DonTx

A 10 cent book of matches...[:-jump] Sorry, but that's about the best cheap fix I could think of. Gonna cost some $$$$

Perhaps it this new diet I'm on, but here lately I've been on a tear concerning shingles. I've had Clients get several new roofs because of sloppy installation. Now this morning I hear back from a client who's new shingle job I recommended a rep to take a look at, just knowing he was gonna tell 'em to replace the whole mess. Client say's that the CertainTeed rep said there was nothing wrong with how the shingles were installed and that this was their new patented WideTrac nailing pattern?? Anyhow, I was a little peeved and asked the Client to forward me the letter from the rep when he get's it...funny thing is, he's not getting the letter until after he closes! Anyhow, you take a look and tell me what you think. Download Attachment: IMG_5833.jpg 105.31 KB Download Attachment: IMG_5834.jpg 86.59 KB Download Attachment: IMG_5850.jpg 71.07 KB Download Attachment: IMG_5857.jpg 67.76 KB Download Attachment: IMG_5860.jpg 83.97 KB

I have to agree with Mike, it only takes a few seconds to confirm whether or not there is a FG. If I get the FG reading and the SP is on the other side of the wall, I chalk it up to that. Almost every time I get a FG reading, it's the tail of the ground next to the neutral. However, I've had a similar experience with my ST that Chris had. I wore the pig tail out on my ST-1D and kept getting 'No Ground' reading before I figured out what the deal was. So I just use the unit without the pigtail and use my nightlite for outdoor receptacles I can't get my ST in. I don't care for the new model at all. 1 of my inspectors has one and has problems with the pigtail and a few other minor problems. He hasn't told me, but I think he's back to using his night lite also. As for the voltage drops, when I find them it's almost always outlets at the far side of the home from the panel box or back stabbed receptacles. I rarely ever get a high voltage drop reading from older homes where the wires have been bent around the side screw. I can't imagine doing an inspection without the ST, even though I have done them a time or two (took tool bag out of truck and forgot to put it back in the next morning). I always felt I might be missing something. Now if I only knew what the 4, 5 and 6 settings were for and how to use them, that would be Kewl!

Dang!! I knew there was something I wasn't educating my Clients about!! []

Saturday's inspection was a high rise condo built in '65. Do any of you old timers [:-eyebrow recognize this wallboard? Found it under the bathroom sink. I've never seen this type of wallboard, but since it separated two units, I thought it might contain asbestos as the fire wall material. Whadya think? Download Attachment: IMG_5603.jpg 36.45 KB On a side note, the view was kewl, this was the 18th floor. Last year I did one at the 26th in the same building. Download Attachment: IMG_5582.jpg 67.74 KB Headed toward Galveston... Download Attachment: IMG_5583.jpg 62.55 KB I figure the neighbor for a Peeping Tom...lol [:-bigeyes Download Attachment: IMG_5586.jpg 42.37 KB

Another inspector called today and asked me about groudning rebar in a foundation. He was asking if there was more than 20 feet of rebar in a foundation, that it had to be grounded. Supposedly it's in the 2005 NEC, which I don't have. Is this true? Can someone shed some light on this?

Randy, You can go to http://www.gohtm.com and use their free online PDF converter. You just upload your document to their website and it emails you the PDF. After a recent meltdown of my Adobe PDF program, I found this site. Their program is only 15 bucks and much faster/easier to use than Adobe's.

Yes, you can add flashing and weepholes after the fact. However, the brick must be removed and flashing added. In Houston, we see them just going back and drilling holes above the lintels or breaking out some mortar between brick above the brick ledge. The problem we have with lintels here is that the flashing is actually there, but they put the lintel directly over it and never pull the flashing over the lintel before bolting it down. Cost? Pretty pricey I'd imagine, especially when they'll probably tear up more than they actually fix.

I do draw inspections for several national companies and they provide the forms. Pretty simple stuff. For example, they'll want to know when the foudation is done and the wall framing is up. Sometimes they want a %, other times they just want to know when it's complete. Erby's example is the most thorough draw inspection report I've seen, that would be a good starting point if the lender does not have their own form.

Sounds like you're getting hosed by the "optimization expert". In this business you have to stand out from the crowd. Many inspectors buy canned websites or try to make their websites look and sound like everyone elses. Joe Homebuyer see no reason to pick you over the other 189 inpsectors in your market because all the websites say the same....thorough...knowledgeable...onsite reports...many years in the construction business...yada yada yada. Until recently when I started messing around with some text on my home page, my site was a solid #1 or #2 on the big 3. It's not like all the other home inspection sites. We've been at the top of the search engines for over 3 years now. Once you find what works, stick with it! I look at thousands of websites. I study marketing and copy writing. The very best home inspection copy written web site I've seen is http:www.besttampainspector.com. I don't know if Cramer writes his own stuff or hires it done, but whoever writes it knows copywriting. Heck, it makes me want to move to Tampa and buy a home just so I can have him inspect it! I've borrowed a few lines from him as well. This site gets "it". Study other websites. Find the ones you like and see how they rank in the search engines. Study what they do and how they do it. Pay Per Click (PPC) can be a big help, just make sure you have some funds and plan to stay in it for the long haul. Good Luck,

Darren, Thanks for posting that guide. I keep telling myself that I'm going to make up a guide for oniste phase inspections, but I just haven't done it yet. That guide will help me design my own checklist. Thanks,

St. Thomas???

Hey, where's Norm???!!! Charlie, I'm no pool guru, but if a pool that I was inspecting had cracks like that, I'd call for a pool contractor/specialist. Out of several hundred pools, I've seen maybe 10 or 12 with cracks that were 3/16 or wider. From information sent to me later, all of these needed some type of repair or resurfacing. Just my 2 cents worth, but I'd love to hear from Norm or another Pool Guru.

First, hire a competent inspector who has IRC Code knowledge and who does loads of new homes. Since you're an appraiser, you should know that you shouldn't close on a home without an inspection no more than you should buy one without an appraisal. I don't know where Surprise AZ is, however there are some fine AZ inspectors on this board. If they can't help you, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction. I could list over 400 items you should be looking for and you still won't come close to finding as many items as an experienced inspector. Not trying to be a hard a$$, just stating fact. One thing you stated that scared me was "look for larger than normal cracks in the Stucco and foundation" This sounds like some B.S. that you're builder told you. You may have some fine hairline cracks in the surface of the foundation (which you won't see because of the floor covering unless you have them in the garage)but you shouldn't have cracks in the face of the foundation. You should also not have cracks in the Stucco, at least not at first. This is just one area that your inspector will save your bacon, helping you separate the builder B.S. from the truth. Okay, just for kicks here are a few things you can do. Fill all the sinks to full, checking the the overflows if they have them. Then drain them and watch for leaks. The same with the bathtubs (I like to drain all tubs at once). I also run showers for 30 minutes. After you drain the tubs, look at the exterior of the home (at the face of the foundation) for leaks. Check ceilings below upstairs bathrooms for leaks. Flush the commodes at least 5 times watching for weak flushes or hicups. Go to Lowes or HD and but you an inexpensive 3 light outlet tester with a GFCI button. They're about 10 bucks. This won't be as good as the circuit analyzer your inspector should have, but it beats "plugging in a lamp" at every outlet. About the only thing you can do at the Service Panel is make sure it's labeled. An experienced inspector will be able to pull the cover off and check to make sure it's wired and installed correctly. I can't begin to tell you what to look for in the attic. There is a ton of stuff including the level of insulation and ventilation, not to mention the mechanicals. You can take a flashlight (a good one with a powerful beam like a maglite or stream light) and run it parralell over the wall to check for irregularities. I'm not even going to try and tell you how to test the HVAC system, too much stuff. Just running them won't tell you if they are running properly or if they're installed properly. There's a ton more to know. Unfortunately many people buy the "Oh, I have a 1 year warranty in case anything goes wrong" B.S. This normally comes back to bite them when they go to sell their home a few years down the road. It's then that they find out that a few hundred dollars spent on an inspector would have been cheaper than a few thousand dollar repair on something that the builder should have corrected during construction. Best Wishes and Good Luck on your new home,

Doesn't look like I'll be there. TAREI will be having its winter conference at the end of Jan. and Dr. Joe will be the guest speaker. The Boss said I had to pick one conference..[] The IRC classes sounded a little weak...perhaps because I'm already certified, I dunno. Besides, Dr. Joe is a hard act to pass up.

Obviously someone's new home was too tall to make it under the electric lines. [:-bigeyes

I know the IRC and many manufacturers require them. Here is the gas code from the IRC. G2418.4 (408.4) Sediment trap. Where a sediment trap is not incorporated as a part of the gas utilization equipment, a sediment trap shall be installed as close to the inlet of the equipment as practical. The sediment trap shall be either a tee fittingw ith a capped nipple in the bottom opening of the run of the tee or other device approved as an effective sediment trap. Illuminating appliances, ranges, clothes dryers, and outdoor grills need not be so equipped. I know that's not the UPC, but it may help others. When all else fails, read the installation instructions!! []

Funny you should mention that Konrad. I took an HVAC CE Class this weekend and the instructor drew a gas line/furnace set up and had the sediment trap upstream of the valve. I said "Hey, isn't your drip leg in the wrong spot?" He said "No, I've always put them there" "How do you clean the thing out then?" "Turn the gas off at the meter" he said. I said it looked like it would be a whole lot easier to just turn the valve off at the appliance. I believe if the truth was know, he never went back and cleaned them when he serviced the unit. When I see one done this way, I simply tell the Client that Codes can not legislate common sense.

Mike, you're paying to much for you 3 light testers! I just picked up a bunch at Lowes for $9 a piece. (I give them to some customers if they have concerns about whether or not a builder "fixed" an outlet) Anyway, back to Waynes question. Wayne, you can pick up all those tools you mentioned and more on Ebay and save yourself a whole lot of $$$ doing so. Just be patient. Since you're saving so much $$$, get both a protimeter and Tramex (the newer ones). The Tramex will go deeper than the Protimeter, however the PM gets into some tight areas and is better on some dense materials such as some types of tile. I've used both the TIFF and Bacharach gas detectors and I favor the Bacharach. It does not give me as many false positives as the TIFF and has a longer reach. The only way I'd use a CO detector anymore is if I had a certification and then I'd charge extra to do it. You can also browse the HI forums, however it's been my experience that HI's selling their tools want as much as new. Guess they're trying to recoup some of their initial cost. Good Luck

Thanks Jim, That's close enough. I routinely see DW and Disposals on 15 amp breakers when they're on separate circuits. When sharing a circuit I see them on a 20 amp breaker. I was pretty sure the disposal didn't need a 20 amp breaker, but wasn't sure about the DW.

Are dishwashers and disposals required to be on 20 amp breakers? If yes, can you show me where to find the reference in the IRC or NEC? Thanks Ya'll

I bought a Fujitsu P1100 when they came out. Great little laptop, a little slow with it's 800 mhz Crusoe chip. I loved using the pen at first, then found I used it less and less. I have big hands....and you know what they say about guys with big hands....if not, here goes "Guys with big hands have a helluva time typing on small keyboards." As much as I loved the unit, I sold it after a few months because it slowed me down typing. It actually took me longer to do the reports. The other downside was that it didn't come with a CD player. I had to buy an external CD player so I could download software onto the laptop. I highly recommend the largest battery. I bought the upgraded battery and mine seemed to run forever on a single charge. (it would last for two inspections and still have enough power to proof and polish the reports back at the office that night)

I run across 2 or 3 a year plus the assorted dumb waiters. I disclaim them and refer them to an elevator company. Part of my disclaimer suggest they have it inspected yearly and obtain any warranty, past repairs or maintenance records the Sellers might have.

On today's inspection, the subject was an older home built in 1972. My guess it originally had galvanized supply lines and at some point someone switched them out with PVC. All the supply lines I could see were white Schedule 40 PVC and Grey (not PB) PVC. I'm assuming the grey PVC was schedule 80. Question 1: Is it kosher to mix schedule 40 and 80 fittings and supply lines? I've always been told not to mix the two. I've never seen any standard that said you could or couldn't though. Question 2: The only times I've ever see entire homes plumbed with PVC is on the DIY weekend cabins and mobile homes. What are the pros and cons (if any) of plumbing entire homes with PVC?

Come to think about it, it happened after I configured the Window Fax program the first time.