qhinspect

There was a topic that was brought up a while back where a home inspector was looking at providing a service where the client email pictures of different parts of the house and that inspector inspects those items in the picture and reports on what he sees. The picture Scott provided clearly informs me that inspecting by pictures only, cannot be done (at least from me). It really looks like there is only one disconnect and the slab does look like it slopes towards the house.

I tried video thinking I could get more information but it really didn't work out. It was basically the same as a camera. Any movement and the screen was blurry. The second draw back was storage. Unlike a camera where I can make the pictures smaller in memory, I couldn't do the same with a video camera.

Same here. Beside NJ as you just mentioned, it also covers Northwest Indiana, Southeast Wisconsin and part of Central Kentucky. I would never call it out unless I could see something negative about it.

Let me know what I'm right and wrong about. 1. No legs under the heat pumps 2. Units are sharing the same disconnect/breaker? That's hard to believe. 3. Cement slab has good drainage but it's sloped the wrong way (likely settled). 4. I'm not sure about the clearance on the far unit between the unit and the fence. 5. I would have done something different with the termination of the drain line. Does this house have electric or gas back-up heat? Electric was popular around the Bowling Green, Kentucky area. Some gas back-up.

Raising the condenser has no baring on air flow. Proper clearance around and above are the only factors. There is no reason to raise the condensing unit except for drainage (more important for heat pumps). Code and field experience can be two different things. I can't believe that most of the home inspectors here that use to be in the trades haven't done something that was not up to code but knew what they did would be fine. Your right, we do have to be cautious. There are plenty of options to choose from. Going from one extreme to another (referring to weight) is normally not a good choice. While these plastic pads might be the only choice the cooling company had to choose from in that area (besides the precast pads), there are many different types of pads that are manufactured.

That's for drainage during the defrost cycle. Kentucky is the further south that I had worked on Heat pumps. When it comes to Florida, Mississippi, areas like that, is elevating the heat pumps required? The only reason I can remember to elevate heat pumps is so when the frost/ice melts from the outside unit, that water has a place to drain without reforming ice on the unit. Down South, I wouldn't think that would be an issue.

I worked for a heating/cooling company that used those. I personally don't like them because they are hard to level and it is likely they will not stay level. Unless they are heat pumps, I don't see anything negative that can come from this (even though I would have done it different). If anyone has information about the 3" from an installation book, I would like to see it. When it comes to equipment pads, I've seen some that have completely failed before the end of the life of the air conditioning unit. I think common sense plays a role when it comes to what pad to use (some cooling companies don't use).

I agree, price should only be a part of the whole picture before picking a home inspector. From some of the stories I hear, I'm glad that my area has good home inspector, Realtors and contractor/builders (as a whole). If only the politicians can hop on board. I personally think that the requirements for becoming licensed (at least here in Indiana) and/or certified through one of the HI organizations should be increased. I also think that most of the CE classes also need to be improved. At this time, I just get my CE credits the easy ways and take classes that are much more informational from other sources. I am surprised how many of these CE classes are teaching things that should have been learned before becoming certified/licensed.

I would think that more can be done if there were two organizations fighting for one cause. So for the two to settle any differences that overall didn't add up to a hill of beans is great. But I agree with Jeremy that 2 organizations saying the same thing is better than one (if there is a merge). If something is really bad for home inspectors, there might be another one or two HI organizations that jump in and help fight the fight.

If he reported the problem in the first place and the buyer (now owner) signed an agreement, wouldn't this case have gone to arbitration? If so, than the arbitrator would have seen that the home inspector had reported the problem and the arbitration would have cost less than the $45,000 the insurance company wanted to settle for. It would be intesting to see what they were sueing him for since he reported what he seen and it came true.

I just have a general statement at the beginning of my report that reads "Most repairs noted in this report should be done by a licensed/qualified contractor. If a licensed/qualified contractor is not used, repairs should be made as noted by the manufacturer or to current standards/codes." This way I don't have to include it in every comment. As long as the wording is easy to find and read, the home inspector should not lose a lawsuit because of it. Reporting what trade should be used is included in each comment unless it is obvious.

I showed an owner of a well known union roofing company the pictures. He informed me from what he can see and for this application, he would considered this a standard installation. There is only a small attic and not much to see. If there is ever a problem in the future, the first signs will be water stains or dripping from the ceiling. I personally don't like the way the roof is designed. There are other houses that have the same layout yet they just extended the roof higher so there is a slope on the back side. I hope the roofing company took extra steps to reduce/prevent the chance of water seepage.

Thanks for the reinforcement of what I was thinking. I see the small strips that was applied on both sides of the chimney which makes me believe that it was applied under the roof shingles but cannot determine if it overlaped the shingles. I'm thinking it doesn't.

I came across a house where the front of the house was sloped. The back part of the house was almost flat. I was wondering if you guys have any concerns about this transition or is this considered a standard practice. Click to Enlarge 94.69 KB Click to Enlarge 81.76 KB I just don't like the thought of water entering under the roof shingles even though they appear to be secured with some type of adhesive.

I heard that the 3 years is if you haven't owned a house in that time. So for true first time home buyers or for anyone that has been renting they would qualify. That was the last thing I heard.

I have a three speed blower also. The first setting is when the burner is burning at low fire (40,000 BTU's); the second is when the burner is burning at normal fire (60,000 BTU's); and the third speed is when the air conditioner is running. My parents had basically the same furnace only they had a fourth speed so when there was no call for heat or cooling, the blower would run really slow to keep the air circulating throughout the house plus it constantly filtered the air that passed through the hepa filter.

There are factors before lowering that blower to low speed. What type of filter is installed, is there an air conditioner coil installed. What type of return air drop (Flex compared to metal), size of the return air drop and even where the hole is cut in the blower compartment for the return drop (right side, back, left side or bottom). Note: All just mentioned is beyond what a home inspector needs to know. To answer your question direct. As a past heating tech of 10 years, I would not recommend setting your fan from low-medium to low. If you do, just make sure your temperature rise is still in line with the information on the furnace. You don't want that heat exchanger getting too hot and wearing out prematurely. I disagree completely with the statement that lowering the blower speed will allow more heat into the house. It just feels warmer only.

For the blower to run backwards (lets call it counter clockwise) then forwards (clockwise) would be impossible for a single phase motor (Three phase yes since all that is needed is an extra contactor). The only thing I can think of is that the blower motor didn't run because it was overheated. Then the burners heated up the heat exchanger and would eventually turn off by its limit switch. That heat would then seep into the house from the return air register (Central return on a horizontal furnace would make the most sense). Then the blower came on after the motor cooled down resulting in the air blowing out of the proper registers. This would be the only thing that would make sense to me.

The key is to set the fan so it meets the manufacturer required temperature rise (which is located on the furnace). Depending on a few factors, that could be the setting from the factory or it could be a different setting such as medium speed (similar to a temperature drop for the air conditioner). For more even heat, properly sizing the furnace for the house and properly installed heat and return ductwork is more of a factor. These two things are the most important in my opinion.

I wonder what's different now than a year or two years ago. Has there been a change of people running NAHI and/or ASHI?

Yes, thanks. There has been conflicting information from at least one person from every organization on this subject.

First, good information. Second, I would like to correct myself when I mentioned "Corp". I have always been an LLC from the advice of my local lawyer for some of the reasons that were talked about in the article. The information I obtained since was referring to LLC only. So the comment that was written by Mr. Joseph Ferry, Esquire that commented only on corporations and not LLCs can be true. Third, the information that I just read about LLC given to us by Mr. Capaul basically tells us the same thing I originally wrote (first sentence). Fourth and final, I believe that Mr. Joseph Ferry, Esquire will still disagree with me since he did write about LLCs in later posts. All I have to say is that I hope that I'm right and he's wrong or I don't learn the hard way.

So you were correct, the roof did last approximately 17 years.[:-boggled

It would be interesting to hear what plumber codes were violated when the house was built at least 10 years ago if not more (sound like more). Regarding the second question: It sounds like this home inspector uses the words "Major Defect" to help describe the condition of a house. I wonder if his definitions are the same as the definitions in the contract from the Realtors? How does he know how "Major Defect" was defined in the contract the buyer signed? Around here, the organization (GNIAR) has "Major Defect" defined in the contract that each Realtor has to use unless a lawyer is involved on which he (the lawyer) can add and/or substract one or more words and change the definition completely. The definitions the Realtors are forced to use are written so poorly that it leaves it open to interpretation. Some Realtors want me to report what is a "Major Defect" but I will not. It's their contract which they make their client sign. Let them figure out what is a "Major Defect" that is written in their contract. If they need more information from me, I will be glad to answer questions as long as my client signed off on my contract saying its ok.

I would call the heating company and ask if the nozzle has ever been replaced. I agree that it is likely they have changed it.