hausdok

According to this CBC News article from 3 hours ago, the BC government has finally decided to move ahead with a plan to license home inspectors. Read more.

Yes, A competent roofer should be able to strip out a valley, repair any rot, line the valley properly, and lace a new valley, without re-roofing the entire house. The issue you then have to deal with is a valley that's a different color than the rest of the roof. Even if you purchase the exact same brand, series, and color of shingle, there will be a difference and, if the valley is visible from the street, you might not like it. I won't post a link to instructions or try and tell you how to do it here, because it's definitely not a project for a do-it-yourselfer or a roofer with minimal skills. Anyone accepting this job must know how to do this with his or her eyes closed or you don't want to hire them. You definitely don't want to hire the roofer based on the bid - you need to hire the roofer based on competence or you're liable to end up doing it all over again. You're going to want the roofers to provide you references from someone who they've done the identical repair for in the past, so you can check with that homeowner and ensure that the work was done correctly. Don't be shy about demanding a reference; if the roofer is competent, he or she shouldn't be shy about providing you the name of a past client whose had this done. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Dave, That wording has been beat back and forth for weeks. As it's written, the intent is that an inspector may identify deterioration and wood rot, as well as pest conducive conditions, and will be able to advise the client what to do about them. That includes issues that will be conducive to insect infestation. There won't be anything wrong with an inspector saying to a client, "You need to get all of that form wood out of the crawlspace because it's going to rot and wood rot attracts wood-destroying insects." That's just simple common sense and one doesn't have to be a pest guy to know that. However, at the point where indications of active insects are seen - frass, fresh annobiide holes and frass, live insects, fresh emergence holes, etc., - unless the inspector also holds a pest license, the inspector is not allowed to identify the insects involved or advise the client what to do about them, and must defer that to a licensed pest guy for follow up and correction. Make no mistake, regardless of the way you think you are interpreting it, that is the intent of the bill. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

They've been required since 1993. That could be an antenna for the remote control, a ground, or perhaps it's the wire from the wall button. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Kurt, I agree, but I've been asked many times by the reel-tours for a summary report with bulleted one liners. I won't do it. They either accept the summary report with the issues word-for-word the same as they are in the full report or they don't get anything. No confusion here between what I said and what the summary says. OT - OF!!! M.

I dunno, Brad, every time you stop at a rest stop or a restaurant, you'll play hell prying Les away from the ladies. OT - OF!!! M.

Kewl Kurt, We need to begin planning this soon. OT - OF!!! M.

Sush Les! The guys from Watts will be monitoring this board! You're welcome to pay for my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th portions at meals though! Bwahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!! [:-eyebrow

Well, There you have it from someone who, like you, is in snow country. That sounds like a plan (I'd still be wondering about the condition of that wood though.). Don't see much snow here; I got a call from a gent this morning who wanted to know if I'd be willing to drive up to Index, about 35 miles away, to look at a little riverside cabin. Being ever envious of folks with riverside cabins, I said, "Sure, when do you need me to do that." "Well," he replied, "It'll have to be in a week or so when some of the snow has melted - there's about 5ft. of snow on all sides of it right now." This is one weird state! Betcha if I drive up to Mt. Rainier this July when it's 90°F down here there will still be 30ft. high drifts adjacent to the parking lots at Sunrise. OT - OF!!! M.

Wha?! It's a whole lot more in your backyard than it was for Kurt, Les, Ezra, Mark, or myself! Jeesh! OT - OF!!! M.

Well, There's hope for you yet. Watts wants to do it again this year and they want to do it better. I plan to be there again this year. They want to get started on the planning - do you want to get involved? OT - OF!!! M.

Hmm, We did have a pretty nice training event right in your backyard last fall and it was FREE!!! Free course, free food, free hotels. Heck, even free BEER!!! OT - OF!!! M.

Not really, have it stripped out and done right. If it's been leaking as long as you imply, there's bound to be unseen damage there anyway. Just explain to the neighbor that even if that water isn't dripping into his home, it's getting into his framing and is going to cause rot and will eventually cause structural integrity issues. Ask him which he'd rather do; split the cost of fixing that valley right, or listening to the ton of crap that'll get dumped on him by his significant other when the damage is eventually discovered and costs a whole lot to fix. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Frank, Well, you probably already know this, but an ice dam is caused when snow high on the roof melts and that melted water drains down to the edge of the roof, refreezes, and begins to form an ice dam. More and more water drains down the roof and builds it up higher and higher, until it's large enough to hold enough water that the water doesn't freeze solid and remains liquid. It's that unfrozen water that drains back under the surface and into the house. The snow is melting because too much heat is escaping into the attic and the attic is too warm. Adding insulation isn't going to help if there are too may air passages allowing heated air to rise into the attic. You need to seal holes that come up through the walls where pipes and wires are routed and ensure that the chase around any chimney's is sealed and insulated. At the same time, put gaskets on the wall switches and receptacles and ensure there is an airtight seal around the attic hatchway. Once that's done, make sure that there's sufficient ventilation in the attic to keep cold air constantly entering the attic and then flowing up the underside of the roof. You'll know when you've got things right when there's no more than about a 3°F difference between outside air and attic air. As for a metal valley, wide metal valley flashings used to be standard procedure back in the day when roofers really taught other roofers how to roof and folks didn't learn the trade by working for a roofer during their college vacations or between other jobs; so, if you're home is old enough, there might be one there anyway. If the home is of a more recent vintage, I should think that in your area, with the weather and snow that you get, underneath all of that roofing material, there should be at least a 36" wide layer of bituthene ice and water underlayment lining that valley as a last defense - on top of that should be a wide metal valley flashing before the cover is woven. Or, a W-shaped valley flashing if you plan to have an open valley. Alternatively, you can line the valley with heat tape to prevent the dam from forming. Just be careful how you fasten it to the roof so that you don't puncture the valley. Office max sells some pretty good spring clips for papers that will hold a heat tape firmly in place, but you've got to be careful not to pinch the element. Have you looked at how your attic ventilation is configured? Perhaps the issue is that there's not enough convective airflow up the underside of the roof due to too few eave vents or because of gable end vents which are defeating convective flow. Check out some of the other threads on this board that discuss attic ventilation for some tips. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Sal, If you're going to hang out here, you'll need to get used to the fact that folks on this site are often very direct with one another. This isn't an association's site controlled by a terms of use that's designed to make everybody feel warm and fuzzy; so nobody feels like they have to massage anyone's ego. I think that the folks that spend time here are here because they enjoy helping and learning from one another. Yeah, they have to put up with a long-winded dictator, who can be a dickhead and won't let them go at each other or spout off when they want to sometimes, but there isn't a better site in the business where one can avoid all of the glad-handing and self-congratulary crap and get simple straightforward information and help when necessary. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Richard, Yeah, it's here. Look at the bill report. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary ... &bill=6606 I might have missed a step above; I believe it's been passed to the rules committee. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi All, I don't know about the rest of you, but when it comes to computers I'm completely out of my element. However, over the years, I've come to rely on the advice of the folks at ZDNet. If they've tried something and endorse it, I'll try it; if they say stay away from it, I do. Works for me, and, so far, has kept me out of trouble. This morning, George Ou - the guy who built that all-in-one compact desktop we had on here a few months ago - posted this article which is a dozen free applications that one can add to windows to make your life easier. I thought I'd pass it along to you all. Enjoy. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Richard, No, there's nothing in stone. I'm not an expert on this, but this is how I think it works: If Sen. Spanel proposes a substitute bill and includes what she discussed with Kelso, I think this is what the bill will include: All home inspectors to identify rot and pest conducive conditions, tell their clients what to do about them, and refer the client to a pest guy for anything insect related. Of course, if an inspector wants to, he can still get the bond, take the test, and pass all of the pest requirements to get a separate pest license and then be able to offer insect inspections and advice as an additional revenue stream. Anyone practicing in the state will have to complete at least 120 hours of HI training, 40 hours of supervised inspections with a licensed inspector, and pass a psychometrically validated HI test. Those already in business who meet certain time in business and number of inspection requirements will be able to fore-go the training and the supervised inspection requirements and will be able to challenge the test for immediate licensure.[* Nobody will be simply grandfathered - all inspectors will be required to take the test, regardless of experience. There will be a 7-member board; all inspectors, one of whom must be a teacher in a board-approved home inspection course. Inspectors will be required to complete 24 hours of CE every two years. Licensed inspectors will be required to have their license number on their business cards and on every report they produce. Realtors and anyone else referring inspectors will know that it's illegal to use an unlicensed inspector. The pest law would be changed exempting home inspectors from the pest requirements for everything except insects. Initial costs will probably be about $800 ($400 a year) for the first two years, and $600 ($300 a year) for the next two. After that, it should stabilize around the average cost of one inspection a year. There won't be any requirement for E & O or to have been licensed as a pest guy during the previous few years. This should motivate those operating without any kind of license or bond to come out of hiding and get licensed so that we get more accurate numbers about who's practicing in the state. From that point, I think this is a reasonably accurate explanation of what will, or will not, happen with it from here: If the senator presents a substitute bill to the one she dropped in the hopper 2 weeks ago, and the committee sends it to the senate floor for a vote, it has to pass muster with the senate and be voted on. If the votes are in favor, it goes to the house where HB3132 has already been proposed. A house committee will take it and schedule public hearings at which all interested parties will be invited to testify. After that, the committee must decide whether to send it to the house for a vote. If they make even one change, even one very small, it goes back to the senate and the process starts all over (I think). If it is voted on and passes, HB3132 is withdrawn, and it goes to the Governor for signature. The governor will either veto it, sign it, or not sign it. If she refuses to sign it, it becomes law anyway. She may have submitted the substitute bill already, I don't know, I haven't checked the state site today. If she has, inspectors should be contacting their legislators to voice their opinion, pro or con before it comes up for a vote in the senate. That's about all I know right now. Hope this helps you understand the process a little better. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Phillip, I just checked our calendar and I see that it's not posted there. If you know someone with that chapter, you should let them know that, being a non-profit, they can post their training announcements here free. Everything that's posted to the calendar of events automatically goes out in the newsletter and will reach nearly 20,000 subscribers - some of whom are sure to be in that chapter's vicinity. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Just curious, how do you find out about these besides here on TIJ. I really enjoyed the Air vent seminar and can really see the value in them. Thanks. Hi, Subscribe to everything, visit the websites of all of those publications, and check out their coming events. Then get on the phone and make some inquiries. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Chad, there are different kinds of summaries; there are summaries like you describe, where the summary report language is less alarming than what's in the actual report - then there are summary reports where the language is exactly the same. My summary report is nothing but my narrative report with the descriptions and all of the fine print and non-essential stuff removed. The issues are, word-for-word, described exactly as they are in the full report. It cuts the report size down by about 40%. I could do a summary report that had bulleted one-liners, but I can't understand why I'd want to create an entirely new document when I have everything already typed and done in the main report. I'm sure that some of the folks in the transaction would prefer to get it the other way - with the bare-bones comment, but, like you, I know that some folks won't read the entire thing anyway, so, in order to ensure clients are reading what is important to them and me - and not the reel-tours - I do it this way. OT - OF!!! M.

Yep OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Randy, I guess we're both screwballs. The first job I did in 1996 took 4-1/2 hours. Today, they take about 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours. Never been sued - never been to arbitration. Guess I'm just inefficient as hell. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I agree with Les, those are Magnatrip panels. I'd bet a Domino's pizza that they're mid-1950's to 1960. Here's a 1958 Magnatrip that a customer gave me after it has been removed. I stripped it out, sent it to Douglas Hansen to use as a training aid, and he re-wired it and shot me this photo. Image Insert: 30.96 KB OT - OF!!! M.

Things are moving along in Olympia. This is from today's paper: http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/ ... 75692.html OT - OF!!! M.