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New Options for Roofing
Asphalt, Architectural, Cement, Ceramic Tile, Metal, Solar (shown above) and more. Click on image for link to all 18.

Paul Cummins
Apr 29, 20211 min read


The Art of Inspection
Psychedelic Skeletor?

Paul Cummins
Apr 18, 20211 min read



Paul Cummins
Apr 5, 20210 min read


Great financial tips for first time home buyers
Did you catch this in the Real Estate section of the Washington Post this week? I have taught at some of the classes mentioned and...

Paul Cummins
Mar 27, 20211 min read


Getting up in the world
Inspecting at Paws veterinary office on Connecticut Avenue.

Paul Cummins
Mar 10, 20211 min read


Windows painted shut!
This window zip tool can be used as a last resort. Best first to push on the sides of the windows and push up or pull down to free the...

Paul Cummins
Mar 10, 20211 min read


Be kind to marble!
It's porous and reactive to acids and bases. In my case I spilled toilet bowl cleaner, a strong base, on my untreated marble, and it...

Paul Cummins
Feb 26, 20211 min read


Crepe Murder
Take a tree that is beautiful all year and can survive the vagaries of the current Virginia climate and give it a flat top? This is a...

Paul Cummins
Jan 31, 20211 min read


Good News in a Bad Year: My Angel Wife on TV
Piece from Channel 9 on preventing evictions, (click on image) yet this is only part of her work. Melanie is head of outreach for Christ...

Paul Cummins
Dec 31, 20201 min read



Paul Cummins
Dec 9, 20200 min read


DIY Wariness
When I inspect a house that seems to have unlicensed work in important systems like siding, plumbing and electrical work I note this in...

Paul Cummins
Nov 22, 20201 min read


No more stinky ovens!
Cut these to fit the bottom of your oven. Make sure it doesn't block the open holes of your gas oven floor. The heating elements on...

Paul Cummins
Nov 20, 20201 min read


Stab-Lok breakers made by Federal Pacific don't trip reliably: if at all.
The rule in real estate sales is: if it isn't broken, it doesn't need to be replaced. Well, this doesn't account for systems that have a...

Paul Cummins
Oct 26, 20201 min read


We're all stretched to the limit these days!
What a wild time! Masks we can't breathe through and that fog our glasses. Thank Goodness we have work and are managing to stay healthy....

Paul Cummins
Oct 26, 20201 min read


Too cute not to blog about...
This is Bella, our quarantine grandchild proxy. She's full of affection and enthusiasm and rarely watches the news... Watch her cruise...

Paul Cummins
Oct 13, 20201 min read


Glazing: a lost art.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/when-old-windows-need-new-glazing-around-the-panes/2020/10/03/62e91c46-fdb2-11ea-9ceb-061d6...

Paul Cummins
Oct 8, 20201 min read


Could not believe it: beautiful finish after extensive urine damage.
This oak floor had been completely covered in dark urine spots. I thought it would have to be replaced. Not so, just the right finish...

Paul Cummins
Sep 5, 20201 min read


Don't weight for the bathroom floor to flood!
Just did the second DC condo in a row that had a 4 inch shower berm on the floor. That's not much to save you from a wet bathroom floor....

Paul Cummins
Aug 26, 20201 min read


You're selling a house and can't find the garage door remote?
This baby is called a universal remote control. It works for Chamberlain, Linear, Genie, Stanley and Wayne Dalton openers. I was...

Paul Cummins
Aug 26, 20201 min read


Solution for sagging lintel over garage!
See cracks all the time over those two-car garages on brick townhomes. Click on image or text to find LINTEL LIFT.

Paul Cummins
Jun 16, 20201 min read
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