Charlie R

Over the top, using a LG Revolution, clamped to gutter.

NOTE: This topic is split from "Member Intro" forum - Moderator Welcome to the profession and the forum, stay safe.

I agree with Bill, my home was built in 1969 with copper supply and drains, and I have about half the joints looking like your photo.

Yes, it is could be an answer depending on your electric supply, or if the gas unit is that old, you could also replace it with a tankless gas unit that would have a separate exhaust. https://rinnai.us/tankless-water-heater

Or get an electric water heater

My point is that "we" cannot improve our profession on the whole, we can only improve ourselves and help other inspectors who want to be better. Are there poor home inspectors in Louisiana? How will you make all of them be better home inspectors?

Echoing Scott P, tell them you want your money back on the one you paid for. You are in Illinois, correct? You can file a complaint. Won't help you but will cause them some heart burn. I hear about poor home inspections all the time and it is this type of thing that makes States go to licensing. With licensing, more regulation will come, but slowly. We, the profession, just do not have the ability to raise the bar, although many of us wish we could, and this is what allows government to come in and set the standards. We say "well, market pressure and bad reputations will take care of the bad inspectors" but the bad inspections that they do before they go out of business will justify government oversight. Heck, we can't even agree, as a profession, to run all the dang dishwashers so how can we make the entire profession any better? All we can do is help the inspectors who ask for help, try to improve ourselves each day.

From what I can see, I would like to have the furnace running for a few minutes, the water heater not, and see if I am getting any back-draft at the water heater hood. Certainly looks like a possibility. Any soot at the hood, or other discoloration, or rusting?

I have been with the InspectorPro program (Citadel Insurance Services, LC) for more than a few years, rate keeps going down as the years go by. I'm happy.

I had a client call me once, she had settled on the home, got her home owners insurance. Then she got a letter stating that their "inspector" had come out and observed that all the roof shingles were curled, she need to get a new roof. She's mad at me. So I go the report file, pull all the photos I took up on the roof (roof was about five years old), shows every shingle on the roof, all are fine. I wrote a letter for her to send to the insurance company, with the photos, asking them to have their "inspector" mark the photos as to where the shingles were curled. Two weeks later she gets a thank you letter from the insurance for "taking care of the roof problem so promptly."

Don't walk away, run.

Really? No footer under the foundation wall? If I thought that, then I would write it up to have someone determine if there is a footer or not since it is an assumption there is no footer. Verify first, then repair if needed.

I have been using the FLIR E-6 for about a year, easy to use, no issues. Resolution is OK, certainly helps find issues.

You might want to try calling all the home inspectors in your area. Ask if anyone is thinking of retiring or getting out of the business soon. If you can find an inspector who has a fairly successful business but is thinking of getting out, you may be able to come to some agreement with the inspector about taking over the business, getting that business website and phone number, with an introductions to people. Get to go along on some inspections, get the tools, all sorts of advantages if you can find the right person.

Get a few coffee mugs with your company name/phone number printed on them. Get a few hundred pens printed up with your company name, phone number, and e-mail address on them. Walk into all your local realtor offices and place a coffee mug filled with pens on their front desk, smile, and walk away. Donuts on the side are optional.

I'm lucky. my wife has her own bookkeeping service. Has QB, Quicken, & Peachtree. She says she is willing to talk you through some things on the phone if you want, shoot me an e-mail if you are inerested.

All correct, almost any vinyl flooring made up into the 80s could contain asbestos, the black mastic almost always contains a higher percentage than the tiles. Remember, a lot of vinyl baseboard was stuck on the walls with that black mastic also.

Possibly a poor mix, too wet, could have been poured with the temperatures too low, the concrete is hot when you pour but if it got down into the teens that night you can have freeze spots that turn into cracks. Won't show up for years. Can also be that the rebar was rusted, did you see any spalling? That is usually the rebar (reinforcing rods).

He will be missed, condolences to the family.

I just did two different homes this week with the same boiler set-up - multiple zones, one was two floors, one three. Both boilers were running in the low 20s. I ran all the zones for about an hour, pressure never really fluctuated. All's good.

What labels should I see in the corner of impact resistant glass for high wind areas - ASTM 1996 & ASTM 1886? This type of glass is not normally found in my inspection area but I am looking at a home next week that says in the listing that the home was built with impact resistant glass and the client has asked me to look at the windows to see if it really is that rating or just tempered glass. TIA

Any more news on this?

I have run into that on new construction a couple of times. I thought another fan would be needed in the main bath area as the windows were fixed panel, but I was over ruled by the county inspector. At the time, the county inspector said you could turn the fan on and leave the toilet closet door open. I still recommended to the client to just install another fan, the client most likely did not listen to me.

Think about getting her certified and up to speed to handle the radon tests first. May save you from having to do a set up/pick up which may free you up to do another inspection. That way she gets a feel for what it would be like to actually work with you.

Nope, everything else, including the two other toilets, were fine. I flushed it 3 times to get the temp up to that.