hausdok

Hi, What they've done is turned the original attic cavity into conditioned space. I've done a few like that and have never found anything to be overly concerned about. OT - OF!!! M.

OK, Scott, that one's going to find it's way to the home page most rickety tick. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Around here (Seattle), I find them unpainted all the time on homes that are 60, 70, 80 years old. All have rusted. Some have spalled and spread but most are still doing pretty well - even in our somewhat less-than-dry climate. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Kewl! Thanks for the tip! I've had my eye on a Bonanza Steak House dumpster, though. I tried setting up behind Outback, but the damned junkies kept running off with my shopping cart! OT - OF!!! M.

To heck with the fame, I'd be happy just to get the fortune! At the rate I'm going, my "retirement dream home" is going to have to be a yurt someplace with no running water or electricity. OT - OF!!! M.

I'd guess that the mason probably didn't order the right number of liner tiles. When he realized he was going to be short, he probaby didn't want to stop bricking long enough to run and get another section, so he skipped a section, figuring nobody'd be the wiser. Around here, it's pretty common to find them unlined, except for the last few feet from the top of the stack where the liner has been installed. However, at second glance, it does look like the stack was extended and that the extension overlaps onto that lower tile section on 3 sides, so Kurt has probably nailed it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!! Mike

Email me the pictures and I'll insert them into the initial post for you. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Kenmore, WA - Today On June 17th, Frank Lesh, ASHI President, informed ASHI membership that Rob Paterkiewicz, ASHI's Executive Director, has tendered his resignation and that Paterkiewicz's official date of departure from the organization will be August 10th. In Lesh's informal announcement to membership he wrote, "I received Rob's notice of resignation 13 Jun 07. As you all know, Rob has had a profound effect within ASHI during his tenure as Executive Director. While it's never convenient to see someone so valuable leave, the opportunity for him makes for a bittersweet departure. Join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new career." In his own announcement to membership, posted today to the ASHI message board, Paterkiewicz writes, "Much has changed in the twelve years that I have worked here. Our membership has grown from under 4,000 to a high of over 6,800 at the end of last year. Our operating budget increased from $1.5 million to $3.5 million. Inspector regulation expanded from one or two states to over 30 today. Heck, a gallon of gas was only $1.25! The profession of home inspection has continued its expansion and has gained tremendous positive notice by the media, government agencies, home buyers and sellers and many other companies and populations that wouldn’t have thought twice about it previously. There is much for all of us to be proud of. "The time has come, however, for me to move on. I leave with the hope that you will enjoy many years of prosperous success. I’m proud of my work here and especially proud to have labored shoulder to shoulder with some of the most dedicated staff and volunteers that I have ever worked with." According to Lesh's announcement, he'll begin assembling a search team this week to begin interviewing for Paterkiewicz's replacement.

Hi Chris, It's very good to hear from you again. Scott W. hasn't been here much either. I kind of missed the friendly sparring between you two. Have you been giving him such a run for his money in your market that both of you were too busy to stop in? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

In this story from the Peoria Journal Star, a low-income family claims that a HFH they've lived in for 5 years, which they helped to build, is defective. HFH ended up taking the home back and intends to resell it. For the full story, click here.

Note: To get the degrees symbol(°) to display, press the NumLock key and then hold down the alt key while striking 2, 4, 8 on the number pad. OT - OF!!! M.

This article in today's Washington Post deals with the fact that Maryland's home inspection law, while on the book but never enforced, will soon go into effect. It also does a pretty fair job of explaining to consumers why a home inspection is a good thing. To read more, click here.

Hi, It looks like it might be over a crawl, which has me wondering if the chemical composition of soils down there allows the ground to off-gas hydrogen-sulfide in small quanties. Of course, if it had been hydrogen-sulfide, why didn't it discolor the other pipes? Perhaps for the same reasons already stated, that the gas only condensed on surfaces cold enough to bring it down to dewpoint. OT - OF!!! M.

Tsk, Scott, Scott, Scott, what am I going to do with you, Bro? [:-banghea It's all right here on TIJ the most jim-dandiest place to be for all home inspectors, don't you know! [:-party] ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Welcome, Jim. I'm glad you took me up on my invite and stopped in to say hello. Folks, Jim is very well known among electricians and home inspectors here in Washington State and he's a second generation electrician. I believe his dad had something to do with authoring portions of the codes used here in Washington State and had written a book about electrical systems. About 9-10 years ago, Jim gave an excellent 4-hour presentation on inspecting electrical systems for the annual training seminar put on by the franchise outfit that I used to be with. It was after that seminar that I first started gaining confidence that one day I'd be able to figure this electrical stuff out. After that, I bought Douglas Hansen's excellent book and now feel a whole lot more comfortable with this stuff than I ever thought I would. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Chad, I've never seen a Kelvinator out here and I don't have one on my list, so I'm afraid I can't help. Anyone else? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

SPONSOR'S ADVERTISEMENT: Hello this is David Brauner, Senior Broker at OREP. I've been providing E&O for inspectors for over 16 years. We're writing to share with you the exciting new changes to the OREP program: lower premiums, broader coverage and a new streamlined application with coverage in 24-48 hours. Now you can save time and money with OREP! Below are highlights of the program. (www.orep.org) Click our Streamlined Self-Rater Application. Complete it in minutes, and submit it with payment the same day! No hassles, no wait, and the broadest coverage at the best rates. Here is a story from Working RE magazine, "Cutting Expenses as Business Slows: Why Canceling Your E&O Can Really Cost You!" (PDF), that many inspectors are finding very valuable. It discusses prior acts, claims made and more. (http://www.orep.org/cutting-expenses-as ... -slows.pdf.) OREP Program Highlights > "A" Rated Carrier (Lloyds), choice of deductibles > Included: Premiums cover all inspectors in your company for one low premium (see table below). > Included: Additional Insured for Agents and other Referring Parties > Included: Termite & Radon coverage > Included: Commercial Inspections, Pool, Septic, New Construction/Code Compliance > Included: Prior Acts Available for qualified applicants > Contingent Bodily Injury (BI) and Property Damage (PD) coverage available. Provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage claims that arise out of professional services as an inspector (at the job). > Beginning inspectors (less than three years experience) may qualify with related experience such as construction, remodeling, engineering, training, certification and licensing. If qualified, same low rates apply. > Same Day Financing available > General Liability Available > Includes subscription to Working RE Magazine, access to Group Medical (Calif. Residents), education and other benefits. Coverage Amount -------------Premium (Covers All Inspectors) $100,000 limit ------------------ $1,750 $300,000 Limit ------------------$2,150 $500,000 Limit ------------------ $2,350 $1,000,000 Limit ---------------- $2,700 Premiums do not include taxes and fees (Approx. $300-$400) Please call with any questions: (888) 347-5273 (toll free); info@orep.org Link to OREP site: http://www.orep.org/home-inspectors-e&o.htm A subscription to WRE is included with OREP membership.

Alternative Inspection Products (aiptools.com), a division of BAACK Enterprises Inc., has just opened a new online store www.aiptools.com to make is easier for Canadian home inspectors to purchase quality supplies for home and building inspections, as well as industrial non-destructive testing equipment, free of import and brokerage charges. Canadian inspection professionals are already familiar with Alternative Inspection Products, because of the company’s regular attendance at local and national Canadian home inspection association seminars and shows. The firm has been in business for close to 10 years and Ben Khaw and his team of dedicated staff are known throughout Canada for their fast shiping and repair capabilities. At aiptools.com customers won’t hear any “stuck in customsâ€

By Alan Carson (Part Two: During and After the Inspection) Editor's Note: Part One of this article was published in TIJ in March. Good home inspectors don’t get complaints. We thought we might catch your attention with that opening sentence! Actually, we believe that all home inspectors get complaints eventually. Why? There are several reasons but part of the answer may lie in our definition of a home inspection: “A home inspection is a high-liability, in-depth, multi-disciplined technical analysis of the home conducted under adverse circumstances in front of a demanding audience, requiring the generation of an incredibly detailed written report prepared in an unrealistically short time frame for an inconceivably low fee.â€

I write them all the time. If it's stripped on a brand new door, they're probably all over-tightened and all of them will loosen sooner or later. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Here's the link: http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconl ... w/0310buil OT - OF!!! M.

Well, Yeah, I understand that. However, I don't get offended when someone who doesn't know me unknowingly says something that relates to my circumstances or my family, without realizing that it was very personal, so I don't think that reasonable people would be that upset with it. Now, if I knew someone's granddaddy was in the nursing home and said it, yeah, that would be offensive. So far, I've been using it 11 years and nobody has stomped off or turned all red in the face....yet - nobody except the realtors, that is. It gets a chuckle, and more than one client has complimented me on how well it put that tank into perspective. One said that it was the perfect way to make him realize that, though the thing looked okay, there was good reason to know that it probably wasn't - at least not for too long. When I was with the franchise, they taught me that I should always be fair to the house and "put things in proper perspective." Mostly, that meant not upsetting the real estate folks or killing the deal. That kind of rubs me the wrong way, but I've figured out over the years that one can also "put things in perspective" without being a realtors little helper (RLH). Besides, Brian, you have to know by now that couth has never been one of my strong suits. OT - OF!!! M.

I'd love to guys, but unless you have a membership at JLCOnline.com, you won't be able to access the article. Being a JLCOnline member, I'm allowed to share with others, I just can't give you a link to it. Now, JLC Online is a pretty good deal. It's about $99.95 a year and includes their CD Rom and unlimited access to their site archives containing 17 years worth of articles 24/7/365. If I were you guys, I'd be bugging the wife, girlfriend, boyfriend for a JLCOnline membership for the next birthday, christmas or anniversary present. Maybe I can talk to the JLC guys about some kind of discount for TIJ members. I'll try, but I'm not promising anything. In the meantime, Jesse and Kurt could forward copies to you guys. Sorry, but that's the best I can do. Wait a minute. I've got an idea. Tell you what. I'll go over there and check the free docs. Maybe there is something similar to what I've sent these guys that I can post a link to. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Check your email. OT - OF!!! M.

Could be. Probably is. If I had a 17 y.o. gas water heater, I'd be saying something like, "This tank is kinda like Granddad. It's in the nursing home on life support and the staff doesn't know why he's still hanging on. Don't be surprised if it "expires" in the not-to-far-distant future. In fact, if I get my truck out of the driveway without it failing, I'll be surprised. These are cheap - a few hundred bucks installed. Get a new one now." It always gets the realtor ladies all wound up! No seismic restraint in Illinois, huh? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike