Paul N Frey

Jim - since TREC will not support them why not approach a national organization? It would be interesting to see what ASHI or NAHI would say since it would obviously affect all inspectors irregardless (sp) of what state they were in. After reading the report I don't think the idiot or his wife have a leg to stand on but who knows what a "jury of your peers" will say. They are ambulance chasers to the max!! Make a quick buck and take a long vacation!

Brandon - used to float Warm Springs to Maupin the around last week in May. We would float till we "found the hatch" and then set up. 40+ per day was not uncommon - God for the old days. Not to much pressue at that time and still not many splash and giggle people.

Thanks all, Scott has the idea I was working on. It wouldn't make any sense to install it at the roof edge singe the soffit area is not enclosed. I may just stick with the same old gable vents after talking to Katen and the fact that there is no discernable (sp) "damage" in 50 years.

I am currently in the process ($$$) of replacing my roof, to include new sheathing (split / shingle / comp overlay). To add insult to injury, I have ONLY gable venting which up to this point has worked extremely well - absolutely no visible moisture problems in the attic and the comp has been on for 21 years. From all I have read I need to #1) close off the gable vents, 2) install a full ridge (which I had planned on doing), 3) cut out the solid soffit bird blocks and install screens - now this is a royal pain in the backside no matter how one approaches it. Being 65 I don't look forward to hanging off a ladder for 2 days. I recall recently seeing what appeared to be a horizontal full "soffit" vent installed on the lower portion of the roof but can't quite remember where I saw it (duh) and didn't take a picture of it. Has anyone ever seen this setup or was it a "roofer modification"? I guess one could cut a ridge section in half, groove the sheathing and install it with adequate protection from wind / rain - any thoughts?? E-mail me at "oregonwest@comcast.net" if you feel to. Thanks

It may not be legal but a 22 short is the cleanest way to rid yourself of a woodpecker. Wife is a wildlife bioligist and she laughingly says the saying "birdbrain" didn't come from nowhere. I had a home up on Mt Hood a few years back that had 12" holes from woodpeckers. Owner was a lawyer - he took the 22 short way out and they never came back!

Why would you be "a little ticked off you spent all this money on the inspection process"? He probably saved you a few thousand dollars!! Seems you had 2 choices - move the panel or move the panel - neither of which are very appealing.

I already informed the buyer of a few more items that just the wiring: 1) Agent "informed" me that the entire roof had been resheathed - if so, why is there a section of shingle sheathing visible in 1 area. 2) Another area has neither shingle or plywood sheathing - BUT, at least there is felt paper showing!! 3) You don't want to see the pictures of the crawl space! Exterior wall framing is post and pier along the West and North side - what is left of it after the subs and rot have had their fill. No front porch access - why do you need to see under there?? Don't know if the little girl will continue with the sale but if it comes up for another inspection it is on W Main just past the tracks in Hillsboro so ya all be careful (Scott, Jimbo, Brandon) if you get a call. FYI - the seller / agent has some "contractors" to do the work but he couldn't seem to grasp the fact that I would not re-inspect unless reciepts for the work were produced that had all the CCB info on them.

Had the same thing happen to me a few years back. Was going over the report with clients with 1 hand on the SS sink and rested my other on the range - granted, my hair is short but I swear it stood straight up. Seems that the "Sears repairman" had recently (as in the day before) replaced one of the controls and didn't quite get the wiring back where it should have been.

I have a R.E. agent (in your neck of the woods Katen) saying that it is "perfectly legal" to run wiring between the sections of skip sheathing since there is solid overlay. I say no. Sorry the picture is hard to see - the Romex is below the K&T wiring. Advice - looking for a nice way to tell him to pound sand. Click to Enlarge 53.56 KB

Chris - your statement concerning "the vast majority of certified home inspectors are certified" is false. Take the time to go through the ODA license site query name by name and you will find that most inspectors are NOT licensed by ODA. Hell, many of the "grey hairs" still argue that it is legal to use their CCB or OCHI numbers on a NPCA 33 form. Washington has it all over us when it comes to regulating WDO inspections. I had one "inspector" try and tell me that an old WBB damaged sill plate and rim was a sub termite in festation and the residence should be treated! When I asked him if he held his ODA tag he replied that he didn't need to as he "knew enough to identify". Just think how many sellers have spent hundreds / t their homes treated due to this incompetent ass!! The last time I checked local inspectors on the ODA site there were less than a dozen that were licensed.

Caoimhin Ya all come on out to sunny Oregon and I will show you what fishing is all about - Dechutes Redsides on a dry are something to behold!!

Brandon, in my experience with PushMatic panels - when I trip a circuit if I wait 5-10 minutes it usually resets and does not continue to trip. I just assumed that the heat had to dissapate before it would reset. Jeeze, what panels are good??? Maybe we should just make a "blanket statement" and recommend all panels over ?? (age) should be evaluated. That will really get us some points in this market!!!

Doing Inspections for 25+ years and having "paid" for E&O for all that time I can say that self insurance would be far better. Having been sucked into 2 totally frivilous lawsuits - in which the problems and repairs were very well documented in my reports - my carrier decided both times to "settle" for roughly the cost of my $5,000 deductable. Both times I called and raised hell but to no avail. While I still carry it, I have a major conflict every time I write the check! I am really beginning to feel thatif you don't carry it the -------- attorney will just go away as I have seen happen. While the majority of inspectors in Oregon do not carry it the ones that do "swear" they need it to protect their assets - this just tells me that they didn't set their business up very well. Question - if it were mandated that inspectors had to carry it, would the rates rise or fall? I would bet they went up! We could all file for some of this funny money our idiots in D.C. seem to think is created at the printing press!! On another note for Joe Ferry - where did you go to school and when? Minnesota?

Which mod Fenex do you like most? I am still in the dark ages with my rechargable Mag (still like it). E-mail me at "oregonwest@comcast.net" if you would.

Notice which "Association" president wrote a reply to this article?? None other.

I think that was the 7th Battalion of the 1st Cav Air Mobile and the movie "We Were Soldiers" was made about it. We had the same thing happen to my unit - 2nd Battalion 1st Cav and out of 53 only 11 of us walked out. Thanks to people like Ed many of the men survived to live another day - no thanks to McNamara and Westmorland using us a cannon fodder!

I use a newer PIXMA IP100 and am very pleased with it. Used to use the older I-80, 90, etc but they died natural deaths. Good thing about the Cannon printers is that you can refill the cartirdges cheaply and quickly. If you need more info send me a mail at "oregonwest@comcast.net" and I will send you ideas on how to refill them.

I took the FEMA Inspectors "class" a number of years back and it was a total dissapointment. I felt that I had a pretty good feel for inspecting homes since I had owned my own inspection company for 20+ years but the entire class was dedicated to learning how to operate their computer and familiarizing one with their "program" (which I thought was very poorly written from an inspecting standpoint). There was minimal discussion on what to report on and it appears from the other comments that one inspectors idea of habitable can be at odds with another inspectors. Personally, I would recommend that FEMA set more stringent qualifications for their inspectors (educate them on what info they need to make a REAL determination) - either construction or inspecing experience and stipulate that no inspector can repair residences that they have "inspected" (eliminate any conflicts of interest). Many of the people taking the class I was in were not capable of performing a quality assessment due to their past experiences (many were RE agents looking to do something on the side). The best part of the class - which they saved until last - was the pay scale. They were "willing" to pay us $37.50 per assessment and boldly proclaimed "when you get familiar with the program" you can do 10 a day!! Wow, thats almost $400.00 a day - and on top of that you had to find your own lodging, food and rent a car!! Explain to me how you do these three things in an area that has just been devestated by a natural disaster? You could spend all of what you made just to survive. Needless to say, when they called for a deployment to Florida I had to decline. As usual, FEMA (and the rest of the govt for that matter) have their heads in a place they cannot see out! On second thought, give me a few of the Katrina trailers so I have a place to stay after I buy some property near my favorite fishin' stream.

Brandon, I have relatives in Redmond so I will do the occasional job over there. FYI - there is an additional charge (gas). I try to schedule them on weekends so I can take my sig. other.

Sorry about that last "reply". As for the photos, who cares what or how the roof ended up as it is? Just say it is past it's useful life due to extensive damage and replacement is recommended as soon as possible. If you tell someone it is hail damage and it is not they will come after you with a vengance. I once knew an Inspector that labeled the exterior siding as "Cedar Lap" - buyer later found out 2 things: (1)-it was "Lap" and (2)-it was not Cedar. Any gusses as to what the Inspector ended up doing? How about replacing the entire exterior with Cedar Lap!!

Brandon, Wyerhauser purchased the pattern from Masonite a number of years back and manufactured it down in K Falls - either way it is still a "Masonite" fiber board type material.

Brandon, welcome comes to talking with manufacturers reps. to the land of ambiguities when it comes to talking to manufacturers reps. They will NEVER put specifics in writing but rather keep referring you the install sheets - dosen't matter if they are unclear or not. The same goes for CertainTeed. Get a rep on site and I cam guarantee his words will be something like "well, it's not installed precisely as the sheets recommend but it appears to be OK". Then ask them if the warranty would be honored if failure occured. Wait till you call center nailing Hardi seams as a mis-install and the rep comes out and gives the builder and buyer the above mentioned dog and pony show. Like everyone else on the forum is saying - "if it don't look right, it probably isn't". Tell the buyer your concerns and walk away - they will normally but the crappy installation anyway! FYI - say Katen last week and he is his same ole ornery self (pardon the grammar)!