Before You Move In You Better Check…..

Posted by - October 30th, 2011

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So you have bought the new house and picked out the colors and the window treatments, you had the home inspected and the repairs have been made are you ready to move in?  Well one thing you might not realize is that there are about four diferent types of dyer plugs out there and depending on the year your house was built and the year your dryer was manufactured they may or may not match up.  What can you do?  Actually it’s a pretty easy fix as you can go to Lowes or Home Depot an buy the chord that will fit your plug.  Installing it on the dryer is a simple affair as it has four wires that are color coded and can be easilly installed with a small screwdriver.  You just want to make sure you know which one of the four your plug is before you go to the store and don’t do like i did and have to buy all of them and take back the one’s that it’s not.  At Home Inspection Carolina we actually take a picture of your outlet so you will know which chord to buy.  It is some much easier to install before you move the dryer in.

There are many home inspection companies you can choose from when you need a home inspector in Charlotte NC.  Let me tell you why Home Inspection Carolina is your best choice.  These guys have over 100 years of combined home inspection and construction experience.  They fix the small things like rubbing doors and sticking windows instead of putting them on the home inspection report like other home inspectors.  They have a preinspection program designed to help you sell your house by offering you a discount on the inspection and providing you with multiple copies of the report to give out.  They also put out a just inspected sign in the yard of your Charlotte NC home.  Home Inspection Carolina then sends out a “just inspected” email to their data base.  They like to think of it as a premarketing inspection instead of a prelisting inspection. 

Two new things that Home Inspection Carolina has started doing are home maintenance videos and customer coupons.  They have a large library of home maintenance videos on youtube so they link to these within the appropriate points in the report.  They also have established relationships with many vendors and contractors that allow them to give coupons to their home inspection clients.  The idea is to provide am entertainment book or citi pass book for new homeowners.  These are just some of the benefits of using Home Inspection Carolina.  If you are buying a home near Charlotte NC call them today. 

Home Inspection Carolina

(704) 542-6575

 

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Halloween Extravaganza in Fountain Hills Saturday Oct. 29th 4-7 PM

Posted by - October 29th, 2011

Halloween is a huge event in Fountain Hills. This is where as a community we shine. That home town feeling abounds when everyone gathers on the Avenue of the Fountains tomorrow for tricks, treats, games and prizes for everyone. When I say everyone, yes it’s the whole family that’s invited to show up in your cutest or scariest attire.  Don’t even think about leaving your four legged canine family member at home, Fido is welcome to join in the festivities. Just be sure he’s wearing a costume too.

What would Halloween be without monsters, ghosts, goblins and witches, a haunted mine and lots of other surprises. There will be costume judging and prizes for the best dressed pets and pet owners. Did I mention games and bouncers . . .oh yeah. Kids will be filling up their trick-or-treat bags with candy, popcorn and other treats from all the merchants on Avenue of the Fountains. This promises to be a great time for everyone. If I were you I’d be bringing my camera to capture some memorable Halloween moments.

The fun all begins at 4 PM and goes till 7:00 PM on Avenue of the Fountains in Fountain Hills.  You don’t want to miss it. Hope to see you there . . .

 

 


Fountain Hills Up Close

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Home Owners Should You Renew Your Home Warranty?

Posted by - October 25th, 2011

In all likelihood when you purchased your home  you received a home warranty covering various items in your home, i.e. appliances, roof, air conditioner, plumbing and heating items, possibly your pool/spa etc. If you had a great Realtor® he or she got the seller to pay for the warranty. So here you are nearing the renewal date and questioning if you should renew it or not.

We all know in these economic times coming up with 0 to 0 is a lot of money for many of us. If you indeed did not have to pay for the initial coverage, I doubt that you paid much attention to the cost of your home warranty . Sure you had to pay the – service call if you had one and that probably felt like a pretty good deal, especially if you had something major go wrong like your hot water heater going bad. Perhaps you didn’t have any service calls at all and now you are faced with this renewal expense and there’s a good chance your saying “I don’t think so”.

Now for me, I live in a home that is 10+ years old. Age is definitely a factor to consider. How old are your appliances, the filter motor for your pool, your AC and heat pump, plumbing fixtures, hot water heater, garage door opener, your roof and some of the many other things that a home warranty can cover.

You should also factor in the additional costs of the service calls, they have a way of adding up if you have 3-4 of them in a year. These of course are costs over and above the cost of the warranty itself. Read the fine print of your policy before you renew to be sure the items that you may be concerned about are actually covered. Some of the items you want to be covered are not in the standard policy but are considered “optional coverage” and have additional fees.  I have had more than one surprise and found myself very disappointed when I found out the warranty did not cover “that specific” item.

The other thing, as a home owner, you should know that if you don’t have an existing home warranty you can always get one. These companies don’t  just cater to the new home buyer of a resale home. You can purchase a home warranty any time, but know that there will be a 30 day waiting period for it to go into effect.

For me, this year I really thought long and hard if I wanted to put out 0 for my renewal. Then I started adding up the what if’s, and again, for me, it made sense. When October 2012 shows up, I’ll be sure to let you know if I made a wise decision.


Fountain Hills Up Close

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Charlotte Home Inspector Reveals that Termite Sheilds Do Not Work

Posted by - October 24th, 2011

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Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin has been in over 20000 crawl spaces.  He has seen a lot in his over 15 years of being a home inspector in Charlotte NC.  He has seen damage to crawl spaces and crazy repairs.  By far the most damage done to crawl spaces is done by water and termites.  Termites come from the ground and have to return to the ground for moisture.  There are several ways or attempts to stop termites.  Some work and some don’t.  On theing that they used to use back in the 1950′s and 1960′s is the termite sheild.  The termite sheild was this sheet metal sheild that went over the top of the foundation.  It was thought that the termites tunneling up from the ground would hit the sheild and then stop.  It was a nice idea but it didn’t work.  Termite will either find the seam or just tunnel around the sheild like they did in this picture here.  If you need a termite inspection or a home inspection and are considering moving to Charlotte, Waxhaw, Monroe, Gastonia, or Lake Norman give Home Inspection Carolina a try.

Preston Sandlin and Home Inspection Carolina have providing thorough quality home inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 15 years.  Preston has a masters’ degree in Education and has taught Home Inspection classes for years.  He also is a certified infrared thermographer.  Home Inspection Carolina has  been on TV many times and has a Charlotte Home Inspector radio show .  So you are in need of a home inspection in Charlotte NC, Gastonia NC, Weddington NC, Mooresville NC, Fort Mill SC or Rock Hill SC call Home Inspection Carolina (704) 542-6575.

 

Preston Sandlin

Home Inspection Carolina

Ask the Charlotte Inspector

 

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Large Snake Found on Charlotte Home Inspection

Posted by - October 23rd, 2011

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Charlotte home inspector Chip Sprague got quite a surprized when he did his inspection off Rocky River Rd today near Concord NC.  He was performing his normal routine checking along the crawl space foundation wall when out pops this large king snake who was not to happy to have an intruder in his crawl space.  Chip said after he regained his composure to get his camera out and take a picture the snake was about 7ft long and about 2-3 inches in diameter at his thickest.  Chip said “You know that thing they alows say about them being more afraid of you then you are of them?  Well that’s a lie”  The potential buyers say they are not moving forward on this deal until Critter Control has come out and freed the crawl space of any and all snakes and screens are put on the crawl space vents.

Preston Sandlin and Home Inspection Carolina have providing thorough quality home inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 15 years.  Preston has a masters’ degree in Education and has taught Home Inspection classes for years.  He also is a certified infrared thermographer.  Home Inspection Carolina has  been on TV many times and has a Charlotte Home Inspector radio show .  So you are in need of a home inspection in Charlotte NC, Gastonia NC, Weddington NC, Mooresville NC, Fort Mill SC or Rock Hill SC call Home Inspection Carolina (704) 542-6575.

 

Preston Sandlin

Home Inspection Carolina

Ask the Charlotte Inspector

 

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35 Days Off From Blogging “Stop With The Excuses”

Posted by - October 23rd, 2011

Wow and I had been on such a roll since the first of the year when I first started blogging. Pretty much blogging three times a week, blogging ahead of time when I was out of town so as not to deviate from my blogging stride. I made the blogging vow to be there for my readers, rain or shine, sleet or snow, well maybe not the sleet or snow, it is Arizona you know. Then it happened, if your a blogger you probably know what I’m talking about.

Call it what you want, writers block, I just don’t know what to write about, I don’t feel like blogging today, I need to take a break, who’s reading my blog anyway that my blog will be missed, I’ve been too busy. . . and the excuses go on and on. Truth be known, its all of the above, in addition to being in a funk since my mom passed away a month ago.  I guess her passing gave me permission to disappear for awhile.

Well its 35 days now since my last post and as Jack Nicholson said in The Shining “I’m back”. Although I don’t mean it in a scary way, God I still see him with the ax hacking at that door. No “I’m back” because it’s time.  I have had my blogging sabbatical. My mom was a tough lady, I admired her strength and her follow through attitude, someone who always bounced back. I can hear telling me now “stop with the excuses”.


Fountain Hills Up Close

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Charlotte Home Inspector Finds Termites Under the Deck

Posted by - October 21st, 2011

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Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin was inspecting a home in Weddington NC when he found active termites in a stump underneath the rear deck.  The space under the deck is considered part of the crawl space.  If you have a deck be sure to keep it free of wood and debris including firewood.  Also if you add a deck be sure to remove trees and stumps like the one you see in this picture.  Unfortuanately this home owner did not rmove this stump out from under the deck and now they will be faced with a rather expensive termite treatmeant  after the home inspection.

 

Preston Sandlin and Home Inspection Carolina have providing thorough quality home inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 15 years.  Preston has a masters’ degree in Education and has taught Home Inspection classes for years.  He also is a certified infrared thermographer.  Home Inspection Carolina has  been on TV many times and has a Charlotte Home Inspector radio show .  So you are in need of a home inspection in Charlotte NC, Gastonia NC, Weddington NC, Mooresville NC, Fort Mill SC or Rock Hill SC call Home Inspection Carolina (704) 542-6575.

 

Preston Sandlin

Home Inspection Carolina

Ask the Charlotte Inspector

 

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Charltte Home Inspection Revealed Damage Around Chimney

Posted by - October 16th, 2011

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Charlotte home inspectors Jonathan Buttery and Preston Sandlin Found some moisture damage around the chimney of the house the inspected in South Charlotte NC.  There had been some leaking around this chimney for quite a while.  The flashing had failed and water had gotten down into the wood.  This will need to be repaired.

There are many home inspection companies you can choose from when you need a home inspector in Charlotte NC.  Let me tell you why Home Inspection Carolina is your best choice.  These guys have over 100 years of combined home inspection and construction experience.  They fix the small things like rubbing doors and sticking windows instead of putting them on the home inspection report like other home inspectors.  They have a preinspection program designed to help you sell your house by offering you a discount on the inspection and providing you with multiple copies of the report to give out.  They also put out a just inspected sign in the yard of your Charlotte NC home.  Home Inspection Carolina then sends out a “just inspected” email to their data base.  They like to think of it as a premarketing inspection instead of a prelisting inspection. 

Two new things that Home Inspection Carolina has started doing are home maintenance videos and customer coupons.  They have a large library of home maintenance videos on youtube so they link to these within the appropriate points in the report.  They also have established relationships with many vendors and contractors that allow them to give coupons to their home inspection clients.  The idea is to provide am entertainment book or citi pass book for new homeowners.  These are just some of the benefits of using Home Inspection Carolina.  If you are buying a home near Charlotte NC call them today. 

Home Inspection Carolina

(704) 542-6575

 

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The Benefits Of Moto Metal Wheels

Posted by - October 15th, 2011

Moto Metal wheels are consistently becoming more in demand and is not difficult to conclude why they are popular. These accessories hold appeal for SUV, car, and truck drivers. They exude style and class and they are not expensive provided how many different kinds of them are available. The following is an analysis of their divergent positive characteristics.

As discussed previously, these custom rims can be found in a variety of divergent types. It is likely that people will come across the rim/wheel applications that are needed for their SUVs, trucks, or cars. These products are available in many different sizes as well, ranging from fifteen to twenty inches.

Where truck, SUV, and lifted truck packages are concerned, Moto has a large selection to satisfy the fan of this type of look. They also have wheels available for dually trucks. These particular trucks are lightweight and they have 4 wheels that are situated in the back of the truck. Overall, the wheels for that kind of truck come in either chrome or polished metal and many designs are available.

These particular Moto products cost anywhere from two to four hundred dollars each. They are known for their high level of durability and quality. On top of all this, they are designed in such a way as to appeal to a wide array of drivers.

Moto provides a divergent array of finishes. People who love their products tend to like glossy finishes and a number of these are available. Other customers prefer a more subdued matte look. The firm offers many different finishes and colors via their catalog and their wheels also have nice looking machine lips.

It is of note that customers who buy wheels from Moto, like consumers who make purchases at any company, typically would like to protect what they are investing in. This is more so the case given the recession of today as well as how much they are paying for the products. The items could cost hundreds of dollars or more in many cases. The company is generous to this end as it offers customers a detailed lifetime warranty which provides protection against the structural failure of their products. In addition to all of this, a one year guarantee offers consumers protection against any problems that they may have with materials, finishes, or workmanship.

In addition to what was previously discussed, the company’s auto accessories are provided by a solid network of dealers. Most of the dealers within the company have been given special training that makes them able to aid consumers with matching the proper wheel or rim setups with the right vehicle. As the network is so extensive, a person will have no trouble finding a dealer no matter where he or she lives.

In concluding, Moto Metal custom wheels continue to become more popular and they have a number of quality features. These custom wheels rims come in an array of styles, varieties, and finishes. They also can be used for vehicles of all sizes and types. The company also has a big dealer network and it has a solid warranty and guarantee for its customers. These various features make the organization and its tires and wheels a good bet for car owners.

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What You Need to Know about Masonite Siding

Posted by - October 14th, 2011

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There are plus’ and minus’ to every type of siding.  There is brick , vinyl, hard board, and masonite.  Brick is prbobaly my favorite but it also has draw back.  Masonite has “R” value but if water gets behind it and causes it delaminate and deteriate.  Vinyl has some advantages because you don’t have to be painted and doesn’t deteriate.  The downside is that there is no “R” value and they they brittle and can crack.  Hardboard is relatively new and the jury is still out on it.  Stucco has “R” valu but is bad about trapping moisture.  Just remember that each type of siding has plus’ and minus’ 

There are many home inspection companies you can choose from when you need a home inspector in Charlotte NC.  Let me tell you why Home Inspection Carolina is your best choice.  These guys have over 100 years of combined home inspection and construction experience.  They fix the small things like rubbing doors and sticking windows instead of putting them on the home inspection report like other home inspectors.  They have a preinspection program designed to help you sell your house by offering you a discount on the inspection and providing you with multiple copies of the report to give out.  They also put out a just inspected sign in the yard of your Charlotte NC home.  Home Inspection Carolina then sends out a “just inspected” email to their data base.  They like to think of it as a premarketing inspection instead of a prelisting inspection. 

Two new things that Home Inspection Carolina has started doing are home maintenance videos and customer coupons.  They have a large library of home maintenance videos on youtube so they link to these within the appropriate points in the report.  They also have established relationships with many vendors and contractors that allow them to give coupons to their home inspection clients.  The idea is to provide am entertainment book or citi pass book for new homeowners.  These are just some of the benefits of using Home Inspection Carolina.  If you are buying a home near Charlotte NC call them today. 

Home Inspection Carolina

(704) 542-6575

 

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