DonTx

Wow, it's been a while since I've been here, the place has changed! Anyhow, to my question. I found a Fedders A/C condenser today that the Seller swears is only about 6 months old. He said that his Home Warranty company put it in when the compressor in the old one failed. The problem is, the new one is a 3.5 ton unit and it's as small as the old 10 and 12 SEER units. I couldn't make head or tails of the serial number but it did say it was "Made In PRC" I know the new SEER manufacturing regulations pertain to U.S.A. manufacturers but does it also affect units made overseas for resale in the U.S.A.?

Can someone answer this question? Will E&O Insurance Companies issue a policy without having a binding arbitration clause in your pre-inspection agreement? Thanks,

That's pretty common SOP around these parts. Those hip and valley rafters need braced at the peak. As for the reverse angle cuts (as close as I could tell), that's just poor B.S. workmanship.

Congrats to both of them, especially for having the gonads to actually do something like that! I often fantasize about owning a fishing boat in Cabo, complete with hot & cold running Senioritas. Ahhh but my wife said no, so it's off to work I go.

They're old and lonely and need company..[:-eyebrow Seriously, I can't find my C&D reference manual and Preston's doesn't give me electric furnace info. #1 BDP electric furnace SN#R2D00514 MOD#:517ENO42 #2 York electric furnace SN#MEVS218470 MOD#:N2AHD10A06C #3 York A/C Mod# H1CF042S06A SN# MHXM244770 Thanks,

I noticed my Tramex Wet Wall detector sitting on top of my file cabinet the other day. I've only used it once this year. I thought "Geez, there's a thousand dollar meter sitting there collecting dust." So I've put it up for sale on eBay. In the next few days I'll probably have more toys up for sale that I've bought and don't use. The Tramex works great. It also has the Users manual and the warranty cards. I bought this baby about 3 years ago. Here's the link to the eBay sale. Tramex Wet Wall Detector On eBay

This is how we install balconies to the house in Houston. All the homes I looked at in this subdivision had balconies attached to the homes in this manner. New construction! 13 10D nails throught the Hardie siding attaching the ledger to the home. Post not secured, rim joist nailed to the ledger. Download Attachment: IMG_6122.jpg 41.58 KB Download Attachment: IMG_6124.jpg 43.52 KB Download Attachment: IMG_6114.jpg 42.46 KB Download Attachment: IMG_6113.jpg 49.14 KB

Myself and Mark went through the Tune Up classes. We don't get a lot of request for it, but of the dozen or so I've done here, we've been able to help every customer. Some of these homes were 20 to 30 years old and had maybe 2 to 3 inches of insulation. One had tape that had come off the seams of the evaporator coil housing and was blowing cold (cool) air into the attic. I'm not sure how much other inspectors with the Tune Up program are charging, but we're charging anywhere from $175 to $250 depending on the size of the home. For what we're finding and saving our Clients, that's a heckuva deal. Scotty - I don't know why you couldn't make money with your Energy Audits. I watch the local Energy contractors for Builders here in Houston do the Energy Star test in less than 20 minutes and then slap a "Energy Star" passed sticker on the house. This includes the blower door test (which they run about 30 seconds) and report (a 1 page checklist).

Hey Bain, was that a roof vent or roof jack? I see many older installations run up into a roof jack, but have never seen one ran up to a roof vent.

I'd lose the roof lines. The overpower the name. I agree with Martin, scrap the house and just go with the company name. Plus, if you have serenityhomeinspections.com, I'd put the ".com" after the name in the logo. I don't know what you payed for that logo, but gotlogos.com creates those type of logo's for $25. Good Luck,

I have to agree. For some reason many inspectors (and engineers!) want to sound "educated". Unfortunately, they usually come off sounding anything but. I like "poop". It's simple and everyone knows what he's talking about. I once reported "vermin scat" in the attic and the lady called me back and asked what "scat" was. I should have used poop or crap.

I have a copy. If you have other illustrated guides as I do, then you've probably got most of what's in this Field Guide. If not, it's a good buy. I'd say it's more like a desk reference rather than a field guide though. Seems I bought mine for less than $75 though, but I could be wrong (and I'm not digging the receipt out!)

Congrats on your first inspection Les. Just a note. In the future, fax or email your agreement (fax is preferable) ahead of time and get them to either send it back before the inspection or give it to you at the start. I prefer they send it back before the inspection. As for the heater. The downstairs may have been a "Master" thermostat. This means that if you had one A/C-Furnace, the downstairs t-stat probably controled it. More than likely, the upstairs thermostat only controled an electronic damper that opens/closes when the downstairs unit is on. The upstairs t-stat would not actually operate the A/C-furnace. The downstairs would have to be on heat for the upstairs to have heat. Also, if the downstairs was set on A/C, turning the upstairs to heat would do nothing. I see this set up quite often when there's just a Gameroom or Guest room upstairs. Hey, next time take us some pictures and we'll (hopefully) be able to tell you what those boards were doing.

Well, I have to agree with Walter. We're paid for our opinions. I've answered that Big Question a few times. I don't like to answer it, but if they ask my OPINION, then I give it. If it's an older POS and they ask me if "I'd buy it", I might say "If I had the money to buy it and to buy all the building supplies needed to fix all the problems, sure, I'd probably jump on it. I like to spend my free time doing major repair projects." If I'm standing there with a young couple who've scraped every nickel and dime they have to get into a home, and they've both told me they "don't do home repair thing", then if asked, I'll tell them straight up. On the other hand, that same home may be perfect for someone looking to play DIY HomeMakeover. Since I don't rely on Agents for my livlihood, it's no skin off my nose if they get their panties in a wad. Just my 3 cents worth,

My version of strongbacks are the same of Mike Lambs. I believe IRC 802.3.1 discusses their need in framing. It's a common problem in new construction here. Many trades do not understand them or do not care to use them properly. BTW, Mike, what book is that illustration out of?

By the way Scott, I called CertainTeed Technical # back in Feb. and sent my letter and CD to the attention of the persons name they gave me. Nothing. Who's the head cat herder at CertainTeed?

Here's a link to my post back in Feb. with pics about this home. https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... ertainteed

Chad, I feel your pain. IMHO CertainTeed could care less how the shingles are installed as long as the Builders keep buying them. I sent them a letter and CD of 90 photo's of a new roof that had most all the nails above the sealant strip, some with nails up to 11 inches from the edge and many with only 3 nails in them. I never heard back from them. The reason I sent the letter and CD in the first place was because of a roof their regional Rep had supposedly inspected and issued an "alls okay" letter to my Client. The regional rep said the "roof appeared to substantially comply with CertainTeeds Installation Instructions and the shingles in the report appeared to be limited to a small area". On the other hand, I've seen great results from the folks over at Owens Corning. They don't allow their product to be installed like crap. They'll be the 1st to tell the Builder that they aren't warrantying a crappy install. (well, 2nd, because I'm usually the 1st one to tell the Builder the roof installation is crap). This same rep gave the Builder a "alls okay" letter, who in turn sent it out to homeowners in this subdivision after Hurricane Rita last year, saying their roofs were okay, installation was okay, etc, etc. What was funny is that the form letter was dated 4 days before Rita made landfall. My statements to my Clients now when I find a crappy CertainTeed install is that they'll probably say it's okay, just get their form letter saying so.

I'd agree with that.

1st. Thanks to everyone for your replies. 2nd. Thanks Charlie for the offer. I was headed out the door on my last reply and didn't see your offer until I got home later that afternoon. The offer was appreciated! 3rd. Chris, the drop in pressure is at all fixtures in the home, both hot and cold. I just used the Kitchen sink because it was closest and I could look out the window and watch the stations change and see the drop in pressure at the same time. I've inspected 3 homes on this street, and all have this problem. My theory is that the supply may be too small. Pressure is in the 55 psi range. Yours?

Thanks Charlie, The system serving the house is a PEX system. The plumbing for the Sprinkler is PVC. I could not see the size of the incoming supply line.

Mike, no, it's not required. It's an add on service we do on New and 1 year warranty inspections. Thanks Terry, Any ideas what may cure this?

Is it normal for the home to lose significant pressure when the Sprinkler system changes stations? Normally I wouldn't find this because I'm out checking the heads as the unit cycles from one station to another. However, last week the owner of a 1 year old home told me about this problem and I went in and ran the Kitchen sink fixture while I had the Sprinkler on Auto. Sure enough, when the system changed stations the pressure dropped to nearly nothing as the stations switched. This doesn't seem normal and I recommended further evaluation by a Plumbing contractor. Would a pressure regulator on the main water supply line help?

Hey Bobby, I'm not sure. However, I call it out no matter how old the units are. Some insurance companies will want to know if there is a fire wall in the attic. I'll tell my Clients that I don't know when it was required but that it's a good idea.

Hey Buster, I've seen plenty of pigtailing the way you described it. I always wrote it up as being wrong, gave them a copy of the CPSC document on AL and sent them to Dan's site. As an HI, that is about all I can do. There's many times I see things that are "wrong" but are working fine or have worked fine for a long time (2x4 purlins come to mind). I also see a bunch of FPE panels that have no visible signs of trouble. Actually, come to think about it, you could count the ones I've actually seen problems with on one hand and still have enough fingers to pick your nose. IMHO, just because something is "wrong" according to the powers that be, doesn't mean it's gonna fall down or burn up tomorrow, it means that the odds of something bad happening increase by doing it the "wrong" way. FWIW, I still see a bunch of late 60's early 70's homes with AL wiring with CU switches and outlets. They haven't burned yet, and they may never, but I think there would be odd makers in Vegas betting on it. Not flaming you, just throwing some food for thought out there....