Jessie Green , former president of the North Star Chaper of American Association of Radon Scientist and Technologists (AARST), and present owner of American Radon Mitigation joins today's session to discuss radon systems. Jessie mentions that there is radon in every house, but the levels vary. Tessa highlights that high levels of radon can be present even in houses without basements. Jessie talks about the difference between a radon system and the American Radon System, installation, and how it ...
Aug 29, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Dr. Allison Bailes , author of the Energy Vanguard blog joins the show to talk about air return ducts. They talk about heating and air conditioning systems. Allison discusses that the most affected are the bedroom and it's important to have a return air pathway to help with better airflow. He then talks about having central return and dedicated return pathways and how to set these systems up. According to him, common methods include door undercuts and transfer grills. Allison also shares about M...
Aug 22, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Today’s show is about the top inspection defects that could make buyers think twice before sealing the deal. Reuben and Tessa discuss various foundation problems which can be caused by failed water management systems. This led them to talk about soil conditions in the Minneapolis area. They tackle their inspection experiences with hidden fire or smoke damage, electrical wiring, stucco siding, roof or shingle problems, and sewer issues. Bill shares that these defects can be inspected, found, and ...
Aug 15, 2022•26 min•Season 4Ep. 2
People want to maximize space in the house, the bedroom included. What are the allowed appliances in the bedroom? The trio talks about having a gas fireplace, natural gas furnaces, room and water heaters, decorative appliances, and others. Reuben establishes that gas appliances are not allowed in sleeping rooms and bathrooms unless specific requirements are met. He highlights the need for a direct vent two-pipe system. Reuben talks about compliance with the Fuel Gas Code. They discuss the code e...
Aug 08, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 1
A quality bedroom makes a house more marketable. This episode talks about qualifications, the technical and practical aspects of a bedroom. Reuben defines what a bedroom is. Tessa talks about the qualified dimensions, floor area, ceiling height, and headroom. They also talk about the practical and technical requirements such as the heat source, safety requirements such as emergency exits, alarms, and detectors. Bill asks about the requirements for bedrooms in the basement, the main floor, and at...
Aug 01, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Mike Twitty joins the show to talk about electrical questions that were accumulated from listener emails. Reuben asks about surge protection devices. He mentions that Structure Tech doesn't add information in reports about surge protectors. Mike explains the types of surge protection devices, what they do, where they are installed, and which appliance or equipment they're used with. He also shares when and how surges occur in houses. They also talk about GFCI and AFCI circuit breakers, as well a...
Jul 25, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Today, Reuben talks about simple air conditioning maintenance items for indoor air quality and air comfort. Reuben shares three maintenance tips. He first discusses the importance of changing furnace filters and how it can lead to restricted or reduced airflow. He and Tessa then talk about how an oversized AC system and unchanged filters can also negatively affect the health of the house. The second tip is to keep the condensing coil clean. Reuben mentions that the condenser machine is commonly ...
Jul 18, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 50
Today's show is about handyman services and its business difficulties. Daniel Felt of Kura Home shares that they ventured into providing handyman services for more than a year. While it was booming it also encountered manpower and financial challenges. He mentioned that one of their major challenges is managing expectations with their clients. He talks about the miscommunications they had with clients and the creative ways of addressing them. Reuben sought advice for homeowners who are looking t...
Jul 11, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 48
Realtor Joe Schwartzbauer from the Grey Duck Properties team joins the show to talk about real estate market updates. Joe mentions that the market is starting to get back to normal from the limitations of the pandemic. He talks about the rising interest rates and possible rate-lock, the seller's behavior and mentality, and home inspection strategies. He mentions that 42% of the latest accepted offers waived the right to have a home inspection which hinders coming up with an informed decision. Th...
Jul 04, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Today's podcast covers bad electric panels, as well as panels with bad reputations that really aren't bad. This includes a discussion of Challenger panels , Bulldog/pushmatic panels, FPE Stab-Lok Panels , and Zinsco/Sylvania panels. E-mail podcast@structuretech.com for your questions, comments or other correspondence.
Jun 27, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Founder of Zsako Home Inspections Inc. , Istvan Zsako joins today's show to talk about sewer inspections. Istvan is a fellow home inspector and entrepreneur from New Mexico, with over 22 years of experience in Home Building, Remodeling, and Home Maintenance. He shares how he got into sewer camera inspection and the training he underwent as well as the licensing requirements for home inspections. He highlights the necessary training required to effectively and efficiently inspect sewers. Reuben a...
Jun 20, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Today's show is part two of red flags that buyers should look out for to avoid big and expensive issues when checking out properties. Windows is one to look at first, especially the type of windows that potentially are going to rot. Tessa advises giving windows a gentle push or touch to see if they are solid or rotted. She highlights that replacing windows can be a huge expense for home buyers. Reuben shares about looking out for aluminum-clad wood windows that were installed in the 90s or early...
Jun 13, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Today's show is about red flags buyers should look out for when buying a property. Reuben and Tessa run through tips and recommendations when checking a house. Tessa shares where and how to look at the roof for any defects, damages, or irregularities. Reuben adds that there's a lot that can be seen from the ground to alert buyers of a bad roof. He highlights that it's important to know the age of the roof and shares about obvious roof defects in old and new constructions. They talk about shingle...
Jun 06, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Today, the three-legged stool breaks down and digests the recent podcast about insulation with Patrick Huelman . Tessa starts the discussion by talking about Patrick's applied research and development in residential houses with the Building America Program that is led by the Department of Energy. This program focuses on energy efficiency and building performance issues, ( durability, quality, affordability, comfortability, and indoor air issues) by upgrading the insulation in exterior walls. She...
May 30, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Brock Verville shares his unique perspective as a home inspector and a firefighter for the City of Albertville and talks about fire safety and fire codes. Brock quotes that fire codes are written in blood. He explains that the purpose of codes is to correct something that caused injury or death in the past and they are driven out of tragedies or avoidable things that had occurred. They talk about the importance of smoke alarms, the type of alarms, their battery life, and the failure rate of old ...
May 23, 2022•50 min•Season 3Ep. 41
Owner of Inspection WerX s and Appraisal WerX , Lanny Freng joins the show to talk about the property appraisal industry. Lanny talks about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and the Appraisal Management Company (AMC) and how it changed the industry and the appraiser's relationship with mortgage companies since 2008. While appraisers continue to carry through, Lanny explains that appraisers need to transact with AMCs and can no longer directly connect with banks. He also talks about the g...
May 16, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 40
Reuben and Tessa are joined by Patrick Huelman , an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, to talk about insulation. Patrick Huelman shares his extensive background in architecture and building science. He talks about their recent experimental work with the Department of Energy through Pacific Northwest National Laboratories to investigate thermal wall systems by in-situ energy and moisture modeling. Patrick then discusses the controls that a high-performing building enclosure needs...
May 09, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 39
Today we're going to talk about giving context and putting things into perspective for buyers and homeowners. Reuben and Tessa talk about the factors needed to be considered when reporting about different kinds of houses: the age and condition of the house and the unique or typical defects. Tessa shares that being a home inspector is a difficult job and it's more than just the technical side of looking at defects and finding problems. It's looking at the house, understanding clients and their co...
May 02, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Today we're going to deconstruct critical items of a home inspection and how the home inspection is integrated and overlaps with building science. Tessa shares that home inspectors look at specific separate systems and structural things and then identify potential defects. While the industry is chopped into specialized systems, Tessa highlights that home inspectors are positioned with a unique opportunity to assess a house holistically. She explains that homeowners expect a lot from their house:...
Apr 25, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Bill starts the show by talking about the City of St Paul’s decision to get rid of lead supply lines. Reuben shares that around 28% of the city or over 26,000 properties are using lead supply lines. Also, the city will be funding the 10-year program and will be spending $250M. He then explains what lead supply lines are and highlights that it’s a health hazard. Tessa shares that lead supply lines have been buried for 100 years now. She explains how to identify lead and what to do when it’s prese...
Apr 18, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Travis McKenzie , Sales Director of Aquarius Homes Services joins today's show to talk about Soft Water and the Kinetico Water System. Aquarius Homes Services, formerly Aquarius Water Conditioning, specializes in heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, and water treatment. They provide a water treatment and conditioning system and offer free consultation and baseline testing for homeowners and buyers. Travis mentions that they encounter common customer concerns such as iron or hard water, staini...
Apr 11, 2022•56 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Today we will talk about ways to improve home performance by installing proper insulation. Tessa shares that there are more ways to insulate a house and discusses how to better insulate and improve home performance. She defines pressure boundaries and thermal boundaries. Bill shares that ''project overcoat'' adds years of life expectancy to a 1.5-story house. He explains that having a perfect thermal barrier on the roof and everything below that is conditioned space which will create a very comf...
Apr 04, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Today's topic is about the trends in the market and the importance of getting a home inspection for buyers and sellers. Reuben reads an email from real estate agent Sharlene Hensrud, about a buyer who brought up concerns about a house after closing the deal. This incident was a learning experience for the seller, saying they will never accept another offer without a home inspection. Tessa brings up how tough it is to buy a house in the current market state. She shares statistics on listings, pen...
Mar 28, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Bill talks about Open Access, a new project, and a training program where they learn more about houses. Open Access is a venue where inspectors answer questions from real estate agents. He mentions the session is appropriate for real estate agents with the same climate zone. Tessa explains the training process design and highlights that they break down a house into different systems and discuss them. She shares that they handle overwhelming details and data points about plumbing, electrical, str...
Mar 14, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Today, the three-legged stool talks about Reuben's new project and side hustle. Inspection Services is a one-stop-shop solution to the service needs of home inspectors in the Twin Cities area. Reuben shares that they can do radon, sewer inspections, level 2 chimney inspections, stucco testing, and mold testing. They also plan to offer pool inspections and engineering services in the near future. They also talk about the importance of getting inspections aside from home inspections. Reuben also h...
Mar 07, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Phil Whiteford , the owner of Omega Force Appliance Repairs, attends the show to talk about the proper use of appliances and their company's warranty program. They go over the common issues with refrigerators, front-load washing machines, dishwashers, microwaves, clothes dryers, and dryer exhausts. They also discuss how to test and inspect appliances. Reuben talks about the confusion he experienced from reading manufacturer recommendations, installation instructions, and manuals when it comes to...
Feb 28, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 28
A senior realtor in the Minneapolis market, Rhonda Wilson , joins the show to talk about real estate in 2022 and strategies for clients to win negotiations. Rhonda explains that it's difficult for buyers to get units; clients need to be prepared and have a good downpayment. She also shares some statistics from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) and National Association of Realtors (NAR). She discusses how real estate agents get more inventory in the market as well as supply and ...
Feb 21, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 29
The principal author of Code Check and Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings , Douglas Hansen joins the show to talk about building codes and home inspections. Douglas started in the industry as a carpenter in the 1960s, and he was also a teacher and a home inspector. He was tapped by Code Check founder Redwood Kardon to co-author the book. He describes the book as cliff notes and like a comic book for building codes. According to Douglas, codes are the language and vocabulary in the const...
Feb 14, 2022•52 min•Season 3Ep. 30
In today's show, Jeremiah Broz of Energy Advantage Roof and Solar joins to talk about solar roof panels. Jeremiah starts by talking about the incentives and rebates that solar power owners can get from the federal level, state level, energy companies, and manufacturers. They talk about the size and number of solar panels, as well as the wattage required to power a household. According to Jeremiah, there is high production in the western and eastern states, especially during the summer. He highli...
Feb 07, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Today, Leonard Sega l joins the show to talk about tactics, questions, do's, and don'ts in hiring employees. Leonard starts by discussing the three federal vaccine mandates: employer vaccine mandate, contract or sub-contractor mandate, and healthcare worker mandate. He mentions that only the latter is in effect. He further discusses private companies having their own vaccination policies and other Covid-10 regulations. Reuben asks about the differences between the Covid-19 guidelines of the Minn...
Jan 31, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 26
