Articles

The above photo is a time exposure taken with a flash at high speed showing the amont of invisible  microscopic dust particles suspended in the air around an old wood burning fireplace. Pre-purchase building inspections have descended to the lowest common denominator. They are of little value. They are not protecting the consumer. It all has to do with the deregulation of the service which occurred in 1994 by virtue of the revised Quebec Civil Code, and gotten gradually worse since then. Most people don't realize that the service was totally deregulated so that anyone is allowed to do it, even the purchasers themselves, the ...

1. The first thing to appreciate is that contractors will sell their services based on what they are able to do. They are not independent professionals capable of doing a proper diagnosis without self-interest. Many will try to convince homeowners of the need to do a new French drain and waterproofing on the foundation because that is what they do and it is easy to sell. Most basements are damp so the assumption is that installing a new French drain, doing waterproofing, will solve that problem. You would be wrong to make that assumption.  2. Historically, basements in Québec and ...

Pre-purchase building inspections have become meaningless 1.          Encourage inspections to be done by recognized experts who have been practicing as architects or civil engineers for more than 20 years [which used to be the case]. It used to be the case in Québec up to 1994 but inspections got deregulated in that year with the New Civil Code of Québec [rewritten with major input from the legal community]. Article 1726 in the code under the title "warranty of quality" defines an apparent defect as one that can be perceived by a "prudent and diligent buyer without any ...