Mike's Home Inspector BlogMichael Burfitt |
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Like many in the home inspection industry, I constantly have my ear to the ground looking at new construction techniques, best practices and using my advanced data science skills to keep my knowledge up to date. One way I do this is by regularly looking over our website statistics, particularly how many hits the website gets (we are up 20% from last year!) and what are the most commonly searched terms on our website. They are, in order: #1 Termites This is by far the most popular page on my website and it’s easy to see why: it is the top search result for “Are there termites in Nova Scotia?” and termites are very destructive to wooden homes, which are pretty much all homes in Nova Scotia. While there is still no verifiable evidence of termites in our area, the blog post still stands: termites ARE coming and it’s a matter of when, not if. I do want to point out that a couple of websites have plagiarized sections of my work on this topic. I am honestly flattered and consider it a compliment that my writing on the subject is worth copying. The only thing I will point out is that there are a lot of AI written blogs on this topic that provide false information. Again, contrary to what other sources say, there are NO termites in Nova Scotia as of 2024 but plenty of other WDO (Wood destroying organisms). #2 Oil Tanks: Fiberglass vs Steel Oil furnaces are becoming less common, but they still make up a sizeable portion of my inspections: 30% of the homes I have inspected have an Oil tank, with a 50/50 split on Furnaces and Boilers. All furnaces were at minimum primarily oil powered, but boilers were divided between oil, propane and electricity as their fuel source. While I have learned a lot since I first wrote that blog post, the only thing I would change is to further clarify that every insurance company is different, and I am not privy to their individual policies. My, or any other professional’s opinion is irrelevant to when the insurance company says a tank needs to be replaced: their decision trumps all.
Fun Fact: as of March 2024, the tanks I have inspected have been 71% Steel construction, 29% Fiberglass.
#3 Aluminum Wire Any Doctor will tell you to “never google your symptoms” and this advice can apply to home maintenance related items. A quick search on aluminum electrical wire will scare any new homeowner to put it mildly: it is up to 55 times more likely to burn a house down, insurers frown upon aluminum, it can come loose in the panel, it costs five figures to remove, etc. Here’s the simple truth: aluminum wire is very common, safe when professionally sized (it is usually one size bigger than copper since aluminum has higher electrical resistance) and a great choice for sending electricity a long distance with minimal losses since it is so light. Even the term aluminum is a misnomer: modern aluminum wire is an alloy, which means it has other metals mixed in. What you DO need to be concerned about is a wire known as AA-1350. Essentially, this type of wire was designed for transmission and was a poor choice to use in electrical distribution panels. What the internet doesn’t tell you is that this wire was discontinued in 1972 and rarely used past the mid-70s. It is rare for an electrical system that old to have never been inspected, repaired, or replaced by a professional electrician. Let me summarize it with some hard data from homes that I have personally inspected: % of homes that have aluminum wiring of some form: 100% % of homes that use single strand AA-1350 branch circuit wire (the bad kind): 0% There is a lot of misinformation online when it comes to home maintenance, much of it from those who have a financial incentive to push it. Part of my role as a home inspector is to both point out issues that should be further addressed by a specialist and, more importantly, point out the issues that, while on the surface appear scary, are really not a big deal and all part of routine maintenance all homeowners face. Termites are by far the most destructive wood destroying organism (WDO) in North America. It is estimated that they cause $5 billion+ in damage annually compared to $200-300 million by the second worst WDO offender (carpenter ants). The average cost to remove Termites can top $3500 and that does not guarantee they will never come back or include the cost of major structural repairs. How much of a danger are termites to homes in Nova Scotia? First, the good news: as of the date of this post, while termites have been detected in areas with a similar climate such as Maine and Southern Ontario, we do not have verifiable evidence of termite infestations in Nova Scotia, and they current do not pose a threat whatsoever. However, there is more to the story than saying there is no danger of termites. Update: as of August 2024, there is still no verifiable proof we have termites but it's inevitable at this point and still a matter of not if, but when they are spotted. In reality, not only do we have other (less destructive) WDOs such as carpenter ants, carpenter bees and longhorn beetles, but with climate change there is a strong possibility that termites can potentially take root in our province in the near future, especially if they are accidently introduced such as what likely happened in Toronto in the 1930s. While all WDOs are destructive, the termite is by far the biggest danger to homes. This is because unlike carpenter ants for example who only chew wood (usually moist) to clear room for nests, termites eat wood and will target even healthy, dry wood. Even worse, termites can be extremely difficult to detect and can cause untold destruction before leaving any evidence of their existence. They can be almost impossible to detect during a standard home inspection and even trained and skilled pest control experts can miss termite infestations. As much as I hope termites never make it to our province, they are being spotted in more and more northern areas of North America all the time and it is foolish to think we are immune. Here are some quick signs of termite infestations:
The biggest difference between carpenter ant and termite damage is twofold: not only are carpenter ants not as destructive but are generally much cleaner and leave more evidence. After all, much like us humans they are usually looking to build a nice home and not to literally eat us out of house and home like termites! As well, thanks to our cold winters, even the worst hit areas of Canada are nowhere near as bad as the southeastern United States. Even being in a very low risk area I would not be completely shocked if in the next few years termites are discovered in the Maritime Provinces as they are rapidly heading in our direction. I am a home inspector that regularly compares notes with other inspectors and inspection companies throughout Canada and the United States. To say that termites can cause problems to homeowners is the ultimate understatement. Let's hope that if you are reading this in the future, we still do not have any termites in our province.  |
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Inside Edge Home Inspections Ltd.
Halifax, NS 902-209-9921 [email protected] Proudly Serving the HRM & Central Nova Scotia |
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