The smell of wet concrete and stale coffee is a constant in my life. I have spent 25 years on my knees, crawling across every imaginable substrate, from rotting plywood to rock-hard industrial slabs. I have seen things that would make a code inspector weep. Most people think a floor is just a pretty surface…
Why soap suds expose the invisible failure The soap suds test is a diagnostic procedure used to identify microscopic punctures or failed solvent welds in a PVC shower liner during a mandatory flood test. By applying a surfactant solution to seams and corners while the pan is filled, installers can see escaping air bubbles that…
The ‘Screwdriver Test’ for Spotting Hidden Rot in Your Decking Footers Hello there! I’m Cory Price. As a Certified Home Inspector and a long-time veteran of the construction world, I’ve seen my fair share of “oops” moments. I’ve crawled under more crawlspaces than I care to admit and inspected decks that looked like they were…
I once walked into a house where a fifteen thousand dollar wide-plank walnut floor was cupping so bad it looked like a potato chip because the installer didn’t check the crawlspace humidity, and it reminds me of why people fail at shower maintenance. They think a shower is a waterproof box. It isn’t. I spent…
The ghost of a leaking pipe The soap bubble secret involves applying a mixture of dish soap and water to pipe joints to identify leaks through expanding air bubbles. This method is vital before a carpet install or floor leveling project because it detects microscopic gas or water escapes that digital sensors often miss. I…
The liquid ghost that kills your subfloor I spent three weeks last summer ripping out a luxury laminate floor in a master suite because of a pinhole leak in a shower sweep. The homeowner thought the floor was waterproof. It was not. The water migrated under the planks through capillary action and stayed there until…
The smell of WD-40 and oak dust is a permanent part of my skin. After twenty five years on my knees with a moisture meter and a level, I have seen enough failed shower pans to last three lifetimes. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t….
A shower bench is not a piece of furniture. It is a structural protrusion within a high-moisture environment that must function as an extension of the waterproofing envelope. Most installers treat it as an afterthought. They frame it with scrap 2×4 lumber, slap some cement board on it, and wonder why the floor joists are…
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. The homeowner thought I was overcharging for prep work until I showed him the moisture map. A tiny leak behind the shower wall had traveled twelve feet under his expensive engineered hardwood. Most guys skip…
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I was standing in a master bathroom where the previous installer had ignored a half inch deflection in the…
