Southern Indiana Home Inspector is #1 Customer Service!!!

Did you know that “Certainty Home Inspections”, in our 7 years of serving Southern Indiana and Louisville Kentucky, has an outstanding customer service background. After performing over 6000 inspections less than 1/10 of 1% of our clients have ever had a complaint with our company. We don’t know about you but we consider that some pretty good standards to have a home inspection done by. Call us today to book your home inspection with “Certainty” 1-866-417-9591.

Louisville Home Inspector talks about GFCI Receptacles

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) are circuit breakers installed at the panel to provide ground faulty protection for the whole circuit. Circuits with GFCI’s need to have fuses or breakers to shut off the electricity in the case of an overload. GFCI’s receptacles are currently required in the United States for bathrooms and washrooms, outdoors, in garages, above counters for a kitchen sink or wet bar, and in unfinished basements and crawlspaces. They are typically installed to protect against electrocution in areas where a person is susceptible to grounding hazards, such as wet locations and when using equipment outside.

There are three types of GFCI’S that can be used in residential properties:

1. The receptacle type is used in place of the standard duplex receptacles found throughout the house. Some GFCI’S may protect other outlets down line in the same circuit. Sometimes the protected outlets will be in different rooms. For example, if an outlet in a patio does not work you should check other locations such as baths or the garage for a tripped GFCI which protects the entire circuit.
2. The circuit breaker type is installed in the electric panel and protects seledted circuits. Although there are limits to the number of outlets protected sometimes a single wire will run from the breaker, through the house, to bathrooms, kitchens and ouside locations protecting each of these.
3. The portable plug in type may be used in area where permanent protection is not available such as with extension cords for power tools operated outside from an unprotected circuit.

New Albany Inspector About Weep holes

Certainty Exceeded My Expectations On My New Albany Realty!

The work your firm has done for me and the insightful help during this home purchase has gone beyond my expectations. I’m absolutely a satisfied customer and I’ve spoke highly of your firm to a friend that is also considering to make a home purchase. Although he may be buying a home outside your normal service area; I informed him that your web page is full of great home buying information. Greg New Albany Indiana 47150

Severe Mold Issue

For more information on mold issues go to

Keller Williams Realty Team Speaks Out!

We are always comfortable in referring our clients to William and his Certainly Home Inspection team. William is very professional in dealing with us and our clients. We always receive excellent service and he always stands behind his work.

Chimneys And Their Caps!

Chimney caps and crowns are used to stop the damage to your chimney. Chimney caps simply act as a roof for your chimney. The water will be deferred from the chimney and kept from entering the chimney and causing deterioration of the masonry and brick. Water can actually do more damage to masonry chimneys than a fire can. A chimney is constructed of a variety of masonry and metal materials, including brick, mortar, tile, steel and cast iron. All of these will deteriorate sooner if susceptible to water. Masonry products deteriorate quickly when exposed to the freeze and thawing process.

Water can cause interior and exterior damage to your chimney. To help maintain your chimney for longer wear and tear, we suggest you install a chimney cap that will help prevent the deterioration of your chimney and give it longer life. A strong well designed cap is inexpensive and can help keep water out, as well as, animals. Caps also serve as spark preventers, preventing sparks from landing on the roof. A chimney cap should be constructed to overhang the chimney by at least two inches. There is a waterproofing cement you can use to cost the crowns to help with any damage.

For better protection use flashing to seal between the roofing material and the chimney. Flashing prevents rain water from running down the chimney into living spaces where it can damage to your ceilings and walls.

Paint should never be used as a water sealer because it will trap moisture inside the chimney and accelerate deterioration.

There are products that have been developed to specifically waterproof a masonry chimney. These products are vapor permeable which means that they allow the chimney to breathe out, but not in. Therefore water that has penetrated the chimney or moisture that has come from inside is allowed to escape, while the waterproofing agent prevents water from entering from the outside.

Water damage to a chimney is usually a slow subtle process. Sometimes it is not noticed until it becomes a serious problem.

Certainty serves the Louisville Kentucky area as well as Southern Indiana

Driveway Cracking

A damaged sidewalk can easily hurt the curb appeal to your home. Fortunately, sidewalk repair can be done yourself. To repair a sidewalk you will need to follow these steps:

1. Determine the type of damage you’re dealing with. Some damage is hard to repair and other isn’t Most types of sidewalk cracks are easy to fix. Big sections of sidewalk that have heaved and broken into pieces are not easy to fix and will most likely require a contractor to fix the problem

2. Determine why the damage occurred. Either there has been a lack of control joints or sometimes tree roots can be the cause.

If your sidewalk is cracking you might one to consider installing a few extra control joints. You can install control joints by using a masonry blade to cut lines in the concrete but do not cut completely through the sidewalk but rather about a 1/2 inch into it. These control joints allow the concrete to expand and contract in certain weather conditions.

If tree roots seem to be the problem, clear around the tree roots and cut them away with a pruning saw. Be very careful though, this can stunt the growth of the tree and sometimes even kill the tree.

What material do I use to repair my sidewalk?

The type of material you use depends on how large the crack is. For little cracks, you can use concrete grout. For larger cracks they can be fixed with caulk and the largest cracks will need to be repaired with concrete patching compound.

Sidewalk cracking can be a potential safety trip hazard at your new home and should be corrected to avoid accidental falls and trip hazards.

Certainty Home Inspections serves all of southern Indiana including the New Albany Indiana. To book your inspection online, visit us online or call us toll free at 866-417-9591.