hausdok

Hi Les, That's a tough one - mostly because of the fluid nature of software programs. I did a search on JLC and found that most of the articles written are from the 90's, so it wouldn't be smart to rely on those outdated recommendations. Chief Architect allegedly doesn't require any CAD experience to use, will provide designs in 3D or 2D elevations, will provide cost estimates and full working drawings. It also has something called "Automatic 3-D models" but I have no idea what that is. You can get a free demo CD though by calling 800-482-4433 and their site is at http://www.chiefarchitect.com. I've noticed many software design advertisers come and go in JLC over the years, but this company has remained and continues to grow. I'd assume that, given the number of improvements that they've added over the years that they must be producing a good product or their software would be in the cheap software bins at the large computer stores. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Chris, I personally don't think it's necessary to try and verify the exact depth of insulation throughout an entire attic, and I think that whoever wrote the ASHI SOP, which I believe you use, didn't think it was necessary either. You are required to describe the insulation and vapor retarders used in unfinished spaces when readily accessible and the absence of insulation in unfinished spaces at conditioned surfaces. Nothing in there says that you must verify that the depth of insulation is consistent throughout or to estimate an R-value. Now, you can go beyond that and provide a general estimate of depth, state what the known R-value is for that type of insulation at that depth and report on easily identifiable issues that are readily apparent, such as very thin insulation in various spots, disturbed or improperly installed insulation, but you should also be making it clear to the client that you aren't guaranteeing anything. When a homeowner calls up to carp about insulation being thin here or heavy there, you need to make it clear that the inspection was visual only and that you didn't go through the entire attic and stick a tape measure into every square yard of the surface. If it's readily apparent, you report it. If not readily apparent, you don't try and measure all of it, because that would take way more time than is reasonable for what we're paid under the current market-borne fee structure. Good customer service is one thing, but the nature of some of your questions seems to indicate that you are over-analyzing things and trying way too hard to please. Harder than is necessary. You are the expert. You set the tone for the inspection and your tone needs to set the expectation of the customer. Be courteous and professional but remain firm and don't let clients or realtors walk all over you with unreasonable demands or expectations. Put this attic insulation thing into perspective. You're in crawlspace country - do you pull down 100% of the insulation under a home to check it's thickness and to examine 100% of the underside of the floors and the framing concealed behind that insulation when inspecting a crawlspace? Of course not. That would be unreasonable, wouldn't it? By the same token, you aren't expected by the accepted standards of this profession to be able to guaranty anyone that the thickness of 100% of that insulation is consistent throughout. If you try to do that, where do you stop? Do you then take responsibility for inconsistently installed insulation in walls and cathedral ceilings? Your agreement needs to state clearly that the inspection is not technically exhaustive and that the inspection is not a compliance inspection or certificate of compliance with past or present government codes or regulations of any kind. Obviously, you care very much about doing a superior inspection and providing really good customer service. Well, do that, but don't paint yourself into corners. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

For those interested, The great grandchild of the founder of the Zinsco company has just posted some information to the Mike Holt site that explains how the company was founded. Understandably, the person who supplied the information doesn't appreciate her forebearer's company name being trashed. Here's the link: http://www.mikeholt.com/newsletters.php ... tterID=298 ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Jim, Go here: http://www.molddetectionexperts.com/ or here: http://www.bookonmold.com/FREE%20INFORM ... elease.pdf OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, No effect. It just took a while to purge the air and refill those control valves and pipes. It's nothing to worry about. OT - OF!!! M.

Good topic. It's about time that someone in the mold inspection business approached the issue of home inspectors and mold more sensibly. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Man Rob, You're on here pretty late for an Ohio guy. It's almost 1:45 PST and you posted on here just a few minutes ago. Either you keep the longest hours in the world or you get up pretty darned early in the morning. Phew! Hell, even Katen doesn't post on here that late. You're not on vacation in Europe, posting from a beach on the Mediterranean are you? OT - OF!!! M.

Uh, Ok, Yeah sure, Norman Island, that's it alright. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Paul, I don't get it. Did you want to add something to what you'd said earlier or did you just want to repeat what you'd said? OT - OF!!! M.

Nope, Shhh, that's not the name anyway, but keep it under your fedora you Chi-Town gangster yous![:-psst] OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Welcome to TIJ and tell me more. I've wanted to make down under - either Australia or New Zealand - since I was 19. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, OK, I understand now. As I stated in that other thread, I routinely provide two reports - a full report and a summary report. After I complete the full report, I save it and then do a 'file' and then 'save as' and add (summary) behind the file name. Then I go to the report cover, add the word "summary" between the words Inspection and Report, and I go through the report, delete all descriptions, fine print notes and disclaimers, leaving only the section headings and issues that I've described. In the front of the report, immediately behind the table of contents, I add a page called "About This Summary Report" that warns the client that the summary report is for convenience only and is what his/her realtor typically uses for future negotiations. On that page, I recommend that the client read the full report cover to cover and rely on it when making his/her decision. Then I update my table of contents and re-save it. Now I've got two separate reports - one 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the other - and I e-mail them both to the client. Unless the client has told me that it's OK, I don't send a copy to the real estate agent. I let the client forward a copy of he/she wants. If the client wants the agent to get copies, I CC the agent on the same e-mail and the e-mail clearly states that the client should rely on the full-report to make his/her decision and that the summary is what the real estate agent will typically use. This makes it very clear to both of them that the summary report contains only the issues and that I'm strongly recommending that the client (and by default the real estate agent, as well) read the full report cover to cover. It sounds long and complicated, but I've become accustomed to it and the summary report only takes about 3-5 minutes extra to produce. I like it because if they only share the summary report with the seller during future negotiations, the seller isn't likely to turn around and try and use that to re-sell the house if things go south, because it contains only negative information about the house and doesn't describe any of the systems. It's not unusual for me to book inspections for sellers after they've seen me inspect their homes and read portions of my reports, but the constant refrain I hear from them is that 'The Report' only contained negative information about their home. That's when I point out to them that's because they'd only seen the summary report and not the full report. I think this method leaves me out of any tug-of-wars after the inspection and it ensures that, even if a seller gets a copy of the summary report, a seller isn't likely to try and use it to re-sell the house to someone else, thus reducing my risk of exposure to any subrogation issues. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I've never heard of such a thing and I've been doing this nearly 11 years. I think doing ordinary summary reports are risky enough, because of the tendency of clients to read the summary and ignore the entire report. I can't imagine creating something more refined beyond a summary, because I think to anyone other than the person who requested it, it will one day look like I've tried to manipulate, one way or the other, the way I've reported my findings, in order to favor a particular point of view. At some point, the customer must make his/her own decision about a home. Provide them as much information as possible, allow them to use their own Grey matter to figure out what is important to them and I think one is less liable to get into difficulty later on. However, selectively providing what you think is all that they need to worry about, or what they think at the time of the purchase is all they need to worry about, and you run the risk that later on, after they've moved in and the stress of the purchase has been removed, that they're going to start seeing things that were in the report that they'd missed because they'd relied on that summary. I think that when that happens, regardless of what was said at the time of the inspection, the inspector will end up being accused of having minimized something and this 'executive' summary - if I'm understanding the concept - will only end up being ammunition for those who take that view. I could be wrong. Have been before and, since I've never been involved in a lawsuit or arbitration since I started this gig, I've got no experience with which to support that position. Still, I think it is we who should make the rules in this profession - not the client and not the client's real estate agents. They should get what we decide to provide them and if that's not good enough for them, they'll just have to live with it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Chris, Pardon me if I've missed something, but I don't see the distinction between this question and the one posed about executive summaries that you posted here: http://www.tijonline.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3908 If there is a difference, it's either new age or it's something that I've apparently missed for nearly 11 years. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, You're right Chris. When I made that post, I wasn't thinking about the expansive soils, even though I know they're a real problem in your area. Sorry for the brain fart. OT - OF!!! M.

Nope, not missing anything, as far as I can tell, but you used to be a prolific poster to the ASHI board and IN and then one day weren't. At least that's my recollection. I'd actually thought you'd retired or had gone back to the legal profession or something. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Yeah, a trough drain was what I was thinking too. They're pretty simple - snap together plastic sections for whatever length you need, cut a slot, scoop out a hollow, line with mud, insert trough and tool the edges. You could put the right end where that puddle lies, terminate the other just short of the other edge of the drive and connect the outlet end to a bubbler placed lower than the drive. I agree that Chris is an excellent choice, if you are located within an area that he services, but it sounds like you've got other problems with the house, and hiring inspector after inspector, without the builder having agreed to consider the inspector's findings, isn't going to achieve anything. Builders know that they don't have to do anything that a private home inspector comments about, unless it's a violation of a code or some other lawful regulation or standard, such as Chris has posted. All that money spent on home inspections to this point, would have been better spent on a single attorney, who would have hired his own inspector. A letter from an attorney would probably get the builder's attention much more effectively than anything posted here. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Robert, Good to see that you're still around. I'd thought you'd dropped off the planet. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Contact FosteReprints 866-879-9144 and ask for a reprint of the article Every Failure Holds A Lesson from the July 2005 issue of EDU. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, My summary consists of every issue enumerated in the reports - exactly as it's written in the full report - minus the descriptions and all fine print footnotes. The summary reduces the physical size of the report by about half and I add a paragraph at the front of the summary advising the client that the summary is for convenience only, mostly for the sake of the realtor and further negotiations, if necessary, that there is valuable information in the full report besides the issues enumerated that they need to read about, and that they should read cover-to-cover, and rely only on the full report for any decisions they make. Works for me. I send the client the full report and the summary reports as attachments to an email wherein I reinforce this to the client and I cc the realtor if the client requests it. Otherwise, it's up to the client to forward a copy of the report to their realtor if the realtor wants a copy. Works for me. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I have an Epson Stylus Photo 820 printer that I've used on-site. It nests perfectly inside a 10-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck storage box that doubles as a printer stand. The comb binder punch also fits in there very nicely. It takes less than a minute to remove the printer from the box, place the lid on the box and the printer on top, plug in the power, load it with paper and run a 10ft. long printer cable to the laptop. Prints a very nice report. The only downside is the cartridges. The darned things are about $40 a set and if you include color photos throughout the entire report you'll only get about 5 reports per set. If you include a color photo of the house on the cover but do everything else in black and white it will do about twenty reports of 20 to 23 pages each. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Okay Martin, I've resized them and renamed them and they uploaded beautifully for all to see. OT - OF!!! M.

http://www.tijonline.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3739 OT - OF!!! M.