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green home

Home Inspections on Green Homes

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As the future of “green” homes keep expanding, home inspections on green homes expand along with it. From solar panels, to wind turbines, and more, we will explain how these environmentally friendly products impact a home inspection.

What exactly is a green home?

According to InterNachi, a green home is any type of home that is energy efficient, uses sustainable practices or materials, and promotes human and environmental health. If you are not sure if your home qualifies as a green home, we can make the distinction for you in our home inspection. All of our home inspectors are trained and certified in both residential and commercial property inspections, including home inspections on green homes.

What exactly are sustainable products?

Sustainable products range from many low-energy materials. These materials recycled soil or wood harvested from fast-growing forests where they are replenished at a faster rate. Sustainable products can also be water conserving shower heads and dual flush toilets. A good example of a sustainable product which is currently a requirement in all home are LED light bulbs.

Can home inspectors actually inspect these “green” products in homes?

While most home inspectors won’t get into vivid detail about how solar panel or dual toilets actually work, they will always be able to identify if they are included in the house before you move in. You home inspector can also identify how these products will contribute to your home’s efficiency. If problems occur with these energy-efficient products, the homeowner is typically responsible for those issues. 

What are the two main green home add-ons?

Solar Panels

Solar panels are an amazing asset to the environment, though they may be on the more pricey side of energy-efficient products, they would end up saving you thousands of dollars down the road. Energy Informative claims you not only save thousands, but start saving from the very first day the panels are installed. A fun fact about solar panels: residents in Hawaii save an average of $64,000 dollars the first 20 years! Solar panels can also increase your home value and are a very secure investment because of their fixed energy costs.

Wind Panels

Wind panels are usually associated as home add-ons for the real “tree-huggers” out there, however, this is not necessarily the case. Wind panels support agriculture, promotes price stability, generates free fuel, revitalizes rural communities, conserves water and promotes clean air. To get a wind turbine installed on an average sized home, you may spend about $50,000 dollars. That may seem like a high cost but replacing current energy resources with wind panels will make for an entirely healthier future.

Thinking about moving into a new home with “green” products installed? Divinity can help you identify these products up front!

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Hurricane Season and Home Inspections

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Hurricane season and home inspections are related. As we all know, Florida is notorious for getting hit with hurricanes. The official hurricane season has already commenced with an early June 1st start date and a late finish on November 30th. According to bankrate.com, it has been predicted by CSU meteorologists that 12 storms are expected to hit. Five of those storms possibly becoming big level 3 hurricanes. When storms are rolling in with only a 1-2 day notice sometimes, can you say your home is fully prepared? Here are two key areas of your home that need to be inspected if you want to prepare for hurricane season.

Roof Inspections

Your roof is key to protecting your home from storms that could wreak havoc onto your roof and entire home. Roof damage can be caused from leaks in roof decking. These leaks can lead to soaking through ceilings and damaging belongings, or even having your entire roof ripped apart, due to loose shingles or roof tiles. Also for added protection, installing hurricane straps are a necessity if you live near the coast.

Wind Mitigation Analysis

Wind mitigation inspections are extremely useful for making sure your home is able to withstand high winds, storms and any type of damage that can occur over time. Wind mitigation inspections are especially important when it comes to hurricane season. When having a proper inspection done and taking precautionary measures to protect your doors and windows, you could really be saving yourself from a potential disaster in your home. Right now is the best time to choose to have your home inspected by a certified wind mitigation inspector at Divinity Inspections. Did you know that you could also lower your home insurance premium with a wind mitigation inspection?

 

Lastly, here are a few additional precautionary tips to use during hurricane season:

  • Ditch the “X” on the window
    • Don’t tape your windows. The National Hurricane Center actually says the tape won’t keep your glass or windows from shattering. Instead use that valuable time to prepare for the hurricane by stocking food and water.
  • Plan to evacuate
    • While hurricanes rarely result in a mandatory evacuation – it does happen. Be prepared to evacuate if evacuation becomes a requirement.
  • Pick up the yard
    • It’s easy to forget things in the front or back yard but if you don’t remember to pick them up more than likely they won’t still be in the yard after a hurricane.
  • Don’t stop for gas
    • Preparing for a hurricane should always include filling up your gas tank in case you have to evacuate or leave in a hurry. Many people may need to stop at the gas station and you don’t want to have to join that line if you’re trying to get out of town.

 

Call Divinity Service anytime to schedule your home inspection. We work with your schedule, take last minute appointments, and all of our inspectors are certified!

 

 

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The Rain and Home Inspections

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The rain and home inspections can work together. Summer in Florida sometimes feels like Seattle – rain every single day. The rain may last a few hours, or a few minutes, or even all day. Either way it rains at some point during the day, every single day, in the month of June. While the rain starts to very slowly lighten up in July, hurricane season starts in late July and continues through September. In this article we want to highlight some points pertaining to the weather and how rain may effect your home inspection.

Yes we inspect in the rain

Many customers will ask us if we perform home inspections in the rain. The answer is yes we do. There is a great upside to inspecting a home in the rain – and that’s water leaks. The easiest way to know if a roof (or other places) is leaking is to inspect a home during the rain. So the rain can actually be an advantage. Of course an obvious disadvantage of inspecting in the rain is it can make some things more dangerous, such as being on the roof to inspect the roof, but we are seasoned professionals that know what we’re doing.

You see clearly in the rain

As mentioned in the paragraph above, the easiest way to find a roof leak is when it’s raining; but that’s not the only thing you can find. Are there any leaks behind the walls? Do the rain gutters work as they should? Does the backyard flood? Though we always check for grading and foundation problems, we many think it looks great but in reality water puddles and the backyard flooding is not something anyone would know until it actually rained. Let the rain work in your favor.

The downside is an upside

There is a downside to just about everything and the rain is no exception. All of our property inspectors go through rigorous training and each one is just as comfortable inspecting in the rain as they are in the sunshine. Don’t be afraid to call us because you’re concerned about the weather. Let the weather be our concern and you focus on all the things you need to focus on. Contact us now to schedule your home inspection.

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The Weather and Home Inspections

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Have you ever considered how the weather could effect your home inspection? If you live in a place with extreme weather then this though may have ran across your mind. Otherwise, you may have never considered how the weather and home inspections are connected, and how knowing that could be a huge benefit for the home-buyer. Our next series of blogs will discuss how different weather patterns can affect a thorough home inspection and how to avoid mistakes by accommodating to the weather. In this article, we start with the heat.

The Heat in the Attic

Let’s start with the heat since Divinity Inspections Service is located in tropical Florida and we are now in the midst of summer. The heat is high every single day and sometimes the humidity feels even higher. As hot as it may feel outside it is even hotter in your attic! This is especially dangerous for a home inspector. Because of the heat, some home inspectors may not be able to inspect the attic of a house. If they are able to inspect the attic they may be prevented from doing a thorough job because of the heat or lack of ventilation. In this case, try to schedule the home inspection during the late evenings to give the home a chance to cool off a little.

The Heat on the Roof

You thought the attic is hot but you haven’t even felt the roof! That direct sunlight hitting the roof for 8 hours is sure to guarantee high temperatures. Since home inspectors have to check the roof for a thorough inspection the best way to avoid any danger is to schedule the inspection during the evening hours or even at night. This will give the home a little time to cool off.

The Heat Under the House

A crawl space is very similar to an attic space. These tiny spaces usually lack proper (or sometimes any) ventilation creating a very dangerous situation for a home inspector. Also depending on the foundation under the home, the very foundation could be effected by the heat. A good home inspector does a thorough inspection of every area of the home, crawl space included. If the home you are considering buying has a crawl space under the house you may want to keep this in mind during those extra hot summer days.

The weather and home inspections may not seem to correlate at first, but after this snippet on heat alone, we hope to change your mind. Of course a good home inspector already knows this and will take the weather into consideration when scheduling your home inspection.