Ensure Home Inspection & Drone Photography

Ensure Home Inspection & Drone Photography Home Inspection and Drone Photography in the Niagara Region. Home Inspection, Drone Photography, and Investment Property Counselling
905-933-8741

Water ManagementWhether you’re replacing a roof or simply cleaning out your eaves troughs, you’re engaging in a critical...
04/06/2022

Water Management
Whether you’re replacing a roof or simply cleaning out your eaves troughs, you’re engaging in a critical process of water management for your property. New or old if water is not managed away from the property effectively and efficiently, water problems will result. No house is water proof, the best we can do is shed the water away from the house and keep it away. Look for roofing systems, and eaves toughs that carry water a minimum 6’ away from the foundation. In cases of low slope or flat roof systems look for pooling water. Lot slope away from the structure. Sills a minimum 6-8” above grade etc. Better yet, get it inspected.
Not only are we dependant on the systems of the house for water management but we are also dependant upon the city. With increased population and construction comes increased demand on city water and sewer systems. Additionally, changing weather patterns where we experience large volumes of rain in a short period of time are more and more common.
For homes with finishes basements or clients that plan to finish basements water management is especially critical. Overloaded city sewers may well cause backflow into finishes basements. While newer homes may have backflow prevention valves installed by code, suggesting such devices be installed is good practice and will certainly gain you repeat business when the neighbouring houses become flooded and your client is high and dry as a result of your recommendation.
Now you know.
Sincerely,
Jeff Butler

03/15/2022

Thank you to all my new friends for the positive feedback and the Likes! You've all made my venture out into the Facebook world a positive experience. Much appreciated!
I am planning to continue to post content of value to your business on a regular basis.
Sincerely.
Jeff Butler

Galvanized water supply pipe.Galvanized water supply pipes are a bit more common than you might think. Used up until 19...
03/15/2022

Galvanized water supply pipe.

Galvanized water supply pipes are a bit more common than you might think. Used up until 1960's, these steel pipes with zinc coating can still be found in older homes today. Missing the identification of galvanized piping can of course be an incredibly expensive issue to fix and certainly something you will hear about from your buyer if missed. The big issue with galvanized plumbing is of course rust. Rusting pipes, from the inside out, and predominantly at the threads/joints become leaking pipes causing water damage and floods in the case they burst under supply water pressure. Additionally, anyone who has secured property insurance knows that insurers are terribly adverse to the presence of galvanized piping in the home, typically requiring its immediate removal.
In many cases, plumbing has been upgraded over the years such that it appears to have been replaced at first glance. Best to be careful, as sections of galvanized piping may remain including behind walls, in ceilings or floors. You may find galvanized piping connected to copper piping. In cases where this happens it is common to see advanced deterioration of the pipe at the joint caused by a galvanic reaction between the zinc and the copper. Leaks at the joints of galvanized piping are most common. In some cases a single joint or elbow may have been left as galvanized supply piping. While this may not seem like a big deal at first, consider a situation where your on a week long vacation and you return to burst pipe that’s been flowing with 60-70 psi …trust me that’s a lot of water! Point being, even a small section of missed galvanized piping can be a costly problem and should be replaced. Exterior faucets and other areas that are difficult to access, such as crawl spaces, are a typical examples of areas where galvanized plumbing may remain.
Best to get it Inspected!
Now you know.

If you’ve made it this far.. please Like👍 Thank you!
:)

02/26/2022

Proper attic ventilation vs. wind washing.

So you’ve decided to poke your head into the attic and take a look around. First, well done..good job for getting there, few do! Be careful though, dangers include falling through the ceiling...yes , certainly an expensive fix, as well as concerns about electrical shock etc...be careful!

Besides seeing the obvious insulation, what specifically should you be looking for. There are a number of things to be looking at but lets concern ourselves with insulation and ventilation for today. Most commonly you will find batt insulation or blown insulation product. First check the depth. As a rough calculation you can approximate your insulation value at R3 times the number of inches in depth of insulation you have. At a minimum you should have R25 to R50. Yes, that’s as much as 17 inches of insulation. Next check for proper ventilation... most commonly a combination of soffit vents and roof vents that will allow convection loops to take warm moist air out of the attic space. Roof vents will appear obvious. Soffit vents may be harder to observe but can be observed if you see light coming in from the soffit area or if you see soffit vent guards properly installed holding insulation properly away from blocking them. If you see no light, no soffit guards, and the insulation is fully pushed to the roof at the outer wall, you may have a very common problem whereby your soffit vents are blocked with insulation. This is a common installation mistake. If so consider soffit guards as the solution.
We want air flow in the attic to take the moisture out of the attic space and not condense on surfaces in the attic potentially causing mold etc.
So ventilation in the attic is always a good thing, right? Well, yes to a certain degree. It is possible to have too much air circulation in the attic. Too much air circulation caused by excessive venting and wind can in fact reduce your insulation value making your home feel colder despite the amount of insulation. To understand why you need to understand what the insulation is doing. The insulation itself is attempting to trap air and keep it from moving. If the air in the attic is circulating or blowing to the extent that it is moving into and through the insulation with force, you have a condition called “wind washing” whereby the insulation is unable to properly perform its job in "trapping the air".
I have personally been in attic space where my hair was literally being blown around with gusting wind while on inspection. We don’t want that! Perhaps surprisingly it was a recently constructed home.
For the most part you will be fine, but now you know.
If you've made it this far, consider hitting the like/thumbs up button...much appreciated!:)

So you have 100 amp breaker panel and are convinced you have updated wiring, or do you? Updating the fuse panel to a br...
02/18/2022

So you have 100 amp breaker panel and are convinced you have updated wiring, or do you? Updating the fuse panel to a breaker box and/or 60 amp service to 100 amp service is quite common to help deal with todays updated power supply needs for your home. Flipping a breaker is certainly better than struggling to find replacement fuses as anyone who has had that experience knows. In looking at the electrical system however it is not only important to look at the panel but also important to understand the nature of the distribution wiring. Looking at the panel, it is clearly observable what you may have with NM, copper wiring being most common. Wiring visible from the panel in the basement, for example, may also appear perfectly normal ie. NM, copper. You may be tempted to list it as “updated” or “fully updated” as the seller has indicated and as the interior finishes appear. Less obvious however is what may be present behind the walls or in the ceilings etc. If it’s a much older home, it’s a bit of a mystery and even a home inspection won’t fully reveal everything that may be going on behind walls and in ceilings.
So what can you look for? First, any electrical work done to the extent of fully “re-wiring” a home should have a proper ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) letter as confirmation. In the absence of such a confirmation, look for safety devices such as GFCI, AFCI, and CAFCIs You may find them at individual outlets and/or at the breaker box incorporated in the breaker and identified as such. Updated electrical work will include such devices, and if not certain the distribution wiring is fully updated, you can have these safety devices put in place to identify any problem circuits that may develop in the future.

Now you know!

02/11/2022

Looking forward to creating some ongoing value added content for my friends and followers! Hoping you are doing well!

Most readily observable under more modern insulation batts or blown insulation in the attic, how concerned should you be...
02/11/2022

Most readily observable under more modern insulation batts or blown insulation in the attic, how concerned should you be if you find vermiculite? Adverse stereotypes related to vermiculite are related to the possibility that it contains asbestos. However not all vermiculite contains asbestos and to be certain testing is required. Left alone vermiculate poses no real risk. However if renovating or generally working in an area containing vermiculite the risk of asbestos particles becoming airborne may pose unacceptable health risks requiring consideration of steps to properly remediate the product.
Now you know!
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01/26/2022

Excited about the new look! An anxious process with a positive result!
Needing a home inspection or drone photography for your marketing needs...text or call 905-933-8741 or [email protected].

26 FIFTH STREET...FIXED UP RENTAL
01/25/2018

26 FIFTH STREET...FIXED UP RENTAL

WRIGHT STREET...RENTAL..AND FLIP
01/25/2018

WRIGHT STREET...RENTAL..AND FLIP

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L2T2P4

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