Taking Your Chances on an Older Home? 2 Things to Inspect First

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If you are considering purchasing an older home, you need to inspect many things before you sign on the dotted line. This way you will not be purchasing something that will require you to make a lot of repairs. Below are two things you should start with.

1. Check the Air Conditioning Unit

Hire a contractor to inspect the air conditioning unit for the home. The contractor will check the unit outside before they go inside. They will make sure there is not a lot of debris growing around the unit. If so, this debris can cause problems as it blocks the vent on the unit.

Then, the contractor will open the unit to inspect the parts inside. This inspection addresses the fan and fan blades, the evaporator coil, the refrigerant levels, the blower motor, the condenser coil, and more. Some of these things can be very expensive to repair or replace, such as the condenser. Other problems will not cost as much such as replacing the fan. 

The contractor will then go inside your home and inspect the thermostat. They will put the thermostat on a certain temperature and then wait for air coming out of your vents. After a few minutes, the contractor can check the temperature of the air to ensure it is correct. 

2. Check the Plumbing

If you're about to buy an older home, you'll also want to check the plumbing. Because the home is older, the plumbing may have problems or it might be outdated. Hire a plumber to do this inspection for you. This professional can check all plumbing pipes to ensure they are in good shape and there are no leaks. They will check the toilet and all water lines that are in the home. 

The plumber will also check outside of your home, such as check the outside faucets. They will go into the crawl space to determine if there is any plumbing installed there. 

If the home has a septic tank, the plumber can inspect this also. The plumber will first determine how old the septic tank is and try to find out the last time it was pumped. This is important as a septic tank should be pumped every few years to prevent problems. The plumber may hire a septic tank company to help them with this.

There are just a few things you need to check before you become an official homeowner. Contact air conditioning and plumbing services to handle these inspections.

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26 March 2020

Cool off Your AC Bill

Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.