Ask the Charlotte Home Inspector

Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina was recently doing a home inspection in Monroe NC near Charlotte when hw noticed some trouble with the gutter system There are several causes of overflowing gutters. In could be that they are clogged, rusted or leaking at the seams. They might also be loose or sloped the incorrect [...]

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Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina found live termite while performing a home inspection in Mint Hill NC. The termites had come up the expansion crack between the slab of the garage and the veneer wall of the crawlspace. There were several tubes. When the inspector pulled the stored items away [...]

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http://www.charlottenchomeinspector.com Charlotte Home Inspector Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina recently taught a CE class for the Superior School of Real Estate in Charlotte North Carolina entitled “What’s Bugging You” This is a new elective offered by the Charlotte Real Estate School. It covers the standard NC termite letter or WDIR (Wood Destroying Insect Report) [...]

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Subterranean termites live in underground colonies or in moist secluded areas aboveground that can contain up to 2 million members. They build distinctive “mud tubes” to gain access to food sources and to protect themselves from open air. Termite colonies are organized into castes depending on tasks — workers, soldiers and reproductives. The characteristics of [...]

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As spring comes it is the time of swarmers. Swarmers are the reproductive termites that come out by the thousands after the first few warm Spring days usually after a rain. This usually freaks people out if it’s inside their house. Ants also have swarmers and the purpose of this video is to show the [...]

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Let’s talk about termites in houses with a crawl space. By far the most likely place for termites is the floor joist adjacent to the dirt filled porch or stoop. If you can crawl under your house (preferably with a flash light) Crawl up to the back of the front stoop and pull insulation back [...]

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It is important to know a little about termites and how they work. Unlike us, termites work 24 hours a day and they eat 24 hour a day. Termites come from the ground and they have to return to the ground for moisture. The main hub of the colony lives down in the ground and [...]

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There are many ways the wood on your house can get damaged. If you have damage, Do you know whether its moisture damage, carpenter ant damage, or worst of all, termite damage. Moisture damage leaves a cubicle rot or alligatoring look to it. Carpenter ant damage leaves the wood with a stringy [...]

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Usually when we find termites on a slab house, it is on one of the perimeter walls. You see termites come fom the ground and the have to return to the ground for moisture. On a slab house the perimer wall baseboard is sitting right on top of an expansion crack that goes [...]

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Do you have high moisture in your crawl space? In North Carolina it is considered high moisture if the moisture content of the floor joists or subfloor is 20% or greater. This is considererd condusive conditions for termites and for fungus. There are multiple causes and multiple fixes for high moisture [...]

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