In Atlanta, Georgia and all across the nation Digital TV is in and Analog is out without a converter.
December 31, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
If you are still climbing a ladder to adjust your rooftop TV antennae or leaving the couch to reposition those “rabbit ears,” your TV will go dark February 18, 2009
To stay tuned with your current equipment, you’ll have to get a digital converter to dumb-down the signal for your low-tech TV.
Otherwise all channels will be full of “snow” and white noise.
Luckily, free $40 coupons, two per household, are now available from the federal government to help you defray the $50 to $70 cost of a converter. Converters will be available from electronics retailers and other merchants.
Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, analog TV signals makes way for digital TV (DTV) signals. Congress ordered the transition to digital broadcasting to make more efficient use of the publicly owned airwaves.
You do have some other options in addition to the digital-to-analog converter, which, again, is only necessary to get the digital signal over-the-air via an antennae to your analog TV.
In North Georgia Thousands of homes are being sold and not getting a home inspection
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Common Findings
As an North Georgia home inspector I am amazed at peoples thinking or lack of. You see, thousands of homes are listed for sale every year in North Georgia. Most of the homes for sale are older homes and many of them may not have been properly maintained. When thinking of buying a home, it would seem obvious that the home buyer would actually demand a home inspection. Sadly, however, many homes are purchased without the buyer ever even contacting a home inspector.
Georgia Home inspections are not nearly as expensive as you may think they are but the cost of not having your next home inspected by a certified home inspector may be very great. One water leak can damage walls, floor coverings and content and cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair. Of course by then the Georgia home inspector, who did not perform your Georgia home inspection, cannot do anything to save your home –or your belongings. And if you have gotten your good buddy to take a look at the home, then more than likely he’s not going to be able to help you out either.
Home inspections, at least those performed properly by a certified home inspector, often find problems in areas where the home owner would never go. Many Georgia home inspectors, let alone home owners, will not walk the roof or go into the crawl space. How would they ever find a budding problem which could turn your home dreams into a nightmare? Interview your home inspector and ask for references from former clients. Getting a Georgia home inspection really should not be an option. Using an experienced, qualified Georgia home inspector should be the natural choice.
David Lelak, a North Georgia home inspector and owner of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.
We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!
You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.
We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.
Also check out our friend, Ken Cook who provides great editorial services.
Retweet this postThe Cherokee county fifth graders did a great job at Thanking our Soldiers
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Get To Know Us, News & Events
Fifth graders (including our daughter) at our Cherokee county elementary school ended up gathering packages and writing letters to our soilders who are serving our country. They shipped them out so the soldiers would get them in time for Christmas. Here is a note below from the fifth grade teacher.
fyi… our soldiers received their package for Christmas. Read the reply below…
Merry Christmas to all!!
Mrs. Turner,
Thank you so very much for all of the packages that you have sent. It means a lot to all of the soldiers here in my unit to receive them. I will say that everyone thoroughly enjoyed them as everyone ran up and grabbed everything as soon as the packages were opened. The letters that your students wrote to us were very much enjoyed by everyone. We all took turns reading aloud each letter that we received. Everyone thought that they were adorable. Your students should be receiving reply letters in about a month. I am also preparing an American flag that will be flown over Iraq on one of our combat missions and I will send it to your class as a token of our appreciation for all of your support. I can not say thank you enough as we need all the support we can get. Thank you again, God bless you, and Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
Steven D. Dickson II
A Co. 3-159th ARB
Retweet this post5 easy ways to help cut heating cost.
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
There’s a good chance that high heating bills are here to stay. As the prices of natural gas and heating oil go up, homeowners will find themselves paying more and more to heat their homes in the winter. Fortunately, you can offset some of the price increases by beefing up your home insulation. In fact, most homeowners can save 30 percent or more on home heating costs by making a few inexpensive home improvements!
Older homes are often most in need of an insulation upgrade. But don’t assume that, because you have a newer home, it’s as well-insulated as possible. Many homes built after 1980 have inadequate insulation because local building codes aren’t up-to-date with US Department of Energy recommendations. Also, occasionally home-builders do scrimp on “little” things like insulation to lower costs and increase profits.
Here are some relatively simple and inexpensive steps you can take to lower your heating bills this winter:
1. Increase attic insulation.
Your attic is a big source of home heat loss and is one of the easiest places to get in to. If your attic does not have at least 12 inches of insulation you can lay paperless rolls of insulation on top of existing insulation, including cellulose or vermiculate. These types of insulation tend to “compact” over time, reducing their effectiveness.
By the way, a well-insulated attic is always cold. If you see icicles dangling from the eaves of your home it means that warm air in the attic is melting snow and the water runoff is re-freezing (which can also cause significant damage to your roof!). Get in there and insulate until the air is very cold.
2. Use weatherstripping around windows and doors.
Lots of heat is lost through the spaces around windows and doors. Modern weatherstripping materials are inexpensive and very effective at minimizing the loss of warm air (and money). Most do-it-yourselfers can install weatherstripping pretty easily. Just make sure to do it in temperatures above 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, always apply weatherstripping to clean, dry surfaces to maximize effectiveness and ensure that it lasts for a long time.
3. Use expansion foam for small spaces.
Expansion foam insulation works great for filling small openings that allow heat to escape. Some examples include the spaces behind electric switch plates on exterior walls, openings where plumbing pipes enter the house, and the small openings that are used to run electricity, cable, and internet lines into your home. All together these little spaces add up to a lot of heat loss and a little bit of inexpensive expansion foam can save you a lot of money on your heating bill.
4. Don’t forget the basement.
Home basements and crawlspaces often have many little openings that let heat escape. This is especially true if they are unfinished. Use paper-faced insulation on exposed ceiling joists and stuff small pieces of insulation into open crevices at the juncture of basement walls and the ceiling. Also, you might want to pump some expansion foam insulation into any small openings around the foundation, which are usually no more than an inch or two wide.
5. Use window curtains and blinds.
One of the simplest ways to reduce heat loss through windows is to use curtains and blinds. They can be closed at night to trap cold air and opened during the day to allow sunlight to naturally warm the house. Remember that the thicker the curtain, the more effective it will be at insulating your house.
As you can see, none of the home insulation steps above are too difficult or too expensive to accomplish. But they will save you a ton of money over the years. Take advantage of them and you just might find this year’s heating bills to be lower than expected!
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Jamie Clark is a researcher and writer for Home-Insulation-Guide.com. For more home insulation tips and to learn how you can lower your home heating bills visit http://www.home-insulation-guide.com today! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Clark |
Safety and Security tips from the Atlanta home inspector
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
As Atlanta home inspector, one of the things that I watch for while doing a home inspection is the security around the new home that I’m inspecting. I often write up that the owners need to trim the shrubbery away from your home. One of the reasons I write that up is for the actual home inspection part. But another reason I write that up is because it gives an intruder someplace to hide. If you have large shrubbery next to your doorways are across the front of your home, let me encourage you to go ahead and trim that back.
Another less expensive way to deter intruders is to invest in a few solar outdoor lighting sets and place them around your home. This gives you actual lighting at a very cheap cost and looks great in the process.
You may want to replace the standard outdoor light bulbs with motion detectors and doorway lights. Sometimes this will go off from the neighborhood dog, but in the long run, should give you a greater sense of security.
David Lelak, an Atlanta home inspector and owner of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia.
Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.
We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!
You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.
We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.
Retweet this postWinter maintenance tips from the Atlanta home inspector
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
As an Atlanta home inspector I like to present different money saving tips to help the home owners out there. One of the less expensive things that you can do yourself is repair around the window sills and doorways. What would need to do is check around each and every window and doorway to see if the existing caulk has started to pull away. Where the caucus started to pull away, you’ll need to remove it completely. Be sure to clean the area where the new caulk will be applied thoroughly. Once the area has dried completely re-cauk with a weather proof caulk.
One other handy tip to keep your window seals from rotting out is to remove your window screens and store them in a storage area if possible, if you’re not opening your windows. By leaving the screens on year-round, and not taking them off you allowmoisture to settle on the window sill in and around the screens, which will cause wood rotting.
David Lelak, a Atlanta home inspector and owner of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.
We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!
You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.
We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.
Retweet this postDavid did an excellent job on the home inspection.
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Customer Feedback
David is excellent!
He provides you with a complete home inspection report with pictures with his findings that I could not see. He has a great eye for faults or work that needs to be done. I could not ask for a better home inspector and without hesitation to recommend him to anyone. What I love about him is his punctuality, efficiency, very accommodating, pleasant, easy to work with and communicate.
Kennedy Venkersammy in Dallas, GA
Retweet this postThere’s a reason I’m a owner of a home inspection business.
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Get To Know Us
You know every once in a while I have to wonder why in the world did I go into business for myself. You seee I’m the Owner/inspector of IHI Home Inspections and right now it’s not the easiest time in the world to be in the home inspection business. I have to admit that I have been very blessed and I have been steady with work. 
But the real reason I’m my own boss is so that I can take the time to do those things that I love to do. Here you see a picture of my daughter, Breana and me at the Night of Lights fair grounds. I like the fact that when she has things at school (like her Christmas party) I was able to schedule my home inspections around it. God is the most important thing in my life, then my wife, then my kids, everything else comes after that.
So to all of you who called me for inspections over the last year “THANK YOU” from me and my family. May your 2009 be blessed with joy, peace and prosperity.
For those of you who need a home inspection call me today 404-788-2581.
Retweet this post“David found several issues that my wife and I were not aware of…”
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Featured
Dream home or financial nightmare? You’ll never know for sure if you end up with a “Blind Home Inspector”. That’s the term we use to identify inexperienced home inspectors who don’t know what to look for when inspecting a home.
Home Inspectors in Georgia are unlicensed and unregulated and the quality of their work varies greatly… We think no licensing and no regulation of home inspectors is a bad thing and we regularly hear horror stories about some of the poor work being conducted by local home inspectors…
An experienced home inspector will alert you to any of the health and safety issues, and the maintenance needs of the house you’re looking to buy. And that’s where IHI Home Inspections can help you. We’ll not only inspect the house you’re buying but we’ll share with you what needs to be maintained and why. Don’t worry, we’ll explain everything in terms you can understand. You’ll get a real education about your new home.
My name is David Lelak, and it’s my goal to provide you with professional assistance and guidance. I’m based out of Canton and I will spend three to four hours thoroughly evaluating all aspects of the Property you are purchasing or selling, from the basement to the roof and all areas in between.
My home inspection report is designed to give you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your potential home. Your customized report will be written in a clear, concise and professional manner with digital photographs. You will receive an email with a link to your report, so that you can view it from anywhere with internet access.
As far as certification and training goes, I have completed the ITA (Inspection Training Associates) training program and the Radon Certification program at Kaplan training institute in Atlanta, GA.
I am also a member of Nachi, the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors. IHI Home inspections is fully insured for your benefit.
If you want the best inspector serving the Canton, Woodstock, Cumming, Alpharetta, Roswell, and all of North Georgia areas, I’m your man!
You and your family’s safety are my first priority… I will inspect your investment, whether you’re buying or selling, as if I were making the investment myself..
Schedule Your Home Inspection Today
Call Right Now: 404-788-2581
Click Here to Request Your Inspection Online
Retweet this postIntegrity is what you’ll get from IHI Home Inspections
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Customer Feedback
It’s not very often that you find a company whose customer service goes above and
beyond your expectations. David Lelak with IHI Home Inspections was extremely professional, friendly, and thorough in his home inspection. He presented us with a detailed home inspection report that even impressed my husband who is usually not easy to impress! David brought things to our attention that would have gone unattended to without his knowledge and would have ended up costing us a lot of money down the line. I will definitely recommend this company in the future. If you need a professional and detail oriented home inspection company – look no further than IHI Home Inspections
Aly McLain of Canton, GA
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