Resonant Homes, LLC

10/12/2026

A Fresh Coat of Paint Won’t Fix a Failing Foundation

On falling in love with houses, polishing turds, and knowing what you’re getting yourself into. As a builder, people have trusted me for a long time to advise them on decisions that run into the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and occasionally million-plus dollar range....

https://resonanthomesnh.com/a-fresh-coat-of-paint-wont-fix-a-failing-foundation/

On falling in love with houses, polishing turds, and knowing what you’re getting yourself into.

09/06/2026

Thinking about selling your house? Here's something most sellers don't consider until it's too late: hiring a home inspector before the sale, not after.

We see it all the time — a deal moving along just fine until the buyer's inspection turns up something the seller had no idea was there (or didn't think was a big deal). Suddenly everyone's renegotiating, timelines are slipping, and trust that took months to build is gone in an afternoon.

A pre-listing inspection flips that. You find out what's actually true about your house while there's still time to do something about it — fix it, price around it, or just disclose it honestly. No surprises, no derailed closings, no wondering what the next inspector is going to find.

We wrote up the full case for it on the blog — link below. 👇

Learn why a pre-listing home inspection helps sellers avoid surprises, build buyer trust, and keep sales on track — from an inspector who sees it firsthand.

08/25/2026

Masonry Chimneys: A New England Love Story, and Why Yours Might Be Failing

Masonry chimneys are near and dear to my heart, and also something of a scourge to my existence as a home inspector....

A home inspector's take on New England's masonry chimneys — why they were built the way they were, and the defects that show up most on inspections.

07/30/2026

Technically, a home inspection report is just a collection of data. What makes it useful is what the inspector understands about that data—and how they put it into context.

https://resonanthomesnh.com/prioritizing-home-maintenance-repairs-in-nh-vt-resonant-homes/

07/30/2026

How to Prioritize Home Maintenance When Everything Can’t Be Fixed at Once

Every house comes with a list. Things that could be repaired, replaced, painted, sealed, serviced, or upgraded....

https://resonanthomesnh.com/prioritizing-home-maintenance-repairs-in-nh-vt-resonant-homes/

07/26/2026

This is a funny but very helpful demo of floor systems, how they succeed and fail.

07/22/2026

Quick question I get asked constantly on older homes: "Is knob-and-tube wiring going to keep me from getting insurance?"

Short answer: maybe. Longer answer: it depends on a lot more than most quick answers online let on — and so does aluminum wiring, bootleg grounds, and half a dozen other things I run into in NH and VT's older housing.

I wrote up what I actually look for, why a two-prong outlet is more honest than the three-prong one somebody swapped in without grounding it, and why even a thorough inspection only sees a fraction of what's actually back there behind the walls.

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Knob-and-tube and aluminum wiring in an older NH or VT home: what it means for safety and insurance, from a builder and inspector who's seen plenty of it.

07/19/2026

Most inspectors tell you what they catch. I wanted to be straight about the other side of it — what a home inspection can't see, and why that matters just as much.

A home inspection is a visual, non-destructive look at a house. I don't open walls, pull siding, or lift finished floors, so a lot stays hidden on inspection day.

After a career building homes across NH and VT, I know better than most what's back there — and I'd rather tell you the honest limits than sell you x-ray vision I don't have.

The post walks through the real story behind something as simple as a water stain, why I won't hand you a made-up repair number, and what an inspection genuinely is good for.

Give it a read.

Plenty gets missed in any home inspection, and I'd rather you hear why from me. A builder on what an inspection can and can't actually tell you about a house.

07/14/2026

One question I get asked constantly on older homes: "Is knob-and-tube wiring going to keep me from getting insurance?"
Short answer: maybe. Longer answer: it depends on a lot more than most people (or most quick answers online) let on.
I wrote up what I actually look for when I find it in an old New Hampshire or Vermont home — what matters, what doesn't, and why a shiny new electrical panel doesn't always mean the wiring behind it got updated too.

Buying an older home in NH or VT? Here's what knob-and-tube wiring really means for safety and insurance, from a builder who's worked with plenty of it.

07/05/2026

This is a common question, with a complex answer.

https://resonanthomesnh.com/what-fails-a-home-inspection/

This is an important question. The answer might surprise you. A 20+ year veteran contractor-home inspector breaks it down.