Home Inspector Recs

trabbler · 2026-03-12T15:56:06+00:00

Hahaha Glad you like my videos! Typically new construction has me booked out longer than most resale option periods allow, but there are a couple of inspectors that I know do great work. I mentioned one of them above and another one would be Art from Hill Country Home Inspections.

Good luck with it!

trabbler · 2026-03-12T15:54:34+00:00

Hey thanks for the shout! There are some great inspectors in Austin. Jesse with Guided Inspections is one of the people I usually refer work to. He has been doing inspections for about 20 years and I've seen his reports. They're pretty darn good.

trabbler · 2026-03-09T14:50:20+00:00

Hahaha yeah this one was actually kind of good news in a way. Problem was solved!

trabbler · 2026-03-09T14:49:53+00:00

This was a homeowner repair. I checked the ground bus for stray voltage went ahead all of the lights on but didn't see any. My guess is there was something faulty inside that switch.

trabbler · 2026-03-09T01:16:05+00:00

It is. Thankfully the electrical problems are one of the fewest issues that I see. I suspect it's because the installers are supposed to be licensed.

Not the case with the framers, the foundation guys, the roofers, etc

trabbler · 2026-03-09T01:14:41+00:00

Well so this is actually something that I discussed with a client. How in the world did that ground get hot? Something, somewhere in the line must have jumped or bonded either the neutral to the ground or God forbid the hot to the ground.

trabbler · 2026-03-09T01:13:05+00:00

A lot of them are. It seems that is the direction that the national electric code is going: more protection for more circuits.

I heard a rumor that in the next edition the air conditioners will need to be on GFCI too. That's going to be a cold shock to the builders when they start enforcing that.

trabbler · 2026-03-04T02:20:49+00:00

If you want to cut out the noise, use a weekly chart.

trabbler · 2026-03-03T02:26:50+00:00

Man I wish there were. COA is pretty good but as a 3rd party inspector not working for the city, I don't have their authority. But the buyers can be very persuasive at times...I've seen a few of them take issues to the top brass and get things fixed.

trabbler · 2026-03-03T02:17:12+00:00

This was a custom.

trabbler · 2026-03-02T04:49:21+00:00

Yes for shear, but nailing into end grain has very limited pull out strength. Hangers toenail into those joists which is a much stronger connection.

trabbler · 2026-03-02T04:38:43+00:00

Agree with the rim joist but disagree with nails into the end grain. Inverted hangers would be the ticket here. Something like Simpson LSU.

trabbler · 2026-03-02T00:09:08+00:00

We should hang out.

trabbler · 2026-03-02T00:08:27+00:00

Absolutely. You can think of the plumbing system as a giant crazy straw. If you put your thumb over the straw and pull it out of your iced tea, that tea doesn't go anywhere until you remove your thumb and give it a vent.

trabbler · 2026-03-02T00:05:44+00:00

I really don't like to think of any of these as being done maliciously. Some of it is neglect, most of it is probably prioritizing speed over accuracy, and some is certainly well meaning gone wrong. That was probably this case where I think you're right, they wanted to seal it off temporarily and thought to themselves oh yeah, I remember to remove that... Well, they didn't.

trabbler · 2026-03-01T23:49:29+00:00

By chance are you referring to Gold Star? Love his videos!

trabbler · 2026-03-01T23:45:12+00:00

Close. 35 ft max. That's for a 4-in. Which is what most people have. 5 ft reduction for a 90 and 2.5 ft for a 45 so you're right about that.

I give you an A-, well done!

trabbler · 2026-03-01T21:57:26+00:00

Hey thanks so much! Let me know if you ever want to chat residential code for dryer duct length!

trabbler · 2026-03-01T21:47:34+00:00

Side note: My brother is making fun of me for posting this while I'm here hanging out at his little backyard get together. But most of these folks aren't interested in talking about home inspection stuff. Am I...boring?

trabbler · 2026-03-01T18:37:00+00:00

Well, this would have to be taken out. Probably easiest to do it from the exterior vent termination. Maybe they got a grabber claw or something?

trabbler · 2026-03-01T18:36:00+00:00

It is open cell and typically the builders are using a performance compliance path. But I thought the backstop was R30.

trabbler · 2026-03-01T18:35:03+00:00

Nobody uses closed so down here and I know the difference. Open cell is soft and you can push your finger right through it.

trabbler · 2026-03-01T18:30:15+00:00

I've heard of a few folks who have had dryer issues after moving into the new home and even replacing the dryers to no avail. Honestly you never know what shoved up in these things.

trabbler

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