Commercial Building Inspection Home Inspection Blog

You’re a real estate professional and a new couple has contacted you regarding one of your listings.  These prospective buyers are absolutely in love with this house.  So you set up an appointment and take them in, showing them all the wonderful features of the house.  It almost seems like this house was built for this couple.  It’s absolutely perfect.  As the couple looks around for a bit, the wife looks up and notices some paint peeling on the bedroom ceiling near the air conditioning vent.  The husband reaches up and touches the peeling paint and it’s wet.  There was a rainstorm last night so the husband immediately believes it’s a roof leak.  The couple informs you that they don’t have money for a new roof, and they would rather just keep looking then to waste time and money on continuing with this house.

I’m sure many real estate agents have seen similar situations to this more than once.  But a bit of knowledge could mean the difference between this couple walking away immediately, or at least waiting until a professional home inspector can fully evaluate the situation.

Finding moisture around air conditioning vents is extremely common in South Florida, especially in older homes.  While the cause of the moisture could be anything from a roof leak, plumbing leak, or some other deficiency; it is more commonly caused by condensation of the vent or the ceiling box (also known as the boot, or ductwork boot).

Condensation occurs on a surface that is below the dew point of the air.  The temperature of the cold air in the ductwork could range from 50 to 65 degrees (depending on many different factors).  During our summer months the temperatures can reach upwards of 100+ degrees which dramatically raises the dew point of the air.  The temperature is even higher in your attic which raises the dew point of the air even more.  When the cold metal on the ceiling box or the vent register gets below that dew point, condensation will occur.

Repairing this is often very easy.  All that needs to be done is to prevent the hot air of the attic from touching the cold metal surfaces of the ceiling box or vent register.  There is a wide variety of insulation or ductwork sealants that can be used for this.  The problem is usually an inadequate seal between the ceiling box and the vent register due to improperly cut drywall.  Hiring a contractor for this repair could cost anywhere from $75 to $150 per location.  This is a huge difference from a roof repair that could cost $500 or worse, a roof replacement which could cost tens of thousands of dollars!

While hosting a dinner party last week, I found myself in the middle of a discussion about the state of the economy. Our friends were discussing their frustrations in being unable to sell their home in the current market.

These particular friends were planning on moving out of state and their moving date was fast approaching. They knew that they were not going to be able to sell their house before they had to leave South Florida and were leaving their home in the hands of a realtor. (more…)

Most of us have heard of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). It’s a set of laws to help prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. Part of those laws deal directly with construction. If you own or are a tenant in a commercial building, then you better pay attention because most likely, you aren’t as compliant as you think you are. (more…)