For The Love of Little Houses
Let me start by saying, “I love houses!” I have always loved houses! Even going way back to when I was a kid growing up in the Valley on the south edge of Syracuse! I have a distinct memory of my 9-year-old self saying to my father, “Dad, we have a really nice house!! (What 9-year-old gives a crap about their house?? Well…I did!) “It has 3 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.”, I chimed eagerly! (He was probably thinking, “What a weirdo my third-born is! No wonder he’s... Read More
"It's the Law!"
“Are you nuts?? It’s 42° out there, for cripes sake!”, the lovely wife stammered one chilly February morning last year, as she spied the door I had opened leading from the house to our enclosed porch. “Yes, it is!" I replied sensing yet another “teaching moment”, "But don’t you remember what I told you about the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics?” Her visible eye roll gave way to an “ugh, not this again” look…the look I’ve been accustomed to seeing whenever I’m getting ready to once agai... Read More
The Missing Training Module In Our Industry
I was trained as a home inspector in 1998, and from then up until retiring towards the end of 2024 to focus on the training school, I worked full time in the inspection arena. This blog is targeted towards the newer additions to our profession but would also be a good refresher for seasoned inspectors. When I went through initial training, I was schooled on the nuts and bolts of the home inspection industry from technical standpoints, while also introduced to the legal angles I would be req... Read More
The Inspector & Dr. Ed
Dr. Ed was a most intriguing guy! I became acquainted with him way, way back in the early 2000’s when he was introduced to me through a mutual friend. See, at the time, Dr. Ed had become intrigued by the home inspection profession, and I, in return, was considering bringing on another inspector, as things had been ramping up and I could no longer ignore the upward draft of the business. I called him Dr. Ed, because on his wall hung a doctorate in English Literature from Syracuse University,... Read More
The Dumbest Man in the Room
“You really like old stuff, don’t you?” my wife interrupted, as I rambled on in my typical annoying manner. I was in the middle of explaining, for the 40th time I’m sure, how much I loved 1800’s-era houses, and slate roofs….and discovering an incinerator in an old house, and stone foundations, and old boilers, especially steam boilers! I’m mesmerized when I come across “flying splices” in Knob & Tube wiring, wondering what kind of day the electrician who made that splice so long ago was havi... Read More