Bill, Tessa, and Reuben do their first-ever remote podcast, where everyone on the team broadcasts from home. The gang discusses changes that COVID-19 has brought to the home inspection world, which includes things such as restricting buyer and seller attendance at the inspection, wiping down surfaces, and even wearing a mask during the inspection. They also discuss the importance of having a support network to get industry news during this time, and what the team at Structure Tech is doing to he...
Apr 13, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Do ceiling fans actually cool down rooms? No! They only cool people. Reuben and Tessa explain how this works, while Bill grumbles about how he still likes running fans all over his house while he's not home. In the sustainable urban core. The gang also discusses the misconceptions that more insulation is always better, high-efficiency furnaces are always better, and new windows are a smart investment.
Apr 06, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 40
We have Dan on for a second podcast because there was just too much content to cover in one episode. We continue on with the discussion of pocket listings, and Dan discusses the pulse of real estate in the Twin Cities market. This episode was recorded earlier in March before our entire world turned into the twilight zone, but there is still a lot of excellent information in this podcast about listing a home during the spring market in Minnesota. Bill also talks about the importance of home inspe...
Mar 30, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 39
For this episode, we sit down with Minnesota Realtor® Dan Sibinski to talk about the ins and outs of pocket listings. Tessa also shares a frustrating personal story related to pocket listings.
Mar 23, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 37
We interview Reuben's dad, Neil Saltzman, on this episode. Neil talks about doing home inspections in a suit and tie, and Reuben and Neil talk about the early history of home inspections. Reuben also shares the best advice that Neil ever gave him related to doing a good home inspection.
Mar 16, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 35
We interview Minneapolis Truth-In-Sale of Housing (TISH) program supervisor Breanna Patsch during this podcast. We discuss the purpose of the Minneapolis TISH program, and how the program has 'teeth'. We also sidetrack into the licensing requirements for TISH evaluators and discuss how difficult the licensing exam is, making the National Home Inspector Exam seem like a cakewalk. We also discuss the purpose of the new Energy Disclosure requirements and talk about some specifics of that program. A...
Mar 09, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 34
For this episode, we answer your questions about houses and home inspections. These include the following: Should home inspectors open Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panels? How to deal with ice dams if you don't want to pay a professional to remove them How to best find a drain leak with an infrared camera Should people be allowed to do work without a license? Sagging beam, repair desired; how big of a deal is this? We also did a video recording for this episode, which can be found here: htt...
Mar 02, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 29
For part 2, the gang starts out discussing the operation of gravity furnaces, and then discuss forced air heat vs gravity heat. They also discuss ductwork design and the design of heating and cooling systems. Next, the gang discuss changing out the air in a home, and how older heating systems used to unintentionally change out the air, and what an 80% efficient furnace means, vs a 97% efficient furnace. That brings up the topic of combustion safety, combustion air, and makeup air. That discussio...
Feb 23, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Today the gang digs into the pros and cons of old houses vs new houses. We all know that we don't build them like we used to, but is that a bad thing? New houses are more energy-efficient, but they're also less durable. This the result of less drying potential, different building materials, and different building methods. The gang also discusses moisture management, building science, and vapor drive. Tessa also discusses a new "perfect wall" system. This excellent video on basement insulation me...
Feb 17, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Today, we interview Charles Thayer from All Around . If you listen to the radio here in the Twin Cities, you've surely heard his company's rock-anthem slogan: "We get it done and we do it right! Chya!" Charles explains that while his company is an exterior contractor, he himself is probably the last person you'd want working on your home. He's in the relationship business, and he hires people to do the work on homes. Charles also discusses the background of his weekly radio show, the All Around ...
Feb 10, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 33
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...
Feb 03, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 32
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 ...
Jan 27, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 28
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 ....
Jan 20, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 25
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 s...
Jan 13, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 29
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....
Jan 06, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 28
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.
Dec 30, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 22
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.
Dec 23, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 22
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 Housin g 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....
Dec 16, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 21
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 re...
Dec 09, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 20
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 .
Dec 02, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 19
For this podcast episode, we did a live Q&A session through Facebook Live, while also recording the podcast. We covered a lot of listener questions and didn't have time to get through all of the questions that were asked. We'll do another one of these live episodes sometime soon. For a video recording of this podcast, check out https://youtu.be/LmygdXyjffI .
Nov 25, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 20
For this episode, we interview Daniel Felt, the owner of Kura Home Maintenance . We talk about some of the most important home maintenance things that are neglected by homeowners and talk about some of our least-favorite chores.
Nov 18, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss projects they're working on at their own houses.
Nov 11, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 15
This episode is all about chimney inspections, chimney safety, and we discuss some of our craziest interactions with so-called chimney experts.
Nov 04, 2019•21 min•Season 1Ep. 14
We have a special guest on this episode, Steve Kuhl. Steve owns a bunch of companies, but for this podcast, he's representing his heat tape company, Radiant Solutions Company . What we didn't know about heat cables before talking with Steve could fill a warehouse. This man knows more about heat cables than anyone we've ever talked to. To top it all off, he's entertaining to listen to. We need to have Steve on as a guest more often. We talked about including some pictures of the different product...
Oct 28, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Reuben, Tessa and Bill discuss all things radon. They cover radon conspiracy theories, health effects, test methods, mitigation systems, licensing in Minnesota, and a whole bunch of myths regarding radon. Related Links: DIY test kits for $9.95 New licensing for radon in Minnesota Minnesota Radon Awareness Act Also, please enjoy these old photos from 1997, featuring Reuben and Rick wearing lab coats, testing for radon . Good. Times....
Oct 21, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Reuben and Tessa talk about several of the required fall maintenance chores that Minnesota homeowners need to take care of. Bill laments about how difficult it is to be a homeowner, and how he'd rather be watching football ;-).
Oct 14, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Today the gang discusses asbestos. While home inspection standards of practice don't require home inspectors to report on environmental hazards such as asbestos, most home inspectors will still point this stuff out if they believe that it presents a problem. The most common locations for hazardous asbestos are discussed, along with what can be done when asbestos is found. Related Links: Asbestos in homes Vermiculite insulation Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust Transite asbestos flues Transite vs. ...
Oct 07, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode, the gang discusses stucco failure on newer Minnesota homes, as well as failures with stone veneer siding. Related links: City of Woodbury Position Paper on Stucco in New Residential Construction Stucco Woes - The Perfect Storm Moisture testing stucco (the Structure Tech process) Stone veneer siding installation defects Video clip of Reuben pouring water against a stone wall Video clip of water pounding the window on a new-construction home...
Sep 30, 2019•21 min
Everyone makes mistakes. In this episode, we share some of our worst home inspection mistakes. We're also joined by Structure Tech home inspector Jim Tobias. Reuben has already blogged about several of these mistakes recently, which you can find here: Wrong house Bathtub flood Trampled insulation, ruined ceiling...
Sep 23, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 8
