Archive for February, 2012

February 17th, 2012  Posted at   Home Inspections
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Radon and Radon Testing

Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless gas that occurs as a natural byproduct of the radioactive decay of uranium and radium. Their child, radon, contributes a significant part of normal background radiation that is present all over the earth. Small amounts of these radioactive elements may be found in the rocks of the earth – particularly in some granites and shales, in the soil and in groundwater.

Radon is the heaviest of the noble gases – about eight times denser than normal air. Because of this, it tends to accumulate in low lying and confined areas. There, it can build to concentrations high enough to be regarded as a potential health risk.

Radon – Does It Matter?

Statistics suggest that prolonged radon exposure is a contributing factor in 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States alone. The Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States – behind smoking. Smokers and small children are considered to be more at risk when it comes to radon exposure. Statistics also show that exposure to radon causes more annual deaths than drunk driving, drowning and home fires.

While no amount of radon exposure can be considered 100% safe, we will always have some exposure to a low level of background radon radiation. While the amounts of radon vary by geographic area, the national average concentration of outdoor radon is about 0.4 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L) for the United States. Ideally, radon levels inside a home should be the same as outdoors, but these results are difficult to achieve. The average indoor radon concentration is 1.3 pCi/L. (more…)

February 15th, 2012  Posted at   Home Inspections
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Some jobs are easy for a properly-prepared homeowner to handle, but some require expert assistance. Read this article to know when to call a professional and when you can do it yourself. Take the time to make every project your own, instead of simply copying what someone else has done. Including your own personal touch can make any project special. Use a porch light with a motion sensor to cut down on your electric bill. These types of lights can be manually turned on and the sensitivity can also be adjusted.

Sort your tools by project, in multiple tool boxes. For example, have a toolbox specifically for plumbing projects, containing various pipe fittings, a pipe wrench, and PVC glue. Make another box for your electrical tools and supplies. By doing this, you will be able to locate specific tools whenever you need them. One way to increase your home’s value is to upgrade your kitchen appliances. Even if you don’t plan to sell, updated appliances are a great idea for an easy improvement to your home.

Gutters clogged with leaves or other debris can cause serious problems with drainage in a rainy season. One of the major causes of leaky basements is clogged storm gutters that re-route rainwater down the siding of a house. Regularly clean your gutters to avoid this problem. If your walls have built-in alcoves or small niches, you can make these areas pop with accent colors and well-placed wallpaper. If you paint them, you might be able to get by with just a small container of paint instead of a whole gallon.

Any time you are working on any kind of heavier project, then you should be sure to have all the safety gear you need. If you are lifting heavy items, make sure to wear a brace. Helmets are also good if there is a risk of an object falling. (more…)

February 14th, 2012  Posted at   Home Inspections
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If your house is starting to change color in the wall area, smell weird or look fuzzy anywhere in the house you may have a mold problem. Mold is a big deal so you need to make sure you are taking care of it properly.

Your house being infected with mold can be a giant hazard to your health. You will have to take precaution and take care of it sooner than later because not only can you and your family get sick from it and have severe problems later with your lungs and your over-all health but you can have problems with your house as well.

Your wall becoming mushy and discolored is a bad thing. It can make your entire house come down. If you are seeing brown spots it might be due to a leak in the pipes or it can even be a leak from the outside in which can make your house start to fall apart. Once the water gets in it causes molds within the walls that can cause cracking in your walls and the spores in the mold can come out and get into your lungs if not spread around the whole house and start to slowly infect and deteriorate the entire thing.

Your landlord if you are renting, should be taking care of these problems. It is of course cheaper to paint over the moldy spots but that is just going to continue the problem even if you live in a dry climate. You don’t have to take that. You can call the land lord and tell them that you are having a problem and it needs to be fixed because you don’t want to be involved in harmful sicknesses that are caused by their neglect. They will have to do something for you because of their faults.

To get it fixed you may have to leave the place for a few days so they can find the place of the mold. When they do they will tear out the entire infected area and rebuild the whole thing. They should be able to have it done within a day if it is a small area of infection. Things like this can take up to a week or two depending on the severity of it. You will not be charged. Sometimes they will even pay for you to stay somewhere else while they fix your house. Mold in the house is a serious subject. It is harmful and you have to remember that it is NOT your fault so don’t let your landlord take advantage of you.


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