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One real estate agent's take on an inspector's responsiblities. To read more click here.

Though the requirement for mandatory sellers' inspections has been pulled from the new law in the UK requiring mandatory home information packs (HIPS) for every transaction beginning in June 2007, voluntary home condition reports (HCR) are still going to be permitted and the British government is going to regulate all home inspectors. A number of specialized firms have been developed in the UK to provide HIPS and have formed their own association - the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPPS) - which is developing it's own voluntary code of practice for it's members. To read the whole story, click here.

In this article in ajc.com, the online issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, home inspector, Bill Garwood, who hosts an Ask The Inspector column in their Home & Garden Section, explains cross connections to consumers. To read the article click here.

Washington, August 23 Building Homes of Our Own, the innovative simulation home building program developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), was selected as one of five finalists for Computers for Youth's (CFY) Family Learning Software Program of the Year Award, and was the only non-retail program nominated. The finalists were selected by a panel of education technology executives from eight of the nation's top school districts. The one-of-a-kind selection process involved students demonstrating the software to the executives and discuss its educational value. Since its release in September of 2002, 42,000 copies of the interactive classroom teaching tool have been distributed on demand, reaching an estimated audience of more than 3 million students, teachers and parents. Building Homes of Our Own allows middle and high school students to experience each step of the home building process, from selecting a location and obtaining permits through construction and material selection to reviewing credit histories of potential buyers. The program's interactive gaming technology applies real-world context to core lessons in math, science, civics, language arts, technology and personal financial responsibility coursework. "As a father of two, I understand the significant role a good education plays in the futures of our nation's young people," said David Pressly, NAHB president and a home builder from Statesville, N.C. "Building Homes of Our Own is a program that makes a meaningful contribution to learning, and I'm proud that our industry is investing so much in helping to educate students by developing such an innovative teaching program." Building Homes of Our Own was first nominated for the Family Learning Software Program of the Year Award by a panel of nationally recognized software experts. During judging, pairs of New York City public school students demonstrated the software titles and discussed them with a pair of educators. Conversations focused on how the students thought the software title helped them in school and in life, and their families' reaction to the software. Educator assessment included evaluating the software's ability to improve academic competencies; promote family involvement in education; develop life-long learning skills (such as planning, self-monitoring and reflection); motivate students to learn and increase social interaction around learning. The nomination is the latest in a series of awards that the program has garnered since its release, including a 2005 Parents' Choice Silver Award, a 2003 Association of Multimedia Communicators' First Place Education & Training Award and Best in Show Award, a 2003 Bronze Anvil from the Public Relations Society of America and an EMMA--Electronic Multimedia Award--for excellence in digital content in 2002. The CD-ROM, which includes a comprehensive printable lesson plan guide, is compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating system. Building Homes of Our Own is part of an ongoing educational outreach initiative, in partnership with the National Housing Endowment, Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and Freddie Mac. It is free to classroom educators and members of home builder associations affiliated with NAHB through the Web site www.HomesofOurOwn.org. For more information on Computers for Youth, visit http://www.cfy.org. ##### ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 225,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the more than 1.84 million new housing units projected for 2005, making housing one of the largest engines of economic growth in the country.

September 7, 2006; Release #06-252 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: Delta Performance or Delta Performance Plus Series Combination Water Heaters Units: About 3,000 Manufacturer: Triangle Tube/Phase III, of Blackwood, N.J. Hazard: The burner plate and flue hood seal on the water heaters can fail due to an improper seal causing a leak of flue gases and carbon monoxide (CO). This poses the risk of CO poisoning to consumers inside of the house. Incidents/Injuries: Triangle Tube has received one report of a flue leak with the recalled Combination Water Heater during installation. No injuries have been reported. Description and Models: The recalled Delta Performance or Delta Performance Plus Series Combination Water Heaters operate on natural or propane gas. The water heaters are white and rectangular. "Triangle Tube" is written on the silver-colored control panel. "Delta" is printed on the front of the water heater. The burner is located under a white or gray cover that protrudes outward at the bottom front of the heater. The models and serial numbers included in this recall are listed below. The model and serial numbers are located on the rating plate on either the front or the right side of the water heater. Models PG-25 PG-30 PG-35 PG-40 PG-45 PG Plus-25 PG Plus-30 PG Plus-35 PG Plus-40 PG Plus-45 Serial Numbers1148 through 6203Sold at: Plumbing and heating wholesale companies to independent plumbing and heating contractors from August 2001 to January 2006 for about $3,500. Manufactured in: United States Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled waterheaters and contact Triangle Tube to schedule a free repair. Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Triangle Tube at (800)856-6271 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the company's Web site at www.triangletube.com To view this release online, please go to our web site at:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06252.html U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 856-6271 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Hi, Good for you! Most people react by killing them for no justifiable reason. They were here first and are only doing what comes natural to them. It's easy to get them going in the right direction and to scoot them off into the brush or to simply put them into a container and take them to a non-populated area and then drop them off, but everyone has been conditioned to fear them, so their first reaction is to kill 'em. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, If it is mineral-surfaced asphalt roofing, I agree. It gets installed on garages and little add-on porch roofs around here and they're lucky if they can get 10 years out of it. However, it's possible that it's a granule-coated modbit roof. Buzzbee, did you see any fasteners or gooped-up fasteners at overlaps, or were the seams all bonded together with mastic without any visible fasteners? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Some of the contractors who hang out on my Building Science forum at JLC Online have been using these for years and really like them. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Glenn, Not meaning to offend you. I simply want to point out that when you don't spell check in here, others, who might not have great spelling skills, won't recognize where they are making their own spelling mistakes. OT - OF!!! M.

The boss should have asked: "Now that you've said that you'd have sex with me for $1,000,000 if we do that will you then slap a sexual harrassment lawsuit on me for $5M, do the talk-show circuit and write a book? Yeah, I know, I'm drifting. I got your meaning Erby, it's just hard to resist. Makes a guy wish he was good enough looking for some rich lady to hit on, so that a guy could get rich off of this stuff for once. Nevah gonna hoppen wit my ugly mug! OT - OF!!! M.

Glenn, That said, I just corrected a few boo-boos (7) in your post - even leaving the colloquialisms alone. It helps to use a spell checker - even here - lest you spread bad habits or draw a few well-meaning but embarrassing barbs. For those who don't have one, go to iespell.com. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

By Jim Morrison At the end of the summer of 2005, I spent three weeks in southeastern Kenya on the Taita/Rukinga Ranches, which is a very densely wooded 170,000 acre area in the Taita Hills a few hours outside of Mombasa. I was a volunteer with a team of wildlife researchers from Earthwatch (www.earthwatch.org) whose main purpose was documenting the “Maneless Lions of Tsavoâ€

By Rachel Smith Floor vibration, bounce, movement, springiness—call it anything you like, but for most new homeowners, it is an unwelcome guest. It is not something that can be easily designed out of a floor system by following the building codes. In fact, most experts in this area agree that designing to higher deflection criteria (using L/480 versus L/360) does not guarantee better floor performance. The problem with defining good floor performance is that it is highly subjective. What may be fine to one homeowner may be unacceptable to another. Research into floor performance from Trus Joist, A Weyerhaeuser Business, has found that homeowners moving from a slab-on-grade home to a wood floor framed home were very sensitive to floor movements. Once homeowners have been sensitized to the problem, it must be virtually eliminated before they will be satisfied. The trick is to build a floor that, from the outset, avoids the commonly understood causes to floor performance problems. QUESTION: How do you avoid floor performance problems THE PROBLEM WITH DEFINING GOOD FLOOR PERFORMANCE IS THAT IT IS HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE. A FLOOR THAT SEEMS ROCK SOLID TO ONE HOMEOWNER MAY SEEM AS BOUNCY AS A TRAMPOLINE TO ANOTHER. ANSWER: A multitude of factors may cause floor performance problems. These problems are not limited to wood framing either; steel bar joists and pre-stressed concrete floors can also experience performance problems. Here are some things to keep in mind when designing and installing wood floor systems regardless if they are composed of trusses, I-joists or solid sawn lumber: Design for code plus. That is, design to a higher standard than what the building codes allow. Remember that building code minimums are just that—minimum allowables. Minimize the span-to-depth (length/depth) ratio. Aim for a ratio of 20 or less. Deeper floor framing means better performance. Thicker sheathing improves floor performance. Attach by glue and screws rather than nails. Contact APA–The Engineered Wood Association at www.apawood.org for sheathing and attachment details. Higher quality materials and construction will improve floor performance. Properly installed strongbacks in trusses improve floor performance. Directly applied gypsum board ceilings under floor framing improve floor performance. One continuous framing member over multiple supports gives better performance than smaller pieces spanning from support to support for the same length. Partition walls running perpendicular below floor systems dampen vibrations and improve performance but only if they are solidly attached to the floor system. Reducing on center spacing does little to improve floor performance. Concrete topping may not improve performance. Cross-bridging and blocking for I-joists and solid sawn joists only helps if it is carefully installed. If not, it may cause squeaks, which can contribute to the perception of bad floor performance. Floor framing systems supported by beams will exhibit more deflection than those supported by walls or foundations. Reprinted with the permission of Truss Publications, Inc. from WOODWORDS (now Structural Building Components Magazine), September/October 2001, p. 74. Copyright © 2001 by Truss Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. The Wood Truss Council of America is a trade organization representing the structural building components industry. Ms. Smith can be reached at 608/310-6727 (direct line) • 608/217-3709 (cell phone) • 608/274-3329 (fax) • http://www.sbcindustry.com

By JD Grewell This tale brings to mind the old saw: ‘for want of the nail, a shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for want of the horse, the rider was lost; for want of the rider, the battle was lost; for want of the battle the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a nail.’ As a contracted Dispute Settler for the Montgomery County (Maryland) New Homes Warranty Program, I was assigned to investigate complaints on a large, expensive new home. The complaint list included squeaky subflooring in the master bedroom suite, a stiff door off the suite, a leak above the sunroom, and hairline cracks to a pass-through and in 14" x 14" ceramic floor tiles in the kitchen and sunroom. The builder claimed the house was built per the plans, with only the substitution of TJI wood I-joists for Georgia Pacific’s joists, with the 2" x 14" joists set on the 19.2- inch-centers. He said the squeaking subfloor was normal, and silicone caulking was the answer to the ceiling leak. The hairline cracks in the tile had to be the manufacturer’s fault because it was installed with Durock underlayment on approved OSB subflooring. Because I could see a steel girder without squash blocks or blocking panels below a loaded wall, I asked a Consumer Affairs official at the site to have the local TJI structural engineer do the following: confirm squash blocks were needed; check the floor loads; and to determine appropriate stiffness required for ceramic flooring. The engineer reported that blocking panels or squash blocks were needed and that the floor stiffness was appropriate for ceramic tiles. After reviewing the plans, he echoed my concerns about the lack of access to a second steel girder below the kitchen and sunroom that was closed in as part of the finished basement. Even though the builder claimed he had installed squash blocks with this girder, the owner agreed to open the basement ceiling at random points, as well as remove the ceramic tiles and underlayment on the floor above to expose the subflooring. Once the critical areas were exposed, the builder’s foreman, the homeowner and I took a look, first at the tile floor. The Durock had been laid parallel to the subfloor – counter to what is required. The ceramic tile fractures were centered along the subfloor joints. Seemed like a closed case until I noticed that the subfloor sloped. On the same wall as the passageway between the sunroom and the kitchen, there was a pass-through above the kitchen sink and countertop opening into the sunroom. Encased 4" x 4" posts supported the headers above these wall openings. The posts at the doorway were sinking into the subfloor showing compression. By using a spirit level I could see the floor had dropped 1.5". Then I saw one-inch diameter holes drilled through the subfloor in the kitchen around this doorway. Why the holes? The owner said they had been drilled when he expressed concern about damage to the OSB from the rainwater that pooled in this area during construction. The holes let the water drain harmlessly to the basement. Good enough, but why the compression and now sloping floor? We traipsed to the basement. With the ceiling open, we could see there were no squash blocks between the wood I-joists, and we could see the outline of the doorposts. The posts were installed atop the bays of the joists without blocking to transfer the floor and wall (point) loads down to the girder, hence the compression and sinking of the subfloor. The foreman claimed the house was built to the plans, therefore this was the fault of the architect hired by the owner. We reviewed the owner’s copy of the plans. The foreman pointed out where the posts where shown landing between the joists and without blocking. I turned to the detail page and showed him a specific detail marked as “typicalâ€

This story from the Seattle Post Intelligencer describes how home inspectors cope in a hot market where bidding wars are common and many prospective buyers forego inspections, in order to make their offers look better. Click here for the entire story.

Last August, Greg Mangiaracina, founder of A-Pro Home Inspection Services was forced to evacuate his family in Atlanta just before Hurricane Katrina bore down on the gulf coast. Seeing the devastation in New Orleans, Mangiaracina knew that if he wanted to carry on he had to relocate and relocate he did, in a big way. To read more, click here.

In this article in The Cape Codder on Townonline.com, a real estate company in Massachusettes is trying to raise donations (money and services) to assist first-time homebuying servicemembers. The program is designed to raise down payment and closing donations (money and donated services, including home inspections) for troops returning from duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hazardous overseas assignments. If you think you'd like to help, read the entire story, click here.

With Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, all of the devestation in the Gulf States and in Florida, flooding in the Mid-West and fires and mudslides on the west coast, we sometimes don't realize that there are other English-speaking countries with weather and environment problems much like our own. New Zealand is a good example. For the past 5 years leaky home scandals have dominated many Kiwi headlines and lawsuits against builders are on the rise. So much so that the government has had to step in to try and mediate some of the disputes. Most homes in New Zealand are build with lumber the way that we build them here, using products that were pioneered in the US and Canada. In fact, business has been so good over there for the lumber companies that major companies such as Weyerheauser, Pacific Woodtech and James Hardie have opened plants down there. Of what interest is this to a US or Canadian inspector? Well, not much unless you're interested in adding more helpful free reference materials to your library. The New Zealand Department of Building and Housing has established the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service on who's site inspectors can download some very well written free pdf booklets or browse their other publications. On their Building a Weathertight Home page for builders, you'll find: Constructing Cavities for Wall Claddings Timber Treatment Requirements: Notes for Builders External Moisture – A Guide to Using the Risk Matrix External Moisture - An Introduction to Weathertightness Design PrinciplesBe patient when downloading these. Their site is high speed but it's 10,000 plus miles away. There's a little bit of a pause after the document loads before it will display. There's nothing like finding decent references free. Now, where did I put that danged sledge hammer? I need to start knocking out this wall to make some more room for all of these new books.

In this Washington Post.com Q & A column Barry Stone expouses his opinion about the use of the "might be' types of words in home inspection reports. To read the entire article click here.

Nashville, TN Never one to mince words, in a July 20th edition of his popular Helter Shelter column in The Nashville Scene, Walter Jowers tells consumers what to expect and what not to expect in the way of useful information contained in most home inspection reports. Click here and see whether he's describing your own method of report writing.

Does your state have an energy code? If so, have you ever read it? Find out about the status of any energy codes in your state here. Also find other energy code information on the USDOE's Building Energy Codes Program resource site by clicking here, or learn the federal codes in more detail at their Online Learning Center.

Orlando, FL (PRWEB) August 21, 2006 20/20 Property Inspections, LLC of Orlando, Florida announced the opening of a new branch office with "OSS" service in Lake Mary, FL. This new branch location and the introduction of "OSS" (One Stop Shop) allows us to continue to meet our goal to give our customers fast, independent inspections supported by the ability to provide streamlined services for existing as well as potential new clients, while also providing our staff with logistical integration that allows us to be more effective in our daily operations, said company owner Ron Kennedy. "With more and more home owners choosing to sell their home by themselves, it makes good sense to provide a one stop shopping service to facilitate the purchase process for home buyers" With the real estate market evolving to include more "Assist to Sell" and "FSBO's "real estate, many times real estate agents are minimally or not involved in the transaction at all. We have added the necessary services that allow us to be a one stop shop "OSS" for residential and commercial buyers. A buyer can contact 20/20 Property Inspections and we can perform the home inspection, appraisal, termite inspection and mold inspection for the buyer. If the home has an alarm or septic, we'll coordinate those inspections also, said Kennedy. Going forward, the "OSS" service will dramatically enhance the buying experience for our customers and we will continue to be adding features and capabilities to adapt to the changing climate in the Real Estate Industry. ### 20/20 Property Inspections, LLC is a full service Home/Termite/Mold Inspection and Consulting firm specializing in inspection of residential properties. The company services all of Central Florida and the Tampa area and is a recognized leader in property inspection in the state. 20/20 Property Inspections LLC combines a focus on customer service excellence with the utilization of technology to provide clients with the highest quality and fastest delivery times in the market. For More Information, Contact: Ron Kennedy at 20/20 Property Inspections 407-221-7536 (Office) 321-251-7019 (Fax)

Got Codes? The current Federal code for energy efficiency in new commercial and multi-family high-rise residential buildings (10 CFR Part 434), in Adobe Acrobat format, can be obtained here: (PDF 692 KB). Download Acrobat Reader. This code was issued on January 1, 2002, and is based on ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1989, and all addenda. It became effective on October 8, 2001. The ENVSTD and LTGSTD software to assist in complying with the envelope and lighting portions of the Federal code can be downloaded here: Download ENVSTD 2.4 (1.6 MB) Download LTGSTD 2.4.2 (1.7 MB) This code contains lighting unit power density requirements that are less stringent compared to the requirements in the current Federal code to allow for quality lighting for all space types. Overall, the lighting requirements in the new Federal code are still more stringent than those in Standard 90.1-1989. To implement the envelope requirements for the new Federal commercial building code, individual Alternate Component Package (ACP) tables (an example of which is on Page 60028 of the Federal Register document) have been developed for 234 different locations around the United States and abroad. The tables are given in terms of both shading coefficient (SCx) and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) and IP and SI units. DOE is initiating another update of the Federal commercial building energy requirements (10 CFR 434), using the new ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 as the model. This future version of the standard should be a substantial improvement in energy efficiency. DOE expects to solicit public comment on this proposed rule in a Federal Register notice in 2005.

To help Floridians identify how they can strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce hurricane damage exposure, the Florida Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program is offering free home inspections by qualified hurricane mitigation inspectors to eligible homeowners through a new progam called My Safe Florida Home. The program originally applied in only Broward, Dade and Lee Counties but has since spread to other parts of the state. To learn more, click here and here.other parts of the state[/url]. The Department of Financial Services has contracted with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes --- FLASH, Inc., to conduct the pilot phase of the Program. To carry out the first round of inspections during the pilot phase, FLASH has selected two wind certification entities – JVI and Applied Research Associates (ARA). FLASH is working with the JVI and ARA - certified inspectors s to do inspections and help screen and train additional inspectors for the program. During the pilot phase, inspectors interested in participating in the My Safe Florida Home program will need to work through JVI or ARA to undergo appropriate criminal background check, drug screening and to obtain required training before doing inspections. To learn more about the program click here.

Des Plaines, Illinois (PRWEB) August 31, 2006 Caveat Emptor “Buyer Bewareâ€