mgbinspect

Well, when you buy a new shower head, they usually have a little water saving governor ring to minimize water flow. At the risk of being found out by the Green thought police, to be chained to the nearest tree and pelted with tomato's (recycled from the compost, of course), and then branded with a "W" for Wasteful, you can always remove that ring and enjoy a brisk shower. But, if you have one of the little chrome misting shower heads, you should ditch that thing. They really kick up the humidity and aren't really contributing to your shower experience.

Well, if it's helpful: I threw away the misting shower head. That was the major culprit. Also, a new more powerful vent fan helped. It still does it some, but not as bad as before. Honestly, the home I previously lived in, and raised seven kids in (two steps), had three bathrooms - all with flat paint over gypsum board, from day one. I never saw condensation in those bathrooms - ever. And you know girls and hot showers. So, I still think flat paint over gypsum board is the best scenario in a bathroom, from practical experience. Having a gloss or semi-gloss finish in a bathrom is mildew's friend, in my book - almost as much a friend as the shower curtain. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. [:-graduat

With all of this in mind, I think i might move in a new direction and state in the "How to Read This Report" paragraph in the introduction, something like this: "The very basis of the inspection and this report are the Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors. Have no doubt that, if the standards require an item, system or component to be inspected, it was. And, unless otherwise noted, it was in good condition or performed the way it was designed to." (Rough draft - off the cuff) ???

But, you know, I've been mulling over the thought that if you look at a component, and it's perfectly fine and has plenty of service life, is there any real reason to formally state you looked at it? If you're quite confident the system isn't a problem, there should be no reporting concern I do, however, like one of Jim's methods: "worked today" or something similar. It makes me smile, because those two words are so simple.and yet, suggest so much.

Well, I'm definitely on board. I spend way too much time writing. Some of that is because I'm still in the process of developing re-usable statements, but just the same, it's exhausting and doesn't leave a lot of time for living. [:-tophat] So, what you're talking about is really a part of my mission, too. I've had the pleasure to take in a few inspections of some of the heavy hitters here, and some of them are amazingly concise and compact, which is a real inspiration. The first time I looked over one of Jim Katen's reports (a sample from 2008), I found it to be a beautiful thing - 17 pages including photographs. My inspection report is more than double that size - I hang my head in shame. But, that's why I'm on a mission. I find myself referring to his report often, as if it were a Bible, and wishing I could behold the 2011 model, but haven't asked. [:-graduat Being a history addict, it all reminds me of a note that orator Edward Everett passed to Abraham Lincoln just after Abe delivered the Gettysburg Address. Everett spoke first - for two hours. Then, Abraham, whose address was so brief that a photographer missed his opportunity to photograph the president, because he took the time to put his hat and other belongings under his chair. The note said, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." - a statement worthy of framing and hanging over our desks. [:-thumbu][:-thumbu]

I gather that also causes greater than usual efflorescence, Yes? If memory serves, I don't remember ever dealing with an anchorage system for the cast coping, but it's awfully heavy. Two guys had a hard time gently easing it into place, so the wind would have a hard time budging it.

Being 12" thick, I'd venture that it is brick backed with 8" block - core filled with rods and mortar. The brick and block will be tied together with duro-wall. I've laid up a few of those. Of course, now that I've posted this, it will probably topple and smash a car tomorrow... [:-wiltel]

This really does raise a good question that is probably more a regional one: What do our customer's EXPECT to see in our reports? A lot of what goes in my reports is there to eliminate questions (calls) after the report is delivered. (I hate them - not because I don't want to talk to the client, but because it means I didn't give them a complete report, in their mind.) Also, a big motivator regarding what is in my reports is past complaints, which have always been low, but in the last few years have been non-existent. It seems most complaints, if we're good inspectors, arise from: 1. poor reporting (we "notice" a problem, but either fail to (or poorly) describe it. 2. unreasonable expectations. So, I try to make certain that, when it seems prudent, I take the time to tell my client, in writing, "I can't tell you or assure you of that." Beyond those two basic signals that something needs to be included in a report, it becomes a bit of a guessing game, regarding what clients actually notice and appreciate, and what's just in the way of the facts.

I didn't gather it from an obscure location. It was installed uniformly throughout the attic as an insulation.

A facade is the entire front or "public face" of a building - not one element. I just zero'd in on the word "false" in that definition, figuring it meant both - a front or a false front. [:-wiltel]

I've always called it a "false front" too, or a "facade". In fact, Funk and Wagnalls number two definition of the word "facade" is: A front or a false appearance. So, calling it a facade is accurate. And, it is indeed also a parapet, which by vurtue of its appearance serves as a facade. I just finished paging through Architectural Graphics Standards, thinking I'd probably see a detail that would name it, but no luck.

True, and honestly, that is my underlying goal, when I say reducing pages. I'd really like to eliminate as much superfluity as possible. And, I'm seeing some room to do so.

I still can't imagine getting in the game with schooling under my belt. I came away with many pearls. I attended Mike Lennon's Professional Home Inspectors Institute. Maybe they don't make schools like his anymore, but I found the quality of the content exceptional and the background of the teachers up to the task. The HVAC instructor actually used to manufacture heat pumps, as in he designed and built them. So his presentation of basic refrigeration was excellent. The school had a lab side to it called "The Farm" where they had old boilers, disassembled Condensing units, compressors cut in half - all kinds of hands on stuff that made both teaching and learning easier. I noticed in another thread that Kurt rode around with Mike Lennon for a day. His assessment of Mike is funny - right on target, world domination and a bit curt/pompous/scarcastic. It seemed that much of what he said was with a very sharp tongue in cheek. He knew his stuff, though, and the HomeBook was living proof of that.

I really like this thinking, and since I'm in the process of trying to reduce the overall length of my report, it's given me reason to pause. Hm... A picture take up more space in a report than a sentence that says, "I inspected the widget." I'm all for pictures, but they don't necessarily reduce the number of pages in a report. Yeah, that truth was whizzing through my head, as I hit the Post New Reply button, but I'm going to keep the concept in the back of my thinking as an option.

I really like this thinking, and since I'm in the process of trying to reduce the overall length of my report, it's given me reason to pause. Hm...

Nice! I wish I would see that, for the first time, behind a dry-stack installation. That system really makes me worry. I just did one the other day (new construction). I insisted that the buyer, require a copy of the manufacturer's specific installation instructions along with affidavits from both the builder and the installer stating that it was installed according to those instructions. I told him, he needed to be certain that the manufacturer could not later declare that any warranty was null and void. Those docs will also come in handy if the system becomes a problem, and to offer to the next buyer. The builder did comply with a very nice folder including everything asked for. [:-thumbu] I am making every one of my buyers insist upon that documentation. I tell them, if a builder hesitates, you know you already have a problem.

With my field camera - a 14 megapixel Nikon CoolPix, I find that to photograph in tight, for labels, etc. I have to toggle to "close up" mode - usually the symbol will be tulips or something similar. That, maked it possible to photograph a gnat. [:-thumbu]

That can, for a fact, be caused when the receptacle is wired with 240 volts. Other things might cause it as well, but terminating a 240-volt circuit on a 120-volt outlet will do it every time. - Jim Katen, Oregon With the angels singing in the background, I realize you've hit it out of the park, Jim. That makes perfect sense, and now that you've made that connection, I realize I should have been able to deduce that one - well duh.... [:-graduat Thanks for the link. I'll check it out when I get back home this evening.

Agreed. Getting sued has really NEVER been my concern. It's never happened. But I HATE clients calling to ask questions that I could have easily given them no reason to ask, through thorough reporting. I can't stand doubt in a client's mind. It bugs me almost as much as it bugs them.

I have always rated shingle aggregate loss in my materials description section as: "Considerable, see further notes below"; "Typical for age" or "None, appears relatively new". I do it just to remove any doubt in a buyer's mind that I looked. Yesterday I elected to return to a property to satisfy a guy that I looked for a buried oil tank. I told him that I'm ALWAYS sub-consciously looking for one, on a house with any age on it, but since I didn't state that I looked and didn't see any visible or apparent signs, it was obvious that he couldn't rest at ease. Fun...

Thanks so much for taking a moment out of your time to enlighten us, Doug. I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks John. The switch in question was on a living room circuit on more than on e switch. I believe, over the years, I've seen all three lights about maybe three of four times. I've always assumed that it can't be good, and always recommended that an electrician figure out what's going on. I was just curious, regarding both, exactly what causes such readings, and assumed that someone out there in TIJ land actually can offer a technical explaination for both - Doug Hanson, or Jim K perhaps...

I see that a fair amount on front porch roofs here, which tend to be very poorly ventilated, which accelerates aggregate loss. We see our share of 100 degree days here. I suppose a valley made from the junction of an architectural front facade gable that isn't open to the main attic could cause the very same overheating. I'm not saying that's the culprit, but that is certainly the number one cause of aggregate loss around here - other than foot traffic. And, as has already been brought up, foot traffic is usually pretty obvious. So, if it's on the sunniest slope in a ventilation challenged section of the attic, that would be my bet.

That makes sense, Phillip, and since no one else is offering anything different, I take it as a home run.

Every now and then we get, at a receptacle on a wall switch, a faint light when the switch is in the OFF position. I've always assumed it was a leaky switch, but the thought occurs to me, it could be a ground or neutral problem. Does anyone know, for a fact, what causes that reading? Also, about every three years I'll get a reading with all three lights glowing. That configuration isn't on any chart, and once I even called the manufacturer and they put me back to a guy on the technical support side who basically said, "Beats me." Does anyone know, for a fact, what that reading tells us? Inquiring minds want to know...