Deltona Home Inspection Blog by a Florida Licensed Home Inspector: April 2019

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Deltona Home and Building Consturction is Booming

Orlando new home construction was up 51 percent in 2018 compared with the year before. Construction was led by a surge in apartments but also increases in single family homes, townhouses and condos. Home builders started 16,238 single family homes last year, 12 percent more than 2017. Developers started 12,629 apartments, the most since the Census Bureau began tracking the statistic in 2004. West Volusia county is seeing a huge building boom in Deltona and DeLand.

Deltona building lots are disappearing quickly. More than 2000 building permits in Deltona were issued in 2018. Newmark, Normandy, and Elkam used to have available building lots but those are either filled with new homes or have homes under construction. New home developments are being built in and around Deltona, and the landscape is quickly changing. Howland Blvd. has a new Halifax Hospital, Avent Health Emergency Room, Burger King, WaWa, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Dollar General Store, Dunkin Donuts, and an Honest-1 Auto Care.

Central Florida home construction is now at the highest level since 2009 when Obama took office. Home sales peaked in 2005 during the middle of the G.W. Bush administration and hit the bottom early in Obama's first term. Sales have since recovered, but are still at levels not seen since the early 1990s when G.H.W. Bush was leaving office.

Building material, skilled labor and lot shortages held new home construction down. Most of the skilled labor were retrained when unemployment peaked in in other fields and did not return when the economy improved. Builders use of unskilled labor has them spending more time on repairs after the new homes are sold.

Our home inspection schedule has been full in part due to the number of re-inspections required on new home sales. Nationwide there is a labor shortage of 300,000 skilled workers like roofers and framers.

Concentrated urban areas of Orlando are adding homes at the fastest rate. Demand continues to be high in areas such as St. Cloud, Lake Nona, Western Orange County, Western Volusia and Lake County.

Frank Carr is the Owner / Inspector at First Choice Home Inspections in Deltona, FL serving Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Lake Counties. Formerly in the building trades, Frank’s focus is a safe home in the Orlando Metro and Daytona Beach areas of Central Florida and building FCHI. We believe that consumers have the right to expect the highest standards of thoroughness, fairness and effectiveness from their home inspector and that is exactly what we provide.

First Choice Home Inspections

Residential Home Inspections in Central Florida

(386) 624-3893

Website: http://1homeinspector.com

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Thursday, April 11, 2019

Painting Tips from Your Deltona Home Inspector

Paint keeps your wood siding from rotting and the stucco from cracking. Florida weather takes a toll on our homes. As a home inspector, we see the results of DIY projects and even professional projects gone wrong every day.

Stucco

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Fill cracks before painting!

When you purchase a new stucco clad home in Florida, it will usually have an acrylic paint. Builders choose acrylic paint because it has a higher permeability value not just its lower cost. After five years, this paint oxidizes or becomes caulky and will rub off on your hand.

Fill cracks before painting.

Permeability means the stucco can breathe better, which is what stucco is supposed to do. This allows the stucco siding to cure slowly for the first five years after construction. During this time you will typically see cracks appearing from the home settling. Do not use an Elastomeric paint within the first five years, as it will seal the stucco and may cause more cracks. After five years you want to fill any cracks that have developed and seal the stucco siding to keep the moisture out.

An acrylic paint will not last as long as an Elastomeric product, so it will have to be repainted more often but is less expensive. Elastomeric paint seals the siding and will stretch; this allows small cracks to be covered. Once you use an Elastomeric paint you should only use an Elastomeric over the top of it. Acrylic paint does not stretch and will crack as the Elastomeric paint moves with the expansion and contraction of the home.

Vinyl

Vinyl siding comes in a variety of colors and extra care needs to be exercised when choosing to paint vinyl siding. The formula for white or light colors of vinyl is different from that used for colored vinyl siding.

The reason is a light color reflects more heat and UV rays, while a darker color absorbs them. White or light color vinyl siding should never be painted a dark or flat color. Painting this vinyl will cause it to absorb heat which makes the siding warp.

Nothing looks worse on a home than warped vinyl siding. Lighter and glossy paint reflect more heat and UV rays. Darker and flat paint colors absorb heat and UV rays.

Wood

It is import to make sure extra care is used when preparing wood siding for paint. Clean and replace all damaged wood before painting. Make sure your wood is dry enough to paint or you will seal in the moisture. Remove old dried caulk from joints. Caulk all joints that are open. All wood decays and rots, but moisture accelerates the process.

Do you need a primer?? Yes, primer not only helps the paint stick better and make the color more consistent but it also absorbs into the wood. Do not use expensive paint over dried out or new wood, it is very porous and will absorb more of the expensive paint. Priming is necessary to stop wood-bleeding or if you are covering gloss, grease, or other areas that make paint-adhesion difficult. Primer is cheaper than paint and should be used to prepare the wood for paint.

Is Paint and Primer in one a scam?? It is great for just changing color, but is a more expensive product than paint and goes on thicker with 1/2 the coverage area and should be avoided on wood that will absorb a lot of paint.

Give yourself plenty of time to complete the project or hire a professional. Do not leave unprotected wood exposed to the weather and make sure all paint is dry before it rains.

These are just a few of many suggestions. If you are in doubt, please hire or consult a professional. Choosing the wrong paint can lead to extensive damage. Painting the exterior of a home is a huge and important project. The time to decide if it is too much work for your skill level is before you invest in paint, brushes, rollers, pans, tape, tarps, and tools.