Be Prepared For A Home Inspection

Jeffersonville IN home inspector helps home buyers and sellers prepare for a Jeffersonville home inspection.

Driveway Cracking & Repair

Repairing driveway cracks is important to prevent moisture from entering the cracks and causing further damage.  Fixing driveway cracking  also increases the “curb appeal”.  Before starting the repair, check the area around your driveway looking for the cause of the crack.  Growing tree roots, impacts and heavy objects sitting on the driveway may be the cause.  Standing water is the most common cause of driveway cracks because water gradually seeps into the concrete, expanding and contracting with temperature changes.  First, clean the crack so that the surface of the driveway can bond with the repair materials.  Break off any loose concrete with a screw driver of chisel without making the crack larger.  After cleaning the crack remove any other debris with a wire brush, air compressor, or shop vac.  Small cracks use a textured caulk, concrete sealer, or pourable grout specifically for concrete.  With concrete sealer or grout, wet the surface lightly with water.  With caulk, apply to a dry surface..  Fill the crack and use a pointing trowel to push the product into the crack.  When using caulk be sure to slightly over fill the crack to allow for shrinkage after drying.  If the crack is over 1/2 inch wide then it may be wise to seek a professional’s opinion.  The supplies you need can be found at your local home improvement stores.  Need a home inspector in the Jeffersonville Indiana area then Certainty Home Inspections a call at 866-417-9591.

Our Schedulers Are Professional!

The scheduler was helpful and very informative. I called around to price others and although there were cheaper ones I felt that I would get a higher level of professionalism and better information out of this company. I have not been through any other inspections, as this one was my first, but the staff was friendly and seemed knowledgeable.  Ray Motsinger- Jeffersonville Indiana

Garage Door Safety & Maintenance

On a recent home inspection in Jeffersonville Indiana we decided to do an article on garage door safety; just stop and think about this, a garage door may be the heaviest working part of your home. Most people have never given very much thought to all of the safety features of a garage door, or even just how hazardous a malfunctioning garage door may be.

As often as your garage door is used it is really important to take into account your maintenance and safety conditions. There are various moving things which may come loose and fail possibly resulting in someone to getting injured. The garage door is a motor-driven piece of equipment which is frequently being opened and closed above your vehicle in addition to your entire family.

Over time there has been several unique kinds of garage doors installed in garages of which consist of individual panel doors that will kick out to one piece roller doors, however the most familiar style is most likely the panel garage doors. These kinds of doors are actually simple sections hinged to one another that are hanging on tracks using a spring system to help with raising the garage door. They may be manually operated but today many of them have a garage door opener which has a remote opening devise allowing you to operate the garage door from inside your car or truck.

The following are some maintenance ideas to keep the garage door safe and secure and last for several years;

•             Visually look at your garage door for any cracked areas notably where the garage door opener attaches at the top of your garage door

•             Check to be confident the door rollers are not loose or damaged, and lubricate them once a year or if you ever start to hear noises

•             If the garage door has the safety sensors, test them monthly by means of closing the door and blocking the beam being very careful to not have anything in the route within the door in the event the reverse detectors do not work

•             Doors built after 1993 have got the reverse sensors together with the pressure sensing unit. To try the reverses sensing unit device; put a roll of paper towels on the garage area floor under the garage door and once the door opener detects the pressure it should reverse and begin to open

•             Look for loose nuts, mounting bolts or anchoring screws then tighten as needed

•             Do not allow the young children to spend time playing using the garage door since there are a number of pinch points on your garage door, and ensure the garage door opening and closing button is beyond the reach of children

•             Visually check out the garage door springs, there are two common styles of garage door springs; torsion springs as well as extension type springs. For those who have extension springs there should be a safety cable going inside the springs for safety

•             Be sure the whole family understand and learns how to utilize the emergency safety release option

Safety First; you can do some minor repairs like tightening loose bolts but if the springs need work get in touch with a professional garage door service provider for making the repairs.

If you don’t know how to maintain the safety of your garage door, you can contact Certainty Home Inspections to have a home inspection done on your Indiana or Kentucky home which will allow one of our home inspectors to check out the safety of your garage door for you.

Home Inspection Nightmares

Jeffersonville home inspector tells about sump pump not working

A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water collecting sump pit, commonly found in the basement of homes. The water may enter by way of the perimeter drains of a basement waterproofing system, funneling into the pit or because of rain or natural ground water, if the basement is below the water table level.

Now is a great time with the rainy season upon us, to check out your sump pump to make sure it is operating properly. Sump pumps are used where basement flooding happens regularly and to remedy dampness where the water table is above the foundation of a home. Sump pumps send water away from a house to any place where it is no longer a problem.

Usually hardwired into a home’s electrical system, sump pumps may have a battery backup. The home’s pressurized water supply powers some pumps, eliminating the need for electricity. Since a sump pit may overflow if not constantly pumped, a backup system is important for cases when the main power is out for prolonged periods of time. Having a battery back up can remedy the problem of not having a sump pump during a storm when you need it the worse. Make sure you take the extra step to install a sump pump battery backup to assure that your home is protected during a power outage.

Certainty Home Inspection will check your sump pump while we are doing the home inspection to assure that it is adequately working. Certainty Home Inspections serves the Southern Indiana and Louisville area.

If you need a sump pump battery backup  please click here