John Dirks Jr

I actually ordered two elements this time around. One was identical to the previous one at $50 and other claimed to be Samsung OEM at $70. The packaging on either didn’t build confidence with the cheaper one said China. The “OEM” one had no indication of where it was made. The claimed OEM one did have some differences in its construction. The spades for the electric connectors were larger and the soldering on them looked much stronger. They were actually soldered while the cheaper ones looked to be fused on with a tiny arc weld. The securing brackets on the claimed OEM were thicker. On the OEM one the end of the tubes were tapered where the cheaper on was cut straight. There’s no telling the difference in internal parts since we can’t see them. We chose the claimed OEM one as the visible aspects appeared to be better quality. We’ll see how long it lasts.

Believe me, I have numerous stories about that stuff too. Blew up, shot…..don’t forget burned

I thought dents in cars were so cool I once took a hammer to the side of my father’s car. At age 8, I learned that a ‘68 Dodge Polara did not dent easily. He was pretty pissed off when he discovered what I did. Luckily the damage was small but I sure thought I would have made a bigger dent than I did. An unsatisfying shallow hammer mark was what I remember. Man, the things I remember…

I had an Evel Knievel lunch box. I dented on the edge because I thought dents were cool. I used to like dents in car fenders too. For some reason I thought it looked cool. Battle scars I guess. Weird huh?

Hello gentlemen. I was wondering if you had insight on cook range heat elements. My father’s Samsung oven lower element burned open about a year ago. It was easy to get a replacement part and install it so I did. It’s now burnt open again. The previous part we got was $50 from Amazon. Is it a cheap part and that’s why it didn’t last? If so, how can we make sure to get something that will last longer? Are there other conditions that might make an element fail with a short lifespan? Thanks for your advice 🙂

I like the 1/2 ass dishwasher high loop by routing the drain hose over the trap arm. Not quite there but better than nothing

The real problem there is that junction box edge should be flush with the outer edge of the drywall. It’s wrong the way it is because you can’t properly secure the receptacle tight against the box. Furthermore, when you put the cover on it likely will not properly enclose the wiring because there are gaps between the box edge and the drywall edge. The concern is that arching in the box can allow sparks to get behind the wall which is a fire hazard. Installing a proper depth box extender could fix that.

Another thing to consider is differences in how the multi strand and single strand conductors are used. The multi strand stuff most often begins at one device and ends at another and that's it. The single strand branch AL intersects many devices all over that house. Since the problem is mostly happening at connections, there are many more incidences with the single strand stuff because there are many more connections to devices. Statistically with regard to recorded problems, one product escapes scrutiny while the other is deemed problematic.

10 inspections per week? Some may laugh when I say this but that would probably kill me. 5 thorough inspections doing everything required and also going beyond the standards as any inspector usually does is enough. A really good job on an average size house is a days work when you include preparing, inspecting, talking to the clients about what you’ve found at the inspection and following all that up with a well written report that describes what you actually did and saw there. Do forget the proper recommendations to resolve the problems. if you charge $250 and go for quantity you will almost surely turn out crap work.

Absolutely! The permission goes to everyone as well

Thanks Les, I’ll give that a try.

There was an old widow that lived on my mail route. She was in her 90’s when she passed. She lived alone but I don’t think her family was too far away. Even with dependence on a walker to get around she never failed to pick up her mail each day and still used the mail service to pay her bills. One day I pulled up and in the light snow covered driveway, this is what I saw. It made me think how dedicated she was. A very sweet person indeed. I took this picture and share it to memorialize her great efforts.

….oh, and I sold my inspection vehicle today. The 2012 Transit Connect that I spoke about on here from time to time. I still love it and likely will regret selling it. With 90k on the ticker I got my asking price of $8500 in less than 24 hours of listing. The first person who came to look at it bought it. I need that money to offset a slight and temporary negative cash flow situation caused by inflation. I still have my inspection tools and can’t see myself letting them go. Maybe I’ll unload the 1027 CRM’s if they’re not too far down the obsolescence trail. Anyone have an opinion on what they might be worth? I have 6. Maybe I’ll keep 2 for giggles and sell 4. I never used cameras to the point of failure. I did wear them out pretty good though. Before they gave up id always bring a fresher one online. I had good luck buying mediocre used ones off EBay. I still have all of them but they’re scattered about. If I rounded them all up and put them in a pile on the table, that would be a conversation piece, a testimony of fulfilling journey.

It’s interesting you know. I was never a business man before becoming a home inspector, but just a civil servant. In the beginning I felt dirty taking 3 or 400 for an inspection. In the middle I was like, now I know what I’m working for. Near the end it was, these people aren’t paying me enough! I remember being in crawl spaces with fungus all above me and sewer saturated soil beneath me. I remember thinking, “John, what the F are you doing in here?” I remember exiting the crawl covered with grime of who knows what sorts. I typically would display myself to clients with disgusted looks on my face and my overalls all dirty mud or whatever. My intent was as if to say, “look at me because pictures say a thousand words”. I never wore proper protection because I thought it was a hassle and thought it hampered my ability to see what I needed to see. In retrospect I admit this was not wise for me to do. I was reckless towards my own safety at times. I’m not terribly proud of that part. The phone calls and other contact attempts have now dropped to almost nil. My website is still published but the content is edited down to a sign off message It will be up for just a few more weeks. If anyone cares to you can see the sign off there https://arundelhomeinspection.com/

Extended thanks to everyone. A note to those browsing the web trying to decide if they want to become home inspectors; The best of the best hang out here. Come here with thick skin. Come here to learn. Stay here to contribute