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Home Maintenance Tips

Under the Roof with Randy Barfield: Keeping Your Casa Cozy This Winter

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The ebb and flow of winter has officially arrived in Central Texas! With the scars from last year’s disastrous winter storm still fresh for many Texans, what’s needed to ensure you and your home are ready in case arctic chill rears its head again? Join us as Ashley and Randy discuss measures you can take to protect your home, family, pets and plants, whether a freeze is just overnight or lasts for days.

Listen now on the website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen!

Keep Your Home Cozy This Winter

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

While an apple a day may keep the doctor away, what can you do to keep the cold at bay? Most of the time we are more focused on keeping the heat out in Central Texas, but a seasonable cold snap and sudden frigid temps incline us to think of ways to keep our homes and families (including furry friends!) safe and warm this winter.

As you take stock of your home, here are a few tips and tricks courtesy of the Barfield Home Inspection team:

  1. Check for drafts. If your exterior doors feel a little drafty at the bottom, place a rolled-up towel at the threshold for a quick fix. It may be time for new weather stripping, which you can install as a quick and easy DIY weekend project! Inspect weather stripping around all doors and windows and repair or replace if necessary. Caulk exterior joints around windows and doors, which will help keep your home weather-tight and lower heating bills.
  2. Insulate exposed exterior plumbing pipes and hose bibs. A nice foam cover from the local hardware store will work well to protect your pipes from the cold.
  3. Drip your faucets only when temperatures are going to drop below freezing to avoid waste. Running just a trickle of water will prevent your pipes from freezing.
  4. Open the cabinets under your sinks so the warm air from the house can help keep the pipes warm enough to prevent freezing.

Note: If you live in an older pier and beam home, your pipes should be wrapped. If not, hire a certified contractor to insulate these pipes in the future and use the faucet dripping technique above to protect your home in the meantime.

  1. Reverse ceiling fans so the warm air that rises to the ceiling will be pulled back down to the living area.
  2. Wrap or cover your plants (or bring them inside if possible). A planket is always a nice touch!
  3. Inspect your fireplace before the first use each season. Use a flashlight to check the flue for any obstructions and make sure your damper is open before you start the fire. Call a certified chimney sweep contractor to clean and evaluate your fireplace if you can see excessive soot. Don’t forget to keep your fire screen or fire doors closed while using the fireplace.

As we continue to spend more time at home, it’s great to take care of the spaces we love. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @BarfieldHomeInspection for more home maintenance tips from the company that’s been telling it like it is since 2003. Stay safe, warm, and healthy!

Protect Your Home Against Wood-Boring Insects

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance, Videos | No Comments

As a licensed home inspector in the state of Texas, Randy knows a thing or two about wood-boring insects. Understand the difference between carpenter ants and termites and learn the signs to look for an emerging colony. Remember: your primary objective is to create an environment that is inconducive to wood-boring insects so they don’t enjoy your home as a midnight buffet!

Get more home maintenance and inspection tips on Facebook and Instagram @barfieldhomeinspection.

Under the Roof with Randy Barfield: What’s a Normal Market, Anyway?

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Podcast, Real Estate News, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

Trees in the kitchen. Retro design. Find out what we love most about Austin and our booming real estate market in the latest installment of Under the Roof!

Join Randy, Mary, and Ashley as we discuss the latest stats about the hot market and answer the question on everyone’s mind: has the seemingly unstoppable Austin bubble finally burst? Get your monthly dose of home maintenance tips, real estate insight, and news you can use. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates from Randy and the team at Barfield Home Inspection!

Protect Your Home and Family from West Nile Virus

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Hey friends! We are well into the dog days of summer, which likely means you’re spending a little more time inside to keep cool and hydrated. That may be a good thing, especially if you live in Central Texas, as new cases of mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus (WNV) are increasing in our area.

A report released today shows that mosquitoes in Williamson County have tested positive for the virus six times in 2021, and earlier this week Newsweek shared the story of a Houston man who is now paralyzed after contracting the virus from mosquitoes.

With cases on the rise, we want to share a few quick reminders from Texas Health and Human Services about WNV to help protect you and your family:

  • WNV is transmitted by infected mosquitoes
  • 80 percent of the population will not develop illness from mosquitoes carrying WNV. The 20 percent who do experience symptoms typically develop mild fever, headaches, body aches, and a rash.
  • One in 150 people infected with WNV develop more serious symptoms that may affect the brain and spinal cord. Signs of complications include high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.

With confirmed cases of the virus in Central Texas, here’s what you can do to protect your home and family this summer:

  • Remove standing water outside your home. Vessels like bird baths, buckets, trash cans, pet water bowls, flowerpot saucers, and rain barrels make a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Empty water once a week, and scrub, turn over, or throw out these containers whenever possible.
  • Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- registered insect repellant, with one of the ingredients below recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
    • DEET
    • Picaridin (known as KBR 3023 and icaridin outside the US)
    • IR3535
    • Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
    • Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
    • 2-undecanone

Finally, take a few preventative measures around your home to help ward off an infestation: Use air conditioning if possible (change those filters, folks!) or use screens in windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside.

Summertime is one of the best times to embrace the Texas outdoors, but it’s best to do it safely. Follow these tips and join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook for more insight from our home inspection team. Stay safe, Central Texas!

Prepping for Your Home Inspection

By | Home Buying, Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

So, you’re preparing to put your home on the market and know with the rapid rate that houses are flying off the listing shelf in Austin and the surrounding area, offers are likely to come in quickly. How can you prepare for a smooth selling process amid all the chaos of multiple showings and bidding wars? While most of those details will come down to you and your real estate agent, check out the tips below to ready your home for a thorough home inspection:

Consider a pre-inspection. While not the final inspection in the buying/selling process, this report can instill confidence in potential buyers from the start. It can also put major concerns (especially problems with your electrical, plumbing, and/or HVAC systems) on your radar. Although we are currently in a highly-competitive sellers’ market and it is likely you won’t have to make many modifications to your home to sell, it can be comforting to know what you may expect during the offer process. Interested in a pre-inspection? Give us a call!

Ready your home. The good news is that while this list may initially seem exhaustive, many of these items will be addressed during the listing and showing process. As you prepare to review and accept the winning offer and the time draws closer to the actual inspection, here are a few items to be aware of around the house:

  1. Provide easy access to important areas such as the attic, water heater, sinks, and basement or crawl space.
  2. Keep a tidy home. While this is probably already taken care of for showing purposes, a clean home can be a good indication of the house’s general condition.
  3. Check for operation and alignment in your toilets, windows, doors, cabinets.
  4. Change any blown bulbs to save time. When a light is out, your inspector will either have to note it (which may cause concern) or search for faulty wiring. Avoid the hassle and make sure your lights are in good working order.
  5. Replace your air filters because (especially in Texas!) the HVAC is a huge component of the inspection. Clean air filters increase the function and longevity of your cooling system and replacing them regularly can help your inspection go smoothly.

At Barfield Home Inspection, we are in the business of helping people. We do not simply check the boxes and leave. It is up to us to prepare buyers (and sellers) with information to make an informed and confident decision and our goal is to help our clients as much as possible.

With a lifetime of experience, our owner and founder Randy Barfield knows houses from the inside out and from the roof down. We deliver thorough home inspection reporting and provide an in-depth explanation of our reports. We go above and beyond to ensure all questions are answered and clients feel confident – we even welcome follow-up questions after buyers read the report!

If you’re ready to work with the home inspection team you can trust, give us a call today at 512-350-0123. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news on the Austin real estate market as well as handy home maintenance tips. Happy buying and selling, folks!

The Bugs are Back in Town!

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

Well folks, it’s officially summer. In Texas, there are a few things that implicitly come along with the season: intense heat, barbecue (with cold drinks on the side, of course), an uptick in the real estate market (if that’s even possible!), and yes: bugs. By far my least favorite component of the summer lineup, the insect ecosystem in Central Texas consists of a colorful cast. The most abundant, and in many ways, the most dangerous, is the mosquito.

Rising temperatures and humidity culminate in a perfect storm to spawn this swarm of blood-sucking beasts. In recent years, mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile and Zika have made headlines with a large impact on the state. In fact, Texas ranks in the top 20 percent of states with human disease originated from mosquito bites, with more than 6,600 cases reported between 2004 -2016. Is it just me, or is that a top-ranking list we don’t really care to be part of?

While most people infected by West Nile Virus will not experience extreme side effects, it can result in paralysis, distortion, and vision loss for older populations. Zika, on the other hand, can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her child and create serious birth defects including microcephaly, a sign of incomplete brain development.

Needless to say, whether you are looking to avoid the nuisance of an itchy bite or reduce the possibility of infection, minimizing the mosquito population is a smart choice. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and your home:

According to the Austin Public Health Department, the best way to fight mosquitoes is to remember the Four D’s:

  • Dusk through dawn is the most active time for mosquitoes. If you can avoid being outdoors during this time, you are less likely to have an encounter.
  • Dress in long sleeves and pants when possible. The more covered you are, the better. Mosquito repellant clothing is also available!
  • DEET. If your skin is exposed, be sure to use insect repellent that contains DEET. Read and follow the label instructions accordingly, and check out these myths and facts about DEET from OFF!® if you have questions about the effectiveness or safety of DEET.
  • Drain standing water in bird baths, flower pots, clogged gutters, and wading pools as these become a literal breeding ground from mosquitos. In the case of water source for our furry and feathered friends, refresh your pet’s outdoor water bowl and/or birdbath often to prevent stagnation.

Summertime is one of the best times to embrace the Texas outdoors, but it’s wise to do it safely. Follow these tips and join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook for more insight from our home inspection team. Stay cool, Central Texas!

Grill and Chill this Memorial Day Weekend

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

After a hard winter and a rainy spring, Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial start of summer – has finally arrived! We take grilling (and Texas barbecue in particular) seriously at Barfield Home Inspection, and think you should, too! Here are a few tips to help you get your outdoor cooking area fit for action this summer, all while keeping your home safe:

Start with a deep cleaning. Under ideal circumstances, you would regularly clean your grill and smoker. But hey, we get it – life is busy! Before you start your summer outdoor cook-athon, give all surfaces a thorough cleaning to eliminate grease accumulation which can cause flare ups.

Keep an extinguisher handy. Per your family’s fire safety plan, you should have at least one working fire extinguisher in your home. Be sure to place it within arm’s reach along with easy access to your water hose. If you need to purchase a fire extinguisher, now is the time! Visit your neighborhood home maintenance store before the holiday.

Keep your distance. As you enjoy outdoor time, make sure your grill is at least two feet away from all surfaces. This includes fencing, decks, outdoor equipment, and yes, your home!

Keep a lid on it. Check propane tanks for cracks, holes and leaks which can cause explosions. Make sure gas isn’t leaking from your tank by making a solution of dish soap and water and rub it on hoses and connections. Then, turn the gas on (with the grill lid open.) If the soap forms large bubbles, that’s a sign that the hoses have tiny holes or that the connections are not tight enough. Repair or replace these pieces accordingly!

We hope you have a great, safe summer kickoff. For more home maintenance and inspection tips and tricks, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @barfieldhomeinspection. If you’re looking for advice from the horse’s mouth, tune into “Under the Roof with Randy Barfield,” streaming on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Spring Storm Safety

By | Home Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Home Maintenance | No Comments

In Central Texas, April brings beautiful wildflowers…plus the threat of severe storms. As warmer weather moves in across the region, look out for these weather events that can make a serious impact on your home, property, and personal safety:

Hail

As though we haven’t experienced enough frozen precipitation in 2021, hail has already made a huge impact across Central Texas (particularly in last week’s storm that hit Burnet, Travis, and Williamson Counties hard with baseball-sized stones).

Although you can’t stop the sky from falling, there are a few things preventative measures you can take to prepare yourself for a hailstorm:

  1. Check your insurance. Many home and auto insurance policies cover hail damage. In order to expedite your quote and repair experience, make sure you’re covered before a storm hits.
  2. Have your roof inspected. As your home’s frontline of defense for falling objects, the roof will take the brunt force in a hailstorm. By having your roof inspected before a storm hits, you can be aware of its condition and any problem areas that may lead to more severe damage.
  3. Clean your gutters to remove excess water and debris that can make a serious mess if blocked.
  4. Trim overhanging limbs that could damage your home, vehicles, or other property if knocked down in a storm.
  5. Cover outdoor furniture and plants when severe weather is imminent.

Remember to stay indoors or seek shelter in a hailstorm. Once the storm passes, assess any damage and get in touch with your insurance company as soon as possible to file a claim.

Lightning

While it may sound like the stuff of suburban folklore, lightning strikes are real and dangerous. The National Weather Service estimates that 49 people are killed and hundreds more severely injured by lightning strikes each year. Here are a few things you can do to help ensure your personal safety:

  1. Listen for the roar. When you hear thunder, lightning may be close enough to strike. Find a safe, enclosed space and stay inside for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last clap of thunder.
  2. Lightning can travel through plumbing, metal, electrical systems, and concrete walls and floors that have metal reinforcement. The key here is that while staying indoors offers one layer of protection, you need to stay away from windows, water, electrical devices, and concrete. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention estimates that one third of annual strikes each year happen indoors.

Tornadoes

Perhaps the most ominous of Central Texas’ weather threats, tornadoes can be fierce and unpredictable. That’s why developing a storm safety plan well in advance can help save precious time and potentially your life.

Here are a few highlights as you begin to develop your plan:

  1. Know where to go. Evacuate a mobile home or other temporary structure. Find the innermost room on the lowest level of a building or home preferably without windows.
  2. Gather supplies. While many storms pass quickly, sometimes a chain of storms can leave you up all night trying to brace for the worst. Be ready with portable chargers, water, essential medication, small food supplies, and a list of emergency numbers in case you cannot access your cell phone.

Pro Tip: We like to keep pet harnesses and leashes with the stash so we can shelter in place with our furry family members in the event of an emergency.

  • Cover your body. If a tornado hits, cover yourself with anything you can from a mattress to a table or blanket. If possible, put sturdy shoes on to protect your feet from debris in the aftermath.

While we love homes, nothing is more important than your personal safety. Develop a storm safety plan early this season to protect yourself and your loved ones, and then take appropriate measures to secure your possessions. Stay tuned to local weather and stay aware of watches and warnings that can help direct your actions.

If your home does incur damage during a storm this spring, get in touch with the home inspection company you can trust. We’ve been telling it like it is across Central Texas since 2003 and we aren’t about to stop now! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more home maintenance and safety tips.