mgbinspect

Update: 194 lb and continuing to drop. The Adkins diet worked a few years ago, and is working well again this time. After a bit of a stall, the weight suddenly seems to be falling off. As I get lighter, I feel that my joints will better handle something like P90X, which is next for sure. It's going to be great snowboarding twenty-four pounds lighter (my goal) than ever before - that is if old man Winter cooperates...

I just finally found a promising free spell checker that works with WordPad and Note Pad, so you don't have to open Word just to edit cut and past stuff: TinySpell

I did a log cabin once, out in the boonies, that had been vacant for a season. It was the middle of the Summer and the place was infested with carpenter bees - holes everywhere. Walking the roof was especially fun, because the darn things were hovering around me, like helicopters, and darting at me every time I moved. Carpenter bees do drift too close to the surface, now and then, leaving an open streak, but their holes seem to be pretty consistently about the size of a marble. That photo does cause one to wonder if it wasn't like that when nailed into place.

Well, it has indeed proved to be a good question, with an elusive answer. I've just always blissfully called 2 - 200s 400 and 2 - 150s 300, always knowing in the back of my mind, there's probably a better answer. [:-propell

I suspected that might be the case (I was away from TIJ from late 2007 - early 2010). I've been an advocate of sealed and conditioned crawlspaces back when it wasn't cool to be so - at least not with home builders. It sure is great to see their about face on the subject. But, since it has been posted before, feel free to delete the thread if you wish. There's no sense in taking up valuable space.

I don't know if this has been posted before, but this site is home to several in depth final reports and a PowerPoint presentation, all related to the same government sponsored study. The reports, which address different aspect of the results, affirm the advantages of sealed and conditioned crawlspaces. It's great information. You'll find the downloadable PDF Reports begin about half way down the page. Someone involved in the study spoke at our seminar today.

Oh, I so wish I had thought to do that. That's a home run for sure Richard - nicely done. [:-thumbu]

If energy loss is the concern, sun tubes are the way to go. They are virtually perfect in that respect. But, that's assuming you merely want light - not a view.

Not necessarily true, is it? I've seen cases where contractors come in to upgrade an old 60 Amp service and the only thing they did was install a 200 Amp panel. The original SEC and meter base were still there along with the original power coming wiring to the meter base. - I've seen that a few times, myself. Maybe it only happens in ass backwards Kentucky. Me three (although I don't think it was as drastic as 60 - 200). And, when the purchasers alert the local power company, the typical response is that, since it was overhead and air cooled, there was no threat of overheating. Now and then, they change it out, but not usually, unless the gap is pretty large.

This always has been the source of a bit of confusion in my own mind. So then, what we're really describing, regarding "service" in our reports, is NOT the rating of the main service cable, but rather the total potential usage. The cable used for delivery is at the discretion of the local poser company. Si?

Thanks Cory. [:-thumbu]

That's a great question. I've often wondered myself what the true answer is. Typically, the cable coming into the the meter base isn't visible. I always call out 2 x 200 as 400 AMPs of service and 2x150 as 300 AMPs of service. But, often even overhead main service entry cables will be smaller than they're supposed to be, and the power company justifies it because the cable is "air cooled". So, the way I understand it, the service cable doesn't necessarily have to be rated for 400 AMPs, but within a percentage of it. Therein lies the real question... I'd be interested to learn how others call this out, as well as what the true technical answer is. I'm sure Douglas or some other electric savvy fellow with chip in soon. Well, I took so long in writing the post that Kevin may have offered an answer. I'd sure like to see this one nailed down.

I fully understand - especially when it is someone in your own family. No need for details... These people are cold, calculated and very manipulative. The real acting starts when you confront them. Ah, spoken by another one who knows. If there ever was a twilight zone, dealing with a sociopath is as close as it gets - an exact negative of everything we love about mankind. It's not that they mean to be as they are - they are handicapped - intelligent, but with the emotional development of an eight year old. Life is a chess game to them, because they cannot operate guided by conscience, empathy, sympathy, love, et. Oh, they can observe those odd phenomenons and mirror them, but they can't feel (experience) them. There are non-criminal sociopaths that get along fairly well, but it's almost impossible to avoid injury when tied to one. The hilariously ironic part of it all is; realizing they are handicapped and experiencing sympathy toward them only to realize they cannot understand, receive or identify with your well intentioned feelings. They have no idea what you're talking about or what they're missing, and if they DO become aware of the difference, they are empowered by their ability to do what those with a conscience cannot... A very interesting personality that is difficult to get a handle on. My sympathies Terence. It's no fun. Once I was able to understand, I could walk with a clear conscience, and did. In fact, anyone that is interested in Psychology will find The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout fascinating. She opens with this: "Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern of the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken. And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools. Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from other people that your psychological makeup is radically different from theirs. Since everyone simply assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you are conscience-free is nearly effortless. You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or shame, and you are never confronted by others for your cold-bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so completely outside of their personal experience that they seldom even guess at your condition. In other words, you are completely free of internal restraints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please, with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the world. You can do anything at all, and still your strange advantage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their consciences, will most likely remain undiscovered." and Without Conscience by Robert D Hare the most well known expert regarding sociopathy. He developed the Hare checklist in the link below. In your business dealings and living, here is helpful warning: http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Ha ... klist.html

Yes, I understand. I didn't mean to suggest that you're easily charmed. No offense intended at all. I just found it so fitting you chose that word. It strikes a note with me. Sociopaths are notorious for being charming. They are the living example of the old phrase, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

An interesting word choice - the two words most frequently used by victims to describe their sociopathic perpetrator are "glib" and "charming". There is nothing worse than dealing first hand with someone that completely lacks a conscience. Until you fully understand that they can do anything without any remorse and lie right to your face, even about things you know better, it's easy to begin to wonder if you aren't loosing your mind. I had the misfortune of receiving a first hand ten year education at the feet of one. It's an experience you never forget. You have to throw everything you want to believe about the goodness of man out the window, and then you might have a chance dealing with one. [:-graduat What's REALLY sobering is that one in twenty-five is a sociopath. We deal with them every day...

I'll second that. I end up inspecting a home twice - once physically and once through inspecting all of my photos (and I take a ton), as if I've never seen them before. I disregard why I took the photo and see what I see. It's a VERY helpful practice.

Agreed. When I get a call back, I'm there like white on rice - before the sun sets. Thankfully, it's been years. But, you're right, missing something or failing to document it, is human. Not addressing the failure is an entirely different matter.

We easily forget one factor in home inspections: It merely takes a moment, when someone threw us off our normal routine and methods, to completely overlook an inspection item. It's almost happened to me many times. Does it make much sense to conclude that a guy with credentials like that "missed" such a condition? Would we? We all have bad days, and can easily become distracted. Distraction, without any doubt, is enemy #1 to the home inspector. Early in my career, there were times that complaints would come in, and upon returning to the property I would VIVIDLY recall that condition, yet it wasn't documented. All it takes is a client dragging you off to some other area or concern seconds after you see a condition you were about to document. My point: The guy may have failed to see or document something, but the conditions leading up to the omission, are most likely quite understandable - merely a human moment that any of us could have fallen victim to. Sometimes being a mere human being really sucks. Not every omission is the result of some diabolical plot or gross negligence.

That's cool, I'm committed to this now, and have no problem at all sharing space with a legend. Swimming pools was my life for about a decade (I used to swim a mile in one every day of my life, morning and evening, as a competitive swimmer) and I'm quite familiar with the construction and equipment. I merely need to get caught up on the most recent filtration, heating and treatment equipments and techniques. If anything, the construction has regressed: most of it is vinyl liners now. Gunite isn't done much, although it is the most permanent pool construction. I'll keep you posted on my course progress.

I found this thread hoping someone here already inspects pools and is an authority, but apparently not. Times being what they are, I'm constantly considering ways to increase my revenue stream. And, inspecting swimming pools makes sense, since I was around pools every day for about ten years as a competitive swimmer, lifeguard and assistant pool manager. I used to have to completely drain, wash off and set up our old diatomaceous earth filter system (they used to be the best when it came to actually filtering). During my drawing board days, I was pretty interested in in-ground pool construction methods and became pretty familiar with both vinyl lined and reinforced gunite pool construction and pool equipment. Also, I've been referring pool inspections to two local pool guys - one was OK and the other just pissed off both the buyer and seller on a deal. That finally pushed me over the edge; I could be doing what these guys are doing - no real report, just a verbal and a letter. And, they charge half to two thirds of what I charge for a home inspection. So, I've jumped in with both feet, by enrolling in Kaplan's Pool and Spa Inspection Course, and it's no joke - The course manual is well over 200 pages and chocked full of pool equipment, operation and safety standards. Again, I first searched TIJ for an HI that is currently doing pool inspections. So, if you're out there, do let me know. Otherwise, I'll combine my past masonry, tile, concrete and pool management background with Kaplan's info on the latest filtration, treatment and heating systems and ride this wave solo. Honestly, I hope there's someone out there in TIJ to compare notes with.

Now, Tom... Some of those poor fellows might be past home inspectors...

Ahem. Not exactly priceless. They are offering it to me for $19.95. []I have a free resizer program called VSO something. It is not flawless, as it skips some pics if you feed it a large batch. The search continues. Golly, that's a shame. It was free when I got it, and I haven't had a second's worth of trouble with it - like clockwork. Sorry.

Your clients will always appreciate a report that is not a chore to read and decipher. Even though I do begin each section with the related SOPs, the print is small enough to make it clear that the reader can skip this reading if they are so inclined. No matter what we write, our readers are usually reading with an agenda - to get to the meat of the matter. They're in glean mode. To assume clients read our reports like they would read a book is probably wishful thinking. So, the goal might best be to write a report that is so to the point that the reader does not feel compelled to skip portions.

One last KEEPER free software program - Jpeg Resizer. It's a priceless little program that fetches your photos from your camera or storage device, in bulk, while reducing them in to any file size you choose. It's great.

Well check out SugarSunc. The reason I chose it was both the features and the price - very affordable. http://www.sugarsync.com