Tim H

Bill, Yep, those are two different garage ceilings (common to see flex ducts as well). I am at my wits end on this, and I can't understand why the AHJ or the county/city inspectors sign off on this. I never see fire rated doors separating the garage from the living areas either (AHJ says any solid 1 3/8" door will suffice). More often than not, a hollow core interior door is used. In fact, I have NEVER seen a fire rated door with self closing hinges installed. I have been able to convince most if not all of my clients that they need fire separation and fire doors, but the builders just flat out don't do it during construction. Your advice sounds like a winner. I think I will make a formal written request (I have only talked to the AHJ on the phone), for a clarification, and if they still say it is O.K., I'm gonna move forward. Thanks again, Tim

Seems pretty straightforward to me, but when I call out ( in the Birminham, AL area) no separation the AHJ says no problem. Many of these homes are less than 10 years old, and I have not seen a single builder of one of these newer homes that installs gypsum board to separate garages from the habitable rooms above. Todays inspection was different only in that holes were cut in the subfloor so that the plumber could install a garden tub. [:-paperba Am I missing something in this code section? Image Insert: 53.69 KB Image Insert: 51.64 KB Thanks, Tim

This is Hardie plank horizontally joined to a Hardie band board. My thinking is that this joint detail should be treated the same as a Hardie Panel installation (z-flashing, capillary break). I could not find a reference to this exact type of installation, so I am looking for confirmation or correction. Thanks, Tim Image Insert: 39.43 KB

I know that you were not endorsing the inspector. I just found it kind of ironic that her 'deal killer' produced a convoluted mess of an inspection report. I see the same thing around here. A zoid brags about the skill of 'their' home inspector, they talk about the value of a good inspection and how 'their' inspector will find every little scratch and dent in the house. More often than not, 'their' inspector can't tell a heat pump from a gas furnace (or the inspector cant describe it and report it if he does know the difference). Tim

Her "deal killer" has an interesting report on his website. He describes the heat source as a heat pump, says that there is no cooling system or room cooling sources, and no air handler. He includes a photo of the filter location that shows what looks like an heater exhaust flue. He did manage to nail most of the cabinet scratches, though. More than one way to kill a deal, I guess. Tim

And.........? If "about every single panel" is defective, what good reason is there to keep that information from your client? Having multiple neutrals under a single terminal is not the proper way to wire a panel. When observed, it should be reported. Tim

I can't tell from the plumbing, but 'water cooled air conditioner' sounds like a residential version of a 'chiller' split system. Water is sprayed over the condensing coils to cool the refrigerant because water removes heat from the coils more efficiently than air. I have seen a few, but it my understanding that they are used most frequently in desert climates. Tim

Same here with the driving. We have always done a lot of rural/lake/farms, but even more this year. 11 jobs this week; 1200 miles. My [:-censore needs a break. Tim

A bus full of buyers? Looks like a marketing opportunity for a HI. [:-eyebrow

John, If 99% of the offices you enter ask for brochures, and you are getting the lions share of your referrals from these offices, why in the world are you putting out home made brochures? Your brochure looks homemade. It doesnt scream 'established', 'financially secure', 'quality', 'attention to detail', or any of the other traits that consumers are looking for. Get a pro to design something clean and elegant. People who buy expensive houses (and lets face it, that is where the margins are for a HI), understand and respond to clean and elegant. If you aim your advertising "down market", you will have a down market business. Aim higher. Get brochures from all of your competitors, take them to the best ad agency in town and tell them that you want something that is nothing like what the other guys have. Tell them to print it on the best non glossy (elegant) paper stock that they have. Use their professional photographers and graphic designers. Tell them that you want to appeal to people who buy upscale property. If you are giving reinspections away, you are telling potential clients that you are either not busy or don't value the services that you provide. There is no positive message there for a sophisticated consumer. Reinspections suck. I charge enough to discourage the darn things. Thats my two cents, and worth every penny. Tim

My thought is, after 18 years the homeowner's (or buyer's) choices are pretty much limited to (1) Leave it alone and hope for the best; (2) Rip off all the EIFS and foam and start over with a cladding that's not EIFS; or, (3) if you've got a customer thinking about buying this house, tell him not to do it. It's probably an un-sellable house. In my neck of the woods, a lot of the old EIFS houses got turned into rental properties or tear-downs. An 18-year-old first-generation EIFS-clad house is trouble. It's a Frankenstein experiment gone terribly wrong... WJid="blue"> Thanks guys, Walter, I think that option 2 is what the buyer will go with. I made it clear that EIFS is trouble, and that THIS EIFS was particularly bad. The home is only partially clad (maybe 1000 sq. ft.) with the stuff. It's about a $400,000 house on a property that is listing at 1.5 (land, lakes, horse barns), and I think they love the land enough to fix the house. Funny thing, after the inspection, the seller booked us to inspect his purchase (couldnt believe how much time we took, yada yada). It will be interesting to see if he gets pissed off and cancels. Tim

This home was built in 1995. There is EIFS at the dormers, the second story side walls and at the rear. No drainage or weeps at the bottom edge. Typical EIFS installation (poor detailing, no kickouts, no expansion joints, poor clearance to roof cover, etc.). When I get in the attic, it looks like no substrate or barrier were installed. I just see the back of what I believe to be the foam panels. The panels are covered with drip/moisture stains. Bone dry at the time, and no signs of rot or mold on the panels or framing. Anyone ever seen an installation like this? I often see vinyl over blue board (no sheathing) in similar designs, but not EIFS foam panels.I was able to get my hands on most of the exterior in this area and it was firm and solid. Thoughts? Download Attachment: 05-21-08 098.jpg 76.56 KB Download Attachment: 05-21-08 097.jpg 39.92 KB Download Attachment: 05-21-08 189.jpg 43.45 KB Download Attachment: 05-21-08 183.jpg 48.87 KB Download Attachment: 05-21-08 184.jpg 38.52 KB Download Attachment: 05-21-08 187.jpg 27.66 KB Thanks, Tim

Richard, Does the C/H have the pressure plate like the Square D? Thanks for the correction. Tim

Jodi, That breaker is not designed for two conductors. If a breaker is designed for two conductors, it will say so on the label. The only ones I've seen are Square D Type QO. It will say 1 or 2. There will be pressure plates at the terminal that sandwich a conductor on either side, in a slot. Tim

John, "Do I call this a fire hazard as a whole, or do I just recommend replacement of the panel and notify of the previous fire damage?" I would call it a fire hazard because of the panel. You have a pretty good argument for the FPE panel contributing the fire/overheated original conductors. I would strongly recommend replacement like I always do with stab-locks, and use the photos of the damage to drive the point home. Tim

Yes. That is a very dangerous condition. Falling in the tub or shower can be deadly. Tim

Never have. Tim

I got a call today from a termite inspector (more often than not, they are the guys that install vapor barriers around here), about a recently installed vapor barrier that I had called as defective on a 48 yr old house. I used this statement: The vapor barrier in the crawlspace is inadequate, as it doesn't cover 100% of the soil under the home. I recommend that this be corrected immediately. This is important because the barrier limits the amount of moisture that can evaporate out of the soil into the crawlspace. A proper vapor barrier consists of black, 6-mil polyethylene sheeting and must be applied from wall to wall of the foundation. It should cap the footer and lay tightly against the sidewalls, overlapping at least a foot at all adjoining sheets and be tightly sealed around the base of support piers. Ideally, the barrier is secured to the foundation walls, and overlaps at adjoining sheets are sealed with waterproof tape. Additionally, the barrier should be applied with some slack so that it can float free without separating and still inhibit evaporation if minor flooding occurs. The termite guy says that he left a 1' gap around the perimeter of the crawl on purpose. He said he had to do it that way or the sudden lack of moisture would dry the framing so quickly that the floors would buckle. This is the second time I have heard this (not completely covering on purpose). The first time was about a month ago when a termite guy from a very big national company said his company training literature instructed that vapors barriers should be installed leaving room for the ground to 'breathe'. No kidding (at least he didnt claim that the floors would buckle). Sounds like folklore to me. Anyone ever heard this? Is my statement accurate? Thanks, Tim

Hey David, I noticed that you dont have a web site linked to your profile page. Get your web site going ASAP. Search the archives here and find the thread on improving your site ranking. The first couple of inspections we did were referred to us by a former colleague turned agent. After that, it has been our web site and referrals from satisfied clients that have kept us going. We have cold called RE offices exactly twice. Horrible experiences. Nothing wrong, IMO, with getting your name in front of Realtors, there are just more efficient ways to do it. One thing that you can do is get an 'in'. Get an "in" from an agent you already know. Everybody knows one, or knows someone who knows one (especially in Baldwin Co/Gulf Shores). You will be much more comfortable in a reeltor office if you can walk in and say " Hi, I'm a Home Inspector and I'm here to see Joe Brown" (warm call), than you would be just walking in and saying "Hi, I'm a new Home Inspector and I would like to leave some cards for any random reeltor". An open house presents the opportunity to talk to a reeltor one on one. Always a better deal than leaving cards at the front desk. While your talking to the agent at the open house, tell them you would like to stop by the office and leave some cards (you now have an"in"). Follow up with a thank you note to the reeltor with a couple of more cards. Rinse and repeat. Get a web site up. If it is nice clean site, and you do the grunt work needed to get good placement, you will get calls. You wont get as many as you would like to get at first, but they will call. Phillip didnt mention that one of the scheduled speakers at the ASHI South meeting will be making a presentation on "Marketing Yourself". Good luck, Tim

Starting over today I would concentrate on a web site and web placement. I would do this regardless of my budget. In my experience, people who do not use an inspector chosen from a reeltor referral list will find an inspector through a referral from a friend or lawyer, or by doing web research. Get a nice clean site, keep improving your site and ranking, and separate yourself from your competition. The value of a web based marketing approach is not going to decrease with time. The next generation(s) of homebuyers have been using the web since they were little kids. It is second nature for young consumers to 'check out' everything on line. Even if a buyer gets your name from a reeltor, they are going to vet you on the web. More often than not, a young buyer is going to do all of their home buying research on line. That research will tell them to get an inspector, it will tell them where to look for an inspector, what to look for in an inspector, etc. Make sure their research leads them to you. IMO the second most important to do when starting out is to realize that there is no such thing as having zero contacts. There are no more than two degrees of separation between any person in this country and a reeltor. No more than three degrees between you and a broker, a buyer, an investor, a lawyer, a banker etc. These are the cows that MUST be milked when starting out. Get nice, quality business cards and get them into the hands of every friend, cousin, acquaintance, reeltor, former colleague, frat brother..... and most importantly, satisfied clients. Tim

Yes. Most often in new construction to back up my findings with manufacturers' installation instructions. I am in the process of building a page like Chad has, for the same reasons. Tim

Mineral wools (including fiberglass insulation) are not produced with asbestos as a component. There are no carcinogens present in rockwool, and the strands are too large to have an asbestos like effect on the lungs. Mike is right about the use of slag, (in fact, there is a variant that is called slag wool), while additives are introduced to deal with impurities and undesirable reactions, the everday variety is basically made by melting basalt and chalk and then air dispersing it or spinning it exactly like you do to make cotton candy. I worked with industrial grade stone wool used as refractory insulation for years. It can be carcinogenic and dangerous; but the stuff used for building insulation and hydroponic gardening is not dangerous, and is as inert as inert can be. The MSDS for stone/rock/slagwool are available on line. Tim

Dang, I thought I was being brief and to the point; "The vent flue for the boiler and water heater is in need of immediate repair or replacement. It is not straight, it is not properly supported, it is rusted, and it is leaning to a degree that will allow rain to enter the interior of the flue. Contact a reputable HVAC contractor for repair costs and options." But, I could have used half the words and said more (the flashing part); "The vent pipe is leaning, it's rusty, and it's crudely installed. Get an HVAC technician to install a new pipe, and get a roofer to make sure that the new pipe is properly flashed (waterproofed)."id="blue"> (WJ) Tim

John, You said that "I would only mention it as an item that may need replacement soon. It may be ugly and slanted, but if it is still serving the intended purpose it's not broken". Would you want that rusted out mess on YOUR house? The vent should be straight. It is not straight. The vent should be properly supported. It is not properly supported. The vent should be free of rust. It is not free of rust. Wind driven rain should not be able to easily find its way to the interior of the vent. This vent flue will allow rain to get to the interior of the flue. I can think of no good reason and only one bad reason to not tell the client to have that mess fixed. As for a statement in the report; The vent flue for the boiler and water heater is in need of immediate repair or replacement. It is not straight, it is not properly supported, it is rusted, and it is leaning to a degree that will allow rain to enter the interior of the flue. Contact a reputable HVAC contractor for repair costs and options. Best regards, Tim