Should I give up on newspapers? This past Sunday morning I could not sit back and relax to read the paper. Life happens, and half the paper is sitting on my desk unread. My favorite diversion is my daughter deciding that she needs to reading the paper instead of me. You try telling a one year old that she cannot read.

I do log onto the web through the day for business. I found that I could set up igoogle as a page that would have all of my interests collected in an easy to scan form. Tabs for art, business, music, and so on let me go to see what is going on in different interests in my life. I created my own html page for my home page for the browser, so that I have quick access to some information that I need for my business. I placed a link to igoogle on the landing page, so I could go over to quickly scan the stories that are out there.

The Google search bow is still on the top of this page, so I can look items up, but I found a good way to personalize my search further.  Surf Canyon has developed a great little plug-in to help me focus in on my search. The program reorders the lists provided on Google, MSN, and Yahoo based on what websites that I am visiting. A good way to get rid of the chaff during a search. Surf Canyon is not intrusive, so it makes for an easier search.

It is nice when our lives can be made easier, but I do not think that I can give up my Sunday morning paper. I enjoy the paper in my hand, whether it is from a newspaper or book. Sorry Kindle.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

Where do our inspirations come from for the style of our homes?
Palladio studied the features of ancient temples for his homes, and Wright turned towards nature. When I want to spot a trend, I examine commercial buildings. Bank branches will use many of the new fashionable materials first, but strip shopping centers are not far behind.

We turn to the past again to develop residences that will use less fuel to power them. Traditional techniques used the method called passive design. The sun’s heat was used to heat the home in such a way that nothing actively had to be done. Part of passive design did involve some activity though; opening and closing windows to catch the breeze to cool the home is one example, but these places were laid out to take advantage of this element. In some areas, homes are being built closer together, so they can shade each other. Two roof systems are being used to help cool the home. One roof resembles a roof used for a patio, while the home is built underneath it. Tents are being used for this purpose too.

Driving along, I tell my son to pull the camera out of the glove box to take a few pictures of office buildings. I noticed that a means to control the heat of the sun has been employed on these structures that appear as a decorative element. Here are the photographs (courtesy of my son, who wonders about his father at times):

These extending walls are strategically placed to prevent direct sun from shining into the window. In other cases, they just help recess the window back into the building to help control the light coming in. I have seen this idea carried out with canvas walls. I have only seen it used on one house, but their may be more around. I will have to look. Awnings for windows are coming back into fashion to provide much of the same effect, but these pop out walls also cool the exterior by shading more than the window.

Maybe this will be a new decorative feature on a home. Walls coming out for no other purpose than to control the heat of the sun. I think that I need the second roof idea for my home. Maybe a tent? Would the neighbors be alright with it? More importantly would my wife allow me such a flight of innovation? She would not. Good fences make for good neighbors, so maybe a really high fence to block that setting sun. We will see.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

The graceful columns of Greek Temples found their way into our residences in the Renaissance. We no longer adhere to the Greek orders, but I noticed that there are so many variations of this simple design feature of a home. When inspecting a small apartment complex, I saw that the porch was held up with a metal pole, visually unappealing. It occurred to me that a more dramatic column feature could be built around these poles to create a nicer exterior. With that thought, I realized that a homeowner could change out their columns to change the look of a home, or they could add a feature to make the column arrangement stand out more.

Driving through my neighborhood, I saw these variations on columns. The basic version seen on most homes is a circular type. In the first photo, you will see that this is not a simple tube. The Greeks discovered that a slight widening was needed to make the column more appealing.

You could easily build a square column over this type. Here we can see that some lines were routed out of the face of the column for an interesting effect.

A simple project that could be done with plywood, but I would use poplar is creating these slight curves from column to column at the top. I think that provides an elegant effect for the eye.

In this case, the owner used arches to replace the columns. I think that
I would have added more of a design element with the brick work.

You could add elements to your columns for visual appeal. Trim work at the base and top could be simple to add while giving visual appeal. This trim may not be seen from the street, but visitors will be drawn to these elements. Your trim is probably plain, but looking at different trim pieces in the hardware store that are meant for interiors, I see some good options for these columns.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

How do I look today? She asks if her makeup is alright, before we enter the doctor’s office. First impressions are important. My wife has also been contemplating the image that our house presents. She has decided that we need a paint job of the wood elements to our home. Most of our exterior is brick though, but we could color that too. We talk this over while waiting for the doctor. I mention that I want the garage doors painted the same color as the trim, because they stand out now as a focal point, and I want the eye to be drawn away from them.

I did help to create more of a focal point by applying a stucco finish to some of my brick. I have a small courtyard created by a low wall in the front entryway of the home. I used a cement based stucco to highlight the window sills and the top of the half wall. It helps focus the eyes on this section (with some help from some flowering vines). I like my brick, so I have no intention to completely cover it up.

There are paints which can do a great job at making brick exteriors look better. In the past, painting bricks was not something that I would have recommended, but new epoxy paints are said to last. There are even paints that are said to help with energy efficiency. In the picture below, the homeowners bumped out a room from the house, using a light colored stucco wall. This is a fresh coat of paint on the exterior brick. The color contrast appeals to me. This is when painted brick can look at its best.

Letting features standout is pleasing to see, but we do not always consider how we can create an effect. I remember looking at these gorgeous cedar window trim pieces in the stucco homes on Bermuda. The rich looking wood caught my attention. I do not see that consideration to detail on many homes. I am sure that the tradition on Bermuda developed due to practicality. Creating trim pieces from stucco is difficult, and cedar was available. Now, many stucco homes will have a cement stucco for the body of the home, but they will use a synthetic stucco called EIFS (pronounced ee-fus) for trim elements. Look at this photo.

You can see a line framing the window, ending with a keystone below it.
Keystones actually are meant for arches; they are the piece that keep arches in place. In this case, the trim is made from EIFS, and it was intended to add a little drama to the surface of this townhome. I found it close to a home that I was inspecting today, and thought it was good for illustrating my point. The trim helps the window pop out at you, but I think that this element should have been painted a different color. Your eye would have been immediately drawn to that feature of the home, but looking at the entire house, my eyes wandered a bit over the surface.

A brief view of some elements to be sure, but I hope that you will ponder on where you want the eye to focus when someone is looking at your home, and how you can use elements to make your house stand out. EIFS is not really a bad material. It can create some fascinating sculptural work for a stucco home. As for using it on the main body portion of your home, make sure that it is installed well. Most problems with stucco and EIFS have come about due to poor installation. If you are stuccoing over brick, make sure that moisture can escape by not covering the weepholes in the brick wall. These are the holes running along the base of the wall. Good luck with your home.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

My home was probably quite fashionable when it was built in the mid-sixties. Times change, and the need for a new appearance comes to light. Like many homes (even ones built today, as I see on the job), there is a cement walkway and patio. These surfaces are not as stable as a foundation, since they are not too deep. Cracks begin to show, and the cement is pitted. A good pressure cleaning would make it look nicer, but still something fresh is desired.

It would be feasible to resurface with cement, but I could go for another material. In fact, other surfaces are becoming quite fashionable. Paver designs really can jump out at you. If you remove the old concrete base, pavers provide a way to help reduce flooding, by allowing the water to sink into the ground of your yard. However, this removal can be quite a task. I am opting for covering the old with the new. Placing flagstones or tiles over existing walkways or patios is simple. Construction adhesive could be used for fixing the stones in place, and then grout could be used in the joints. Here is a home that used large flagstones for dramatic effect:

I was at the house for a home inspection. The owner noticed that moisture was on the carpet in several spots. Usually, the suspects will be the plumbing or air conditioning system, so that is where we would investigate. I noticed that the flagstones were two inches thick. On the front paths, this did not cause a problem, but on the patio it did. If you can see in the photo below, the stones cover part of the brick of the exterior wall. There are holes in the brick wall, which allow moisture out from behind the brick. In this case, the water can flow back into the home. Rain falls from the roof to seep back through these holes.

There are two solutions to this situation. For my project, a thinner tile will not come up the wall, so weepholes would not be covered. Exterior tile can be beautiful, and it is just as easy to install. The other solution applies to the flagstones above. The old holes should be covered/plugged, and new weepholes should be made by removing the mortar from between another set of bricks.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

I was packing my equipment away after an inspection, when my client approached me. She had a question about the home. Nothing to do with my report, but would I mind answering some questions. I think that my report is not always as important to new homeowners as is questions of decorating, and it turned out to be queries into tile.

She had seen tile at $1 a piece at the home center, and she wondered if it was any good. Most manufacturers produce a certain style for twenty years, and then they discontinue it as they move onto new versions of the product. To clear out the backlog of goods from their warehouses, they offer these items to home centers at bargain prices. Home centers will sell them at low prices to bring the customers into the store. There are two issues that you need to be aware of: they cannot order more of this tile for you, so big jobs cannot be done on most occasions; or years later when you break a
tile, and you need it replaced, you will not be able to find an exact match.

She wondered if one tile is better than another. Once installed, there really is not much difference in tile performance. You mainly want to pick a tile that fits your style. One problem that I have is with abuse from my children. Tile that has color only its glazing will have its base color show through when chipped. I did mention some facts to her. Larger pieces of tile will make your room feel larger, consequently smaller pieces make the room feel smaller. Darker colors for floors seem to be popular with designers; I think they make the room stand out. Setting the tile at a diagonal invites people into the room. Think of Japanese prints or Impressionist paintings, which use this effect to bring people into the art. Lastly, have the grout mixed in one big batch for color consistency. (A grout’s color can be changed with the amount of water added to it).

Tile floors have long been popular in Latin America, and more people in the United States are laying down tile for their homes. This mostly has been done for practicality. Tile is easy to clean. Another trend in tile is coming from Europe, and that is inlaying another trim tile piece into the floor to create a pattern. Sometimes a simple runner of tile one foot in from the wall can make a room stand out in appearance. Home centers will have good deals, but you can see more options, and obtain better advice, if you go to a store that specializes in tile.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

Would it not be lovely if our homes could be set on autopilot? Windows opening to catch the breeze. The air conditioning system adjusting accordingly. Appliances that really do not need the power when not in use, going fully dormant, but somehow recognizing when they need to power up a bit, so we can use the remote. Maybe computers will be handling more of these tasks in the future, but our homes need our interaction for now.

Today I climbed into my attic to turn off the pilot light for my heating. For most of the year, Houston is far too warm to have the heater come on, and I have not needed it for the past month, but I do like to wait. The nice thing is that I will not be paying for that gas which
is constantly being burned. Saving money wherever you can certainly helps.

During a recent home inspection, I realized that not everyone is familiar with this tactic, so I thought I would share it here. Not all air heating systems rely on a gas pilot light, but older gas fired units will have those lights on, burning gas, waiting there for your need. My need is not coming for another six months at least, so why pay for the convenience? I am not sure if it has been calculated, but I wonder what the expense might be. Since I deploy several tactics from using a programmable thermostat, insulation, to leaving the system off, I would have to take a closer look at the savings generated by one act. However, I imagine that over six months time, the savings are good.

Each unit is slightly different, but the procedure is the same. There will be a tag on your unit in the attic that describes how to turn on and off the unit safely, so bring a flashlight to read this. To turn off this light, you will be turning a knob on a box from the on position to off. This box is a control valve for the gas coming into the burner compartment, and the knob will be marked with the words on, off, and pilot. On this unit, turning to the off position is all that you have to do. For extra safety, follow the gas line back, and you will find another valve . Turn this one off as well. Usually, they have a lever handle. If the lever is parallel to the line, it is on. Perpendicular to the line means off. That is it; you are done.

You do have another pilot light inn a typical home that uses gas, in the water heater. Since you need hot water year around, you will not be turning this one off, but the procedure is the same. If you are going on vacation, you can turn the thermostat to its lowest temperature. By doing so, your heater will not come on to really heat up the water, while you are away. You will need to turn off this pilot light, when draining the water from your heater. You should drain the water once in a while to flush out the mineral deposits. To drain a water heater takes some time, but it really improves performance, which saves you money. Here are the steps: turn off the pilot light and gas to the unit; turn off the water; attach a garden hose to the heater at the bottom hose bib (like your exterior water faucet); run the hose outside, in a garden bed is fine or the grass (why waste the water); turn on the bib; and let it drain over night. You will not have hot water in the morning, so do this on the weekend.

I cannot wait till computers will make saving money in the home easy, but till then, try this savings tip.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

My wife is concerned about the impression we are making. She wants a new coat of paint on the front door to cover some of the minor scratches there. She feels that this is important step in making the right impression on our neighbors. My sister-in-law is discussing a purchase of a front door with an oval window in it for her parents home. She feels that will stand out. A seller is wondering if she should restain her front door to make a great first impression. I am under the impression that we all give only a thought to our entrances.

Walking through a home yesterday for an inspection, I noticed that the homeowner had replaced the door handles to the interior doors. They had some wear, so she had not done this recently. Most homes
have “builder doors” when constructed. These are generally the cheapest or most easily obtainable style of door with hardware to match. We homeowners pay no attention to the fact that we can upgrade these doors for a better appearance. The first step is simply replacing the door handle. A nice unit will cost around $20 to $40. Hinges for doors are frequently painted over at one point, so I would not worry about them.

My sixties era home has interior doors that are made out of wood
products, which is better than the newer version of these doors. I
have seen some that are made from a very shaky plastic material. I have seen wood/plastic composite materials that are very good, but these new doors really cry out their cheap heritage. You can replace both of these doors with a solid wood unit, which are truly nice, but I admit to repainting my doors. I take the time to sand them, and to make the job look good.

I do like the looks that are being produced by manufacturers now.
I have thought about replacing my doors with units that have some type of translucent panel in them. A panel in a door which is meant to let light through is called a light by the door industry, and it is an easy way to bring light into a darkened hallway. At this site from Masonite, you can see all of the variations in the design for a door. I particularly like the chalkboard idea for a kids room. This would be a great way for me to write reminders for my son.

If your exterior door sets the tone for a house, let your interior doors set the tone for your rooms. You do not need to have the same style door for each room, but you may want to stay consistent with your theme.

Your Houston home inspector,

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

I am intrigued by how our homes are changing with new technologies, which have also caused us to change the home. The entertainment value offered by computers, gaming systems, and the internet have caused us to divert our focus from the exterior towards the interior. Home gardens are shrinking as the luxury of space becomes our most sought after goal. With ever increasing television sets, why should we go to the movies? Can you remember when a 26” or 28” set was considered large. Now 36” is looked upon as small.

My brother-in-law is a journey man electrician, who has been updating his home with security cameras, audio equipment, and now computer networking cabling. I see the effort that he is taking, and I point out to him some common mistakes when it comes to securing this wiring. I have an acquaintance who is providing wireless systems for small offices, and this just may be the next phase for the home.

I am an early adopter with some technology, but other advances I shirk away from. I wonder is it worth it updating your home, when so much of the hardware is updated along with the software. No sooner than when you buy your hi-def equipment, and you find out about Blue-ray. I also wonder if so much emphasis should be placed on interior space. Will our children continue to gain weight if we focus more on the yard?

Now Congress has weighed in on the matter, and they wish to see affordable homes with the wiring in place for all of this new age of the wired home. With companies trying to control cost and energy prices staying high, telecommuting will become a common place work form. Our homes will be wired.

How can we maintain a home to meet new technological demands? Wiring in the attic is possible for the homeowner, but it might not be the best option if the cabling needs to be changed, or added onto. We also want to make exterior walls more thermally dense for energy efficiency. I was attempting to think of a solution to such issues, when I looked down upon my baseboard. Moving the board away from the wall will create a space for cabling, which could be changed out easily. Actually this procedure of removing the board to place a backing block to hold it away from the wall would not be too difficult. With a larger base board system, PEX tubing can be run for water with cabling and wiring for equipment and receptacles. In this way, systems can be worked on, added onto, and updated by removing the baseboard, instead of the wall covering material.

Connectivity may become the “in” word for the home. However, I am going to wait a while to see which technology will be affordable and permanent (or at least with a lifespan of twenty years).

On my desk is a two thousand year old shard of pottery. It is a small thing, about 1/4” by 1/4”. It would be useless to a museum, but I have held on to it for thirty years now. I picked it up at an archeological site in Mexico while I was with a professor from the University of Mexico. I thought it was just a piece of gravel, since that is what it seemed we were walking on. I look at this fragment every so often thinking about what was the daily life like for its owner.

I take a look around my own home, and I could ask what will someone find from here. David Macauly has a great book on that matter called Motel of the Mysteries. I do not think that I will be wearing my sacred collar soon (the toilet seat- an image from the Beatles Hamburg days comes to mind though). I wonder if this house will even last into the next century. Light frame constructed houses can last for two hundred years when maintained.

All of this makes me wonder in which direction homes will be going. Two competing trends are in the housing market. Large, spacious homes are dominating some areas, but energy efficient homes are coming to the fore. Green building fits with the energy efficient model. Anything with the term green attached is a key buzz word for marketers. But is this just a fad? Is green the term of the moment?

Our current means of supplying our energy needs has a while before it runs out, but high fuel costs will drive more investment dollars into developing cost effective fuel alternatives. Fuel Cell technology will probably come into the home. I think that will be seeing a better understanding of what is environmentally responsible, and that idea or way of living will become more common. Review documents or sites from different groups advocating the environment, and you will see that at this time there is no consensus on what this lifestyle could or should be. In the end, we cannot ask homeowners to give up the luxuries that have come to be such a part of our lives. Environmentalism should not be about giving up our lives, but changing them for the better.

The real growth industry will be providers of items that could retrofit a house to be more energy efficient. There is an interesting project documented on Openarchitecture.org about making an older home more efficient. I would like to see their solutions. The green and organic debate will go away, but I think that somehow finding ways to have our homes more in tune with their environments will become a standard building practice. Part of this will be energy efficiency. I suggest looking before you leap with your own home. Some technologies are not proven yet, and some technologies need improvement. Evaluate if what you are doing will be a benefit to you. I also think that you should check your local codes to find out if changes need to be made. I just read a post about water from rain does not belong to the homeowner in Colorado. They are prohibited from collecting it. They can also not use gray water for the same reason: ownership. I imagine this may be the case in several states.