Structure Talk

For this episode, the gang digs into the details of smoke alarm safety, starting with a discussion between the differences between smoke alarms and smoke detectors. That turns into a discussion of exactly which smoke alarm everyone should have, and why most smoke alarms in people's homes will probably not protect them in a fire. 

Related links:

• Do you have photoelectric smoke alarms in your home?
• Photoelectric smoke alarms are all you need
• Which smoke alarm to buy
• How to replace a hardwired smoke alarm

We complete our two-part interview with Ross Anderson, president of the Minnesota Building Performance Association. We discuss the myth that ventilation is a cure-all for roof and attic and ice dam issues, and discuss the real reason for these problems, which is attic air leaks (aka attic bypasses). The gang also discusses turbine vents, turtle vents, and ridge vents.

The gang also works in a jab at Bill's beloved 1.5-story homes, and Ross explains what it takes to cure ice dams on those homes for good.

You can get in touch with Ross through his company website, The Energy Network Worldwide.

Related link: Roof Vents: Problems and Solutions

We interview Ross Anderson, president of the Minnesota Building Performance Association. We discuss energy score ratings for homes, managing indoor moisture levels and indoor air quality, and challenges faced by Minnesota homes. We also discuss the perfect setting for an air exchanger in a home, along with the ideal humidity level for a home.

You can get in touch with Ross through his company website, The Energy Network Worldwide.

Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss negotiations after the home inspection. Some home buyers turn to the home inspector for advice on how to negotiate with sellers after the home inspection, but this is something that we also lean on the real estate agent for. This is their realm.

Nevertheless, we at Structure Tech do have a list of things that make for reasonable and unreasonable negotiation requests, and the gang discusses those items in this podcast.

Also, here's a document we put together that summarizes all of this: Negotiations After the Inspection

We had our very own George Ury on the podcast a few weeks ago to discuss the new Minneapolis energy stuff, and he was such a peach that we decided to have him on for another episode. This time, we just let him rant about all of his pet peeves. And he has a lot of them.

We had some fun with this one, but we really went off the rails. We'll return to our regular podcast format next week.

One podcast just wasn't enough. For part II, we open the show with Reuben discussing whether or not it's possible to identify mold in attics just by looking at it. We also discuss mold remediation strategies for attics. Tessa asks about the Top 5 places to find mold in homes, then we discuss mold testing procedures, along with conditions in a home that might prevent mold from being found even by someone like Vickie.

We sit down with Vickie Swenson of Minnesota Mold Inspection to discuss mold testing in Minnesota. We discuss Vickie's background, the lack of official standards for mold testing, the health effects of mold, contractors diagnosing mold types by sight, and the #1 location to find mold in Minnesota homes.

It's official, Minneapolis is implementing a Time of Sale Energy Disclosure program, which takes effect on January 15, 2020. For today's episode, we invited Structure Tech home inspector and Minneapolis Truth-in-Sale of Housing Evaluator George Ury onto the show to help discuss this new program. We explain why the program is happening, the nuances of the program, the stuff we don't yet know, and how this will affect people selling their homes in Minneapolis.

Tessa starts off the podcast by talking about a recent "memorable" home inspection. A less-than-helpful seller decided to stay home for the inspection because nobody told her that she was supposed to leave, and the situation got extremely awkward. To make things much worse, the seller's agent showed up to the inspection and tried to get in the middle of the whole process.

Next, we talk about what can be done to help prevent these types of situations, giving advice to home sellers, buyers, and real estate agents. We also talk about different variables that will affect the length of the inspection, and ways for homebuyers to get the most out of their home inspection by showing up at the right time.

Reuben also tells a story about how he almost ran a dishwasher with the seller's laptops hidden inside of it, and they discuss whether or not real estate agents should attend the home inspection.

The podcast ends discussing Continuing Education classes offered by Structure Tech to real estate agents.

Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss several 'smart home' improvements they've either made or have considered making to their own houses.

Reuben also mentions how his Arlo camera caught some kids stealing his pumpkins and his kid's scooter from his front door: Thieves stealing pumpkins and scooter.