Robin Wells's Blog

We left off talking about vermiculite in Part 1 (click here), so I guess it makes sense to next go to asbestos, as we have already begun talking about it in the previous item. Asbestos is a mineral fiber that can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. There are several t...

I enjoyed this article, and it reminded me a lot of growing up in Quebec, so I wanted to share again. Ice Roads, Getting the Job Done in the Northwoods We are often asked, how do you get machinery into my remote property with equipment for logging and construction. The answer is an age old techni...

Really there is no such thing as the perfect home, period.  Although I must admit that after seeing the Home Inspector report on the home we sold this past summer, there were zero issues or items shown. Now, I have a bit of an unfair advantage on that one but think I could have found one or two i...

Here is a tough one, and gets a bit of conversation back and forth between Home Inspectors. Should a Home Inspector always answer the phone, should they interupt the Home Inspection they are on to answer the phone and get another job?  I have had some respond, they already have the Inspection the...

Of the nine homes I inspected lsat week, two had brand new smoke detectors.  Three had new carbon monoxide detectors, but two had no carbon monoxide detectors at all.  Of the smoke detectors that were present, but older older, three were outdated and one had no batteries in it.All homes in Ontari...

Who is checking the Home Inspector?  Unfortunately, in some locations nobody is.  Ontario is one of those locations, although we are currently working through the process of licensing our Home Inspectors with the provincial government.I am currently sitting on the Licensing Committee with OAHI (O...

Some Facts About Radon Gas: It is estimated that if a non-smoker is exposed to high levels of radon gas over their lifetime, they will have a one in 20 chance of developing lung cancer. That same indiidual, if a smoker, would have a one in three chance of developing lung cancer.  The surgeon gene...

So you found your dream home, it is not yet the end of the journey.However, you CAN be confident your dream home is also a good house, even if you are not an electrician, plumber or roofer!?  How? By calling a Home Inspector, and this is for any home regardless of the age. But don't make mistakes...

My wife and I purchased a home last fall, a home that is around 120 years old.  It was in good shape, but still needed some work.  One of the high priority items on my list was the roof replacement, which I had done within the first week of moving.Due to the various roof types on the house, there...

Yesterday my son called, said his furnace was not working.  Would turn on, run for a bit then shut down, and then in a few minutes try again.I had one WETT Inspection to perform, and so got that finished and headed to my sons, he had taken the day off for his oldest son to go into pre-op exam so ...