Sellers: Prepare Your Home to be Inspected!

Sellers: How to Prepare for Your Home Inspection Busy Bea Home Inspection, LLC goes through a very thorough checklist. We look at literally everything. Sellers can do things to prepare for the inspection to avoid unnecessary blemishes on the report. Here are some quick things to double check before your home inspection: • Keep receipts of any maintenance or routine services you’ve ever had on your home or its components. Have them organized and ready to show to inspectors and buyers. For example: chimney sweeped, furnace serviced, filters changed in HVAC, water heater serviced, etc. • Clear out clutter in spaces like attic, garage, and crawl spaces. I will need to get in there to check for moisture or damage. If I can’t access it, I will note that I was unable to inspect this area, which could prolong the process. • Make sure access is available to the electrical panel, furnace, and water heater. • Lock up pets while the inspector walks through. • Make sure light bulbs are working and not burnt out. If light bulbs aren’t working, it could be a sign of electrical issues. • Run water in every sink and bath to check for clogs. Clear any minor clogs with Drano or Liquid Plumber before the inspection, as this could signify a plumbing issue in the report. • Replace filters in HVAC system. Dirty air filters compromise the air quality in the home and will raise a red flag for the inspector. • Slope dirt away from the foundation on the exterior. This will avoid foundation and crawlspace water issues, which is a top thing inspectors look for. • Repair any cracked windows or broken screens. • Proactively address any bugs with spray or professional extermination, especially carpenter ants or termites. Any sign of an infestation will alert an inspector. • Cap unused gas lines, chimneys, and flues to prevent debris and clogs. If caps are missing, toxic fumes could be released into the house. • Trim trees that are touching or close to the roof. Low-hanging branches can raise the possibility of roof damage and give rodents access to chimneys and other openings.

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Veteran Discount for Home Inspection

If you are a Veteran, please let Busy Bea Home Inspection, LLC thank you with a 10% off of your home inspection! I appreciate our Veterans! #VeteranDiscount #HomeInspection #VeteranAppreciation

Ungrounded Electrical Receptacles

Grounding of electrical receptacles (outlets) is an important safety feature that has been required in new construction since 1962, as it minimizes the risk of electric shock and protects electrical equipment from damage. Modern, grounded 120-volt receptacles have a small, round ground slot centered below two vertical hot and neutral slots, and it provides an alternate path for electricity that may stray from an appliance. Older homes often have ungrounded, two-slot receptacles that are outdated and potentially dangerous.

Homeowners sometimes attempt to perform the following dangerous modifications to ungrounded receptacles: • Use of an adapter, also known as a "cheater plug." Adapters permit the ungrounded operation of appliances that are designed for grounded operation. These are a cheaper alternative to replacing ungrounded receptacles, but are less safe than properly grounding the connected appliance; • Replacing a two-slot receptacle with a three-slot receptacle without re-wiring the electrical system so that a path to ground is provided to the receptacle. While this measure may serve as a seemingly proper receptacle for three-pronged appliances, this “upgrade” is potentially more dangerous than the use of an adapter because the receptacle will appear to be grounded and future owners might never be aware that their system is not grounded. If a building still uses knob-and-tube wiring, it is likely than any three-slot receptacles are ungrounded. • Removal of the ground pin from an appliance. This common procedure not only prevents grounding but also bypasses the appliance’s polarizing feature, since a de-pinned plug can be inserted into the receptacle upside-down.

While homeowners may be made aware of the limitations of ungrounded electrical receptacles, upgrades are not necessarily required. Many small electrical appliances, such as alarm clocks and coffee makers, are two-pronged and are thus unaffected by a lack of grounding in the building’s electrical system.

Upgrading the system will bring it closer to modern safety standards, which may be accomplished in the following ways: • Install three-slot receptacles and wire them so that they’re correctly grounded. • Install ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). These can be installed upstream or at the receptacle itself. GFCIs are an accepted replacement because they will protect against electric shocks even in the absence of grounding, but they may not protect the powered appliance. Also, GFCI-protected ungrounded receptacles may not work effectively with surge protectors. Ungrounded GFCI-protected receptacles should be identified with labels that come with the new receptacles that state: “No Equipment Ground.” • Replace three-slot receptacles with two-slot receptacles. Two-slot receptacles correctly represent that the system is ungrounded, lessening the chance that they will be used improperly.

Homeowners and non-qualified professionals should never attempt to modify a building’s electrical components. Misguided attempts to ground receptacles to a metallic water line or ground rod may be dangerous.

In summary, adjustments should be made by qualified electricians -- not homeowners -- to an electrical system to upgrade ungrounded receptacles to meet modern safety standards and the requirements of today's typical household appliances.

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