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Affordable Inspections, Inc.
Qualified Inspectors Performing Home, Building, Wind Mitigation, 4 Point, Mold, Chinese Drywall, Roof, Commercial Property and many other inspection services in Tampa Bay, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and surrounding areas for over 20 years.
- Miscellaneous Items of Interest -
This page consists of a random collection of "stuff" collected over the years by the staff at Affordable Inspections.
With over 20 years of
building and home inspection experience in the Tampa, Clearwater and
St. Petersburg, Florida areas, our inspectors have come across many interesting and
strange things which we have decided to share with you on this page.
Roof and Hiring a Roofing Contractor: Roofs play a key role in protecting building occupants and interiors from outside weather conditions, primarily moisture. The roof, insulation, and ventilation must all work together to keep the building free of moisture. Roofs also provide protection from the sun. In fact, if designed correctly, roof overhangs can protect the building’s exterior walls from moisture and sun. The concerns regarding moisture, standing water, durability and appearance are different, reflected in the choices of roofing materials.
Homeowner maintenance includes cleaning the leaves and debris from the roofs valleys and gutters. Debris in the valleys can cause water to wick under the shingles and cause damage to the interior of the roof. Clogged rain gutters can cause water to flow back under the shingles on the eaves and cause damage. Whatever the roofing material may be including composition shingle, wood shake, tile or metal. The best way to preserve your roof is to stay off it. Also, seasonal changes in the weather are usually the most destructive forces.
There are two types of roofs, flat and pitched (sloped). Most commercial, industrial, and apartment buildings have flat or slightly sloping roofs. Most houses have pitched roofs. Some roofers work on both types; others specialize. Most flat roofs are covered with several layers of materials. Roofers first put a layer of insulation on the roof deck. Over the insulation, they then spread a coat of molten bitumen, a tar like substance. Next, they install partially overlapping layers of roofing felt, a fabric saturated in bitumen, over the surface. Roofers use a mop to spread hot bitumen over the surface and under the next layer. This seals the seams and makes the surface watertight. Roofers repeat these steps to build up the desired number of layers, called plies. The top layer either is glazed to make a smooth finish or has gravel embedded in the hot bitumen to create a rough surface. An increasing number of flat roofs are covered with a single-ply membrane of waterproof rubber or thermoplastic compounds. Roofers roll these sheets over the roofs insulation and seal the seams. Adhesive, mechanical fasteners, or stone ballast hold the sheets in place. The building must be of sufficient strength to hold the ballast.
Most residential roofs are covered with shingles. To apply shingles, roofers first lay, cut, and tack 3-foot strips of roofing felt lengthwise over the entire roof. Then, starting from the bottom edge, they staple or nail overlapping rows of shingles to the roof. Workers measure and cut the felt and shingles to fit intersecting roof surfaces and to fit around vent pipes and chimneys. Wherever two roof surfaces intersect, or shingles reach a vent pipe or chimney, roofers cement or nail flashing-strips of metal or shingle over the joints to make them watertight. Finally, roofers cover exposed nail heads with roofing cement or caulking to prevent water leakage. Roofers who use tile, metal shingles, or shakes follow a similar process. Some roofers also waterproof and damp proof masonry and concrete walls and floors. To prepare surfaces for waterproofing, they hammer and chisel away rough spots, or remove them with a rubbing brick, before applying a coat of liquid waterproofing compound. They also may paint or spray surfaces with a waterproofing material, or attach waterproofing membrane to surfaces. When damp proofing, they usually spray a bitumen-based coating on interior or exterior surfaces.
When Hiring a Roofing Contractor:
One of the best ways to select a roofing contractor is to ask friends or relatives for recommendations. You may also contact a professional roofers association for referrals. Professional associations have stringent guidelines for their members to follow. The roofers association in your area will provide you with a list of available contractors. Follow these guidelines when selecting a contractor...
Over time the brilliance and luster of a terrazzo floor will diminish films, residues will build up, spots will wear due to high traffic and abrasive materials tracked in. It’s important to keep your terrazzo floors in top shape and maintain them properly to lengthen life and showcase the natural beauty of the stone. Finding the right contractor for the job may seem laborious, but trusted services are only a click away. Before contacting one, however, there are some things you should learn more about terrazzo floors and what you can do to preserve them.
Terrazzo is made of a mixture of marble chips and either epoxy or concrete. Every terrazzo floor is different, with a unique blend, for your unique home. Knowing what is in your terrazzo flooring will help you find the best means to repairing it and maximizing its potential. A contractor will look at the makeup of your terrazzo and use this information to repair cracks, holes, chips, and scratches to a flawless finish. Pulling up old carpet to find beautiful terrazzo floors is a wonderful feeling—until you find the carpet strips were nailed into the terrazzo or the terrazzo has lifted at the edges with the carpet. A contractor will solve these issues and put your mind at ease.
Restoration service also involves removing stains or discoloration that may have developed on your terrazzo floors. If wax was previously laid on your flooring, it’s possible that it has yellowed and is hiding the true brilliant color of your terrazzo. If this is the case, it is necessary to have the wax stripped and the terrazzo properly cleaned. Similarly, soap scum and residue may have accumulated on your terrazzo floors. In either case it is essential to remove these materials so that you can properly showcase the natural beauty of your terrazzo.
It is always best to let a professional handle these cleaning and restoration projects if possible. However, if you decide to use commercial cleaning products or repair kits, make sure to choose them carefully. Many of the cleaning products on the market can be very harmful to the terrazzo and do much more damage than good. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully when mixing solutions and put the cleaner on a test area prior to using it on the entirety of your terrazzo floor. Failure to do this could have incredibly costly consequences, thus take care to read labels.
Once your floors have been properly repaired and cleaned, your terrazzo is ready for polishing. This process is free of any harmful chemicals, and will bring new life to your terrazzo floors. A very thin layer of worn concrete is ground from the surface of the floor to reveal a fresh, brilliant layer of terrazzo. Following this, it is a good idea to have a sealant applied to the flooring. Concrete is an incredibly porous material, and very susceptible to staining. A penetrating sealer will prevent any spills from absorbing into the terrazzo—which will make cleaning easier and save you money on future stain removal.
A beautiful terrazzo floor is a great asset to any home, and with proper care it will last a lifetime. With the right contractor, an older terrazzo floor can be refreshed and transformed into a masterpiece. All you’ll have to do is relax and enjoy the lustrous beauty of your like-new terrazzo flooring.
It is generally accepted that "the right way" to specify an air conditioning system is to calculate the loads and select a piece of equipment that will provide comfort to the customer in a wide variety of conditions. Unfortunately, this is rarely practiced.
Let’s look at an example. Our friend (we’ll call him Bob) needed a new air conditioning system in his house. Bob called us for some advice and we told him “Be sure that the contractor calculates the cooling load and that the air conditioner is sized to that load.” Well, Bob contacted four different air conditioning contractors for pricing and specifications for the proposed new system. Out of the four, only one would provide load calculations. Two just asked for the square footage of the home and the last one simply wanted to know the size of the existing system. Not knowing any better, Bob went ahead and hired the contractor who was willing to provide the load calculations. But poor Bob did NOT live happily ever after. It turns out that the contractor had fudged his calculations by increasing the outside air temperature and decreasing the desired indoor air temperature and then added another 20% on top of THAT to his calculations “just to be safe”. The end of the story is that Bob overpaid for a system that was too large for his home and ended up living with high energy bills and a cold and clammy house. Why?
An over-sized air conditioning system may seem like a good thing at first thought but, in reality, oversized AC units can lead to a series of issues and problems. Specifically, many would think that a short cycle time (the amount of time the unit is running) would save on your electric bill but the truth of the matter is that air conditioners are very inefficient when they first start operation. It is far better for the air conditioner to run longer cycles than shorter ones. The efficiency of the typical air conditioner increases the longer it runs.
For most of the cooling season, the cooling loads are well below the capacity of properly sized air conditioners, and for oversized units the short cycling is a substantial problem. Because of the short cycles, an oversized system is less efficient. Furthermore, the ability of the air conditioner to remove moisture (latent capacity) is lowest at the beginning of the air conditioner cycle. The moisture removed from the indoor air is dependent upon the indoor coil temperature being below the dew-point temperature of the air. The moisture then wets the indoor coil and, should the unit run long enough, will begin to flow off the coil and be removed out of the condensate drain.
For short cycles, the coil does not have time to operate at the low temperature and when the unit stops, the moisture on the coil evaporates back into the indoor air. Thus, in humid climates such as Florida, a properly sized air conditioner will do a far better job of removing moisture from the air than oversized units. If an oversized air conditioner cannot remove enough moisture from the air, the home will be cold and clammy.
And, finally, an oversized air conditioner can mask problems from duct leaks, improper flow across the coils, and improper coolant charge.
Affordable Inspections Inc. continues to be one of the most recognized and requested Home and Building Inspections companies in the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida Areas. They pride themselves on being leaders in the field of home inspections and have continuously met the ever-changing needs of the market. Our professional home inspector staff, who have served the Tampa, St Petersburg and Clearwater Florida Areas for over 20 years, have personally performed over 12,500 residential and commercial building inspections. The scope of the inspections include single family homes, pre-purchase and re-sale inspections, construction-in-progress inspections for new homes and commercial building inspections. Affordable Inspections Inc. has a professional staff of home inspectors, contractors and engineers trained and certified to handle all aspects of inspecting commercial and residential real estate. Affordable Inspections is your home, house, condo, townhome and commercial building inspection expert.
Affordable Inspections routinely performs value engineering services to provide cost saving options to project specifications and designs. Affordable Inspections has provided consulting and expert testimony to the legal community on a wide range of construction issues. Unbiased cost estimates comparing Affordable Inspections’ estimates to the proposed budget have helped many local lenders and developers determine the feasibility of potential projects.
Licensed, bonded and insured, we offer the peace of mind needed to bring a real estate transaction to a satisfactory conclusion.
An “Affordable“ home inspector from Affordable Inspections of Tampa Bay is a state Certified General Contractor who will give an insight and a different perspective that most home buyers, inspectors as well as brokers and agents don't usually see. And that goes for many issues the seller isn't even aware of. The right home inspection company will come with many years of experience, licensing, will be insured and have many on going hours of annual training as well as very sophisticated and costly home inspection equipment. Like Infrared Digital Thermometers, Sensitive Moisture Meters, Digital Cameras and even Thermal Imaging Cameras. This equipment is designed to enable your home inspector to see many things the naked eye just can't detect.
Our company has been in business in the Tampa Bay Florida market for more than twenty years. Our background is diverse and includes almost every general phase of the construction industry. As you look through our site, please take a moment and follow some of links we have provided for you. The content is all designed to help you, the Seller, the Buyer, the Real Estate Brokers and Agents be better prepared for the marketing and buying of the property.
Our inspection report covers all the major systems and structural elements of the house. This includes the condition of the home's heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing and electrical systems, roof, foundation, attic and visible insulation, walls, doors, windows and all visible structures.
Although you aren't required to be there for the inspection,, we highly recommend that you do be there so that we may go over our findings with you. It's a valuable learning experience and will help you get the most benefit from the inspection
The time will vary depending on both the size and condition of the home. For most homes, 2-3 hours is average, but for larger and/or older homes it may take longer.
A home inspection is limited to what is visibly accessible at the time of the inspection. Rugs, pictures, furnishings, wall coverings, and vegetation can hide, block, or prevent access to parts of the home. An inspection is a written professional opinion of the condition of the home at the time of the inspection. We cannot accurately predict or forecast the life expectancy of any particular system.
Our company's code of ethics, as well as the ASHI and FABI Code of Ethics, prohibits a home inspector from doing any repair work on properties he or she inspects. This assures that there will never be a conflict of interest by the inspector. Our purpose is to provide an unbiased, objective third party report on the condition of the home at the time of the inspection.
Our reports are in a narrative style which is both comprehensive and detailed. Photos will also be included as required. Our reports are easy to understand because we do not use vague or broad terms which could make the results confusing. Hand written or checklist forms, used by other companies, are incapable of giving you the level of detail and confidence you may need to make an informative decision about your new home investment. If you would like to view a sample report, click on the link "Portfolio" on the menu to the left.
All inspection firms have different fees. Some will charge based on square footage, some by the selling price of the house or condo, and some may quote a flat rate. The general rule is that you get what you pay for! The two biggest factors to look for when hiring an inspector are how long will the inspector actually spend doing the inspection and how detailed is the written report. Years of experience in the industry and current credentials from the State and other certifying agencies should also be deciding factors.
Our fees are based on a number of items. The square footage of the home or condo. How old the home is. Is there an attic? Basement? Crawlspace? Pool or Spa?
What Makes Mold Grow In My Home?
Tiny particles of molds are found everywhere in indoor and outdoor air and are very common in buildings and homes. Indoors, mold growth can be found where humidity levels are high. Molds produce microscopic cells called “spores” that are spread easily through the air. Live spores act like seeds, forming new mold colonies when they find the right conditions.
So what are the “right conditions”? It’s basically common sense. Mold only needs a few things to grow and multiply:
Many building materials (such as wood, sheetrock, etc.) provide food that can support mold growth. Even microscopic dust particles that have settled throughout the home can supply an adequate food source for mold to grow and multiply. Molds can grow almost anywhere there is enough moisture or high humidity. These conditions are prevalent in the very humid tropical and sub-tropical climate here in Florida. Because all molds require water to grow, controlling moisture is the key to stopping indoor mold growth. Moisture can come from any number of different sources:
Since we can’t control the first two of the three required factors for mold growth (food source and suitable place to grow), the only way for us to adequately battle mold growth in our homes is to control or eliminate the third factor: moisture. The easiest way to prevent the mold from gaining a foothold is to control dampness. Keep your home clean and dry. When water stands for even 24 hours, common molds can take hold. Keeping humidity levels below 60% and venting moisture from showering and cooking to the outside are several ways to prevent the conditions that can lead to mold growth. Other ways include:
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