Structure Talk

Today’s episode starts off by digging into the local real estate market with our guest, a Realtor® extraordinaire at RE/MAX Advantage Plus, Jim Starr . He shares what the real estate market’s like in the Twin cities in the last week of February. He shares a couple of listings they had, some overlapping showings they did, and how chaotic they were. Also, he shares an experience he had where the buy...

Joseph Whitters, a second-generation sewer guy and the owner of   Drain Busters joins the show to talk about the importance of maintaining sewer systems for homes. Sometimes, trouble with a sewer system can turn into a major problem that may show itself quickly and can be due to a damaged pipe or some other issues. Thus, it is indeed important to make sure that there are no potential issues presen...

Today’s episode is a very timely topic that is related to the very cold weather that we are experiencing right now. The gang will be talking about frozen faucets and some of the plumbing that runs through the exteriors of houses. The gang will also be sharing “what to do” when the water flow is shut off so that homeowners won’t end up with a problem later. The show starts off with Reuben defining...

Reuben has been meaning to blog about the subject of this episode since 2014. He was finally able to create and post it when it was brought up by an internal team question. Today, the gang will be talking about the issues of rotted rim joists, beam fill, and floor structure problems that tend to come up in old houses. The gang answers the questions “why it happens,” “when it happens,” “what are th...

For today’s episode, the gang talks from their own experiences about the things a professional home inspector should and shouldn’t say when dealing with clients. They discuss some of the language that should be avoided along with legal details and technicalities. Choosing an experienced home inspector can help guarantee not just their qualifications, but their experiential knowledge and expertise...

Christine Williamson, building scientist and the person behind Building Science Fight Club , joins the show to talk about the different ways to integrate new knowledge into building durable and efficient structures and designs with the help of building science. She also discusses how this is a tool to solve specific problems and what those problems are. The show starts off with Christine explainin...

For this episode, we will be learning different ways to add value to our homes with home improvement tips from the gang through some of the projects that they’ve been working on. The show starts off with Bill sharing his experience on how he tried to fix his house on his own in the past and how he shifted from fixing it by himself to letting the experts do it. Tessa then talks about how important...

Michael Conrad II, the CEO of Diligent , a Home Inspection and Environmental Testing company in Nashville, joins the show to talk about how home inspections have evolved over the years. The show starts off with Michael explaining how the company began, and how it grew into a trifecta of home inspections, energy auditing, and environmental testing. He shares about leadership development, the common...

This podcast was recorded in the studio in mid-February of 2020, pre-covid. We brought on a special guest for this episode, residential Realtor® Michael Bartus of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty. The topic was buying a house in the winter, and how to deal with a roof that’s covered in snow, because of course, it can’t be inspected. The weather warmed up before we had a chance to post this pod...

Since we are nearing the end of the year, today’s episode is a little bit of a recap about what the year was like here at Structure Tech. The show starts off with the gang expressing their appreciation and gratefulness that in spite of how challenging the year was, the business is still running and everyone is busy. Then, they bring up all the changes that took place in the company.

The owner and founder of Complete Building Solutions , Robert Vassallo, joins the show to talk about his expertise as a structural engineering consultant. The show starts off with Rob explaining about his company and what they do to find problems and how to solve them. He then answers some specific questions: What’s the most common problem in attics that leads to ice dams? How was sealing an attic...

For today’s episode, we have John Williamson, Operations Supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, join Structure Talk for a second podcast on electrical updates. The show starts off with John talking about the recent adoption process for the 2020 National Electrical Code. The following topics are covered, among other things: How NFPA matters to the NEC? Why does the code abo...

In this episode, the team talks about home inspection ethics. This was brought up because Bill got a call from somebody in the company who had a question about doing business with a real estate agent who was hoping that we would support their business with monthly financial contributions. And that raised the question, “Is that ethical?” The show starts with Reuben saying that inspectors should avo...

The owner of Eco Shaylee , Shaylee Oleson, joins the show to talk about how important environmental testing is. She talks about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), and anything that would make a person sick in their homes, workplace, and even in commercial buildings. The show starts off with Shaylee explaining about her company and its background. She then answers som...

In this episode, the team talks about how important it is to maintain a wood-burning fireplace. This topic was brought up because Bill’s neighbor is dealing with a $20k chimney rebuild. The show starts with Reuben explaining the structure of chimneys. He then answers some questions:                     What involves a fireplace from the place you put the logs all the way up to where the smoke leav...

A special guest, Yvonne, joins the show to talk about her experience with failed stone veneer siding throughout a townhome development in the Twin Cities metro area. These are some real concerns that are going to cost people a lot of money Yvonne talks about how she started suspecting that there was a problem in their townhome. A problem that started from one of the units’ conditions that might be...

A residential Realtor® at Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty, Michael Bartus joins the show to talk about negotiations after the inspection and how to negotiate other real estate transactions. The focus of this show was to pick up on where last week’s show left off, talking about a document that Reuben put together titled Negotiations After The Inspection . The show starts with Michael sharing h...

Structure Talk talks about the dreaded C-Word, Code. Should home inspectors even mention code? The gang also discusses some specific questions:           How do you feel about code as it relates to buying a house?           Why should home inspectors be very familiar with building codes?           ASHI says that home inspectors should report on significantly deficient stuff, how would you define t...

One of Structure Tech’s very own inspectors, Eric Houseman, joins the show to talk about the major changes the company has made since Covid-19 took effect back in March. The show starts off doing a deep dive into where the company came from, then covers the following topics: Process: Why Structure Tech started out as a be-with-us-every-minute-of-the-way inspection company. What happened in March o...

Third-generation owner of Northland Water , Brady Androff, joins the show to talk Minneapolis vs. Saint Paul water and to discuss commonly asked questions about water conditioning. The show starts off with Brady explaining about his company and its background. He then answers some specific questions: Why do we use salt and other things to treat water? What does a water softener do? A water softene...

John Williamson, Operations Supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, joins Structure Talk to do a deep dive in electricity. The gang covers the following topics, among other things: Is it legal for home inspectors to remove electrical panel covers? What would be the best course of action if I opened a Federal Pacific electric panel and then I got a handful of circuit breaker...

Tessa explains the basics of building science, touching on many components that overlap with home inspections. These topics include: Airflow and the H.A.M. sandwich (heat, airflow, and moisture) Occupant loads and the effect on buildings Blower door testing Old house vs. new house performance (energy vs durability) The importance of different trades communicating with each other Water management T...

Building official Andy Schreder with Rum River Construction Consultants joins the show for a live Q&A session via Facebook Live. There's some great discussion of commonly asked questions, along with some very interesting insight from Andy about why building officials don't always enforce code requirements. The topics include: Permits required for kitchen remodels. Electrical? Plumbin...

Steve Kuhl with Kuhl's Contracting returns to the show to share some insider dirt on insurance restoration, insurance claims, which insurance companies "pay out" and which ones don't, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the world of insurance fraud.  Steve is passionate and opinionated about all of this stuff, and it's a treat to listen to all of his insider informa...

Special guest Tim Molgren with The Woodlands Financial Group joins the show to share some fresh insights into the world of homeowners insurance, hail damage, and insurance claims. Homeowners insurance costs have risen at an unprecendented rate here in the Midwest, and garbage hail-damage claims are at the root of this problem. Insurance companies are beginning to fight back against this, and they’...