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home inspection

Dec 21
0

Randy’s Very Merry Gift Guide

By | Podcast | No Comments

Well folks, it’s the holiday season, and you know what that means – it’s time for last minute shoppers to unite over a lifelong habit of waiting until the last minute to find that perfect gift. Whether you’re stumped looking for your significant other, neighbor, co-worker, or even your pup, Randy of course has you covered with the 2023 Holiday Gift Guide that includes something to benefit everyone on your shopping list!

Designed for the procrastinator at heart, this list includes a variety of gifts you can purchase on Amazon or pick up at your local hardware store to ensure your present makes it under the tree before the big day. You can also hear Randy and the team go down the list (checking it twice and making it nice!) in the latest episode of Under the Roof with Randy Barfield.

  • TAPE! The most essential tool you can use for just about anything, Duck Tape can (at least temporarily) fix a variety of things around the home from water and air leaks, auto accidents, and more! Randy also prefers Frog Tape for painting projects that require a clean cut-in. Round out your tape gift basket with double sided tape and regular Scotch tape to ensure all your adhesive needs are adequately met, with a bonus 25-foot measuring tape for … good measure 😉
  • Ranging from $10 to thousands, a toolbox is a practical gift everyone can benefit from. Toolboxes can be stationary or portable, and some even come with tools to get the new homeowner or renter started! Randy recommends taking this gift up a notch by stocking it with and assortment of screwdrivers, socket sets, wrenches, a level and hammer.
  • Ask any single lady this holiday season – a good stud is hard to find! In all seriousness, a stud finder can save you tons of time and aggravation when hanging artwork around your home. Randy recommends a stud finder that also scans for electricity to keep you safe this holiday season!
  • Everyone on your list could use a new pair of gloves this holiday, and we aren’t just talking fashion! Whether you choose rubber gloves, garden gloves, or nitrile gloves, this gift will literally have the recipient covered! Our resident pitmaster, Randy recommends a pair of stainless steel mesh gloves to keep your digits safe while trimming the fat from your next brisket (also a great gift!).
  • Light someone’s day with an assortment of flashlights and headlamps that are both rechargeable and battery operated. This practical gift may seem frivolous but comes in handy in so many situations at home and on the go!
  • Randy also recommends a battery stockpile with a battery organizer to keep all of your activities energized well into the New Year!
  • Looking for something a little less practical and a little more fun!? How about a Chuck It Rugged Flyer frisbee for your best friend. Certified by Randy’s golden retrievers!

Now that your holiday shopping is all wrapped up (see what we did there?!), take one final tip from Randy and settle down for a long winter’s nap with your favorite bourbon of choice. We hope these tips hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season!

Jan 28
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Under the Roof with Randy Barfield: Keeping Your Casa Cozy This Winter

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

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!

Jan 25
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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!

Sep 03
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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!

Aug 26
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Protect Your Home and Family from West Nile Virus

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

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!

Jan 06
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2021: A Look at the Year Ahead

By | Real Estate News | No Comments

Happy New Year, everyone!

As we take time to reflect on 2020, we want to express our sincere gratitude for you – the hardworking real estate agents, home owners, and buyers who trust Barfield Home Inspection with all your home inspection needs. Last year presented us with a lot of firsts, but we made it through together and continue to celebrate Austin, Texas as one of the best places to live in the country. Cheers to that!

We kick-off every year with aspirations for the 365 days ahead. In addition to inspecting homes and partnering with real estate professionals across Central Texas, this year we celebrate the second season of our podcast, “Under the Roof with Randy Barfield.” As we begin programming, we would love your feedback! Take our quick survey to let us know what you like about the pod, and what you’d like to hear more of this year.

For now, here are a few projections for the Austin real estate market in 2021:

As always, remember to get in touch with Barfield Home Inspection team for all your inspection needs. We’re the team you can trust, and we’ve been telling it like it is since 2003. Call 512-350-0123 today and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @barfieldhomeinspection.

Here’s to a safe, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Jul 07
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The Unexpected Impact of COVID-19

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

When it comes to great places to live, few places hold a candle to Austin, Texas. The vibrant culture, thriving economy, delicious food and beautiful scenery top the ongoing list of reasons we love it here. When you have a place this desirable to live, it’s inevitable that people will move to the number one city in the United States from all over the country and the world. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons our business and client base continue to grow year-over-year, even despite the 2008 recession and the current pandemic.

As we navigate this critical time in history, it seems like a great opportunity to examine the consequences of COVID-19 on the Austin real estate market. While some of these effects are more expected than others, here’s a snapshot of the things we see out in the field:

  • Houses are selling…Fast! Just as we discussed on the last episode of Under the Roof, homes in Austin and the surrounding areas are selling quickly. Mortgage rates are low, buyers are motivated, and early trends indicate people are moving to larger homes with more room to spread out, since social activities are less abundant than usual. While this is great news for sellers, it means buyers should be prepared for competition as inventory remains low.
  • People are moving out. Although sales in Austin city limits continue to soar, individuals are seeking more space, both within their home and on their property. For many buyers, this means a turn from condo-style living to single family homes on larger lots where available. For the unique cities and towns that surround Austin, this is good news.
  • Option periods are slim. The typical option period on a home purchase is seven days. During this time, the buyer has the home inspected and can cancel the contract for any reason. In other words, this is where we come in! However, due to heavy demand we are seeing option periods as narrow as three days, which creates a quick turnaround for the inspection team. At Barfield Home Inspection we are careful not to overbook, so we can give each and every home our careful attention and keep telling it like it is!
  • Purchases must be planned. Just as buyers need to be pre-approved and offer-ready, now is a good time to educate yourself on what commodities are available. Due to high retail demand and the trickle-down effects of reduced manufacturing during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, buyers may find that many items are as scarce as Clorox wipes. If, for example, your new home purchase means you will need to buy large appliances or furniture, do your homework now to find out what is available and set proper expectations for the wait.

Although the situation continues to unfold, we are grateful that Austin’s housing market continues to thrive in 2020. The Barfield Home Inspection team takes social distancing and safety precautions seriously to protect home buyers, sellers and agents at each home we visit. Stay in the know and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more details about Austin real estate and home maintenance.

May 22
0

Landscape for form and function

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

While beautiful landscaping enhances curb appeal and is proven to increase buyer interest, it’s also important for the health of your home’s foundation. Since a stable foundation is critical to a good home inspection, here are a few tips this spring as you enhance your home’s natural beauty:

  • Don’t plant too close. It’s like we always say: Water is your home’s number one enemy. Trees, shrubs and other plants that require lots of moisture will direct that moisture to your home, which can result in long-term issues. Additionally, don’t establish too many plants that will require water. You want to plant evenly around your home so that as water expands, the soil distributes evenly.
  • Grade away from your home. Be sure that water isn’t running toward your home. Look around to see which direction stormwater flows. We recommend that homeowners create a grade away from your home to ensure a sturdy foundation. If you need help, check our preferred lenders list and have a foundation expert take a look.
  • Select plants that match your environment. Plants that thrive in your environmental zone will not only prove to be more healthy and beautiful, they can also impact the amount of water and time you devote to their existence. Be sure to use mulch around your trees and shrubs, as it acts like a sponge to retain moisture without requiring excess to keep plants healthy.
  • Mow regularly.  A fresh cut will remove leaves and other debris, leaving your yard clean and fresh. This is also a great time to cut back hedges around your home to maximize bright sunshine indoors. Visit the Central Texas Gardener for specific tips and tricks that can help boost your home’s curb appeal this spring.
    • Bonus – Clean yards deter pests such as insects and snakes, which can be particularly problematic for homeowners during hot Texas summers.

By tidying up your home’s exterior, you can protect your home’s foundation and avoid costly structural repairs. For more tips and tricks, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.