One thing you cannot take for granted in a home is that it will have sufficient heat sources. In older houses the situation could be as basic as a space heater that is being used to heat too many rooms. I have inspected newer houses where, for one reason or another, one room had no heat duct. And with brand new homes, at least 30% of the time, I find heat ducts that DO NOT WORK. You might ask why. Well, almost always, the flex heat duct is not connected into the system or it has come loose or someone has crushed it so it is flat as a pancake and no heat can pass through. A device that is really handy for checking all the ducts, when the furnace is running, is a laser thermometer. I use one at almost every inspection and it saves bending down to feel for heat. You can walk through a room and point it several feet and still get a reading that lets you know if anything is happening. It makes for a good photo too, that shows the true situation. For example, if I have the photo below showing one duct at 125F and another duct pictured beside it putting out 58F, both when the furnace is running, the point is made! Personally, I like the red dot that shows up too. It makes it clear what you are measuring.
Thanks for looking.
bellingham home inspector
Steven L. Smith
Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's. I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.
