Gibsonguy

Thanks Marc!

Hi Guys, Just wondering, this is a 1992 condo building (3 units) in the basement unit and the piping appears to be Poly B. It has copper fittings and no leaks. Do you tell the buyer for the condo they should look at the whole building? Click to Enlarge 19.1 KB

Thanks Jim! That's what it looks like

Not really, but this is another... Yellow underneath with grey paint. Click to Enlarge 33.03 KB

Thanks guys, I'm not sure if it is UFFI either. It is very hard, I cannot dig my screwdriver into it. Like an epoxy, not a parging. It appears to be yellow, and covered in grey paint. There are some patches that have bubbles as if water came in. These round bubbles are soft and powdery, like efflorescence. What I scrape at them it looks like a very thin drywall almost. In my opinion it is a poured concrete foundation, with an opening for a garage. The opening has been blocked up with a block foundation. My question is, has anyone seen this kind of hard coating before? It is all around the exterior also. In the corner of the house, at the exterior I could chunk away at the foundation easily. It broke apart as if I was digging through a deteriorated cinder block, which makes me nervous. The home is a rental property, and is being sold without any legal warranty due to foreclosure from the bank.

Here is another one, I know it's CMU block and not poured concrete, but I think there was a cutout for a garage that was blocked: Click to Enlarge 51.59 KB And another interior foundation wall: Click to Enlarge 17.56 KB Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I need some help on this one. The home states it was built in 1961. I can see the form marks for the poured concrete. Although it looks like UFFI up at the sill, it is hard, like a parging. I have probed certain areas which seemed to be deteriorated and there it is soft, almost like wet drywall. I cannot see any places for previous injection ports along the sill but they are blocked. I don't see a lot of UFFI, but could this be it? It would never be exposed as it needed to be poured into a form. There is a hard covering on the outside of the foundation also. My antennae are up on this as I see some signs of repairs underneath and I can dig my screwdriver right in at one of the corners. Any feedback is appreciated! Epoxy covering maybe?.. Interior: Click to Enlarge 22.33 KB Perimeter Sill: Click to Enlarge 40.6 KB Exterior: Click to Enlarge 62 KB

Hello Jim, Thanks for the reply. The metal stamping of the plate suggests that it is not newer than 20 years old. The low efficiency burner and a new oil tank in 2006 to me suggests perhaps 1985/86? (20 years roughly on tank then changed in 2006?) Home was built in 1953. Here are a few more shots. Click to Enlarge 59.67 KB Click to Enlarge 39.48 KB

Do you have the inspection report for the last emptying of the septic tank? Tanks must be emptied and inspected minimum every 2 years in QC. It is possible the weeping field is past it's life expectancy (30ish years depending on how badly you abuse it) if it wasn't changed. If one installed at all.. it can be just a seepage pit. If there is a new drainage field and tank installed in 1996 there must be a schematic for the new septic installation? Which company did the install? Is the tank concrete? The city must approve the installation and send an inspector by before it is back filled. Was the home modified (extended without proper permits?) Does the walkout smell of septic fumes? Is that water at the floor of the concrete wall? The pipe looks like it is ABS, and maybe an auto-vent? Hard to tell by the photo. As for the wires in a pipe, it sounds like they are safely installed in a conduit. Could be electrical for sump pump or yard lighting.. etc... I am in the Montreal area if you need a licensed inspector. I would be glad to inspect the home with you.

Hello Everyone, Long time! I need some help, if anyone can... I came across this oil fired Texaco furnace today. I believe they were made by Brock furnaces in Montreal (I think Texaco had many companies making furnaces for them) I have the data plate, but no info on the age. It seems to be 1972?? That makes the cabinet 43 years old? Can it be? If anyone has any information on the age, please let me know. All was working well on the day of inspection, only some rust from the broken humidifier. Thanks in advance! Click to Enlarge 101.49 KB

I agree with Kurt. It looks like the brick sill is absorbing the moisture, trapping it in the wall. Why no weep holes?

Regulations, regulatory bodies, fees and more fees, membership, taxes, mandatory UFC's and education every year, regulatory forms and mandatory service agreements... what else now? I am a member of a professional organization with well defined standards of practice. Quebec has always wanted to do things their own way because they feel "distinct" as a french population in North America. They are making a case for re-inventing the wheel here yet again. Just educate the public. Get a professional. People always go with the cheapest and they get what they pay for.

that's what I thought.I took 0994 and came up with September 1994. I just wantedto hear someone else weigh in on it. Thanks!

Hi Guys, Anyone have any info on getting the age off of this data plate? It doesn't appear on any of their website manuals or even online... My client really wants to know the age. Any help would be greatly apreciated, thanks Ian Click to Enlarge 47.33 KB

$800 Tom. He was an amicable fellow who lives nearby. At the end of it all with all pages in english and in french I think he may have under quoted. He is a graphic designer also. It helps to find local people.

Wow, thanks guys.. I'm glad this is still being tossed around. I do appreciate everything you have said so far. The SEO is in the works by a guy here in Mtl. I am not pretending to be good at it, so I am leaving it to someone who knows what they are doing. I just wanted to know about the look and feel of the site. Proper SEO takes time as I'm told so check back in a while on that. As far as the get a quote, I find that in this day & age people are taking less and less time to talk one on one. It's always the first thing out of their mouth on the phone and I have gotten requests like that with my old website, most of them after 10pm when they wouldn't dare call. The form is a way of getting in touch with potential "price surfers" and as the fields that need to be entered show, there are many facets to obtaining a price. Kurt, the site is easily customizable so I can add other things as I want (ie: defects)

Cool.. all great ideas guys. The web designer is a graphic artist and he likes bold colours... Blacks and reds together, something that grabs the eye. My business cards are dark and I gave him a free reign. The site was very cheap. Most people, I believe, don't want mountains of text to sift through so I tried to keep it short. I like the sample report idea. I would also maybe like a standards of practice download and a service agreement button too... but I want to change my report a bit too first. (I need a sample report in French and English) I am kinda new to this, (4yrs) so I don't think pasting a huge "Who Am I" would be beneficial. Most people will spend 1 minute or less on the site most probably so easy navigation & short pages is key for me

Hi Guys Don't want to piggyback this, but my new website is up, for anyone that might want to give some critique... it's greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Note: Mod split the topic from a different thread.

Thanks Douglas, No the panel wasn't full at all. There are 2 panels actually. The home has a 400 amp installation. The other is an older Commander panel. I called out the wire clips as "improper". Thanks everyone for your help. I kind of knew all along, I just needed a little guidance.

Hi Guys, I am writing up a panel for an inspection I just finished that's not secured well to the wall. The humidifier connection for the forced air furnace is right above the panel, and I have water stains inside. No brainer there, but please let me know what you think about the posts on the dual pole breakers. Is it possible that these won't both trip together if the circuit is overloaded? Maybe I'm nit picking here... Thanks again Click to Enlarge 57.82 KB

The attorney said I will be receiving a subpoena shortly. And that I am to have my credentials ready as I am appearing as an expert witness, for my client who is suing his contractor for damages after the contractor refused to come and fix the problems. They had to hire another contractor to remedy the problem. The amount is more than the small claims court cap (not even sure what that is) The attorney said I will most likely testify on the first day of the hearings. Thanks for your input guys. This is uncharted territory for me

Hi Guys, I'm being subpoenaed to go to court as an expert witness for a specialized balcony inspection I did this year. The bozo contractor covered the balcony with tar paper, as it was over an existing garage. He cut the metal hand railings so he could install a flashing (like a parapet wall) and left it as is... Overall, it was a good roofing job.The thing is, he did not slope it at all towards the scupper, and he didn't install a drain so the balcony filled up like a swimming pool when it rained. It was just plain wrong. I have been inspecting now for 4 years, and am a member of AIBQ (CAHPI in Quebec) Can I charge for appearing in court? Or am I being forced to appear? I'm sure the legislation in the US is different from here in Canada, but I don't want to waste 2 days of my life, if I don't have to. The client called me last week out of courtesy, before his lawyer got a hold of me. I told the client that I charge $75 hour to go to court. Not sure how to proceed with this, the court date is in mid January. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 64.05 KB

Well, They only "give" you work if you buy into that old I have to get referrals from real estate agents or I'll never work paradigm. Stop thinking of them as benefactors and start thinking of them as facilitators - the folks who only have to unlock the door so you can get in and get to work, and then who need to go and sit down and leave you alone with your client. It hasn't happened all that much since then. I get hardly any work from agents at all anymore. What I really get I a lot of is the: "How much longer is this going to take? I have to be somewhere in an hour....." line. They are all so surprised to have an inspection take the better part of 3 hours, like it's never happened before.

No John, my client hadn't arrived yet. I always try to inspect the roof before they get there. The listing agent was combative the entire time. It was a few years ago, when I was just starting out, and I was trying to make everyone happy. I haven't made many agent's short list... as a matter of fact I was told by the agent who I used to sell my own home many years ago to stop being so picky and that I was "blacklisted" in the 3 major real estate offices in the city where I live. I was wondering if that inspection was the root of it all. Once one agent bad mouths you, the word is spread and no one will give you ANY work...

I have had the same thing happen. Again, full price and full disclosure. You don't want them finding out you had been there already by anyone but you. Luckily for me there was about 5 months between inspections. I told the people who wanted to buy the home the second time around that I wanted to see if they had attempted to fix any of the previous issues since the last time I had been there. The agent started yelling at me when she recognized me, telling me how it was that the other people who couldn't get approval from the bank, and not my "inaccurate report" that had prevented them from buying the home. She was a real piece of work. I do my inspections right on my laptop (I have a toughbook) so I asked her what was the inaccurate part of my report? She told me I had said the exterior GFCI wasn't working and that the outlet does indeed work. I pulled out the report and showed her. The GFCI was faulty and wouldn't trip. I showed her how it wouldn't work. The previous person that wanted to buy the home was an agent herself that I was doing the inspection for. She had backed out because of the amount of $ she would have needed to put in and the iron ochre she didn't like. Her:"Iron Ochre?... We don't have that!" Me: "You have installed clean-outs for the french drains to be maintained" Her: "The owner just did that because everyone else on the street did it." Meanwhile everything in the basement was up on blocks and they were cutting a 18" strip off the gyproc all the way around the basement. Her: "Never had any problem like that here..." I finally lost it and reached into a floor drain and scooped up a handful of it and showed my client and the agent... Me: "This is what iron ochre looks like..." I think I'm off on a tangent... lol Click to Enlarge 59.44 KB