Back in Rome in 35 BC it was all about “caveat emptor “ as Julius Caesar would have counseled his friends when buying a house off the Via Apia! In fact up till the early 1990’s it was the same in Dayton until the first Home Inspection company appeared in the Yellow Pages and gave […]Read More about A Home Inspection ?
A Kind Mail Carrier
Evidently in times gone past the local mail carrier who walked from house to house treated Christmas as a special time. This mail carrier gave all the homeowners on his route a gift , how times have changed. Happy Hollidays, it nice to thank your mail carrier for getting the mail to your door no […]Read More about A Kind Mail Carrier
Submarine in Dayton
You might be forgiven for thinking that this inspector was inspecting a WWII submarine, it looks like a moment from Red October. Down in the basement of an old school in Dayton that has been repurposed into a lovely apartment building are a series of old abandoned distribution panels behind huge three inch thick steel […]Read More about Submarine in Dayton
Hidden Beauty
As often as this church has been used over the last 100 years, the thousands of hours parishioners spent in the pews, the thoughts they must have had of the beautiful sanctuary, I wonder how many people thought of what was above the ceiling. The attic above the sanctuary is twice as large as the […]Read More about Hidden Beauty
A Long Forgotten Company
Inspecting an older home recently I noticed a stamp on most of the floor joists, they were all faded or blurred and illegible which made me more curious. It was obviously something to do with Xenia, but what? It turns out that there was a lumber yard there in the 1940’s, The McDonald & Torrence […]Read More about A Long Forgotten Company
What Is “A Light Switch Away?”
There have been many comments about light switches and this “one light switch away from” electrifying or possibly electrocuting the user. We take modern wiring for granted, fumbling for a light switch in a dark room without the possibility of getting shocked. This is more like something Dracula would have used to terrify movie audiences. […]Read More about What Is “A Light Switch Away?”
A Bit of Forgotten Dayton
In Englewood I was inspection this lovely one owner ranch and came across this box in the garage. It’s “dated” color and design invoked a happy memory of Rikes, one of Dayton’s lost landmarks. The owners of the house bought it new in 1961 and may have had the box for years, the box has […]Read More about A Bit of Forgotten Dayton
Forgotten Greats…..
At the time I saw this when inspection an older home in Dayton I thought nothing of it, other than this is an old furnace with a name that has disappeared and no longer builds furnaces. For sentimental value I took a photo of the manufacturers tag and thought I would be able to find […]Read More about Forgotten Greats…..
20 Year Membership
It’s hard to believe that we have been in business since 1999 and members of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors all that time. For years we taught classes at the DABR to help new Realtors understand what a home inspection was all about and how to deal with needed repairs. There have been so […]Read More about 20 Year Membership
Transformer
This funky and worrying thing with wires hanging out of it is often found in the oddest of places. They can be found on the wall in a closet, in the basement on the wall or in the ceiling joists, beside the breaker panel, just about anywhere in a home.Nervous buyers often look at those […]Read More about Transformer
Telephone
These blocks are often found in basements and can still be in use, but never in newer homes. Most newer homes have two plastic boxes outside with wires coming out of them. One for the cable TV wiring and the other for the incoming phone line. The phone “box“ is called a telephone interface which […]Read More about Telephone
Who Will Keep the Dog In?
It never ceases to amaze me how many homes have chain link fences around the back garden proudly displaying the iconic Sears brand on the gate. In fact It’s hard to believe that Sears has closed down and the dishwashers, refrigerators and garage door openers that are in so many of the homes we inspect […]Read More about Who Will Keep the Dog In?
Fuse Box “from times long gone”
These old fuse boxes in a beautifully built asbestos lined oak cabinet were a big step up from the single exposed wall mounted fuse. These boxes were the forerunner to the breaker panels of today. The asbestos lining was used to contain any sparks or fire in the days before we all realized that mesothelioma […]Read More about Fuse Box “from times long gone”
How Times have Changed Drains
This month has been the month for old drain cleaning signs from the 50’s still attached to basement ceiling rafters. Drains have had issues for years, older cast iron pipes were easily damaged by tree roots, while newer PVC pipes are rarely damaged by tree roots but often blocked by disposable diapers, feminine sanitary products […]Read More about How Times have Changed Drains
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