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Whis is an Air Admittance Valve (Studor Vent)?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 6, 2023 | Home Inspection

What is an Air Addmittance Valve (also known as a Studor Vent)? An air admittance valve (AAV) is a mechanical device that is used to allow air to enter the drainage system of a building when other options will not work. It is a one-way valve that allows air to enter...

Do Electric Water Heaters Need a Disconnect?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 5, 2023 | Home Inspection

What is an Electrical Disconnect? An electrical disconnect is a device that is used to disconnect power from an electrical circuit. It is also referred to as a disconnect switch, isolator switch, or simply a disconnect. The purpose of an electrical disconnect is to...

Can I Use Wiremolding Outside?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | May 4, 2023 | Home Inspection

What Is Wiremolding?   Wiremolding is a type of cable management system that is used to conceal and protect electrical wires and cables. The technical / code name for this product is a “surface metal raceway” and raceway is a more technical term used...

R-22 Refrigerant and What it Means for Your Air-Conditioning System

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Apr 30, 2023 | Home Inspection

San Antonio Home Inspector Explains R-22 Refrigerant       What is R-22 Refrigerant? R22 is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. It has been widely used since the 1950s due to its good thermal...

Asbestos: What is it, Where is it, Why is it a Problem?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Apr 30, 2023 | Home Inspection

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Asbestos:   What is Asbestos? Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is found in rock formations all around the world. It is typically mined from underground deposits, and the largest deposits are found in...

9 Best Ways to Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Apr 30, 2023 | Home Inspection

As a Home Inspector in San Antonio, Here are my 9 Best Tips to Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency: There are many ways to make your home more energy-efficient, and doing so can save you money on your energy bills while reducing your carbon footprint. Here are...

What are the Qualities of a Great Home Inspector?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Apr 30, 2023 | Home Inspection

What Makes a Home Inspector Good? A good home inspector should possess a combination of technical knowledge, experience, professionalism, and communication skills. Here are some key qualities that make a good home inspector: Technical Knowledge: A good home inspector...

IC-Rated vs. Non-IC Rated Can Light Fixtures: Choosing the Correct Recessed Lights for the Job

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Apr 25, 2023 | Home Inspection

What are Insulation-Contact-Rated Recessed Light Fixtures?   When installing recessed lighting in your home’s ceiling during a remodel, it’s important to identify what kind of light fixtures you need to have installed and to be able to make sure the...

Does a Home Inspector Check for Gas Leaks?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Aug 23, 2022 | Home Inspection

Operating a Combustible Gas Detector to Check for Natural Gas / Propane Leaks During a Home Inspection     Natural gas is piped to probably only 50% or fewer of the homes in the San Antonio, Texas area, but I will commonly hear of concerns about gas leaks...

What are Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs)?

by ensurehomeinspections@gmail.com | Aug 10, 2022 | Home Inspection

Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters: Protecting Property and Reducing Fire Risk   Are you reading a home inspection report and finding out your home does not have AFCI protection? How big of a deal is this and how much is it going to cost to repair? Read on for more...

Dishwasher High Drain Loop / Air Gap

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...

What is a Sediment Trap? Where Does it Go?

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...

Bathroom Outlets Not Working? Check the Garage GFCI

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...

Carpenter Ants in San Antonio

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...

Please Don’t Use Flexible (Accordian) Sink Drains

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...

Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector / Alarm Locations

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...

Where are GFCI Devices Required?

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...

Pointed Screws at the Electrical Panel: Simple and Dangerous Problem

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...

San Antonio Housing and Real Estate Observations in 2022: Inspector’s Perspective

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...

Home Inspection Problems: Galvanized Water Suppy Piping

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...

Home Inspection Problems: Cast-Iron Drains

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...

8 Common Air-Conditioning Problems Found By Home Inspectors

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...

7 Questions To Ask Your Home Inspector Before Hiring Them

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!...

5 Questions to Ask Your Inspector After the Home Inspection

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...

3 More Tips for Finding The Right Home Inspector

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...

18 Tools Every Home Inspector Needs (2021 Update!)

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...

4 Reasons to Hire a Home Inspector

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...

7 Common Problems Home Inspectors Find with Old Houses

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?”...

Is Your Home Inspector Selling Your Information?

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...

Home Inspector Breaks Down Attic Insulation

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...
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Recent Posts

  • Whis is an Air Admittance Valve (Studor Vent)?
  • Do Electric Water Heaters Need a Disconnect?
  • Can I Use Wiremolding Outside?
  • R-22 Refrigerant and What it Means for Your Air-Conditioning System
  • Asbestos: What is it, Where is it, Why is it a Problem?

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