Jim Katen
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Posts posted by Jim Katen
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One is my favorite. Two has enough stuff to write a novel! One is evocative.
Interesting that you should say that. When I looked at #2, I thought it would make a great cover for a book.
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There is also reduced liability when doing the inspection the 2nd time. I factor that into it too.
That makes no sense. If the customer from the first inspection walks away from the house, your liability just plummeted. If you then engage with another customer, your liability goes back up.
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sorry for butting again. But it seems like there is something I got confused about. If the mitigation system is trying to create a different pressure between under the house and the house, then does that mean that opening the windows will be self-defeating and might reduce the efficacy of the system???
Maybe I misunderstood, and the system only affects the pressure of the space right below the basement...
Opening windows won't have any direct effect on the operation of the radon reduction system. It'll create negative pressure under the concrete no matter what the windows are doing.
Opening windows *will* effect the relative pressure between the inside of the house and the outdoor air and it might very slightly increase or decrease the total pressure differential between the basement air and the slab below. It's unlikely to have much effect on radon, but if it does, it could tip it one way or the other.
I can't begin to imagine why you'd want to turn off the radon fan when you have people over and they're sitting on the patio. No one is going to hear a thing when a group of people is there making noise.
From your questions, I think that you imagine that the radon fan is some kind of really noisy blower. It's really very quite.
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To me, the trust issue is about being truthful in whatever I actually report to the client. I don't see why a client would be concerned if I had inspected the house before for someone else. If there were indeed a conflict of interest involved in two visits to the same house with different clients, then I shouldn't be doing the latter inspection in the first place. But I see no conflict of interest or even why a client would suspect a conflict of interest.
Someone do tell me what the concern of the latter client might be so I can correct my disclosure practices.
Marc
Maybe they think that the seller is now pissed off at you and that another report from you will make their negotiations more difficult.
Maybe they think that you might have missed something before and that you'll be less likely to report it now because it would conflict with your past report.
Maybe they think that you've grown tired of inspecting this house and they'd be better off with a fresh inspector who's never seen it before.
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In the past I have offered to do another inspection at the full rate. Some people were looking for a reduced rate and typically I said no. The reason is I am still spending the same amount of time on the second inspection and report writing. Most clients understand, some don't however. Better to play it safe and be above board with everyone.
You're making the right decision for the wrong reason. You're thinking like an employee when you equate your time and effort with your price. Instead, link the price to the benefit that the customer receives.
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I had an appraiser there while I was doing the inspection. She asked if I could tell her where the water heater was. I told her it was in the garage. She looked at me with a blank stare so I took her into the garage and pointed toward the furnace and water heater. She asked, "which one is the water heater?"
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......at the risk of being pedantic, I offer the following comment with respectful intent. If the home you are inspecting was manufactured prior to 1976, it is appropriately described as a "mobile home". If the manufacture date is subsequent to 1976, it would be described as a "HUD Code Manufactured Home" - those in the industry simply refer to them as "HUD Codes". Of course there is the further distinction between single and multi-section units. Simply using the term "manufactured home" will suffice nicely, and will be professionally accurate. Only if you could hook the home to your vehicle and tow it away should it be termed a trailer.......Greg
PS. Even though a Modular is also built in a factory, and therefore in the broadest sense is a manufactured home, its a different breed and must be distinguished as such.
Thank you. Misuse of the terms drives me crazy but I've given up on trying to correct anyone . . .
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As I see it, someone sometime will eventually figure out that I was there before. If I don't disclose it, I look like a douchebag.
How so? What does your prior presence there have to do with it?
Marc
It means that I had a prior relationship with the house and that I'm concealing that fact from the customer. It's dishonesty by omission. Whether or not my prior presence is important or not is debatable. But by not informing the customers, I'd deny them the opportunity to decide whether or not that's important to them.
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I did tell the client that the whole panel and the pole that it was attached too needed to be replaced. The wiring going to the garage that had even more problems. The panel in the trailer had some double taps. It was all a HOT mess. [:-thumbd][:-thumbd][:-thumbd]
Aside from what you told the customer orally, what did you actually write?
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What's to evaluate? Those fuse panels have had it. They're obsolete and they've been miswired. The meter main wiring is dangerous and that cord has no business being wired into the panel at all, let alone like that.
Instead of puddy-footing around, why not just tell the customer to hire an electrician to replace the fuse panels and spiff up the meter main?
Give the customers some real information instead of leaving them wondering what the heck is going on.
All this "evaluate" crap just rubs my fur the wrong way.
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As I see it, someone sometime will eventually figure out that I was there before. If I don't disclose it, I look like a douchebag.
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Thanks all for your replies. The reason why I am asking ahead of the results is because I have 1 day to decide after test and wanted to study it.
The place is a split level and the basement is not really a basement, it is mostly above ground: does that make it less prone to radon?
Makes no difference.
I hear mixed reviews about the noise level, but I am guessing if I want to make it very silent I can... (??). I was assuming the pipe will be in the laundry room which is adjacent to my would-be office.Even if the pipe is there, the fan motor will have to be high. You don't want positive pressure in the vertical portion of the pipe, you want negative pressure.
Finally, ANY THOUGHTS about how much you can drop radon concentration by just keeping windows open or having window fans on the lower level. Say it is 4 windows closed, can I assume it would drop below 2 with more aeration?Impossible to say. Opening windows sometimes increases radon levels. It's more about pressure than it is about "aeration" (whatever that is).
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If there are no 120-volt loads, then you don't need a neutral in the feeder.
Is that terminal bar bonded to the panel enclosure?
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So how many of you have preformed an inspection. Your clients decide not to buy the home. You then get contacted by another potential buyer for that house. They know you did an inspection. They want to buy the inspection report from you. What do you do ? 1.Sell it to them. 2. Offer to do another inspection for them at discounted rate. Or 3. decline the inspection ?
As long as my previous customer is no longer attempting to buy the house, I offer to do a new inspection for the new customer at my full rate.
They're paying me to receive my expertise. It doesn't matter if I've shared that expertise with someone else previously.
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If you need to install a radon mitigation system, the fan is typically installed high. You want negative pressure in most of the pipe in case it leaks. When you install the fan high, in the attic or, if it's outdoors, under the roof overhang, then the noise will be less noticeable, particularly at the lower levels of the house. Also, these fans are pretty quite to begin with. As an added precaution, you can ask the installer to place flexible sleeves at the inlet and outlet connections.
A 48-hour screening is good for telling whether or not you have very high levels, but it's nearly meaningless at telling you whether or not you levels are consistently low. After the 48 hour test is done, whether you install a mitigation system or not, do a year-long test as well.
If you're really interested in lowering the radon levels as much as possible, in addition to an active radon mitigation system, you can do a few other things that will tend to drive down radon levels:
- Install an energy recovery ventilator and set it to slightly pressurize the house. This will tend to bring in fresh outdoor air and exhaust indoor air, which is a good thing all around. Setting it to slightly pressurize the house will enhance the action of the radon mitigation system. It could cause problems with condensation in walls, depending on when your house was built - when was the house built?
- If you have a forced-air furnace, set it's blower to run 24/7 and install a 4-inch thick high quality pleated filter or an electronic air cleaner. Radon molecules tend to attach themselves to dust particles in the air and good filtration can lower radon levels. Also, constant air movement causes particles in the air to "plate out" or stick to surfaces in the home. If they're stuck to surfaces, you're not as likely to breathe them into your lungs. For this same reason, if you don't mind them, install paddle fans in several rooms and set them to run as often as possible.
- Any house in Alexandria is bound to have granite countertops. You might want to test them specifically or just get rid of them.
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I just tell them as soon as I figure it out. No one ever complains.
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Well, I've hit a stumbling block on the spa timer control. The spa is rated at 50 amp but the largest Intermatic timer is 40a.
Why not just use one timer to control relays?
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I installed one in my garage this past summer (el cheapo unit from Amazon) and my instructions did not call for a disconnect inside, nor did I install one. All low voltage from the outside unit control panel. 3 maybe 4 wires if I recall correctly.
How low is the low voltage?
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Seems like most range hoods that I see are cord & plug connected. . .
You might check out the Mitsubishi Mr. Slim instructions. I'm pretty confident that they explicitly require the disconnect.
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And a couple from the archives:
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Synchronicity.
From this morning:
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The breaker for the mini-split is in the panel.
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I know that Mitsubishi requires a disconnect for the indoor unit. Not sure about the other manufacturers. Doesn't the NEC require it in Article 430?
I've seen them wired with in-line switches, cord & plug sets, & no disconnects at all. So far, I haven't called the lack of a disconnect at the indoor unit as a problem.
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You're being brought in as a witness of fact, not as an expert witness.
About all that they can ask you is what happened that day and what you wrote in the report. Expect questions like, "Did you inspect this house on this day for this client?" and, "Is this a copy of the report that you wrote?" and, "Is this what you wrote about evidence of past flooding?" Basically, it's all about yes and no questions.
They should not be asking you about your opinions or about anything that requires special knowledge. You shouldn't answer questions like, "In your opinion, was this house constructed with proper provisions to guard against flooding?" Such a question should get an objection from the defendant's lawyer. If it doesn't you might just turn to the judge and say, "I'm sorry, your honor, but I'm not prepared to present expert testimony today. I would need to review all of my notes and photos and re-visit the site before I could give an opinion about that."
In the past, when this has happened to me, I've called up the lawyer and explained that I can probably be of more help to them as an expert witness. In your case, it sounds like he's already considered that and rejected it. But it might be worth a shot. As an expert, you could name your price.
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Inspecting the same house twice
in Open Discussion Forum (Chit-Chat)
Posted
Heck, every time I see my doctor, she just shakes her head and asks me why I haven't finished a living will. She even gives me the paperwork as I leave the office.