Barrie Home Inspector

Home Maintenance and Tips for Home Owners

Replacing That Fuse Box?

Electricity

Electrical fusesOlder homes tend to have fuse boxes; newer homes and upgraded electrical systems use circuit breakers. Either device will protect your wiring if used properly. Circuit breaker electrical panels are installed in almost all new home construction. They have become the norm as people find them more convenient, but fuses are still a viable source of protection if used correctly. In most industrial installations, fuses are the preferred method of protection over breakers. When a circuit breaker trips you reset the circuit breaker and “pop”, it trips again, or it trips again when you go back upstairs and turn back on what you were using when it tripped in the first place. At this point you need to stop and identify the root cause of the problem making the circuit breaker trip.

The primary advantage of a circuit breaker is that it can be reset. That really matters when you’re running small electrical circuits, like in your kitchen. Older homes really weren’t designed with such heavy electrical power draws such as microwaves, dishwashers and the many other modern conveniences we have today. Which is why the 2002 National Electric Code (or NEC) calls for two 20 amp general appliance circuits, plus dedicated circuits for refrigerators, dishwashers, food disposals and the like in new, or remodeled home kitchens. That’s a minimum.
A lot of older homes, started out with few circuits but over the years more are usually added.

With fewer circuits and ever increasing electrical requirements, fuses would be at great disadvantage, because you’d blow them periodically. But for bigger power levels, say above 40 amps, the advantages become less clear, particularly when the house electrical system has been properly designed for the expected.

When buying fuses, look for the CSA mark. This shows that the fuse complies with recognized safety standards. Fuses are more reliable than circuit breakers. When a fuse rated at 20 amps exceeds twenty amps, it blows. Period. So if you buy a house with a fuses, don’t panic and decide you need circuit breakers right away. Even an old fuse will not betray you. Provided it’s not too big for the wire it protects, (and people are notorious for upsizing screw-in fuses when they have one blow) a fuse is a very effective way of protecting the circuit, the appliance and people.

A fuse is nothing more than a wire that melts when a known level of current flows through it. Fuses don’t age. But if you need more circuits you’ll need to put in a new breaker panel or subpanel as nobody makes fuse boxes for residential applications these days.

Circuit breakers and fuses protect your house from power overloads caused by spikes in the power supply. Without these an appliance, such as your dryer or microwave oven could easily overheat and catch fire. For this reason you must use extreme caution when working with them. Keep in mind that any electricity is dangerous, and that which powers your house can stop your heart under the right circumstances. If you feel you are in over your head at anytime, don’t hesitate to call in a professional electrician rather than risk fire or electrocution.

Both fuses and circuit breakers are overcurrent protection devices as defined by the NEC. You chose your breaker or fuse size after you’ve picked your wire size. Of if you’ve picked a fuse size, then the wire must match it.

Older breakers can ‘freeze’ in place. Breakers need to be exercised, turned on and off, so corrosion doesn’t weld the contacts together enough to make the breaker slow, or reluctant to blow. Old “Pushamatic” panels are notorious for this problem. A good practice when you have breakers is to flip all your breakers on and off once or twice a year to prevent the breakers for such seizures.

Fuses are fast. They open in one fifth of a cycle, breakers 1.5 cycles. That’s not much time at 60Hz, but it matters when you’re trying to protect computer equipment. A fuse might make the difference if you get hit with lightning.

Fuses are more flexible. You can get them with a dual element time delay which allow for a temporary overload in amps which occurs when AC compressors, fridges, dryers or other appliances which have high start up current draws. In a dead short situation these fuses will blow in a fifth of a cycle.

Of course, fuses must be changed, while breakers need to be reset. To change a fuse, turn the circuit to off and use an insulated tool, like linesman’s pliers o pull the fuse, and push in the new one. Screw-in fuses (type H) can be safely unscrewed if you resist the temptation to stick your finger in the socket. And remember to put exactly the same rating fuses back in. Remember an up rated fuse does NOT up rate the wire behind it.

But breakers sometimes have to be changed too. Square D, a manufacturer renowned for quality, only warrants its breakers for one trip. The reason is that every trip involves an electrical arc, and potential damage to the breaker’s contacts. A breaker that trips often should be changed. Fuses are generally cheaper, but at the household current level, good breakers are quite affordable.

History of Pawn Shops

Personal Interest

History Of Pawn Shops.  Throughout history people have found themselves in a position where they have needed some cash money. The have been moneylenders and others who have been willing to provide this service as long as there was some collateral. This evolved into the Pawnbroker business we are familiar with today.

Have you ever been to a pawnshop? For a lot of people, there seems to be something, well, shady about these places. But if you haven’t been to a pawnshop, you may be missing out on some great bargains. A pawnshop is a lot like a dozen garage sales and a flea market all rolled into one. A Pawn Shop is a business that will offer secured loans to people when they use personal items as collateral. The origin of the word Pawn is from the Latin word Pignus, which means Pledge. The items offered as collateral are called Pledges or Pawns.

“Students and parents will find impressive savings on Apple and Dell laptops, smartphones, iPods and lightly used bikes,” said P.J. Bellomo, CEO of the 10-year-old auction site. Pawn shops are another possibility, having gone a long way toward shedding their reputation as the seedy last refuge of the down and out, thanks in part to reality shows such as “Pawn Stars” on History Channel. The first pawn shops appeared over 3,000 years ago in ancient China. They were sometimes just individuals or stores that supplied the peasants with short term credit. Greece and Rome both had a thriving Pawn Shop businesses.

Items put up for pawn are held for an agreed period of time, during which the pawner may redeem the item after paying the agreed amount of interest. If not collected in the agreed upon time frame the Pawnbroker will then offer the item for sale. An experienced Pawn Broker will take into account how long an item will take to sell when deciding on the amount of money he will allow for collateral loan. Every state or province has different laws. The time period for the loan varies depending on state law. In some states, you also have the option to extend the loan or renew it. Please remember to bring a valid, current government issued photo identification

People defaulting on there Pawned items are not reported to any Credit Bureaus as the items Pawned will be sold at a profit by the Pawn Broker. Also because the loan is secured by items of value Pawn Brokers to not do Credit Checks prior to taking items in on Pawn.

No Credit Check Required. Fast, confidential secure loans! TV’s, DVD Players, DVD’s , Video Games, Tools, Sporting Goods, Minks and Leather Coats or Jackets, Musical Instruments, Studio Equipment, Stereo Equipment, and Digital Cameras are just a few of the items that a Pawn Shop will accept. Pawn Brokers have been subjected to some TV exposure with the advent of shows like “Pawn Stars”, “American Pickers” and “American Restoration”. Many people realize that Pawn Shops can carry old, antique and very unique items and are an interesting place to visit.

Visit Nic Frost, the author and owner of Mega Pawn, located at 471 Water Street, Summerside PEI.   Nic has been involved with managing and running Pawn Shops since an early age when he managed one of Summersides’s first Pawn Shops for his mother.  Nic offers the best rates, has a great selection of TV’s, Games, Jewellery, Tools, Recreation Equipment and offers Fast Cash for loans or un-wanted items.

 

Learn more about Summer Side Pawn – Buy and Sell. Got a new Construction Project? Visit Project Supervision and Oversight an Ontario company of specialists.

Barrie Information

Personal Interest

 

At its inception, Barrie was an establishment of houses and warehouses at the foot of the Nine Mile Portage from Kempenfelt Bay to Fort Willow. The Nine Mile Portage is an aboriginal transportation route that existed centuries before Europeans came to Simcoe County. The portage linked Kempenfelt Bay through Willow Creek, connecting Lake Simcoe to the Nottawasaga River which flows into Georgian Bay off Lake Huron.

Barrie played an integral role in the War of 1812. During the War, the city became a supply depot for British forces, and in addition, the Nine Mile Portage was adopted by the British Military as a key piece of their supply line which provided a strategic path for communication, personnel, and vital supplies and equipment to and from Fort Willow and Georgian Bay / Lake Huron. Today, the Nine Mile Portage is marked by signs along roads in Barrie and in Springwater Township. You can follow the scenic path from Memorial Square all the way to Fort Willow.

The city was named in 1833 after Sir Robert Barrie, who was in charge of the naval forces in Canada and frequently commanded forces through the city and along the Nine Mile Portage.

Barrie was also the final destination for one branch of the The Underground Railroad. In the mid-19th century, this network of secret routes allowed many American slaves to enter Barrie and the surrounding area. This contributed to the development (and name) of nearby Shanty Bay.

During World War II the Royal Canadian Navy named a Flower class corvette HMCS Barrie.

On 7 September 1977, a private aircraft dropped altitude to 500 feet (150 m) in dense fog, struck the 1,000-foot (300 m) CKVR-TV tower, killing all five on the plane and destroying the tower and antenna. The station’s 225-foot (69 m) auxiliary tower was also destroyed and there was some damage to the main studio. CKVR were as back on the air using a temporary 400′ tower and reduced power of 40,000 watts at 8:55am on 19 September. The new 1,000-foot (300 m) tower was rebuilt in 1978.[citation needed]

On 31 May 1985, an F4 tornado struck Barrie. It was one of the most violent and deadliest tornadoes in Canadian history.

On 12–13 June 1987, a sculpture called Spirit Catcher by Ron Baird was moved to Barrie from Vancouver, British Columbia, where it had been exhibited as part of Expo ’86. The sculpture was erected permanently at the foot of Maple Avenue on the shore of Kempenfelt Bay. However, with the re-development along the waterfront/Lakeshore Drive, the city is considering moving the Spirit Catcher to the gravel outcropping at the foot of Bayfield Street.

In January 2004, Barrie made international news when its city police raided the former Molson brewery, and found Canada’s largest illegal cannabis grow operation.

Barrie’s Park Place (formerly Molson Park) was chosen to host Live 8 Canada on 2 July 2005.[8] The success of the concert contributed to the resistance to a plan to convert the concert area to a commercial district. However, the stage, buildings and many of the trees on site have been destroyed since construction of the Park Place commercial district has begun.

An explosion in the Royal Thai restaurant, housed in the landmark Wellington Hotel, at the historic Five Points intersection in Barrie’s downtown core occurred at 11:20 PM on 6 December 2007. The fire quickly spread to several neighbouring buildings. Firefighters battled the blaze well into the following morning, requiring assistance from other Simcoe County fire services. Officials estimate the damages to be in the millions. The Wellington Hotel building collapsed. It was over one hundred years old.[9][10] On 17 February 2008, two people were charged in connection with the fire, after the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office concluded the explosion and fire were the result of arson.

LOCATION

Barrie is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, approximately 90 km (56 mi) north of Toronto within the Greater Golden Horseshoe subregion. It is accessible via Highways 26, 400, 11 and has convenient access to Highway 401, theHighway 407 Express Toll Route and to neighbouring Toronto. Pearson International Airport in Toronto is less than a one hour drive from Barrie via Highway 400.

Barrie’s historic downtown area is situated in a distinct curved or wrapped valley, surrounding the western edge of Kempenfelt Bay. Terrain is generally flat near the city’s centre. Moving up the valley slopes toward the city’s north and south ends, the terrain can be rather steep in some areas.

The city does not have any major rivers within its limits, but does have numerous creeks and streams, most of which empty into Kempenfelt Bay.

Climate data for Barrie
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14
(57)		 14
(57)		 24
(75)		 30
(86)		 32
(90)		 35
(95)		 36
(97)		 36
(97)		 33
(91)		 28
(82)		 21.5
(70.7)		 19.5
(67.1)		 36
(97)
Average high °C (°F) −3.2
(26.2)		 −2
(28)		 3.2
(37.8)		 10.6
(51.1)		 18.1
(64.6)		 23.4
(74.1)		 26.0
(78.8)		 24.8
(76.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 13.2
(55.8)		 6.1
(43.0)		 0.0
(32.0)		 11.7
(53.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −8.1
(17.4)		 −7.1
(19.2)		 −2.2
(28.0)		 5.3
(41.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 17.7
(63.9)		 20.5
(68.9)		 19.5
(67.1)		 14.9
(58.8)		 8.5
(47.3)		 2.4
(36.3)		 −4
(25)		 6.7
(44.1)
Average low °C (°F) −12.8
(9.0)		 −12.1
(10.2)		 −7.5
(18.5)		 0.0
(32.0)		 6.5
(43.7)		 12.0
(53.6)		 15.0
(59.0)		 14.2
(57.6)		 9.6
(49.3)		 3.7
(38.7)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −7.9
(17.8)		 1.6
(34.9)
Record low °C (°F) −35
(−31)		 −33
(−27)		 −30.5
(−22.9)		 −13
(9)		 −3
(27)		 1
(34)		 6
(43)		 3
(37)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −19.5
(−3.1)		 −32
(−26)		 −35
(−31)
Precipitation mm (inches) 95.4
(3.756)		 52.8
(2.079)		 57.0
(2.244)		 62.9
(2.476)		 77.3
(3.043)		 86.6
(3.409)		 73.4
(2.89)		 92.6
(3.646)		 97.6
(3.843)		 76.8
(3.024)		 82.6
(3.252)		 83.7
(3.295)		 938.5
(36.949)
Rainfall mm (inches) 15.3
(0.602)		 13.3
(0.524)		 28.9
(1.138)		 57.8
(2.276)		 77.2
(3.039)		 86.6
(3.409)		 73.4
(2.89)		 92.6
(3.646)		 97.6
(3.843)		 74.3
(2.925)		 62.1
(2.445)		 21.3
(0.839)		 700.2
(27.567)
Snowfall cm (inches) 80.2
(31.57)		 39.5
(15.55)		 28.1
(11.06)		 5.0
(1.97)		 0.1
(0.04)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 2.5
(0.98)		 20.6
(8.11)		 62.4
(24.57)		 238.4
(93.86)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 15.3 11.6 11.1 12.0 12.1 11.4 10.7 12.4 13.6 15.0 14.5 14.5 154.0
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 2.7 2.8 5.2 11.0 12.1 11.4 10.7 12.4 13.6 14.8 10.6 4.3 111.5
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 13.0 9.4 6.6 1.4 0.04 0 0 0 0 0.54 4.4 10.8 46.3
Source: Environment Canada

 

TOURISM

Tourism plays an important role in the local economy. Barrie’s historic downtown and waterfront are at the heart of its tourism industry. Downtown Barrie hosts many older buildings that have been kept up over the years or given new facades that exemplify their historical importance. Many specialty shops, boutiques, pubs and restaurants are located throughout downtown Barrie, most notably along Dunlop Street East. Downtown Barrie is becoming well known for its fashion boutiques, local art, live theatre, indie-music and nightlife scenes.

In addition, downtown Barrie is home to numerous annual festivals and events such as The Barrie Waterfront Festival, Barrielicious, Winterfest, Celebrate Barrie, Ecofest, Jazz & Blues Festival, Promenade Days, Ribfest and Craft Beer Show, Caribfest, Lawnchair Luminata, The New Music Festival, Barrie Film Festival, Santa Claus Parade and the New Year’s Countdown.

In the summer months, the city boasts several beaches including Minet’s Point Beach, Johnsons Beach, The Gables, Tyndale Beach, and Centennial Beach. Boating in also very popular in Kempenfelt Bay and Lake Simcoe as it connects to the Trent Severn Waterway. In 2011, Barrie’s waterfront was under redevelopment, with the relocation of several roadways to provide more greenspace and parkland along the lakeshore.

There are numerous winter recreation activities and facilities in the surrounding area, including skiing, snow tubing and snowboarding resorts, snowmobile trails and ice fishing. Recreational activities include skiing at nearby Horseshoe Resort, Snow Valley, Mount St. Louis Moonstone and Blue Mountain.

EDUCATION

Barrie has two major English school boards that operate inside the city at a public level. The Simcoe County District School Board administers a Public education in Barrie and Simcoe County, while the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board administers to the Catholic population and serves the Simcoe and Muskoka areas. It also has two French school boards, Le Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud and Le Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest. There are also several private schools both for K-8 and K-12.

Elementary schools

  • Frère André
  • Andrew Hunter
  • Ardagh Bluffs
  • Assikinack
  • Codrington
  • Cundles Heights
  • Emma King
  • Hewitt’s Creek
  • Hillcrest
  • Holly Meadows
  • Johnson Street
  • Maple Grove
  • Mapleview Heights
  • Oakley Park
  • Ferndale Woods
  • Algonquin Ridge
  • Allandale Heights
  • Pope John Paul
  • Portage View
  • St. Bernadette
  • St. Catherine of Siena
  • Steele Street
  • St. Nicholas
  • Terry Fox
  • Timothy Christian
  • Trillium Woods
  • W.C. Little
  • Warnica
  • West Bayfield
  • Willow Landing

High Schools

  • Barrie Central
  • Barrie North
  • Bear Creek
  • Eastview
  • Innisdale
  • Saint Joseph’s
  • Saint Joan of Arc
  • Unity Christian
  • École Secondaire Catholique Nouvelle Alliance
  • Saint Peter’s

Georgian College

Georgian College’s main campus, with over 10,000 full-time students and approximately 25,000 part-time students, is located in Barrie. Georgian College offers a wide varietey of diplomas and is well known in Canada and abroad for many quality programs, an exceptionally high graduate employment rate (94% and the highest in Ontario), and student and employer satisfaction rates.

Georgian College is home to the University Partnership Centre (UPC), which offers numerous Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from various universities including Laurentian University, York University, Nipissing University, Embry-Riddle University and Central Michigan University. The UPC has been partnering with universities since 1997 and as of 2011, serves over 2400 students. The construction of the Centre for Health and Wellness will ensure Georgian has the capacity to expand its University Partnership Centre to offer even more degree and advanced-degree level studies.

Georgian College is also home to the “Sadlon Centre for Health and Wellness”. Opened in 2011, this $65 million, 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) facility has allowed Georgian to double the number of health program students to 3,000 and allows students to pursue health and wellness related certificates, diplomas and degrees, including advanced degree programs. It is also home to a variety of health care services teaching clinics open to the public, as well as leading-edge laboratories and technology-enhanced classrooms.

The recently constructed “Centre for Sustainable Technologies” is also located in Georgian College’s Barrie Campus. This new $8 million, 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) facility opened in 2009 and is home to construction and energy-related programming and skills training. The Centre serves as a learning lab with technology and systems that demonstrate where the future of the industry is headed on all building projects.

 

Home Improvement in Barrie

Personal Interest

Home Improvement in Barrie –  Your guide to home improvements in the Local area.

How To Add Those Special Finishing Touches For Little Or No Money

Home is, as they say, where the heart is, so it is hardly surprising that we want it to look its best. We want our homes to reflect our tastes and design ideas and for it to be a welcoming, attractive place for ourselves and our guests to enjoy.

In these times of financial pressures and focus towards austerity, many families don’t have any spare funds to put towards little extras for their home. So how can we still add those special finishing touches to our homes while spending little or no money?  Here are some suggestions.

Looking  good

If a room is looking tired and in need of decorating, you can often freshen it up by attending to the details, rather than the whole room. Try painting or varnishing the skirting boards, picture rails, door frames and windowsills to brighten things up. Sometimes, changing lampshades or cushions can have the effect of a makeover too.

Storage is a tricky subject and it can be hard in smaller houses to keep things neat and tidy. Invest in shelving that can be added to or reduced in size so that you can keep up with the state of your belongings. If children’s toys are a problem, try putting some of them away for a while, then bringing them out at a later date. Result? You will have fewer toys to store and your kids will be delighted to be reunited with old favourites once more.

Sweet smell of success

Pot pourri, incense sticks and other proprietary room fragrances can be expensive and their scents can be overpowering. Why not try wiping your favourite essential oil over the glass part of a light bulb or leaving some on a radiator in a shallow dish? When the light or radiator is switched on, the heat will diffuse the fragrance into the room.

Place some water and slices of lemon in your microwave for a few minutes. Not only will it help loosen any stuck on food for cleaning it later, the citrus smells will also turn your kitchen into an aromatic heaven.

Make do and mend

If your table is looking a bit worse for wear, there’s no need to fork out for a new one straight away. A coat of paint, varnish or wood stain will refresh it in no time. Or, if you don’t want to do that, adding a simple table runner (these can be stitched from spare fabric) will really brighten it up.

You could even add a vase of flowers too for an instant touch of spring. Place a small lump of charcoal in the water to keep it pure and fresh for longer.

If you are handy with a sewing machine, you could have a go at making your own curtains. This will work out cheaper than purchasing off-the-peg ones, and you can customize them perfectly to match the themes in your room and the size of your windows. Sew a few marbles or small weights into the hems of unlined curtain to make them hang nicely. You could even try embroidering a design onto them to make them truly unique and personal.

Home Security

Personal Interest

Keeping Your Home Safe: How To Put Burglars Off Trying To Break In

Our homes are our castles – havens against the outside world, expressions of our tastes and design choices and a place for our loved ones to live together in, hopefully, domestic bliss. So when someone threatens it, it can be extremely frightening and upsetting. There are many ways to try to stop burglars, however. Here are some ideas to consider.

Make your home harder to break into

Burglars like to be able to get in and out quickly and discretely, so anything you can do to prevent this will help. Make sure any outdoor sheds and other buildings that contain ladders, tools etc are firmly locked. No point in providing thieves with the wherewithal to get into your house. Never leave spare keys hidden outside. People who do that tend to unwittingly choose some pretty obvious places to stow them. Instead, give the spare to a trusted neighbour.

Consider switching to a gravel driveway, or have areas of gravel under your windows. Gravel makes a lovely, loud crunching sound when trodden on. Grow thorny, or spiky plants against the walls too – good options for this are roses, firethorn or juniper.

Make your home looked loved

Keep the garden neat so the house doesn’t look neglected. Mow the lawn regularly – get someone to do it for you if you are away for a long time. Weed borders; sweep up fallen leaves and empty trash cans. Make sure the house exterior is well maintained. Burglars might assume a house in disrepair is owned by someone physically unable to look after it – and therefore less able to defend it.

Don’t let the mail build up in your absence either. Ask a friend to go in to collect it for you, or arrange for it to be temporarily redirected. Keep larger items like bicycles or lawnmowers out of sight too and place curtains over garage, basement or shed windows to prevent anyone looking in.

Make your home look occupied

It stands to reason that most thieves will think twice about targeting a house that looks like it is occupied. Draw the curtains and leave some lights on (or on an automatic timer switch)  when you go out at night, or perhaps leave the radio or TV playing.

Lock all doors when you are going out or to bed, and check all windows are closed. Never leave notes on the door saying ‘Gone Shopping’. Finally, create a written inventory of your valuable possessions and their estimated value or insured amounts – photographs and purchase receipts will also prove useful in the event of a break-in.

Make your house and home security something to invest in

The range of home security equipment out there is mind-blowing, from strong locks to state-of-the-art alarm systems. Ideas to enhance security include switching to more secure window locks, replacing door locks with deadbolts, making sure door hinges are on the inside and installing a decent burglar alarm– some will link to your local police station.

Such an investment is worth doing properly – after all, it will go a long way to protect your assets, not to mention your peace of mind. If, however, you are concerned about how to pay for such measures, take some time to consider how you will raise the money to fund them. A financial advisor or broker can steer you towards a number of financing methods, such as reasonable loan arrangements with manageable repayment rates. If you own your own home, there are many excellent remortgage deals on the market – most mortgage advisors would be especially pleased to see the additional funds released spent on raising the security of the property and its contents. If all else fails, perhaps you could take on some extra work to raise the funds. This temporary sacrifice of your time will result in long-term security and happiness in your home: who could ask for more?

Basic Basement Construction

Basements

Basic Basement Construction.  Always check with Barrie Building department and apply for any required permits prior to construction. A basement is an area below the first floor with a minimum height of 6 feet 8 inches. Basements may be created using masonry blocks or poured concrete. Modern homes are typically constructed using forms and poured concrete. Many basements provide added living space, including bedrooms, bath, recreation rooms.

Basement wall damageBasements are typically the area of a structure most at risk for water damage because they are located below grade and surrounded by soil. Soil releases water it has absorbed during rain or when snow melts, and the water can end up in the basement through leaks or cracks.

The roof on your home can collect over 600 gallons per 1000 square feet after 1 inch of rain has fallen. Install and maintain gutters and downspouts so that they route all rainwater and snow melt far enough away from the foundation of the building to ensure that pooling does not occur near the walls of the structure. At least 10 feet from the building is best, and at the point where water leaves the downspout, it should be able to flow freely away from the foundation instead of back toward it, and should not be collecting in pools.

Foundation weeping tiles are actually not tiles but 6 inch diameter plastic pipe with small holes in it. Weeping tile pipe is placed against and level to the bottom of the foundation footing. Once the weeping tile pipe is completely installed, coarse gravel is placed on top and level with the top of the footing.

Newer homes basements are typically protected using a black dimpled product which is attached to perimeter of basement walls. Most home owners think this is a water proofing barrier designed to keep water away from their foundation. The wrap is actually designed to allow water to quickly drain down void, created by the dimples, and enter weeping tile. This prevents any hydraulic water build up against concrete prevent water intrusion.

Sump Pump Installation by Barrie Home InspectorA sump pump is a pump placed in the basement of a home used to pump water from the basement to the outside or drain into the home’s drainage system. Sump pumps usually work in conjunction with a sump pit, which is a hole dug in the basement of a house which collects water during a rainstorm. The pump then pumps the water out of that sump pit.. A sump pump is usually necessary either in cases where the home’s basement is below the water table level, and or when the home is located in a place where flooding is common. In Ontario a sump pump is required by Ontario Building Code and must be installed unless waived by the building official.

Home that are located in areas where a high water table exists typically will have a backup sump pump installed in case of pump failure.  Also a battery back up is sometimes used in case of power failure.   During the home inspection process these are both indicators that a high water table exists and the home owners may have had water issues in their basement.   These are only clues and cannot be the sole evidence used to indicate water issues,  but are a strong indicator that further investigation is required.

Although there are many great books and part time college courses that now teach Home Inspections,  nothing will replace experience and first hand knowledge obtained through building homes and renovation projects over a life time of inspection and construction experience.   Caveat Emptor –  Buyer Beware !

 

For actual inspection pictures of defects please visit the Barrie Home Inspector’s site

Barrie Home Inspector and Thermal Imaging

Home Inspection

Barrie Home Inspector and Thermal Imaging. Combine Infrared Scanning & Home Inspection for your next Barrie Home Inspection.  Free Thermal Imaging scans of your Exterior walls and Main electrical panel included with your home inspection package.

Heat Loss at brickThermal imaging cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 9,000-14,000 nanometers or 9-14 m) and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects above absolute zero according to the black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to see one’s environment with or without visible illumination.

The discovery of infrared started with a prism being placed into a ray of sunshine in a dark room which then reflected the colours of the rainbow using a property known as dispersion. This is the method Sir William Herschel utilized in the 1800′s in conjunction with thermometers to discern the presence of invisible light rays. He called his discovery the thermometric spectrum later to be known as infrared.

Thermal Imaging can be used for detection of potential equipment failure by measuring abnormal temperature signatures of electrical distribution system components. By evaluating the operating condition of these components, potential failure can be located and problem severity determined as part of a structured ongoing maintenance program.

Missing Insulation in Corner

When using a thermal imaging camera a special lens focuses the infrared light emitted by all of the objects in view. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. It only takes about one-thirtieth of a second for the detector array to obtain the temperature information to make the thermogram. This information is obtained from several thousand points in the field of view of the detector array.

Light is often said to have a colour temperature. What this means is that the colour of the light is the colour of light radiated by a so-called black body which is at that temperature. Colour temperature is measured in Kelvins and the higher the colour temperature the bluer the light. Zero Kelvin is Absolute Zero and the freezing point of water is 273 Kelvins: a Kelvin degree is the same as a Celsius or Centigrade degree. In practice the actual temperature is not the same as the colour temperature.

Thermal Imaging has evolved into one of the most valuable diagnostic tools used for Predictive Maintenance (PM). Also known as Thermography, Thermal Imaging is the production of non-contact infrared, or “heat” pictures from which temperature measurements can be made. By detecting anomalies often invisible to the naked eye, thermography allows corrective action before costly system failures occur. Portable infrared (IR) imaging systems scan electrical systems, then constantly convert the thermal images to visible pictures for quantitive temperature analysis.

The Barrie Home Inspector was the first company in Simcoe County to offer Thermal Imaging as part of a Home Inspection.  Our training, experience and knowledge make us the Premier Home Inspection company for residential or commercial property investment.

Commercial Property Inspector – Barrie

Real Estate

Commercial Property Inspector – Barrie is a Certified Building Code Official. He has attained the required training and education with the Ontario Building Officials Association and is fully qualified on Large Buildings and Part 3 of the Ontario Building Code. An unknowing inspector may lead you to believe your property is code compliant when you could in fact be faced with spending thousands or tens of thousands in required building code upgrades.

Aluminum Wiring: In the late 1960′s and early 1970′s copper prices rose and contractors/electricians switched from copper to lower costing aluminum wiring. Concerns with this type of wiring have arisen, for example, when aluminum wire is connected to devices (eg. receptacles, light fixtures) which were not designed for aluminum, or, when aluminum and copper wires are attached. In these cases a reaction can occur causing the connections to fail, perhaps become disconnected, and/or, potentially overheat, spark and catch fire. Symptoms of this can sometimes be seen in the discolouration of receptacles, flickering lights, or the smell of hot plastic insulation.

Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its sound absorption, average tensile strength, its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement (resulting in fiber cement) or woven into fabric or mats. All types of asbestos fibers are known to cause serious health hazards in humans. Removing asbestos from a property can be expensive and time consuming. Personnel have to be licensed to perform asbestos removal.

Mould: Leaking roofs or basements can lead to an excess of moisture in your crawl space, basement or storage areas of your building or office. The best reason is to avoid the growth of fungus, mold, or mildew that may decay and destroy wood and potentially your indoor air quality. Moisture in any form provides the missing ingredient for spores to thrive and grow in its environment. Having your property or building inspected can prevent expensive clean up costs that might be incurred after you purchase a property.

Thermal imaging (infrared camera) is used on all our commercial property inspections. This amazing technology can aid in the detection of heat loss, moisture, water leaks, over-heating conditions and even mould detection. We also perform moisture checks with our up-graded digital moisture detector which allows us to detect moisture up to an inch behind most building products.

The Commercial Property Inspector has been in business for 7 years and has performed over 4,000 inspections. As a Certified Building Code Official with the Ontario Building Officials Assc he has master the Ontario Building Code by completing all the Part 9 (small buildings) and Part 3 (large buildings over 600 m2) which enables him to use this experience when inspecting your commercial real estate investment. All inspections are performed to ASTM E2018 standard and report is based on PCA format.

Looking to find Toronto Commercial Property Inspections, then visit www.commercialbuildinginspector.ca to find the best advice on GTA Commercial Property Inspections for your next investment.

Google Search Tips

Personal Interest

Google Search Tips. Searching on Google can be a magical experience once you find out how to make your search queries efficient. By making efficient I mean using some tricks or the cheat sheet provided by Google itself to quickly find what you actually require. Having being hooked onto Google for a long time now, I have come across some amazing search tricks which can change the way you look at Google today.

 

Google Search TricksIn this article I will list down the search tricks which I use quite frequently. Be it finding time, meanings or watching the cricket score, searching PDF’s, with Google as the search engine life cannot be more simpler. Here are the 10 most amazing Google Search tricks:

1. Different Types of Files at your will
How many times would you have asked for materials (PDF, PPT, DOC) for a particular topic from a friend? Its almost everyday that we might have the necessity to ask them either for knowledge, preparing a presentation, white-paper or for case studies. Such times it mostly difficult to look out what to exactly search for because most of the times you don’t know about the topic at hand. But this petty keyword unleashes its lethal power at such occasions.

Let’s say I want to implement a case study on SOA which means I have to read a lot of information for SOA. So I just have to find materials which might have already been uploaded on the web in the form of PDF’s, DOC’s or PPT’s. These materials can be easily obtained by doing a search for:

2. Scholarly Search
If you want some authenticity of the materials then it would be better to find the materials from educational institutes or universities. For this use theGoogle scholar search. But suppose you don’t like to switch to Google scholar search you can add the same query with an additional parameter to the normal Google search box,

3. Meanings of any word in an instant
Now you do not have to carry a dictionary or install a dictionary software just for the purpose of finding out a meaning of a word. With the wealth of information in Google’s hands, its a piece of cake to find out the meaning of the word. Just use the define: keyword. The meaning would of course be displayed but also a set of other links which might have an alternative definition are also given out with the link to read more about it.

You would argue here that, a dicitionary gives out more information than this. But what about words that don’t actually fall within the vocabulary. Suppose you want to know what SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) is then you would have no choice. Google Search comes to your rescue in this case,

4. Find the time of any location
Many of us might be probably working for client which are based at different locations. And communication has to be carried out frequently carried out in such cases. But before a communication you have to know which time zone the location is falling into otherwise you would be causing a disturbance.

I have seen people installing time zone software for showing the time of the location they would be calling to. But with Google at your hands you don’t have to install any software. It would be just simple to use a query for finding the current time such as,

psst….look closely the time on the little clock graphic. It also shows the perfect time!

5. Weather at your fingertips
I had been to GOA for a Christmas vacation in the last week of December. But I made a mistake of not finding out the temperature of GOA before leaving. Had I known that it is hot even in the winter I would not have made the mistake of carrying additional luggage consisting of blankets and jackets.

If you are thinking to visit a place it is useful to know what the temperature of the place is before hand, it can make efficient packing. Google helps you here too. Just use this query without asking anybody or waiting for the news to make a weather report. I wish I had thought of this!

6. Google does live commentary too!
Indians are cricket fanatics. But its amusing to see the organizations here trying to put together tactics to devoid cricket lovers from wasting time to watch the cricket scores instead of doing their work. What I think they fail to understand is that by blocking the live cricket scoring sites they are actually making the employees more curios and provoking them to hunt for proxy networks or listen to the radio or chat with their friends elsewhere.

Jokes apart, you actually don’t need proxy networks to view the live cricket scores if you at least have access to Google. If you want to find the latest info about all the cricket matches then just type,

But if you want to find out only about a particular match then use only the names of the two playing nations,

Remember that the scorecard will come only when the play is going on.

7. Calculate with your browser
Every OS has a calculator inbuilt but when the browser is the thing which is constantly open whey bother to open up a calculator. Open Google and straight away type your mathematical expression. You can go all the way frombasic arithmetic to trigonometrical expressions. This is simply amazing stuff accomplished by Google.

8. Compare your currency with others
Now that the dollar is declining, the rest of the world must be busy trying to check the impact of the dollar on their currencies. But first of all one must know how much a particular currency amounts to when cashed in another currency. Google’s inbuilt currency converter just does this.

9. Keep track of the stocks
With the booming stock market it is very important to track the stocks on a day to day basis. Putting a stock ticker in the search box is the most obvious thing you would think of. But it is not always you would remember the stock ticker, you should add the keyword “stocks:” to the company name.

The best part of the obtained result is that it provides a chart which shows the trend in the company’s stock along with important statistics.

Note: Currently the results are restricted to the companies listed in the US stock markets.

10. Wanna find some faces?
This is most interesting trick. You might be needing images for various occasions and searching for images is the most difficult thing because what we expect might not be possibly mapped to a query. But Google has a parameter in place for images in situations we need an image which describes a face.

Suppose I search for the term “happy” then the Google results page displays smileys. But I would like to use images of happy people. Even if I choose the term as “happy face” the results don’t show images which contain people. For this there is a parameter “imgtype” which you can use with the URL. For this put in the URL as follows:

There are many more variations which can be bought about with the above tricks thus making your search experience not only enriching but also exciting. If I have missed any tricks of common usage, feel free to mention it.

Update 1: Google keeps on experimenting new ways of searching. If you liked the above tricks then don’t miss out my article which mentions how to use thenew search experiments introduced by Google. Believe me, they are brilliant!

Update 2 : Search for your favorite movie information with Google and enjoy it even more. Have fun with the 5 Most Fantastic Movie Search

Canadian home sales pull back in January

Real Estate

Real Estate Sales Barrie ONOTTAWA – February 15, 2012 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity retreated in January 2012 from the strong finish reported for December 2011.

Highlights:

  • Home sales were down 4.5% from December to January.
  • Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 4.0% above levels in January 2011, and stood even with the 5 and 10 year averages for January sales.
  • The number of newly listed homes edged down 1.4% from December to January.
  • With sales down by more than new listings, the national market shifted further into balanced territory.
  • The national average home price was up less than 2% year-over-year in January, ranking it among the smallest increases of the past year.

Sales activity recorded through the MLS® Systems of real estate Boards and Associations in Canada fell 4.5 per cent from December 2011 to January 2012. This marks the first monthly decline in national activity since August 2011 and the biggest monthly decline since July 2010. The monthly decline reversed a string of monthly increases over the closing months of last year, and returned national activity to where it stood at the end of the third quarter of 2011.

“The national housing market is stabilizing and remains well balanced,” said Gary Morse, CREA’s President. “That said, forecasts for economic and job growth going forward vary widely for different parts of the country, suggesting a possible continuation of a softening trend in some markets, as well as the potential that demand will pick up based on strong fundamentals in others. All real estate is local, so talk to your local REALTOR® to understand how price trends in your neighbourhood are shaping up.”

Activity was down in over half of all local markets in January from the previous month. Led by declines in Greater Toronto and Montréal, demand also softened in a number of other major urban centres including the Fraser Valley, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Greater Vancouver.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) national sales activity was up four per cent from year-ago levels in January, the smallest year-over-year increase since last May. As was the case in a number of months last year, actual sales in January 2012 stood close to the five and ten year average for the month.

The number of newly listed homes edged down 1.4 per cent on a month-over-month basis in January following a 2.9 per cent increase in December. The monthly decline in new supply reflects a drop in new listings in a number of Canada’s largest urban centres, which offset a jump in new listings in Vancouver.

Sales fell in January shifting the national market back towards the mid-point of balanced territory and reversing the recent trend which had seen the market becoming tighter over the final four months of 2011. The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 53.8 per cent in January, down from 55.5 per cent in December and 55.4 per cent in November.

Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 per cent, 60 per cent of local markets were balanced in January. Compared to December, there were fewer buyers’ and sellers’ markets, and a greater number of balanced markets.

The number of months of inventory stood at six months at the end of January on a national basis, up from 5.7 months in December 2011 and returning it to where it stood in October 2011. The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and is another measure of the balance between housing supply and demand.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in January 2012 was $348,178, representing an increase of 1.2 per cent from its year-ago level. This ranks among the smallest increases since late 2010.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the national average home price rose 1.6 per cent on a month-over-month basis, marking a rebound from a decline of similar magnitude in December. This pattern mirrors the one playing out in the newly-launched MLS® Home Price Index (HPI), published on February 6.

“Year-over-year comparisons in the national average price are expected to become volatile and may turn negative, reflecting average price developments in the first half of 2011 in Vancouver,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “At that time, high-end home sales in Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhoods surged to all-time record levels, which skewed the national average price upward considerably. A replay of this phenomenon is not expected this year. As a result, comparisons for national average price to year-ago levels over the coming months will reflect an upwardly skewed base effect. For this reason, year-over-year comparisons should be kept in perspective. Developments in the MLS® HPI will provide important guidance on price trends, since it is not affected by the problem of compositional shifts in the mix of sales activity.”

The MLS® HPI also takes into account the contributions toward the price of a home made by a broad range of quantitative and qualitative housing features, allowing it to track Canadian home price trends better than any other measure.

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas.

Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 100,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/media.htm.

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