Welmoed proudly shows her brand-new home inspector license

Welmoed will be concentrating on pre-listing inspections and home check-ups, but is qualified to perform any type of home inspection.

Give her a call at (301) 208-8289 and book your inspection with her today!

Bob Sisson was elected to serve a three-year term as a Director. Here he is on the stage, along with the other Directors, during the induction ceremony.

Bob Sisson (far left) at the induction ceremony for the ASHI Board of Directors

Being a member of the Board of Directors for the national organization means Bob can play a part in elevating the standards of Home Inspectors around the country. ASHI works hard to ensure their members adhere to a Code of Ethics, and requires every inspector to take continuing education as a condition of renewing their membership. In states where there is still no licensing requirement for Home Inspectors, this can help home buyers feel more confident in the abilities of the inspector they hire.

ASHI currently has just under 6,000 members, and Bob is proud to be one of them.

First of all, familiarize yourself with the ASHI Customer Bill of Rights. This will tell you whether your Home Inspector is operating in a professional, ethical manner, with your best interests in mind.

Once at the site with the Home Inspector, you can ask specific questions. You might want to bring along your own notebook and/or camera (And if your Home Inspector discourages this, ask them why!).

Questions to ask your inspector onsite:

• Where is my Electrical panel and how do I shut it off?
• Where is my Water service and how do I shut it off?
• Where are my outdoor faucet shutoffs?
• Do I have enough smoke detectors?
• What needs to be serviced before I move in?
• What needs routine/annual service?
• What should I test routinely, and when should I test it?
• Where is the master GFCI for the kitchen/bathroom/outside/etc?
• What should I do if..(smell gas, outlet doesn’t work, see a leak, etc.)
• How do I operate my garage door without power?
• How do I find a good contractor/repairperson?
• How do I adjust the water temperature?
• Should I have my ducts cleaned?
• Do I need more insulation?
• What can I do to save energy? (or what should I do first to save energy?)
• What is (fill in the blank – an unusual switch, oddball feature, etc.)

Above all, don’t be afraid of asking any question, even if you think it’s silly. And if you don’t understand the answer, tell us and we’ll explain it until you do. That’s our job!

Check it out!

I.       To be assured the inspector is objective in his or her reporting and will not knowingly understate or overstate the significance of reported conditions.

II.      To be assured the inspector’s opinion is based on genuine conviction within the scope of his or her education and experience.

III. To be assured the inspector stays current with the industry’s body of knowledge through continuing education.

IV. To be assured the inspector will not disclose inspection results or client information without client approval.

V. To be assured the inspector has not accepted any form of compensation for recommending contractors, services or products.

VI. To be assured the inspector will not offer to repair or replace for compensation any component covered by the ASHI Standards of Practice for one year after the inspection.

VII. To be assured future referrals to the inspector from real estate agents are not dependent on the inspection findings or the sale of the property.

VIII. To be assured the home inspector has no financial interest in the transaction.

IX. To be assured the inspector is not receiving compensation for the inspection from any other party.

X. To be assured the inspector did not compensate the real estate agent or other party for the referral to the client.

We abide by all of these items, which were set down by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) as the Gold Standard for Home Inspectors.

The best Home Inspectors have their clients’ best interests at the forefront. Be sure to ask any Home Inspector you are considering if they subscribe to the ASHI Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. If they’re not, you won’t know if they’re putting someone else’s interests ahead of yours.

Before you sign a contract to buy a house next week...

If you’re considering buying a house this week, be aware that finding a qualified Home Inspector might be a challenge!

The best Home Inspectors from around the country will be in Atlanta, GA next week for InspectionWorld, the annual Home Inspector’s conference.

This is an intensive educational conference, with dozens of seminars and classes spread out over the week.

Our office will be closed from Saturday, January 22 through Sunday, January 30. We’ll be checking voice mail and email frequently, and you can always book your own inspection online!

We’re looking forward to coming back armed with all the latest information to provide our clients the best possible Home Inspection experience!

Bob meets Michael Beaudry of NADRA

At the Baltimore Deck and Renovation Show, Bob got the chance to meet Michael Beaudry, the Executive Vice President of the North American Deck and Railing Association (NADRA). The two discussed ways ASHI and NADRA could work together to promote deck safety and good building practices.

Bob serves on the ASHI Public Relations Committee, and is constantly working on ways to spread the word about ASHI.

Read the article!

Social Media is the hot topic for the coming year; more and more businesses are joining the conversations. Inspections by Bob is no exception! There are lots of ways to interact with us:

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

And, of course, keep on reading this blog!

January

We attended InspectionWorld and the National Association of Home Builders Show in Las Vegas. Not only did we come away with a lot of great information to help the business, but we also won a new car!

"I won a car?!? No Way!!"

February

After a month of preparation, we rolled out our brand-new online scheduling system, which allows customers to get quotes and schedule their own inspections. It’s an immediate hit!

March

We handed out hundreds of flyers at our first Home Show booth in Germantown.

April

The EPA issues new guidelines on lead paint abatement. Bob takes the training to become a certified lead paint technician so he will know what his clients need to ask when doing renovations.

June

Bob began studying American Sign Language at Montgomery College to better serve the growing number of clients in the deaf community.

July

After being a member for just seven years, Bob is elected President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors (MAC-ASHI). It’s the first time in the history of the chapter that such a recent member has been President; all past Presidents had decades of inspections behind them.

September

Bob attends the Remodeling Show in Baltimore. Unfortunately, he doesn’t win another car, but does get to witness a staged deck collapse.

October

Bob attends the ASHI Leadership Conference in Chicago.

November

The ASHI Reporter publishes Bob’s article on choosing a flashlight.

December

It’s been our best year ever! Even with the current economic slowdown, Inspections by Bob experienced a 30% increase in business. Thanks to all of our clients for a great year!

Click on the magazine cover to read the article (and the rest of the magazine, too!).

Bob has written for the magazine before, but this is the first time his article has been featured on the cover!

Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is created by the breakdown of Uranium. It is the only gas in the Uranium-238 decay series. The entire breakdown cycle takes billions of years, going from uranium-238 all the way to Lead 206, which is stable.

Radon has a short half-life of only 3.8 days (half-life is defined as the amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a sample to undergo radioactive decay). It takes billions of years for Uranium 238 to decay in a five-step process into Radon, but only about 23 years for Radon to decay through eight steps into stable Lead. During each of these decay steps, a radioactive particle is emitted, which can lead to cellular damage that can cause cancer.

On average, about six atoms of Radon emerge from every square inch of soil every second. Outside it is diluted rapidly, but if it enters through a basement floor and is trapped in a tight, energy-efficient house, it can reach dangerous concentrations.

This EPA map shows the radon zones for the U.S.

Maryland's Radon Zone Map shows each county's Radon risk level. The red areas have the highest Radon risk.

The big issue about Radon is that it is a gas when we inhale it, but if it decays into solids while it is in our lungs, those solids stay in our lungs for the rest of the decay cycle, emitting alpha, beta and gamma particles.

The radiation emitted by Radon as it decays would be less harmful if it were outside our bodies. The slow moving, heavy Alpha particle is stopped by the first thing it hits, such as our clothing or even the layer of dead skin on the surface of our bodies. But if Radon is inhaled, it emits the particles very close to sensitive internal tissues, and lung tissue is particularly susceptible to ionizing radiation.

Is There a Safe Level?

There really is no “safe” level of Radon, but since it occurs everywhere, the natural free-air outside level is about 0.4 pCi/L (PicoCuries per Liter). The Level of 4.0 pCi/L was established as a number at which the risk associated with radon is approaching other unacceptable levels. This level of exposure is equivalent to an annual radiation exposure of 4 rem. To put this exposure into perspective, the maximum permissible occupational exposure for persons working in radiation-related occupations is 5 rem per year.

When is Remediation Necessary?

Generally, a Radon level of 4 pCi/l is considered “actionable”. The highest level of Radon Bob has seen during his inspections was 44 pCi/l. The highest level ever recorded in a residence was an astonishing 2700 pCi/l (this was revealed when the home’s owner showed up to work at a nuclear power plant, and set off the radiation alarms when he entered the facility). The average Radon level in homes throughout the western world is about 1 pCi/l. As such, 3.99 pCi/L is not ‘safe’ per se, but it is under the EPA’s “threshold,” and below that at which most contingencies kick in.

Inspections by Bob strongly suggests that ALL homes be tested for Radon as part of the Real Estate transaction, and that everyone understand the risks associated with whatever values are returned.  Obviously, we strongly suggest remediation for values above 4.0 pCi/L, but also suggest that ANY level above ambient be thoroughly understood.

Want To Know More?

Read our FAQ about how we perform Radon tests.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

http://www.epa.gov/radon/index.html

Maryland Geological Survey

http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/brochures/radon.html