falling from a single storey can still do a lot of damage. Been there, done that!

Back from vacation! Fall maintenance tips here. Some of these can wait for cooler temps. Certainly wait to clean your eavestroughs/gutters until the leaves have fallen. You may need to do this a few times as the leaves start to come down - or it's also a great time to install gutter guards!

Having a great time on our vacation, and celebrating our 40th anniversary just a few days ago. So thankful for these years together! The colours have been amazing - and we've seen our share of wildlife too. We will be back and ready for business on September 23rd. See you soon!

This is something I've never dealt with - or given much thought to either. What happens if the house you just purchased experiences major damage before the closing date? This article has a bit of a twist, in that the sellers were not at all forthcoming with information. Read on!

Sorry, I've been MIA this past month. The busiest I've ever been! With Covid still lurking about, I've gotta make hay while the sun shines! Good article here about hiring an inspector - and keep in mind, home inspectors are not superheroes or fortune tellers. The expectations of buyers over the past few years are very high and getting higher. Some expect miracles. If you're looking for an inspector who guarantees that your foundation won't ever leak, you're going to be disapp...ointed. Hire the best inspector you can find - not necessarily the cheapest. Bargain hunting is great at garage sales, but hiring a home inspector is too important to base your choice on a difference of $25 or $50! You may end up with a nightmare on your hands. Look at experience, reputation/reviews, education/accreditation, and membership in an association that provides oversight, such as OAHI (Ontario Association of Home Inspectors). Very important with the price of houses these days. Do your homework!

Buyer beware! Best to check online reviews, ask for references of local work completed, confer with family or friends, check with the Ontario College of Trades, and check with the Better Business Bureau before hiring a company you know very little about. That's why hiring local contractors is usually the safest option. They should be able to reference work done in your own town/community. And if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is!

Had a question from a seller yesterday about a garage door that wouldn't close. The photo-eyes got bumped and were out of alignment! This is a great article, covering just about every possible reason your garage door isn't operating the way it should. This should help you troubleshoot your issue.

Nate (our oldest son) and Kerry just bought a house in London. Congrats! And while the prices are still high here, be thankful you're not buying in Toronto..... This one is on the market for $1 million!

Lol! Referenced the wrong number on the list in the last post. I have used ceiling fans (#5), but not the other fan method described in #4! I know you were all wondering if the heat got to me, but were too kind to say anything.....

Trying to keep cool in this heatwave, and don't have AC? Here are some tips and tricks to do just that! Not sure about #5. I've never heard of this and never tried it.

A lot of info in this article about many issues to do with roofing. If you plan on shingling your own roof, be careful and use proper procedures, especially if it's very high or has a steep pitch. Always tie yourself off - use fall arrest equipment EVERY time you go up. Or better yet, use a professional if you're not comfortable doing it yourself. Our roof is so high, when it's time to replace it, I will definitely call in a roofing company. Dark asphalt attracts sun and holds heat, which is great for shingles, but not so much for people! Be careful during this heat wave and take regular breaks and drink plenty of water - whatever you're doing!

Working on the back porch today, while the sun is on the other side of the house. It is HOT! It's actually perfect weather if you were planning to shingle your roof or redo an asphalt driveway. The driveway is my next major project. Lots of cracks to fill and damaged areas. Have a look at the article here by Mike Holmes. He's right about it taking a couple of years. Always best to make sure there's enough gravel support that has had time to settle properly before adding the asphalt.

Happy Canada Day!!

If you've ever wondered whether you should upgrade your electrical wiring/panel, read the article included here. I've inspected a lot of houses lately with knob and tube or aluminum wiring with improper connections. These can be both a fire hazard and an insurance issue! If you're not sure, hire an electrician to give you some advice. When you think you're done reading, keep scrolling!

Over the last few years, I've been a bit too consumed in a battle with the local pigeons. So far, they've been winning..... I've wasted waaaay to much time shooing them away from the peaks of the house! They love old buildings, especially ones that have covered ledges, perfect for nesting. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the enormous deposits of pigeon droppings, which run down the brick and downspouts around the house. Not a pretty sight. Plus, the droppings are corr...osive, parasite and bacteria-laden, stick to everything, and they're almost impossible to clean off just about any material. It's like trying to clean dried paint! During the slowdown, I decided to paint the exterior of the house, and deal with the pigeons once and for all. After some research, we ordered the bird deterrents/spikes pictured here (purchased on Amazon). We just screwed them to some old pieces of pressure-treated lumber to hold them down, and placed them on the four ledges at the peak of the house. I will post an update in a few weeks to see how these work, but just today we saw a pigeon try to land, and it flew off when it could not. They're pretty crafty, so I can't claim total victory today. They may be just in the process of figuring a way around them! I'll take a win for this battle, but the war isn't over yet. So far, the standings are Pigeons - 4, Ryan - 1. Stay tuned.....

UPDATE on Services: I am now back to allowing clients to attend the inspections with me, both inside and outside the house, so long as a mask and gloves are worn. I am finding that sellers are uncomfortable with too many people wandering through their houses, and no way to tell what may have been touched. So for now, only one person - along with an agent. Thanks to all my clients who have been understanding of the necessary changes during Covid-19 restrictions. I appreciate you!