As temperatures plummet outside, everyone wants to come home to a warm, cozy house. But maybe you can’t quite get cozy thinking about your heating bills – according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), gas and electric bills are on the rise by 8.4% and 10.2% respectively, and some homeowners could pay hundreds more to heat their homes this winter. It’s worth your money and peace of mind to ask yourself: are you heating your home efficiently? There are a few potential problem areas that you can check yourself, but for extra thoroughness, a home inspector can help!
Adjust your thermostat
Everyone’s heard this advice before: keeping your thermostat lower in the winter saves energy, therefore money. It’s popular advice for a reason – the savings payoff might be bigger than you thought! According to the Department of Energy, by turning your thermostat back from its usual setting by 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day, you can cut your heating bill by as much as 10%. Investing in a programmable thermostat makes it easy to schedule how much heat your home needs and when. For example, if you’re leaving your house empty when you’re out at work, that’s a great time to turn the thermostat down.
Maintain your HVAC system
When’s the last time you gave your HVAC system some TLC? Make sure to change your air filters every 30 to 90 days to keep debris from being cycled back through the furnace. Keep fan motors and vents clean to ensure that everything runs as efficiently as possible, since increased efficiency also means decreased energy bills.
While you’re thinking about it, when’s the last time you had your HVAC system inspected? If it’s been over a year since your last inspection, it’s time for a professional like me to come give it a check-up to make sure it’s functioning effectively and safely.
Fix up drafty spots
If hot air is leaking out of your home while cold air is leaking in, you might watch your bills rise while wondering why you still have to wear a sweater indoors. There are a few common culprits of air leaks to check out, including doors, windows, recessed lights, and fireplaces. To identify drafts, you can hold a small flame up to the area (as long as nothing flammable is nearby!) and see how much it flickers.
Once you zero in on the drafty spot, you can add weatherstripping and caulk as necessary to try to patch up leaks. However, some projects, like a leaky or damaged roof or improperly insulated home, are best managed by professionals — that’s where a home inspector (like me!) comes in.
How a home inspector can help
If you’ve run through all these options and still feel like there’s room for improvement in your home’s heating efficiency, getting a home inspection could be the missing piece! Inspectors are professionally trained to help you find potential problem areas in a home, including places you may be losing heat. Attics, basements, doors and windows, fireplaces — all of these are areas that an inspector will be able to help you assess.
If you’re on Long Island and looking for a home inspector, you’ve already found one: me! Don’t hesitate to reach out today.
Good news: the holiday season is right around the corner! No matter which ones you celebrate, everyone deserves to have a holiday that’s bright, joyful, and safe. With these tips, you and your family can have peace of mind so you can focus on the festivities. Here’s what to be aware of during the holidays:
Kitchens
Holidays mean plenty of cooking, which means your oven might see more use than usual. To prevent a fire risk, don’t leave your oven unattended — that advice applies year-round! If you have kids, you should also be sure to keep any sharp knives out of their reach.
And of course, there’s the classic holiday fire safety tip that you’re hopefully already aware of: NEVER try to deep-fry a frozen turkey! The moisture of the ice combining with the hot oil turns the ice into steam rapidly, which can blow oil out of the pot and potentially ignite it if it hits a heat source.
Fireplaces
To ensure that your fireplace is safe for Santa AND your family, there are a few precautions to take. Keep anything flammable at least 3 feet away from the fireplace, and never leave the fire going overnight or when you’re not home. Ashes should be placed in a metal container with a lid.
As an extra measure, make sure you have a fire extinguisher accessible somewhere in your home — this is also helpful to have on hand for much smaller fire sources like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa candles, just in case. Avoid leaving candles burning unattended.
Decorations
Decorations are one of the most festive parts of the holidays, but they should be placed thoughtfully. If you have a Christmas tree, keep it at least 3 feet away from all heat sources, especially open flames like fireplaces. If you’re buying an artificial tree, make sure it’s labeled fire resistant! Also, keep fragile ornaments higher up in trees so kids and pets can’t reach them.
For lights, don’t use indoor lights outdoors — they’re not built to withstand weather like rain or snow, and moisture can cause the lights to short-circuit, which can be a fire risk. For lights meant to be outdoors, always use a GFCI outlet (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter).
Happy Holidays from us at New Home Inspectors, and enjoy celebrating safely!
The chill of fall is finally here, and with the changing seasons comes a little bit of upkeep for homeowners. As temperatures start to drop, it’s important to ensure your home is ready to handle the colder months ahead both comfortably and safely. But where do you even start? Luckily, we’ve got a handy fall home maintenance checklist for you!
Clear your gutters
In an ideal world, you’d have clean gutters year-round, but fall is an especially important time to keep them clear. Falling leaves can clog your gutter and keep water from flowing away from your home, which could lead to water damage. And if your gutter’s source of clogs gets too heavy, they can even start to pull away from your home. Fortunately, cleaning gutters is easy to do yourself with a ladder (and some caution)!
Have your roof checked
Your roof needs a checkup approximately every 3-4 years, so if you’re due for one, fall is a great time to get ahead of any issues before winter comes. You’ll want to make sure your roof is leak-free before any snow or hail falls on it, and an inspector can help you look for signs of damage like missing or broken shingles.
Clean and inspect furnaces and fireplaces
You probably didn’t use heat sources like furnaces and fireplaces much over the summer, so before they go back into your rotation, it helps to know what state they’re in. Clean or replace your furnace filters if they’re dusty to prevent any clogging. As for your fireplace, shine a flashlight up the flue to check for any visible buildup or debris. You may be able to do a basic cleaning of furnaces and fireplaces yourself, but proper inspection for any functional or safety issues is best left to a professional— like me!
Turn off exterior faucets
As temperatures drop, it’s time to retire your garden hose for the season. Water left to freeze in pipes can cause them to burst, so close shutoff valves to outdoor faucets and drain and disconnect any hoses. If you’re having trouble finding the spigot, check on the other side of the wall it connects to. Depending on the layout of your home, it may also be in your basement, crawlspace, or utility closet.
The best way to know if your home is ready for the colder months is to have it checked out by a home inspector. If you’re looking for one on Long Island, don’t hesitate to contact me!
When it’s time to hire a home inspector, where do you start? Sure, you could just Google “home inspectors in my area”, but that still gives you a lot of options to sift through. How can you tell who will be able to get the job done right? Here are some green flags to look for when choosing a home inspector:
They’re licensed and certified
Being licensed isn’t just a green flag– in the state of New York, it’s mandatory. Licensing is a guarantee that your home inspector has completed a certain amount of education and on-the-job training, so by the time they’re looking at your house, they’ll already have hundreds of hours of experience informing them.
Most home inspectors’ websites will be upfront about their licenses and credentials, but if you’re not sure, you can always contact them to ask! Look for qualifications from organizations like the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI). As a personal example, I’m a licensed New York State home inspector, accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) certified by InterNACHI, and a member of Metropolitan Association of Home Inspectors (MAHI) as well.
They have positive reviews
Some home inspectors, myself included, have publicly available reviews on their business sites or other sites like Yelp or Google Reviews. If a home inspector has had other happy customers in the past, odds are better that you’ll have a good experience, too.
One or two negative reviews aren’t necessarily a red flag, but pay attention to how the inspector has responded. Are they patient and professional with people who have had issues? If so, that red flag of a one-star review can turn green again.
They let you ask questions before you start working together
A home inspector who truly cares about getting the job done right won’t have a problem with fielding questions about their services before a client commits. They should at least be willing to answer the basics, like what cost you can expect and what their services cover. Some inspectors can even provide a sample report to give you a better idea of what to expect.
You may also want to ask how long they’ve been inspecting for. Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the most newly licensed inspectors have had hundreds of hours of training, but knowing someone has been in business for a long time (in my case, over 10 years!) can bring you extra peace of mind.
They’re upfront with what they CAN’T do
This isn’t a matter of ability, but rather a matter of legal certification. Just like home inspectors have to have certain credentials to practice, so do professionals who handle things like pest control or testing for toxic materials. A good home inspector will be upfront with you if there’s some aspect of your ideal inspection that they can’t help with.
For example, I’m licensed to inspect a home for termites, but not for licensed asbestos testing. Even if one inspector can’t do everything you want, the good news is they probably have a referral for someone who can fill in the gaps.
They have access to advanced inspection technology
Technology has changed almost every job over time, and home inspection is no exception. Yes, we can use our expertise and our eyes to notice some issues, but there are certain tools that can help us uncover problems that may be a little more hidden. In my own inspections, I use a drone to help get a closer look at your roof, as well as a moisture meter and thermal imaging camera to gather the most accurate possible insights into your home’s condition. Consider adding “what technology do you use?” to your list of questions to ask a potential inspector.
Ultimately, what makes a home inspector the right one is up to you, but knowing the basic green flags can help you make a more informed decision. And if you’re looking for a home inspector on Long Island who checks all these boxes, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
