All-Star Home Inspection Services LLC.

GFI Outlets: As a Home Inspector for All-Star the most exciting part of the home evaluation for me is the Electrical System.  Frequently, I find myself educating folks on the purpose of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI or GFI). GFI's are smart sensing electric devices designed to "trip" in as little as 1/40 of a second when the intended path of electricity is grounded.  These simple de ...

Pledge to Change the World, One Step at a Time Please Join All-Star Home Inspection Services in Saving Energy and the Environment. As part of our ongoing commitment to the environment, All-Star urges you to help save energy and money and help fight global warming by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR campaig ...

As far as I'm concerned, anytime of the year, any day of the week is a great time to think about more ways to Go Green and save a little bit of money. But I have been especially thinking about this lately, as it gets colder here, and I'm starting to wince at the thought of my heating bills. So I poked around on the internet, and here are a few tips I found on the Environmental Protection Agen ...

Last week, I was asked about the worst house I had ever inspected. There have been many homes that I've been in since I started inspecting in August 2000, that I couldn't pick just one.  A few stand out more than all others; I've seen some really strange things.  It's funny how you can remember the worst homes you've been in better than the ones you were in just last week. One of the most da ...

Dear All-Star: I am buying a house built in 1968 and I am concerned about the electrical system being up to today’s standards. What are the areas I should investigate? We typically use more electrical devices today than we did back in 1968! What was considered large at 100 amps is today just adequate. As always your biggest concern should be safety. Do not open an electrical panel unless you ...

Choosing a residential home inspection company is an important part of many real estate transactions. Too many times the choice is left to the party with the least experience in choosing a company. As a Real Estate Agent it is your responsibility not only to help your client find the right home, but to guide them through the transaction. Often times the home inspection can reveal issues that ...

This is a music video about Energy Auditing.  The video was made by a group of Stanford grad students.  Notice the blower door equipment....

click on link to view the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pezKEkBIhqA

Fair question, how much should a home inspection cost?  I think this question, if asked by potential buyers, is often not answered correctly by even the best home inspectors. The cost of a home inspection should be worth the time of an insured, qualified, and experienced building inspection professional with current knowledge of the many components of a house such as, roofing systems, plumbin ...

It seems that Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) are becoming very popular again.  So far this year we have done 8 EEM Energy Ratings to help consumers comply with the FHA program. Buyers that have used the EEM option have been able to afford energy efficient upgrades in addition to the purchase of their homes. These upgrades include replacing drafty windows, adding insulation, replacing older ...

ENERGY TAX CREDITS That big expensive home improvement project you've wanted to do may not be that expensive after all.  Now through December 31st 2010, the Federal Government is offering tax credits on major household items such as furnaces, central air units, windows, hot water heaters etc.  For most of the products mentioned the Federal Government is offering 30% back on each unit you pur ...