hausdok

Okay, What's the humidity like in your area? If the exterior humidity is higher than that found in the crawl, and you've got open foundation vents, any humid air entering the crawlspace from the outside through the vents is going to condense on surfaces in the crawl. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Are the ducts insulated? If not, they should be. Write it up. Is the condensate drain from the A-coil clear and draining properly? If not, write it up. Is there a cap sheet on the floor of the crawlspace to minimize the amount of moisture evaporating from the soil which can evaporate on the plenum? There should be. If not, write it up. OT - OF!!! M.

Here's one for the person who's retiring from the inspection field and still has that entrepreneurial spirit. http://www.tranzon.com/propertydetail.aspx?id=3978 OT - OF!!! M.

Well sure, But lets be accurate. It isn't just a stucco problem. That house had composition siding on it - not stucco. Besides, the life of any house can be shortened when they're installed in that fashion. It doesn't have to only be a house clad with stucco. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Pretty kewl, but if some of you had trouble believing that one, how about this one: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/128967/water_as_fuel/

Yeah, finally. I don't know whether you guys noticed it or not but I got so snowed under last month that I didn't get a chance to put out an update. Sitting here this morning trying to do just that. OT - OF!!! M.

Kewl! And he huffed and he puffed.... http://www.historicproperties.com/detai ... y=ncply001 Here ya go Chad! Got an extra lot lying around someplace? http://www.historicproperties.com/detai ... y=Neroc006 OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I think if you had looked under that frig you would have found a drain pan that hadn't been cleaned which was probably growing a beard. Clean the pan and clean the wall with soap and water. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, The discoloration is fungi and the cause is a poorly ventilated attic and too much moisture-laden air leaking into the attic from somewhere and condensing on the underside of the roof and those rafters. Were the bathroom fans and kitchen fan connected all the way to the roof or were they dumping into the attic? Were there gable end vents used in combination with eave or soffit vents and vents used near the ridge? If so, that's probably half the problem. A competent trade needs to find and fix the source of the moisture migrating into the attic, adjust the insulation at the perimeter to allow more airflow from the eaves to the ridge and then make sure there are properly placed and sufficient number of eaves and upper vents, and that there aren't any gable end vents defeating the vent system. Then the underside of the roof and all of that exposed wood needs to be treated with BoraCare to kill the fungi and make that wood immune to future fungal growth. There's no such thing as "black" mold. That's just a scary term coined by the media and co-opted by lawyers to scare the bejeezuz out of people. There are thousands of different types of fungi and you can't look at it and know which type it is. Besides, why would you want to know which type it is? The CDC and the EPA both say that identifying the type is pointless because it has to be dealt with anyway and the treatment method for one type is the same as for others. Tell the clients that it's there. Tell 'em that the attic ventilation needs to be fixed, the source of the moisture causing it needs to be eliminated and the wood needs to be treated to kill the organism, because they'll eventually lose the roof to rot if it's not treated. Tell them that the identification of types of fungi is outside the scope of what we do, so you have no idea of whether it is one of the alleged "toxic" variety of fungal organisms. Tell 'em that if they are concerned about mold, because they already know that they are allergic to it, to hire a long-established and reputable indoor air quality firm to counsel them on the best and sanest method to deal with the stuff. 10 years ago, we called it mildew and would tell people to fix their attic ventilation, find and fix the source of the air leakage into the attic and treat the fungus to kill it. Inspectors had been doing that for decades and nobody was panicking. Then Ms. Ballard won her $32M lawsuit in Texas and it all miraculously became "toxic" overnight. Ballard's award was reduced to only about $4M on appeal and in the end she received absolutely nothing for mold exposure, because they could not prove a causal connection. Instead, the court punished Farmer's Insurance for having responded sluggishly and in bath faith to her complaint in the first place. The media never really publicized that though. By then the mold train had left the station and was packed with lawyers and mold lawsuits had been born. I'm waiting for the lawsuits over houses that make people ill because the builder was negligent for not having used feng shui to design them and orient them on their sites. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Michael is good people. One of those guys who's always got a smile on his face and is very positive about just about everything. He does a good job with MMM. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Okay Ya'll, This link was sent to me by a friend. It has nothing to do with home inspections but you might get a kick out of it anyway. Here's the story that goes with the link. You be the judge: There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything you see really happened in real time exactly as you see it. The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work. They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions. The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete including full engineering of the sequence. In addition, it's two minutes long so every time Honda airs the film on British television,they're shelling out enough dough to keep any one of us in clover for a lifetime. However, it is fast becoming the most downloaded advertisement in Internet history. Honda executives figure the ad will soon pay for itself simply in "free viewings" (Honda isn't paying a dime to have you watch this commercial!). There are six and only six hand-made Honda Accords in the world. To the horror of Honda engineers, the filmmakers disassembled two of them to make the film. Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) are parts from those two cars. Enjoy: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/honda.php ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, They're blowing smoke Terry. After a certain date doesn't mean a thing. When FPE went under the General Manager and some other employees bought the remaining stocks and name of the company. Anything sold after that, was just remaining stock so it wasn't any different from what had been produced before they went under. OT - OF!!! M.

I routinely see hardcoat stucco apps which are more than 70 years old. That doesn't mean that the one you looked at will - it's just been my observation and anything less than that old is still doing well, except for the crap jobs and those aren't that hard to spot. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Sure, but he titled his thread "Masonite" T1-11. Does Masonite still make it? T1-11 is a pattern designation originally used for grooved plywood graded for use as both sheathing and siding. Then manufacturers began producing engineered wood products that looked similar. Around here, I see the plywood product, L-P has a version and Weyerheauser has a version. I'm sure there are others. Can't say that I've ever seen the Masonite product around here though. Did you try contacting Masonite directly? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Bill, Yeah, I've been watching it every week. I've been visiting the Nickel Brothers site for years hoping to spot one of their houses for sale that will be the right price and the right size for a project I've got in mind. Check 'em out at http://www.nickelbros.com OT - OF!!! M.

I was happy to see this in yesterday's paper. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/272779_house05.html OT-OF!!! M.

Yeah, I see so many chimneys that need parapet or flue work and shake roofs that need to be properly cleaned that I've thought about opening up a separate company that repairs stacks and cleans shake roofs and a bucket truck, or one of those towable buckets, would probably be just the ticket to work from. You know what would be cool? Being able to take the client up too and let the client put eyes on the damage. OT - OF!!! M.

Not sure. Were you the guy in the pink Tu-Tu with the Mickey Mouse ears and the green leotards? Tomorrow I'm going up to San Juan Island, staying overnight in Friday Harbor on the client's nickel and inspecting his vacation home on Thurday. Look for me waving from a rooftop on Thursday morning. I'll be the guy wearing the propeller beanie. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Kurt, I don't have an extension ladder. Used to but after I bought my two gorilla ladders I found that I had to use my extension ladder only about once or twice a year and that I could usually get to most roofs using one ladder to get to lower roofs and then from there to the upper roof. Now I can park anyplace that my little truck will fit, which is every place that any Subaru Outback will fit. Anything that's too high to reach I'll do from the eaves or with bino's. I just tell the clients that I won't inspect anything that I can't safely get onto with my 21ft. gorilla and tell them that I'll be happy to return to inspect with a longer - rented - ladder, but that they'll be paying for my time to return plus the cost of the ladder rental, drop off and pickup. I've had two customers take me up on that over the past 3 years out of only about a dozen or so roofs that I was unable to get up onto somehow. Just about everyone else was happy with what I was able to do from my ladder or from the ground with binos. Those who weren't and didn't want to pay to have me come back ended up getting the roof disclaimed as unviewable in the report. Frankly, with this friggin herniated disc I'm not even certain I'd be able to lug a 30Ft. + extension ladder around and set it up by myself anymore. This was this morning's house. Normally, I couldn't do the roof on a house this high. Hell, even with the 21ft. Gorilla I couldn't reach the upper roof from the 2nd level deck at the back. However, this one has a walkout rooftop deck notched out of the front slope that takes up about 30% of the roof footprint. I was able to get up onto the roof by climbing up onto the parapet and from there onto the roof. Download Attachment: rooftemp.jpg 2.23 KB A view to die for. You could see Rainier to the southeast, about 170° of the sound and the Olympic pennisula and the Olympic mountains clear as can be. Looks right down on a huge marina with a bunch of sea lions raising hell with the rich farts. The point here, Mike, is that one can usually find a way up and as Kevin pointed out when he began this thread, you can see a whole lot more from the roof than from the ground. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, It could have been from poor ventilation but the roof looks brand new. If he's saying that the attic was poorly ventilated and he'd had to replace all of the roof deck due to that, I'd believe him. Looks like there's a lot more than that to worry about with that roof though. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Not really, It's all a matter of perspective. When you climb them every day it's just another day at work. Of course if you're afraid of heights, and going more than 10ft. up a ladder starts a little guy in your gut yellling at you to go back down, you shouldn't walk any roof. You have to use the valleys for really steep ones, wear clean Hush Puppies, keep your soles absolutely flat on the surface and make sure the roof is absolutely dry. Don't ever walk on shakes when they are damp or have green algae on them or you're going for a ride. These are 4 that I walked with ease. Download Attachment: shaketempt1.jpg 70.52 KB Download Attachment: shaketemp2.jpg 104.55 KB Download Attachment: shaketemp3.jpg 100.29 KB Download Attachment: shaketemp4.jpg 57.34 KB ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Those filters function exactly like the old oil reservoir air cleaners used to. The air goes into the bucket and then has to turn around sharply to exit. The particulates (lint) in the air can't turn the corner that fast, centrifugal force pushes the lint outward as it tries to make the turn and it hits the liquid and is trapped. Kind of ingenious but a good way to end up with the underside of your roof decking all mildewed from all that humidity you're creating. The plastic bag lines the bucket so that they can just pull the liner out and all the lint comes with it. The bucket is not the fire hazard. The flexible corrugated duct is and whenever you see one of those you should warn your client about it and tell them to replace everything from the collar to the outside with smooth-walled metal ducting, no screws at the joints and clean it every year. 100 year old hotel burned down here two weeks ago because of one of those flexible ducts. OT - OF!!! M.

Do a search of the last 60 days for "ladder" and you'll find a nice long discussion about the Little Giant.

Hi, I have a reinspection clause in my pre-inspection agreement for the original inspection so there's no need for a second one. Not to change the subject, but I hope you are charging for your reinspections. For about the first five years I was in this business I did reinspections for free and did them on about 40% of the homes that I'd inspected. Most of the time I was on-site for only about 10 to 20 minutes but it might have taken me an hour or two to get there. One day I sat down and tallied it up and found that the time involved probably would have totalled about $55,000 to $60,000. From that day forward, I never did a free reinspection again. Now I address the question of reinspections at the time that I brief the client during the pre-inspection phase of the original inspection, I inform the client that my rate for doing reinspections is twice my normal hourly fee and that the clock begins ticking when I put my key in my door at home to leave for the appointment and it ends when I put my key into the lock upon return home. I make it clear to them that I charge for any time sitting in traffic or waiting for delays if they are late for the reinspection, and I charge an additional $30. for anything outside of 20 road miles from my home. I tell 'em only to call me if it's something that they can't look at and know has been fixed and not to call me to re-inspect something that a licensed professional - plumber, electrician, architect, engineer - was in charge of fixing or overseeing, because I don't see any point in checking their work and then assuming their liability. Funny, since I began this policy the reinspection business went away overnight. Now, reinspections are extremely rare and I find that I'm no longer embroiled in constant arguments with trades that do sloppy work or with "professionals" whose work isn't to a very high standard. The clients are still happy and I'm getting more referrals from previous clients than ever. I have no idea whether there is any correlation - all I know is that I'm just doing a tiny fraction of reinspections compared to what I used to do and this has cut my annual mileage almost in half. Works for me. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

George wrote: Yeah, but the occupants probably have very pink complexions and the neighbors have probably been shaking their heads for months and saying something like, "Poor ____ and _____. They've always been such nice folks. Have you noticed how red their faces are lately? They must be hitting the bottle pretty regularly these days. What a shame!" OT - OF!!! M.