Barry Stone
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Buyer decides to do a 'selfie' home inspectionOct 19, 2018 6:00 am - Q. The house I'm buying is about 15 years old, and I've decided to do the home inspection myself in order to save money. One of the things I noticed is that the clothes ...
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Electrical safety for whirlpool bathtubsOct 12, 2018 6:00 am - Q. Please help me resolve a debate I'm having with a local home inspector. I have a small business installing bathtub whirlpool systems. For added safety, I use plastic ...
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Circulation pumps for hot water can shorten life of pipesOct 05, 2018 6:00 am - Q. During the past year, our hot water pipes have developed four leaks under the house. With each occurrence, the ground area below the building has become soaked, causi...
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An easy way to seal the base of the furnaceSep 28, 2018 6:00 am - Q. I've owned my home for more than 20 years, and in all that time the forced air furnace has worked just fine. Now that I'm selling the house, the buyers' home inspecto...
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A garage door must reverse for safetySep 21, 2018 6:00 am - Q. Our home is about 40 years old. Before buying it, we hired a home inspector and were pleased with his work at the time. But since then, one of his recommendations has...
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Make drip edge flashing part of any roof replacementSep 14, 2018 6:00 am - Q. When we bought our home, the termite inspector found dry rot on the eaves, and the seller had to pay hundreds of dollars to replace the damaged boards. Now that we're...
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Why inspectors often avoid asbestos topicSep 07, 2018 7:00 am - Q. When we bought our house, the home inspector said the heating ducts in the attic might be insulated with asbestos. He advised us to have the material tested by an exp...
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When aluminum wiring is fineAug 31, 2018 6:00 am - Q. Last week, I installed a new circuit breaker in my electric service panel. While doing this, I noticed the 220-volt circuits are wired with aluminum. Unless I'm mista...
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How likely are roof tiles to break?Aug 24, 2018 6:00 am - Q. My new home is currently being built, and I'm trying to decide what kind of roofing material to install. My last two homes had asphalt shingles, and they were never a...
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House flooded by leaking washerAug 17, 2018 6:00 am - Q. Last week, I started a load of laundry and walked out of the room, not realizing there was a leak inside my washing machine. Instead of filling the wash tub, water ra...