by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 18, 2022 | Home Inspection
Dishwasher High Drain Loops / Air-Gaps Dishwashers, if present, are a permanent fixture that will get inspected and tested in a standard Texas home inspection. What I’ve found to be the most prevalent defciency with dishwashers doesn’t actually have...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 18, 2022 | Home Inspection
What is a Sediment Trap? Why is a Sediment Trap Required? Sediment traps, commonly referred to as “drip legs” by tradespeople, are manually constructed fittings installed in a gas line that “trap” debris that may be floating or pushed through...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 15, 2022 | Home Inspection
Do your bathroom electrical receptacles no longer work? Did they used to work previously? Then one day, something happened and now you plug in your hair dryer or electric shaver or charge your cordless toothbrush and NOTHING! I may have a solution! If your home was...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 15, 2022 | Home Inspection
As a Texas Department of Agriculture licensed WDI Inspector, I perform a wood-destroying insect inspection on about every other home I inspect in the San Antonio area. The most common threat to a structure is subterranean termites; small little insects who build...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 4, 2022 | Home Inspection
Yes, the flexible accordian-style sink drains / waste pipe are sold at the local hardware stores. That doesn’t mean that they are a good idea to install under your bathroom sink. Why are accordian drain lines bad? The quick answer is that they have a tendency to...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Mar 3, 2022 | Home Inspection
Ionization smoke detectors / alarms were first invented in the early 1950’s and became commerically available for low-cost household use in the mid 1970’s. Since their widespread adoption into residential use, they have saved countless lives and provided...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Feb 27, 2022 | Home Inspection
Ground-Fault-Circuit-Interrupter (GFCI) devices were first invented in the 1950’s with the first commercially available devices being produced in the 1960’s. By 1972 GFCIs began to be installed at bathroom and garage receptacle circuits, the first places...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Jan 20, 2022 | Home Inspection
Recently I was performing a home inspection in the north-eastern part of San Antonio, very near to the area that I grew up in. Homes in this area were typically constructed in the 70’s and 80’s, and as such, I expect to see a wide variety of home...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Jan 13, 2022 | Home Inspection
The San Antonio Housing and Real Estate Market: January 2022 The last couple years have been a whirlwind it feels like. Of course it’s no secret that the real estate market in San Antonio and the rest of the country has exploded, in no small part due to...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
Although a lot of recent development has been taking place in San Antonio, TX, especially outside Loop 1604, much of the urban core is filled with old to very old homes that contain a host of defective materials installed with deficient and out of date techniques. One...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
What Are Cast-Iron Drains? Before plastic plumbing such as ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) in the 70’s, cast-iron was a commonly used material for waste drain pipes installed in San Antonio, TX homes. Mankind has experimented...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
When you live in a hot climate like San Antonio or South Texas, air-conditioning is a big deal. I don’t think I’d live here without it! Air-conditioning was first invented in the 1920’s and involves the compression and evaporation of volatile gases...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
So you’ve just gone under contract on your new home and your realtor correctly advised you to find a home inspector. You give google a search for “home inspection san antonio” and you get about a dozen pages of results. You’re overwhelmed!...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
The real estate market is HOT in San Antonio, TX, as it is in most other areas of the country. Options are short, and you need answers about the home now. Considering most people don’t work in the construction industry and don’t have a lot of experience in...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
The answer to this question if you live in the San Antonio or New Braunfels area would be to call one of the home inspectors at Ensure Home Inspections of course. If you live outside of our service area, we can give you some advice as to what you should look for in a...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
Breaking out the different gizmos and gadgets a home inspector in San Antonio would use is always fun for home owners. Considering the amount of money they are paying for the Home Inspection, most home owners want to see us show up with some specialty inspection...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Sep 22, 2021 | Home Inspection
No, I’m not talking about the price of the home; I mean, of course a home is expensive. I mean all the costs that you didn’t think about when you started your home search: earnest money, down-payment, title company fees, mortgage origination fees, and the...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Jun 29, 2021 | Home Inspection
Common Concerns with Older Homes Revealed During a Home Inspection When gathering information from a client about the home they would like inspected, one of the first questions is “how large is the home in square feet?” and “how old is it?”...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Jun 29, 2021 | Home Inspection
There’s a reason that home inspector was cheap. Have you ever signed up for what you thought was a free service like searching for a contractor through Porch, Home Advisor or Angie’s List and gotten your phone blown up with calls for the next few days...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 7, 2021 | Home Inspection
Spray Foam Attic Insulation Spray-foam insulation offers the best attic insulation that money can buy. There are two types: shut cell and open-cell, also known as 2-pound and ½-pound, individually. They sport insulation values with upsides of around R-6.5 and R-3.6...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 3, 2021 | Home Inspection
6 More Easy Home Maintenance Tips! Window maintenance Wood Windows: Older wood sash windows may need prep and paint of the mutton’s and rails. Windowsills and stucco molding may also require prep, paint and caulking. Some wood windows will require new glazing...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 3, 2021 | Home Inspection
Why Do Nail Heads Pop-up or Push Through Roof Shingles? There have been several inspectors reporting nails popping on asphalt roof system these days. Take a look at the pictures above. You can see just below one shingle a nail that is working it’s way back out. Is...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 3, 2021 | Home Inspection
Even More Home Inspection Tips for Sellers When you need to get the very most for your home it is important to be prepared. Here are some key points to getting the best inspection results for your home. Exterior Trim all vegetation 12 inches away from home or...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 3, 2021 | Home Inspection
Home Insulation Guide: A Quick-Rundown of Your Home’s Insulation Uninsulated walls lose heat much more quickly to the outdoors than adequately insulated walls. This heat loss can cause: Drafts across the floor Discomfort from loss of body heat to cold wall...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 3, 2021 | Home Inspection
Requirements for doors between Dwelling and the Attached Garage Section 305.2.1 of the 2018 International Residential Code provides an exception to the one-hour separation requirement between a dwelling and an attached garage. That exception is for the doorway...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 2, 2021 | Home Inspection
Maintenance of Your Home’s Fireplace Before using your fireplace this year there are a few things you should do in order to ensure it is safe to do so. We will start at the top and work our way through the fireplace system. Step one. Check The Storm Cap and...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 2, 2021 | Home Inspection
What are Federal Pacific Electric (Stab-Lok) Panels? Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok (FPE Stab-Lok®) panels were commonly installed electrical cabinets from 1950’s until the mid-80s. Before Federal Pacific began manufacturing the Stab-Lok, they made...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Jan 19, 2021 | Home Inspection
Getting ready to sell your San Antonio Home? Want to ensure the smoothest transaction possible? Take these steps to make the buyer’s home inspector a happy camper. Doing these things may prevent the home inspector from having to make a return visit on the...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Nov 16, 2020 | Home Inspection
A Quick Run-Down on Your San Antonio Home’s Foundation: Soil, Movement, Indicators, and Performance Foundations Are One of the “Big Three” The three most common concerns home-buyers have when buying a home in the San Antonio area are the roof, the...
by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 12, 2020 | Home Inspection
We inspect a lot of homes in San Antonio, and it’s not uncommon to find segments of the electrical wiring that are made of aluminum, especially in the older areas closer to the city center. Aluminum wiring isn’t inherently dangerous by just existing, and...
