Mark P

Or you could just drop the insurance. Take the amount you pay every year in insurance and place it in an account. In a few years you'd have enough saved to repair / replace or refund most anything you screwed up. Do every inspection like your being secertly investigated by 60 minutes and you won't miss much. Of course you still want a signed contract for other reasons, but insurance would not be one of my concerns.

I've always thougt that was rock wool, but I may be wrong. I'm sure Les will know.

Here is my draft - I'm going to sleep on it and finish it up tomorrow. as always comments are welcome. There are 4+ inches of mud in the bottom of the sump pit. There is also mud in the perimeter drain system that leads to the sump (see picture). If mud continues to enter the perimeter drain system (drain tile) it will become non-functional and that could result in water intrusion problems in the basement. Looking at the picture of the inside of the drain tile you can see the amount of mud that has accumulated in the 4-5 years since the house was built. What will it look like it 20 years? I don’t know it may not change at all or it may be completely clogged. It is probably impossible to tell for certain where / how the mud is getting in. My first guess is that there is a tear / opening in the filter fabric that surrounds the drain, the fabric fits around the drain like a sock and is designed to keep silt / mud out, or perhaps the sock was never installed, I don’t know. There are other possibilities as well but it is all speculation. The bottom line is that if the mud continues to fill that drain tile it could easily be a major problem that will not be cheaply corrected. Unfortunately this system is buried under the house and educated speculation is all I can provide. Perhaps a video sewer scope of the drain might uncover some additional detail, but I don’t think the scope could make the 90 degree turns the drain tile makes. Another consideration would be to consult with a “Hydro-Vacâ€

I know there is no fix, so what do you recommend when you find this? "Keep the mud cleaned out of the sump pit."

This is the pipe that leads to the sump pit. The bottom of the pit has 4+ inches of mud in it. The house is 4 years old and is a very nice custom built job. I have a hard time imagining that they failed to install filter fabric. Can you think of another explination for the mudd in this drain? Click to Enlarge 67.45 KB

The owner finally called and I have permission to go back over and take some better pictures and maybe set up a ladder in the attic to get a closer look.

How so? Marc That thing is just begging to be squeezed. I can easily see a two year old going over and pushing the handle down and spraying hot water all over himself; or a mean older sibling telling a younger child to do it. It just seems very dangerous and unnecessary.

That is so funny and yet so dangerous for small kids in the house.

That would be a great area to scan with an IR camera.

Same here with the switch acting up. I was going to post soemthing about it. My big complaint with FENIX is that you cannot purchase spare parts. I had to go back-n-forth with the manufacturer in China for weeks trying to buy the rubber cap that goes over the switch. It was not until I got rude that they finally sent an e-mail to thire US distributer who sent me a rubber cap for free. I looked online trying to find a replacement switch, but have been unsuccessful. I love the flashlight, but don't want to have to spend $100 bucks for a new one every time a $5 part fails. Now for $49 and I'll stock up.

Wow - Drugs are cool!

yea, that is why I don't let my dishwasher wear pants in the house.

Well I hope to have the chance to get up in that attic again and take some more pictures. I'd also like to be there when they tear the roof off just so I can get my hands on on of those pieces of wood from the peak.

I decided not to go with any specific name, I just called it "a wood decaying fungus that causes failure of the infected wood" Its been 2 days since I sent out the report and I can't belive I've not recieved a call from anyone yet.

Can you walk on that? If there ever is a roof leak, you'll have a lake in the attic before the ceiling below shows a stain.

I did not see any charring, I think it is as Mike says, the wood has absorbed as much water as it can. Here are some more pictures. In the first one, taken away from the discussed area, notice the difference in the color of the wood, also you can see water running down the center 2x. In the 2nd one you can see the different colors of the OSB that show the wetest areas at top, black decay in the middle, and a more normal color toward the bottom. Click to Enlarge 51.34 KB Click to Enlarge 54.64 KB

Thanks Mike, Good Story. My client is a rental property management company, the owner is considering selling the house and wants to know what needs to be done. The roof was replaced last year. I don't know if that is when the chimney was removed or not. I can see this turning into a lawsuit for sure. I think in 6 years of business this is the most dramatic thing I have ever found. At home looking at the pictures I found one of the corner boards running up to that peak cracked.

Okay I may not be the quickest brain child around, but I feel pretty good about today’s inspection. All in all it was a pretty exciting day. First I found hidden moisture in a wall with my IR camera. I was alone so I really got to play with the camera and investigate the moisture is the walls. I figured there was a leak from around the chimney. Then I go into the attic and realize the chimney terminates inside the attic. My first thought was that it was a shitty roof job, even though it was only a year old. After 5 minutes in the attic looking in wonderment at the incredible amount of moisture dripping down it finally occurred to me that the furnace and water heater were venting up the chimney and into the attic and all that water vapor was condensing on the underside of the roof and falling down like rain. It was not a roof leak, after all. This is a really tall attic and there is no floor to set up a ladder on so I could get a close up look at the peak. What do you think the white stuff is? Poria Incrassata? Is it possible for Poria to grown in an attic, I think so considering all the moisture. My concern is that the wood is so wet and if it is Poria then even if it dries out that framing would need replaced. Will Poria die and the wood be saved once the moisture is stoppe and the framing dries out? What a shame. What a bone-head move, someone needs to be slapped silly. Thought and comments are appreciated. Click to Enlarge 70.5 KB Click to Enlarge 76.86 KB

Robert Jones - you now have the most disturbing avatar ever. Please make it go away.

That is the right attitude. Some guys come here, get all insulted, go away mad, and never learning anything. Stick around, read every post, ask questions and you'll learn alot.

Thanks Jim and Mike. I appreciate it.

This house was built in 1958. As you can see from the pictures there is an unusual pattern in the concrete on both the inside and outside of the foundation. This is only at the back left corner, not on either side or the right corner area. On the outside if you rub your finger over these areas the concrete breaks off in sand size particles. On the inside nothing is coming off. I may be wrong but it seems fairly straight forward that moisture is wicking down from the top of the poured foundation causing the concrete to break up. I guess it is similar to spalling in bricks. Has anyone seen this before? Is there a name for it? Is there a fix for it? How big of a concern is it? How would you right it up? You know all the usually questions when you find something for the first time. I remember a thread a few weeks ago started by Kurt that mentioned a product used to seal concrete, but Kurt was asking about its use in a stone foundation. Would that product be a good for sealing this wall, or do we even want to seal the wall. Thanks ya’ll! Click to Enlarge 64.55 KB Click to Enlarge 57.72 KB Click to Enlarge 53.65 KB Click to Enlarge 43.7 KB Click to Enlarge 118.86 KB Click to Enlarge 46.24 KB

A Passive radon mitigation system that vents into the basement? I guess you just put your mother-n-laws favorite chair over it and invite her over a lot...?

If the buyer is doing the 203k and buying the house, ninety percent of the time I don't provide cost estimates. Sometimes I'll do a Feasibility Study if the buyer has absolutely no clue how much money will be needed to reahb. the home. Otherwise, I generate the list of work orders and let the contractors bid them. It doesn't make sense for me to provide a cost estimate. If I do, then I'll be re-doing paperwork because the underwriter requires that my numbers match the contractor's numbers. So I just let the contractor say what the price is going to be and use his numbers for my paperwork. Just this week, two contractors bid the same scope of work for some drywall; one guy bid $950; the other guy bid $4,300. Go figure. What numbers is a Consultant supposed to "estimate" ?! Thanks - from the HUD webinar the other day they said the consultant came up with the estimates, or at least that is what I gathered.