Manufactured Home Foundation and Addition Inspections
All foundation systems, new and existing, must meet the guidelines published in the Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Housing (HUD-7584), dated September 1996. A certification attesting to compliance with this handbook must be obtained from a licensed professional engineer.
It means that the foundation must meet the criteria as set forth in HUD manual Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, September 1996. This manual requires a site specific design for every manufactured home. Dead loads, snow loads, wind loads and seismic loads must all be taken into account. There must be a perimeter, frost line protected strip foundation as well as frost line protected piers under the chassis
Radon Gas Testing
- If you currently have a Radon Mitigation System , it is recommended to have a test performed every two years to ensure your system is working properly.
- If your buying a new home get your piece of mind and test for radon.
- Radon gas is found everywhere but is particularly high in our area. Radon is a naturally occurring decay product of the breakdown of the Uranium atom.
- As these conversions take place, the atoms are rising through limestone, bedrock, clay, and soil from hundreds of feet below grade. These atoms eventually surface and can enter homes through cracks on concrete slab floors, cracks in foundation walls, any floor or wall penetrations, windows, well water, etc.
- Radium-222 once inhaled decays into radioactive particles that can get trapped in your lungs when you breathe. As they break down further, these particles release small bursts of energy. This can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer over the course of your lifetime.
- Radon is measured in pCi/L (picocuries per liter).
- The EPA states any home testing over 4 pCi/L should have a Radon Mitigation system installed to lower Radon levels.
Indoor Air Quality
Air Sampling
- Indoor air can be up to 5X more polluted than outdoor air. An air purifier can certainly tackle some of the obvious troublemakers such as pollen and dust. But you’re only scratching the surface of the problem if you don’t identify exactly what may be lurking in the air you breathe.
- Air quality can be affected by many different pollutants that many air purifiers can’t handle. Plus, pollutants will vary a lot depending on where you live and individual home conditions.
Mold Sampling
Mold Health Effects
All molds have the potential to cause illness, especially to individuals with sensitivities, asthma, low immune defenses and other health problems. There are over 60,000 different types of molds in the U.S. and scientist have only researched a very tiny percentage of them. Research is coming out yearly that helps us understand better about potential health problems.
Mold Assessments
The purpose of a mold assessment is to determine if there is mold growth present or if there is elevated air borne mold spores within your home or commercial building. A mold assessment should determine three things:
- Is mold present.
- What is the under laying cause of the mold growth if mold is present.
- Quantify how many contiguous square feet of mold is present if any.
Our mold assessment consultant will conducted a visual assessment looking for any visual signs of mold growth that would affect indoor air quality. During the visual assessment temperature, relative humidity, and moisture measurements of any suspected wet building materials will be taken. During the mold assessment one inside air sample in the area of concern, swab sample of suspected mold growth, and one outside air sample will be taken and sent to a third party laboratory analysis. Other air samples or swab samples may be taken if deemed necessary by the consultant during the assessment these samples will only be taken upon approval by the client.
The mold assessment report will document the consultant’s findings, samples taken, sample results (From the Third Party Laboratory), photographs, and recommendations on how to correct the mold issue if a mold issue exist.