Structure Talk

For this podcast episode, we did a live Q&A session through Facebook Live, while also recording the podcast. We covered a lot of listener questions and didn't have time to get through all of the questions that were asked. We'll do another one of these live episodes sometime soon. For a video recording of this podcast, check out https://youtu.be/LmygdXyjffI .

For this episode, we interview Daniel Felt, the owner of Kura Home Maintenance .  We talk about some of the most important home maintenance things that are neglected by homeowners and talk about some of our least-favorite chores.

Bill, Tessa, and Reuben discuss projects they're working on at their own houses.

This episode is all about chimney inspections, chimney safety, and we discuss some of our craziest interactions with so-called chimney experts.

We have a special guest on this episode, Steve Kuhl. Steve owns a bunch of companies, but for this podcast, he's representing his heat tape company, Radiant Solutions Company . What we didn't know about heat cables before talking with Steve could fill a warehouse. This man knows more about heat cables than anyone we've ever talked to. To top it all off, he's entertaining to lis...

Reuben, Tessa and Bill discuss all things radon. They cover radon conspiracy theories, health effects, test methods, mitigation systems, licensing in Minnesota, and a whole bunch of myths regarding radon. Related Links: DIY test kits for $9.95 New licensing for radon in Minnesota Minnesota Radon Awareness Act Also, please enjoy these old photos from 1997, featuring Reuben and Rick wearing lab coat...

Reuben and Tessa talk about several of the required fall maintenance chores that Minnesota homeowners need to take care of. Bill laments about how difficult it is to be a homeowner, and how he'd rather be watching football ;-). 

Today the gang discusses asbestos. While home inspection standards of practice don't require home inspectors to report on environmental hazards such as asbestos, most home inspectors will still point this stuff out if they believe that it presents a problem.  The most common locations for hazardous asbestos are discussed, along with what can be done when asbestos is found. Related Links:  Asb...

In this episode, the gang discusses stucco failure on newer Minnesota homes, as well as failures with stone veneer siding.  Related links: City of Woodbury Position Paper on Stucco in New Residential Construction Stucco Woes - The Perfect Storm Moisture testing stucco (the Structure Tech process) Stone veneer siding installation defects Video clip of Reuben pouring water against a stone wall Video...

Everyone makes mistakes. In this episode, we share some of our worst home inspection mistakes. We're also joined by Structure Tech home inspector Jim Tobias. Reuben has already blogged about several of these mistakes recently, which you can find here:  Wrong house Bathtub flood Trampled insulation, ruined ceiling

Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss home inspection schools, certifications, licensing, and training requirements, along with the training process at Structure Tech.

Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss what would make for a perfect house. They talk about roof lines, water management, siding, basements, heating, and cooling systems. They also talk about an old blog post of Reuben's, titled Boilers vs. Furnaces .

Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss repair methods for ice dams. Before starting with Structure Tech, Tessa used to spec out insulation and air sealing work for houses with ice dam issues. The team discusses the cause of ice dams, how to fix them the right way, and things to look for when hiring an insulation contractor. Also mentioned in this episode is Project Overcoat , which Tessa was involved in.

Reuben and Tessa gang up on Bill, complaining about the shortcomings of story-and-a-half houses. The discussion is focused on insulation, ventilation, heating, cooling, and ice dams. Reuben blogged about this topic back in 2011: My beef with 1.5-story houses

  Sewers and floor drains: In Episode 3 of our podcast, Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss all things related to wastewater leaving houses. They discuss the importance of sewer inspections on all houses, not just old houses, and discuss what it takes to fix these issues when they occur. They also discuss the mystery of floor drains backing up, the importance of floor drain cleanout plugs plugs, and h...

 In Episode 2 of our podcast, Reuben, Tessa, and Bill discuss ways of keeping water out of basements. It all starts with exterior water management; roof lines, gutters, downspouts, downspout extensions, and drainage and grading. When everything has been done at the outside of the home but there are still problems, drain tile and a sump system can be added. We discuss how these systems can work, an...

This is our very first podcast episode, hosted by Reuben Saltzman, Tessa Murry, and Bill Oelrich. The focus of this podcast is crazy stuff that we've found inspecting, and finds that we're especially proud of.