Shady Side Home Inspections

04/09/2025

Congratulations to these new Accredited Businesses! When you see the BBB Accredited Business Seal, it’s a signal representing the code of ethics these companies abide by for their community, customers, employees and even their competitors. We applaud their commitment to strong business ethics! 🎉👏

Altered Image Tattoo I Anything Automotive LLC I AV Innovations I Critelli Landscaping And Snow Removal I Happy Valley Handyman LLC I J & J Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC, K & S Healthy Clean Choice Solutions I Keystate Metals LLC I Maid in The Burgh I Michael’s Manna LLC I NCC Roofing, Siding, and Gutters I Planet Roof I Oats Family LawnCare I Regal Remodelling LLC I Shady Side Home Inspections I Unchained K9, LLC

02/07/2023

Reputed to have the most spectacular formal gardens in all of France, Château de Villandry dazzles the eyes of visitors with its stunning and intricate garden displays, many of which take inspiration from the Renaissance era in which the château was built.

02/07/2023

09/27/2022

Pro Tip #1 - Never wear a dress when doing a Home Inspection…..

03/30/2020

We greatly appreciate your support and referrals. It drives our business, and we couldn't do what we do without you!

10/04/2019

I DON’T KNOW???? 🤪

The three most dreaded words you can hear on any Home Inspection. Well.....you won’t hear that from us!!! Why do ask that mortal? Well....We can see - We see you when you’re sleeping....nah that’s kinda creepy and we’ll leave that to the Chubby Christmas Dude.

We now have “drone services” included with the Home Inspection. NO EXTRA COSTS just extra information which will help YOU make a better more informed home buying decision. Which is superfantasticky I know right. Our customers will never hear “we can’t see the roof”, “we can’t see the chimney”, or the old favorite “we don’t climb on roofs”.
We can see the chimneys, roofs, flat roofs, etc.... Our first responsibility is to our customer not anyone else which is the biggest reason you should contact us.

CHECK out our website at Shadysidehomeinspections.com today to get more info and schedule your Home Inspection.

Shadyside Home Inspections “Not just a guy with a ladder and a flashlight” but now with DRONE SERVICES

09/30/2019

This weeks tip.....

How to know if you have the dreaded “Achy Shaky Toilet”......

This phenomenon has occurred since the beginning of indoor plumbing. If the toilet is Shaky then you could possibly incur damage to the floor or the subfloor under the toilet.

So how do you know if you have the “Achy Shaky Toilet”

1. Do you have indoor plumbing?
2. Do you have at least one toilet in the home?
3. If you answered yes to number 1 and number 2 please proceed the number 4.
4. Straddle the toilet with your face facing the tank and one leg on either side of the bowl. Now gently rock side to side with your legs.
5. If your toilet moves you have the “Achy Shaky Toilet”.

So you are afflicted with “Achy Shaky Toilet” easy fix though. Simply tighten the nuts at the base of the toilet on the left and right side of the bottom of the toilet.. These nuts are usually well hidden below caps on the left and right side. Or if you don’t know the last time the wax ring under the toilet was replaced, simply visit your local home improvement center and purchased a new wax ring and repair properly.

There you go the diagnosis and remedy of the “Achy Shaky Toilet” - Thanks see y’all next week.

08/08/2019

Phrase of the week “Don’t Panic Unpucker those BUTT cheeks”......RELAX!!!!

Your offer on your soon to be new humble abode has been accepted. Now you need to hire a Home Inspector (dramatic 🎶 music)

So what do you do? Who do you call? Do you have one in the family? OMG and you just passed out. Pull yourself together, sit down and listen to some great advice.

1. Do some research - Do NOT go with the cheapest because they are the cheapest!!!!!!! Your house is worth more than saving $20 right???
2. Visit a website from a reputable home inspector organization (ASHI, InterNachi, etc....) they will have members listed in your area.
3. Ask about education “Home Inspector” education. NOT building, plumbing, electrical etc.... You want a person that has completed some “Classroom” home inspection education courses. Anybody can take online courses.....
4. How long have they been in business? Did they do an apprenticeship with another reputable inspector?
5. I also recommend seeking referrals from friends or family members as to who they might have used.

Most of all beware - There are lots of land mines and sometimes people involved in the process who don’t necessarily have your best interest at heart. Sometimes “money” can muddy the waters of integrity.

Tune in next week for another detour down the road of honesty and helpfulness.....😀

07/30/2019

Okay ready for another Awesome, Great, Superb, I’m so happy I almost peed my pants kinda “Home Inspector Tip of the Week”.....

So what the heck is this you ask???!!

No it’s not toilet, Not cess pool, Not a cistern....wait for it.....wait for it. This is just one way to ruin your morning when your already late for work.

Picture this - Its 600am on a dark and rainy Monday in January and you have a meeting at work with people you really don’t like to talk about something that’s pretty pointless. So you get showered (grumble), have to shave (grumble), but wait YOU forgot to get your shirt outta the dryer in the basement $@&% # !!! You run down the steps and off the last step and WTF!!! You step into water all over the basement floor.....now the cussing really starts!!!! And your socks are now wet!!!!

Why is there water on the floor??? The basement is flooded because the Sump Pump that works in concert with the interior French Drain system quit working some time last week. Now the water that was supposed to be pumped outside is now deep enough so you can kayak to the dryer. NOT GOOD!!!

So what’s the photo you ask..??? The photo is a sump pump in a pit in a home I recently inspected and you guessed it.....It doesn’t work!!! So unless you like things that don’t work, like your ex brother-in-law, check the pump regularly. Not every home has a sump pump but if you have one, you know who you are. Please test these regularly so you are not “that guy”!!!!

07/24/2019

Here we go again.....That’s right sit down sit back and enjoy this week’s “Home Inspector TIP of the Week”

So you live in house right? Said house has a bathroom right? That’s the thing we all have one of.

Well, in that bathroom there is a sink. Did you ever notice those little holes at the top of the sink basin. Those are “overflow” holes. When you, your better half, or your kids forget they started running water in a plugged sink those holes come in handy. Believe it or not they divert the water into the drain via plumbing inside the sink basin. Sometimes the plumbing is not attached or does not function properly. Which....you guessed it can cause damage to the floor, walls, etc....due to the “Great Flood” taking place in your “Oval Office”.

Please check your sink by filling it up and making sure the overflows perform as designed.

That’s the weekly tip - Stay tuned for more great info....You know you will!!! 🥴

07/08/2019

Well it’s Monday and time for another great “Home Inspector Tip of the Week”

So you are out shopping for a home with character and that has a timeless design of days gone by.

Wow.....biff bam boom....Wala you’ve found it. The home is a big and beautiful 1929 home with a finished attic and oozing with personality. What else could it be oozing with....wait for it.....wait for it.....K**b and Tube Wiring. What’s that you ask, with that blank deer in the headlights kinda look????? Sit back and let me splain it to you Lucy.......

K**b-and-tube wiring (sometimes abbreviated K&T) is an early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings, in common use in North America from about 1880 to the early 1940s. It consisted of single-insulated copper conductors run within wall or ceiling cavities, passing through joist and stud drill-holes via protective porcelain insulating tubes, and supported along their length on nailed-down porcelain k**b insulators (Hence the name K**b and Tube). Where conductors entered a wiring device such as a lamp or switch, or were pulled into a wall, they were protected by flexible cloth insulating sleeving called loom. The first insulation was asphalt-saturated cotton cloth, then rubber became common. Wire splices in such installations were twisted together for good mechanical strength, then solderedand wrapped with rubber insulating tape and friction tape (asphalt saturated cloth), or made inside metal junction boxes.

So now that you know what it is, you should also know that it should NOT be used in a home anymore. The wiring has since degraded and has usually been hacked up and hacked into by every homeowner since it was new. The wiring is meant to NOT be installed under, through, or enclosed in insulation. Why....the wiring is meant to be used in open air due to the current raising the temperature of the wiring. Wires that get hot and that are covered with an insulating medium could possibly cause a FIRE....not good.

So I tell you this to help educate and inform. If you are shopping for that old home make sure you.....

1. Read the disclosure to see if the owner is aware of any K&T wiring or if the wiring has been removed.

2. Make sure you get a Home Inspection by a Qualified Educated Home Inspector that takes time and is working on YOUR behalf.

3. Said inspector should be aware that most people tend to make K**b and Tube Wiring NOT visible. Such as they will Run new Romex Wiring from the Electric Panel to a junction box in the basement - Then leave the original K&T Wiring from the junction box to the fixture, outlet, or switch.

4. Make sure Said Inspector is Able to Access the attic. Most times the visible LIVE K&T Wiring can be found in the attic.

5. Another giveaway is usually “Ungrounded” Outlets (two prong) in the walls and possibly floors of the home.

My advice is to ALWAYS have a Home Inspection when you are buying a home - ALWAYS do your research and find the Home Inspector you feel is most Qualified. The cheapest guy is usually not the most Qualified.

Tune in weekly for some great tips that should help you through the process a little easier and be better informed.

06/17/2019

Okay - This is very dangerous and deadly and was found in a home I recently Inspected.

What we have is a Propane Water Heater that has a “Power Vent” on top of the unit. The piping (white piping in the photo) is missing a section. So now instead of the Carbon Monoxide venting to the outside of the home via the piping......It’s venting inside the home. You might as well sit in your closed up garage with your car running.

Please have your HVAC guy or Plumber routinely check your Gas Water Heater to ensure the flu piping is in good repair.