Charlotte home inspector Preston Sandlin recently found a leaky fountain near Remax Metro in Charlotte NC The tile on the interior lining of this fountain is failing causing it to leak continiously. Home Inspection Carolina inspectst fountains as well as structural and mechanical and termite inspections. If you have home inspection questions or you are in need of an inspection near Charlotte, Mint Hill, Gastonia, Weddington, Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Fort Mill, or Rock Hill go to http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com

There is one particularly insidious danger that threatens the inhabitants of a substandard home. You won’t notice its effects until the signs begin to show, and by then the damage would have been done. The nasty smell of rotten eggs, electronic devices suddenly breaking down and constant respiratory problems that comes from nowhere are three signs of a drywall that emits sulfur gas.

Rotten Eggs
The first and probably the most irritating sign of a substandard drywall is the looming smell of rotten eggs or at least the smell of ignited matchstick-heads when you enter your home. The nose usually gets used to these smells, and this is why you need to get inside straight from the outdoors in order for you to pick up the scent. Some home inspectors will simply dismiss this smell as a ‘new home’ one if they are not aware of the dangers of sulfur gases permeating your home.

Sudden Electronic Failures
Another sign of substandard drywall is the sudden failure of electronic devices like the TV or the air conditioner. Copper coils corrode very easily in high-sulfur environments, and the most prominent sign of this is when copper is covered by a black-soot. What follows next is a slow but sure process of corrosion that will explain just why electrical appliances suddenly fail to function.

Inexplicable Respiratory Problems
A more long-term sign of high sulfur content is the sudden onset of respiratory problems that seem to be aggravated only when you or your family is inside the house. These respiratory problems range from simple coughs to full-blown lung cancer if exposed to the sulfur long enough, and should be enough to warrant an inspection of the home’s interior components.

What can you do?
Even if you experience all the aforementioned problems in your home, only specialists will be able to determine for certain if your drywalls emit toxic levels of sulfur. This is because other problems like mold or radon may be the real cause of your problems, and it would be unwise to jump to the immediate conclusion that your drywalls are the source of your problems.

Another note: if the contractor of your home ordered drywall supplies from Florida or China-based companies, you may especially want to call in a specialist to check your home. A certain company going by the name of Knauf Drywall is the prime suspect when it comes to these substandard drywalls, and in-depth investigations are currently ongoing as to whether or not Knauf Drywalls contain dangerous levels of sulfur.

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Indian Trail Business Needs a New Roof

Your first mission is to check the ceiling inside your Charlotte home. There might be a small leak somewhere that’ll show up first as a spot on the ceiling. Once your ceiling inspection is completed, it’s time to take a little trip into the attic. Unless you have one of those unique house plans (and by “unique” we mean “weird”), your attic should be easily accessed from a hatch that has its own drop-down ladder — no special indoor Little Giant ladder accessories needed (awwww!). Scamper up there with your flashlight and take a close look at the attic ceiling and supports, especially around the air vents and along the sides of beams. Here’s what to look for:

Sagging of the roof deck
Dark spots and trails
Obvious water stains
Outside light visible through the roof

If you see any of these problems, then you’ll want to do a extensive roof inspection.

What to look for on the roof

Now’s the time to break out your Little Giant. After you extend it to the proper height, make sure it’s well grounded and ask someone to “spot” you just as you would in the gym (spotters also great for holding the ladder or, failing that, calling 911). You don’t have to get up onto the roof, but you should at least get up there and take a good, hard look. Here’s what to keep an eye out for:

Damaged or corroded flashing (the metal sheeting around the chimney and such)
Missing shingles
Curling or blistered shingles
Sagging (indicating problems in the roof deck)
Buckling (when shingles are push up in a “peak”)
Algal growth (dark or greenish stains)
Rotten wood
Missing granules on asphalt shingles

Even if you don’t see missing granules on your shingles, check your rain gutters. Under all those leaves you should have cleaned out last November you’re likely to find a layer of what appear to be dark soil. Some of this may be humus from rotten leaves, but if you encounter lots of coarser, sandy particles, you’ve probably found your granules. Finally, if you have a roof with wooden shakes rather than composite shingles (an increasingly rare case in these fire-conscious days), then you should also look for splitting and (*shudder*) termite damage.

If you find some of these warning signs, don’t despair: by themselves they don’t always mean you need a new roof, though you certainly do if all or most are present. Blisters can be popped with a knife and repaired with roofing cement, and damaged, missing, and algae-invaded shingles can be individually replaced. Separations in flashing and small depression near vents and pipes are also easily repaired, either by you or someone you trust. For more information or roof predictions from the psychic home inspector go to http://www.askthecharlotteinspector.com or http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com

Preston Sandlin

Charlotte NC Home Inspector

A geodesic dome is a structure built in an almost spherical shape—a structure made from struts set on large circles. Because of its curved walls and ceiling, these domes use approximately a third less surface area to enclose the same volume as a traditional box home. In fact, the geodesic dome has the highest ratio of enclosed volume to weight of any manmade structure. This allows less heat to escape through he walls in the winter and less air-conditioned air to escape in the summer. Additionally, the aerodynamics of the rounded walls force air to travel efficiently around rather than bouncing off of walls, keeping energy consumption to a minimum.

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