I'm a home inspector and carpenter in Chicago and this site is built from things I’ve learned from 30 years inspecting houses in this town.
Most folks have suffered through the “Ten Things Your Home Inspector Should Blah, Blah, Blah” in the popular rags and on HGTV. Forget that stuff. The State of Illinois Administrative Code TITLE 68, CHAPTER VIII, PART 1410, SECTION 1410.200 lays out the Standards of Practice for all Licensed Home Inspectors operating in our State. Here’s the link to…
Henry Frerk Sons is putting on a very worthwhile workshop series about historic masonry repair. The classes cover a range of topics including stone repair, lime mortar, brickwork and more. Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, the sessions will help you better understand and use traditional masonry materials. (Sorry, I had to delete the link because Frerk’s…
Check out this Catalan Arch brick layer. OK, it’s not Chicago, but it’s too darn cool.
hoosinga reliable home inspector can be tricky. There are huge differences between home inspectors. Like all professions or trades, the majority are rather mediocre. A small percentage are spectacularly bad. An even smaller percentage are very, very good. You want one of the the good ones. Your home is often the largest investment of your…
It’s a common question, one I get quite often. “Are you certified?“. The answer usually surprises most folks. There has never been, even in States that regulate home inspectors, no state administrative department or regulatory body that certifies home inspectors. Home Inspector Certification is an accreditation bestowed upon ourselves. Nick’s organization took normal home…
Why are there so many of professional home inspection societies? To answer the question, I have no idea. There are a lot of them, though. In other professions, one usually goes to school with a mandate in rigorous training, certifications (more on that in another post), and accreditations that, for the most part, are recognized…
There are fundamental differences between old vs new building materials. If buildings are built with the wrong material, the result isn’t just staining and nuisance; the moisture can and does cause building failures. Old building materials (old growth lumber, lime mortar, common brick) can absorb a certain amount of moisture and still perform adequately. Old…
Yes, there thousands of wood frame buildings throughout our city, but when one travels the neighborhoods, it becomes obvious very quickly that this is a city built out of bricks and mortar. Competently constructed masonry buildings need very little repair or maintenance, but it sometimes becomes necessary to perform repairs. But Chicago is destroying it’s…