Keith Tripp home inspector at ProVantage Property Inspection

Keith Tripp home inspector at ProVantage Property Inspection ProVantage Property Inspection provides residential home inspections in the Greater Toronto Area, Ont

Remember Y2K?2004 Seems like only yesterday to seasoned folks like me. But a 22-year-old attic space here in the GTA is ...
03/26/2026

Remember Y2K?
2004 Seems like only yesterday to seasoned folks like me. But a 22-year-old attic space here in the GTA is a reminder a lot has changed. The R value requirement for ceiling insulation at this time was R32. In most cases now it is R60 (22.5 inches) for a similar attic. R32 required 12 inches of this fluffy white fiberglass that the mice love so much. Account for initial underfill by the builder, and 20 years of compression by mice, and you can see the resulting numbers on the measuring tape. Is it a defect that should be mentioned in an inspection report? My opinion is definitely yes. If the wallet needs to be opened, then the issue should be in the report.

Exhaust or intake ?I pay attention to clothes dryer exhaust systems because they can really cause fires and kill people....
03/25/2026

Exhaust or intake ?
I pay attention to clothes dryer exhaust systems because they can really cause fires and kill people. Apart from the blockage risk this dryer exhaust has other issues. The black and white plastic pipes are exhaust “vents” from the gas fired water heater and furnace. There is no requirement in our gas code for distance from theses gas exhaust pipes to the clothes dryer exhaust terminal, but there is a restriction on distance of 12 inches to any nonmechanical air intake (called “inlet” in the gas code), and 6 ft to a mechanical air supply inlet. The risk is that this intended exhaust terminal can easily turn into an intake. If there is a backflow flap inside that hood, with the amount of lint on that screen, chances are good that the flap does not fully close. Dryer flaps are notorious for not closing because it only takes a bit of lint build up to jam them. In our Canadian cold climate, for many months of the year stack effect is causing air to be sucked in at the lower levels of the house, so with this flap open, air is flowing into the dryer and basement in winter. When the water heater and furnace exhausts kick in the products of combustion, including any carbon monoxide in the mix get sucked into the basement. This dryer terminal is also detached from the house wall, creating another inlet path to the interior of the house. Good practice is to keep any exhaust terminals as far away as practicable from the exhaust vents of gas fired equipment, treat them like intakes.

Is this what they mean by building with resilience?I first photographed this wall here in Scarborough almost twenty year...
03/23/2026

Is this what they mean by building with resilience?
I first photographed this wall here in Scarborough almost twenty years ago when I was studying building science. It was falling apart then and was a great example of brick spalling. I went back to the old ‘hood this week and lo and behold it is even more “striking” than before. About 50% of the material has gone, exposing the cores of the brick which are well filled with mortar. Ironically somebody tried to rescue the wall by installing a metal cap, to no avail. Exterior walls like this have a rough life in the Canadian climate. Unlike brick used on house walls, there is no heat source to help with the drying process. This wall is also adjacent to a commercial parking lot and will get blasted with salt laden snow in the winter.

You Break me Up.Not all bricks are created equal. Porosity and other factors can impact a brick’s susceptibility to mois...
03/20/2026

You Break me Up.
Not all bricks are created equal. Porosity and other factors can impact a brick’s susceptibility to moisture damage. Most bricks will take in some moisture and release it in drier conditions. The Toronto climate is harsh on any brick that is getting wetted in winter conditions. Freeze-thaw damage occurs when the water freezes and expands inside the brick. The brick can then spall and break apart as shown at this window sill. Water has been dripping from the gutters above, and this is the result on this 1984 house. Bricks on edge are a poor design for a windowsill, and the most viable option for repair here is to replace with a different material.

The neglected B ventB vent is the technical jargon for those metal chimney pipes that traditionally were used on gas bur...
03/17/2026

The neglected B vent
B vent is the technical jargon for those metal chimney pipes that traditionally were used on gas burning equipment like water heaters and furnaces. The old set up was that both the furnace and water heater would exhaust into one metal B vent pipe that passed up through the house and out the roof. In older houses with masonry chimneys, the exhaust would be routed through the masonry chimney using a metal chimney liner rather than a B vent.
Newer condensing type (so called “high efficiency”) furnaces, and power vented water heaters exhaust gasses at much lower temperatures than the old equipment and can be vented (exhausted) using plastic pipe. Here in Ontario, up until 2007, black ABS plastic pipes were used, and now for the exhaust, a specific PVC pipe (white or grey) rated for that purpose is mandated.
A common sequence is that first the old furnace gets replaced, leaving just the old natural draft water heater using the B vent. Then later the water heater gets replaced with a power vented type, rendering the B vent obsolete. The obsolete B vent often gets forgotten about. If it becomes damaged at the top end it can create opportunities for animals to get into the house. Significant air leakage can also occur through the disconnected B vent. Ideally the B vent should be completely removed when the opportunity arises. That includes where it passes through the house and above the roof line.

March 13th snowfall here in Toronto. I keep saying it’s beautiful, but I am really looking forward to spring. If you’re...
03/15/2026

March 13th snowfall here in Toronto. I keep saying it’s beautiful, but I am really looking forward to spring. If you’re sitting bored somewhere, see if you can find the three deer crouched down at the bottom of the hill. More snow is forecast for tomorrow March 15th. A real winter just like the good old days.

Another household electrical nightmare I have found? No, this is all my doing. It is an electrolysis set up for removing...
03/13/2026

Another household electrical nightmare I have found? No, this is all my doing. It is an electrolysis set up for removing rust from old tools. Tons of info on the internet about how to set up an electrolysis tank. Mine is powered by a 12-volt trickle battery charger with the positive going to the rack of steel pipe and the negative is attached to the rusty item to be cleaned. I use washing soda in the water, supposedly to increase the conductivity. I connect multiple items using the battery cables, but there are many ways of doing it. Very effective chemical free way of derusting. Really works, you can see all the brown foamy scum being attracted to the pipe rack. Makes for a great science experiment for the kids young and old.

But you’re missing the point…. I could say they don’t build ‘em like they used to..except they do. This is 1974 construc...
03/12/2026

But you’re missing the point….
I could say they don’t build ‘em like they used to..except they do. This is 1974 construction here in the GTA. This is the inside view of a garage wall in a wood frame house. The anchor bolt is intended to pass through the base plate of the wall to secure it to the foundation, but the wall is installed much further outwards on the foundation. I still find similar issues with garage walls in modern day construction, but usually with the anchor bolts visible inside the garage because the wall is installed further inboard than intended. Why is it always the garage wall, or is it just that this is the only place that the anchor bold detail is visible?

Electrification of the Worst Kind Few things for me are scarier than walking into an Apple store, but this is one of th...
03/10/2026

Electrification of the Worst Kind
Few things for me are scarier than walking into an Apple store, but this is one of them. A circuit connected directly to the infeed side of the breaker at the “mains” side of the panel. Presumably done by the installer of the air conditioner to save the cost of a breaker. Crazy dangerous because those main cables connected to the breaker are live and cannot be turned off. The only thing upstream of the panel is the meter. The cable that runs from those wires to the next device, which is a small fused disconnect box, is completely unprotected from circuit overload, and is also undersized if you assume it may have to take the full 100-amps (or more) load of the service cables. I can’t even fathom how the wires could safely be removed now, let alone how the rogue pseudo electrician got them there in the first place without getting killed.

How did the oil crises of the 1970s impact housing in Canada?Woodburning fireplaces! Through the mid-70s to about mid-19...
03/09/2026

How did the oil crises of the 1970s impact housing in Canada?
Woodburning fireplaces! Through the mid-70s to about mid-1980s, builders decided woodburning was what everybody wanted as a security against oil shortages and high prices. Even here in the big City, where nobody had access to wood to burn, most new houses in that time came with woodburning capability. I come across many of these old fireplaces that have never been used. The one in the photo is “factory-built” metal box with a metal chimney in a townhouse. Fortunately for the buyer of this house, this type of fireplace and the metal chimney can be removed to free up the space. The presence of the fireplace can complicate and add to house insurance costs. They also come with significant air leakage through the dampers even when closed. Masonry fireplaces built on exterior walls act as giant thermal conductors for heat loss in winter.

Under PressureOne question I could never get an answer to from the City of Toronto: What is the target water pressure fo...
03/06/2026

Under Pressure
One question I could never get an answer to from the City of Toronto: What is the target water pressure for my street? For years at my old house I struggled with inadequate pressure and poor response from the City of Toronto.
This house has a cool 60 psi. which is a good start but needs to be looked at in combination with incoming pipe size and actual flow performance at fixtures inside the house. That gauge is a great $20 (on Amazon) investment if you are not happy with water pressure at your house. Buy one that can be attached to the outside hose fitting. The flow test the City of Toronto offers will easily be satisfied even though performance in the house is poor. The City doesn’t want to discuss pressure I suspect because they don’t want to commit to maintaining a certain pressure. I find most commonly 50 to 70 psi throughout the City of Toronto. How does it work in your City? Is water pressure an issue and is the provider willing to commit to a number?

Drill Baby Drill I have seen many filled in weep holes, but this is the first time I have seen them filled and then dril...
03/03/2026

Drill Baby Drill
I have seen many filled in weep holes, but this is the first time I have seen them filled and then drilled. It raises a few questions: If the drilled hole is not at the bottom of the cavity, is it of any use? Does the hole meet the requirement for the minimum size of a weep hole? Did the driller use a depth gauge to ensure the hole continues back to the air cavity without drilling through the sheathing or any air barrier materials? My probe indicated many of the holes were not drilled deep enough.
Weep holes are required by building code and they allow drainage and venting behind brick veneer walls to protect the wood frame structure. The holes get filled in by homeowners because: a) they have an insect phobia b) they are experiencing leakage inside the house c) they simply think the hole is a defect in the brickwork.

Address

Toronto, ON

Telephone

+14163208863

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Keith Tripp home inspector at ProVantage Property Inspection posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category