SonOfSwamp

Yep. Looks like the other guy has some literacy/logic issues; and, it looks like he relied on halfazz boilerplate, most likely written by somebody who's never seen the roof in question. I love this part: Missing roofing material at all of the ridges of the house (cap shingles) should be installed. I'd pay to watch somebody install missing material. "Hey, bubba. Bring me a pallet of those missing shingles, wouldja?" The other guy's report is typical, I'm sad to say. The good news (maybe) is that the ever-shrinking RE market might just put the halfazz home inspectors out of business. That'd be a good thing, WJ

I think if one were to cut it up, run sandpaper over it and smell it, it wouldn't smell like leather, and it would turn out to be lincrusta or anaglypta. IIRC, both are essentially thick paper with embossed patterns. WJ

Carved leather or.... lincrusta/anaglypta? I ask only because it looks like factory-made stuff, what with the repeating patterns. I don't think leather could be carved quite so uniform. Of course, I could be wrong, WJ

As I recall, my standard statement was something like, "yada yada cap off open pipes... because sewer gas smells bad, can make people sick, and can even cause an explosion." In this case, I think I'd add: "Your real estate lady apparently thinks that the plumbing is OK just like it is. You might want to talk to her about that..." WJ

Funny. I just finished Fred Wesley's book, "Hit Me Fred." Seems Fred and I both had the dubious honor of playing with James Brown for a while. (I was in the house band, not the gigging band. Thank goodness.) WJ

IIRC, I copied the words off a manufacturer's tag, and inserted the text into the Plumbing section of my reports. WJ

I think the discharge pipe info is also included on the tag that's supposed to be attached to the TPR valve. WJ

Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd tackle this particular mold by emptying the closet and leaving the closet door open for a while -- maybe with a fan blowing. I'd also give the wall a Tramexing... WJ

Might be a mechanic or wood shop on the property. I say this because my childhood house (1200 sq ft w/fuel oil heat) had a metal shop out back. The shop had 3 phase... WJ

I'll consider sanity to be making a comeback when people stop buying enourmous slabs of shiny rock for their countertops, and go back to perfectly good (and cheap) Formica. Another good sign will be when the woman with the enormous 12mpg Mercedes SUV -- the one who picks up her kid every day at the fancy private school -- peels off her "How many lives per gallon" bumpersticker. (I am not making this up.) WJ

Here in my little old-house enclave, a RE lady gussied up a 90+ year-old house, and put it on the market at $1.3M. Now, about nine months later, she's reduced the house price to $1,249,900. Zillow's got it at $500,500. It's funny and painful to watch. WJ

I couldn't finish the first paragraph. Looks like they're still smoking a lot of weed in Berkely. WJ

I love Stone's critique of the HI: "His answer should have been something on the order of, 'I don't know for sure if there is a problem, but the condition of the wallpaper indicates that there could be a moisture-related issue below the surface. Therefore, I recommend that the wallpaper be removed prior to close of escrow to determine whether there is a problem in that area.'" I say any HI who actually talks or writes like that should be stripped of his flashlight and put to work in a government job. WJ

Well, for what it's worth: It ain't so much the lawyer. In my humble experience, it's the experts -- who are usually savvy HIs, engineers or architects -- who explain all the tech stuff to the lawyer(s). Unless the lawyer is a building expert (like my lawyer), the lawyers only know what the experts tell them. So far, I've mostly seen cases in which the HI did damage to himself -- cases like Herner vs. HouseMaster. I'd love to see a case in which the HI really did do everything right and had good experts on his side, but still got hammered. Just for my edification, y'know... WJ

Writing up voltage drop because a SureTest says there's too much voltage drop is a perfect way to start an endless argument. When I used a SureTest, I snuck and did it when nobody was looking. I never wrote up voltage drop. WJ

I'd be fascinated to see what the HI actually wrote in his report. WJ

Since we HIs have to write about balusters frequently, I feel a need to point out that it's "balusters," not "balisters." 'Cause I know folks at TIJ like to do things right... WJ PS: I can't tell from the pic, but it looks like there's no landing at the bottom of the stair. Last time I checked, such a stair had to have at least a 3X3 landing at ground level. "I've got balisters on me fingers..." -- Ringo Starr

Good News Home Inspections? Really? (Deep sigh.) Judging (maybe unfairly) by the buyer kid's style, I'd say he could make a pretty good profit by selling the guano to local cannabian entrepreneurs. WJ

I uploaded to the TIJ library a publication entitled: Attic Venting -- Literature Review of the Impact and Need for Attic Ventilation in Florida Homes. I think it might address venting issues and dispute some folklore. WJ

Problem with a would-be HI relying on a trades background: Who's going to set the bar for what an HI needs to know? For instance, will a would-be HI straight from the trades be able to find and cite reputable sources to back up his opinions? Will he be able to write adequate reports? Just sayin'... As fractious as the HI "profession" is, some HIs have learned to rely on building codes, manufacturer's specifications, etc. to back up their calls. Some have also learned how to do their own advertising, marketing and such. I don't see a whole lot of carryover from trades work to HI work. Maybe it's just me, but I see a huge difference between working on houses, as opposed to assessing and describing house parts, then making useful, defensible recommendations regarding those house parts. The jobs require entirely different skillsets. To break it down real simple: Tradesfolk work on things; they need a truckload of tools. HIs report on things; they need a flashlight, a screwdriver and something to write with. WJ

OK, I'm bored. So I'm going to do a quick edit on the piece, so I might get un-bored. Dear Mrs. XXX, It was my distinct pleasure to meet you at your house, and I hope I can help you with the problems we discussed. Over time, wind, water, sun and salt wear down an oceanfront house. Your house will require more maintenance than an inland house. You should choose your contractors very carefully. It's not unusual for home improvement projects, done by well-meaning but unskilled workers, to make things worse. I recommend that you have the existing cladding removed, and that you replace it with cladding that is suited to your environment. This will be a big job. The windows aren't installed properly; that's why they're leaking. I recommend that you hire a contractor to fix the leaks, and any other problems he might see when he works on the windows. I also recommend that you get specifications and instructions from the window manufacturer, so that you can compare the manufacturer's specs, drawings, etc. to what you'll see as the contractor works on your windows. If something doesn't look right, take pictures, and send them to the window manufacturer. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the work being done to your windows. If you need me, call me. Your humble servant, Moe

Could just be dust/dirt. WJid="blue">

Have you tried the Streamlight website? It's been quite a while, but I've sent in 3 or 4 Streamlights for refurb, and they all came back with new parts, free of charge. As I recall, you still have to pay for the battery. WJ

Just wondering: Might putting a screen on the outside of the window(s) solve the problem? WJ