homnspector

I had a girlfriend once who was "aesthetically deficient".

Here it is on Google Earth. Darn, it's not built yet, I guess that won't work. Image Insert: 60.77 KB[/size=1

Walter, there's nothing wrong with that, I just never felt it was fair to the client when I was perfectly capable of walking on the roof without hurting anything. Now I may have to re-think that. It seems like with all the technology available, there must be some way to document the journey up the roof that leaves no doubt that the damage was there already. Something like you suggested about showing pictures to the client from the roof edge before venturing up, but it would be nice to be able to do it alone.

I like to use the term "aesthetic defect". "Cosmetic" has gotten to be such a Realtor term. On new homes, I always report on the more obvious but tell the client I don't report on minor paint dings and such and they should look for and list those on their own. I then include them in the report as "The client is concerned about paint touch up needed at x, y and z. You could literally spend all day looking for things like that in new construction and still miss a few.

"The closest I got to that kind of tile was 50- 80-year-old asbestos/cement tile. That stuff's brittle." It's not even close to as fragile as cement-asbestos. I did make the mistake of walking on one of those several years ago, that ended up being a free inspection after paying the roofer.

For those that haven't walked a flat tile roof, the tiles are really pretty strong, they are about 3/4 inch thick concrete. Yes, they will break if you step in the center or if they are lifted up by another tile. Here is a portion of the e-mail I sent the agent today. I don't know if this falls in the "polite" category but is hopefully not too inflammatory. "There is nothing prohibiting anybody but a licensed roofer walking a roof. If so, most roof laborers would be out of work. Permission to access the roof is implied when the seller agrees to a home inspection. I walk on tile roofs (with the exception of clay tile) a few times a week and can only remember 1 time I have cracked a tile and it was not on this home. I have the photos which clearly show that these cracks and breaks are not new. Chris was on the ground watching me walk the roof. In fact, as soon as I got up the ladder I called down to him that I was seeing a lot of broken tile. I don't know how many of the broken tile would be visible without walking on the roof, probably not many. I will not be paying for replacing any broken tile. I counted about 30 broken tile. It seems the seller or builder is claiming that as I walked I broke the tile. Rather than getting off the roof, I continued to walk and break more and more tile. Not only that, but I took pictures of all the tile I broke! I weigh about 140 lbs, so walking on the roof was not adequate, I actually had to jump up and down, stomp, etc. to break the tile. Does this make sense to you? Oh, and I almost forgot, I would also have to have absolutely no integrity." Comments are welcome (yes Walter, I think there may be a dangling participle or two), thanks for the feedback so far.

"Also, once I got to the top of the ladder (or any other place where I could see the broken tiles), I would've taken pictures of the broken tiles, climbed down the ladder, and shown the pictures to the customers and other interested parties." Good advice, I'll try that next time or on groundhog day.... "Somewhat off-topic, but if I were the owner of the house, I wouldn't let anybody walk on my concrete tiles anyhow. It's asking for trouble." Problem with that approach is you will see what the last inspector saw; nothing.

"I said to hell with it. If I need to do something, I'll do it on my own. To hell with the state," said Allan Schwartz of New Port Richey Hey, now there's a novel approach.

"Be polite, smile" "I would be polite" Not my first instinct but good advice.

I was forwarded a sellers response today that blames me for broken roof tiles. It was a new house, but with lots of little problems. I didn't expect any major problems on the roof. When I first stepped from the ladder I could see several broken tiles. I shouted down to the buyer and agent, "man, there are a lot of broken tiles" and proceeded to inspect the roof, I counted about 30. Seems the seller had a previous inspection that didn't mention any broken tiles who had "viewed the roof from a ladder". These are concrete tiles, I weigh about 140 and can run up and down a tile roof without breaking tile. They spoke to the roofer and apparently are working up a bill for the broken tiles, no doubt to be presented to me. I have several photos but don't know if that will help. Funny thing is I said to the buyer and agent after getting off the roof, "you are my witnesses that I didn't break any tile in case they were not reported on the last inspection". I had a feeling that the last inspection was pretty poor based on the obvious items that hadn't been repaired. Also, the roofer said I had no business being on the roof unless I am a licensed roofer. I wonder how many of his workers are licensed roofers? Is permission to access the roof implied when the seller agrees to an inspection? How would you handle this? Image Insert: 181.23 KB

Surprised nobody mentioned the doorbell transformer in the left cabinet.

Are those service equipment or are they sub panels? It looks to me like they are sub panels and should have neutrals and grounds separated. When I have seen these, there are main breakers outside at the meter.

If you like that one, check this one out http://www.gd-itronix.com/index.cfm?page=Products:MR-1 It has a screen that absorbs light so you can see the display in full sun.

Drier, efforvesence, recepticle (and various other spellings). As far as I know, parge is a thin coat of mortar isn't it?

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chan ... h0830.html

I am considering some direct mail marketing to owners of newer homes that are nearing the end of the 2 year builders warranty. Does anybody know how I could get owner names and addresses of homes built within the last 2 years? Any help or ideas are appreciated.

Fron RUUD: DIMENSIONS AND INSTALLATION CLEARANCES UNIT MODEL NUMBER EXPLANATION – 036 J A S S - RECIPROCATING COMPRESSOR Z - SCROLL COMPRESSOR AB (VARIATION) C C - 208/230-3-60 (POWER SUPPLY) D - 460-3-60 J - 208/230-1-60 Y - 575-3-60 BTUH x 1000 (NOMINAL CAPACITY) MODEL SERIES AIR DISCHARGE ALLOW 60" [1524 mm] CLEARANCE AIR INLETS (LOUVERS) ALLOW 12" [305 mm] MIN. CLEARANCE 3 SIDES 24" [610 mm] ACCESS

For A/C compressors it is usually 12 inches so I would think 2 feet between units. However, it may be different for air compressors.[]

How about each of those conductors are too small for a 60 amp breaker.

"Hardhead # 365278 " Wow, there are way more inspectors than I thought.

"It is my opinion there are approx 15,000 inspectors that do 90% of the inspections." I think you are right about this. Coming at it from another angle: Home sales are expected to be about 5.7 million in 2007. Estimates are 80% are inspected which is 4.56 million. If each full time inspector inspects 300 homes per year, that also works out to about 15,000 inspectors.

The only testing I offer is asbestos for ceiling texture, tile and whatever else. It costs me $7 to have the lab test it and I charge $75. It's so easy I can't resist but only offer it when asked about it.

I am guessing we are talking about different levels of commercial inspection here. I wouldn't pretend to have the knowledge or expertise to inspect a strip mall, large grocery store, high rise or anything similar. All the commercial I have done (maybe 200 inspections, W.A.G.) have been things like 4 small connected retail units, small warehouses, house converted to an insurance office, 12 unit B&B, that sort of thing. I have always used the same standards as a home inspection, i.e, inspect and report on everything I can access. I have never had any client complaints about the scope, so will continue to inspect the same way. I agree with you about the "protection" aspect. The protection of the buyer is that they can decide to buy or walk, nothing more. It shouldn't matter to us which they choose (although more and more I find myself hoping they will walk). You can put 100 warning stickers on a ladder and people are still going to choose to stand on the top step.

"On a side note: Once you read ASTM E-2018 you will see why any ASTM standards for home inspections would be a bad idea" So why would it be a good idea for a commercial inspection? Aren't the clients looking for the same basic information?

"Keep in mind that a commercial inspection is not like a home inspection. You report what you find, the condition of what you find and then we move on." I don't really understand that comment. "If a buyer wants to know about codes applications for an intended occupancy type he should be going through the permit application and design process, along with the help of a licensed designer and/or codes consultant, not hiring a home inspector.." Nope, nothing fancy like that, just your basic inspection. I was thinking that maybe since it isn't an area intended for sleeping, maybe a fire separation isn't required. Since it is, I am now assuming it was originally 1 suite later converted to 2 suites, so the lack of a firewall is an issue, and should be repaired.