swarga

I inspected a house today that had an underground service with a broken coupling at the service panel. This is the third one this year. I don't know of an inexpensive way to repair this, do you? The sellers bought the home 15 months ago and told me it wasn't there when they bought the home (5 year old home) I told them it typically happens in the first year when the soil gets wet and the soil in the trench sinks. Then I did a bad thing, I asked if they had their home inspection report, they did and the inspector included a photo of the entire service panel, broken conduit and all. Here is my photo. Click to Enlarge 26.56 KB

Here is one, According to the date code this Coleman furnace was manufactured in 2001 but I didn't think they were still using pilot lights in 2001, this thing looks light it was built in 71, not 2001 Click to Enlarge 19.86 KB Click to Enlarge 33.15 KB Click to Enlarge 44.83 KB

I had to chime in. Les, thanks for the plug. (Even if I am not as good looking as you) We have lots of tile roofs in this area and some of them (from the 70s & 80s) have a finish on them that oxidizes like paint. They get very slick when wet. (I slid down one last April) The hail hit different parts of the valley and made some of these roofs look spotted when the hail blasted the oxidation right off of the tile. I have seen this on about 10 different roofs since the storm last October. I also found broken tiles on each of these roofs. The insurance adjusters look at the oxidation as a cosmetic issue and the broken tile repair likely will be less than the deductible. I know that is not the answer he is looking for but the foam and shingle roofs are the ones that the insurance companies are replacing, and most of them are only paying for partial replacement. On a different note, go check the fins on your air conditioning unit. If the hail was hard enough to spot the roof it likely damaged the fins on the AC unit.

Yes, I will work in Sun City. e-mail me scott@acsillc.com or call 623-252-3494 I am working an expert witness job on Tuesday in Showlow so if I don't answer, please leave a message Check out my site here.

PRESCOTT, AZ Rescue personnel flew a middle-aged man suffering from severe burns to the Maricopa Burn Center after a probable furnace explosion Sunday morning destroyed the Williamson Valley home he shared with his 93-year-old father. At about 8:30 a.m., an ambulance rushed John Redding from his burning home located in the 2300 block of Silver Juniper Ranch Road. As a precaution, neighbors drove his father, Clay, to the Bob Stump VA Hospital in Prescott. "It was totally engulfed when we arrived," incident commander Jim Kennedy said, referring to the home. "We are still investigating but it appears that the fire started when the son (John) lit the heater. The house is a total loss." To read more click here. Scott Warga's note: This incident happened two weeks ago but I just learned about it. John Reding is currently in an induced coma and is expected to recover but there's no way to know how long recovery will take. Since the Reding home was completely destroyed in the fire, there is a fund being set up to help Reding and his family. I will post details about the fund when they are available. To read a second article about this incident, click here

The moisture through the control joints and around the edges of the slab are the big issues, the amount of water soaking through from the top down is not a huge deal. However your home may have the opposite problem where the moisture is coming from the ground, through the slab and into the house. Read http://www.acsillc.com/blog/

I would poke holes, not all the way through, but if it is that wet it will register as soon as you touch it and you wont have to poke it very hard.

Metal will cause the meter to peg. It could be a nail, a connector or some other metal object. If your meter has pins (like the surveymaster)use those and it will answer the question; is this wet.

The previous 5 folks are correct. I have had mine for 5 years and it still works like new.

Mike, Sorry, it took so long for me to get back to you. I got back from California and had to go to bullhead city to teach a class for building officials. I am back in town now and can schedule a time to come check out your place. The dust coming in the windows is not normal and I have no problem telling D.R. Horton's VP Rick McDowell why he is wrong. Call me.

Tell your client to go look at the model. If the items are installed there and there not labeled as options then they can tell the builder that they want the same style as in the model. If he fails to provide them then it's false advertising. However, it is very likely that your client will not like what is in the model and then they can go buy their own. Don't get any further involved unless they are paying you to do so. that's my two cents.

I am right here, I am trying to get ready for a ASHI CoR meeting, an ASHI, Board meeting and to teach to Classes at Inspection World, Damn, can't a guy get a break? Don't call Vanessa at news 15. She got a job with Good Morning America. This person has contacted me through the TIJ e-mail and I will help him out. His home is in the town of Maricopia. Very expansive soils, little code enforcement and some of the worst Post tension work I have seen. (not his home, I haven't seen it yet) I will do what I can and if he needs an attorney, I know one. I work with one of the best construction Defect attorneys in the state. We are teaching the expert Witness class together at Inspection World. Chris would be a great inspector if you could get him out of the tub, er, I mean his office. Now that he runs a big company, he doesn't do inspections any more. (Wimp) The Standards Chris posted are from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. They are supposed to regulate contractors in AZ. The bottom line if the contractor screws up they tell them to "correct by appropriate means" What does that mean? If they try and fail then they are told to "correct by approbate means".[:-banghea This continues until the home owner asks for a hearing, the the contractor is told he had better "correct by approbate means". If they fail then the homeowner can put in a claim to the AZ. Consumer Recovery fund. This fund pays up to $30,000 per item per home owner up to $200,000 per contractor. Then they spend the next year pulling the contractors license. I have seen several cases where the contractor had several claims against them but the first 6 drained the fund money so no one else can make a claim against that contractor. And You want an attorney at your hearing and the Recovery fund hearing. However the recovery fund money is only allocated for cost of repair, not attorney fees or forensic/expert costs. You need to know the system in order to make it work for you

You mean your going to let me drink Jack until 2008, if it is as bad as you say I might not live that long. I thought I was among friends.[:-banghea I guess I will have to drink more Guinness. But then I don't think I will be able to keep the "Belly band this small. I am still trying to loose 10 pounds by IW.[:-hypnoti

Now I happen to like Jack but I am always willing to try something new so here is the deal, I will tell you about the dead photo link on your web site [:-banghea and the fact that it says Steve Gladstone is the current president of ASHI,[:-taped] and in exchange you can buy me a drink of the bourbon of your choice at Inspection World[:-bouncy] I like the sound of that.

Yea, what he said. Now is the time to take care of all that unfinished business. The unfinished bottle of Jack Daniels, Vodka, or other beverage. Lets finish them off and start the year new.