Jesse

Older homes around Chicago have traps for the kitchen waste, to trap grease before it went to the sewer. Often the traps are broken off by now, but the catch basin is still in service. As long as the catch basin is in good condition, they require minimal, if any, maintenance. Sometimes they're bypassed altogether by now. The basement wall in this area is totally visible and in great shape. No work has been on it. To the left of the PVC is a grate over a window well. I agree, it's a newer driveway, and the PVC line was put in with the driveway.

The gutters and downspouts are routed far from this thing, and terminate at grade. I don't see how 1.5" PVC makes sense for a clean out. Villa Park has a separated sewer system.

It's a ~1955 ranch in Villa Park with a full basement. Immediately outside the kitchen, there's about 18" of 1.5" PVC sticking up from the driveway. The top end of the pipe has a plug. Open the plug and look down the pipe, about 4-5" below grade the pipe turns away from the house, then it's out of sight. There are no openings in the driveway, which is not original. So, the question is: What is the pipe for? My only guess is that it goes down to a catch basin with a grease trap, because it's right outside the kitchen. If that's the case, why run this PVC up? Any and all ideas welcome, especially from you local guys. Hope this picture thing works. Image Insert: 66.99 KB

The sticker that said 1979 - is that a service history sticker? If that sticker is on some nearby ductwork, it may be older than the furnace that's there now. Like the other guys were saying - get the thing inspected. Then you'll know. Bravo, by the way, for being an attentive buyer, and doing your research.

Wouldn't that be a local issue?

I started off the way Jon described - everything as "we." I'm getting away from that now. I am the service that these folks are buying. It really is all me. Maybe I'll change back again next year.

Who cares if the realtor says he'll do something? If you think recall checking is a service that is important, then do it, regardless of what some goof says he'll do. Let's say you saw a HVAC coming out of the basement as you went in, and he said, "Don't worry about the furnace, I just checked it." Wouldn't you still do your thing?

Lawn furniture, empty beer cans or OE bottle, drug paraphernalia, the occasional condom. No bullets yet.

Neal - I know Carrier makes rooftop stuff with the Centurion tag. I'll look in to the York possibility. Les - We all make mistakes. You should have paid more attention during the test drive.

I am a Centurion condenser in a residential split system. How old am I? Mod AC036X1021G Ser WON5697293 All signs point to this thing being brand new, but I can't make sense of the nameplate info. Anyone?

Thanks for saying that. I was thinking the same thing; forgot to mention it.

A lot of money has gone to TRY to fix the structural inadequacies of much of Wright's stuff. Like Kurt said, beautiful - yes, sound - not so much.

Kyle, you're right to still be edgy. An 89-year-old with 3rd degree burns over any significant portion of her body doen't have a good prognosis. She survived the fire, but is likely very far from surviving her injuries. Brian's right, they are horrific injuries.

Or combustion air.

Mike just linked us to something that was in a paper with moderate circulation. That's it. I appreciate it. I'm glad I know that it's out there. Rick said that a lot of us don't have adequate qualifications or training to do the job. That does damage to all of us, certified, licensed, or blessed by the Dalai Lama. It's good to know what we're up against. Mike didn't say anything in this thread to imply he supported what Rick was saying.

I call it light brown. I could understand others might call it gray.

Poorly written article; it covers two different topics. It seems that home inspectors are scare mongers because homes in The Villages did not collapse completely. I'm not sure how that makes sense. Apparently, the standards of practice of a Florida home inspector should only cover the ability of a home to resist wind. I guess it'd be an easy report to write.

Bring a heat gun to melt the polar ice, too.

WAY too much text.

You asked the best set of "new inspector" questions I've seen on this board. Do lots of inspections with other inspectors. It'll help you get started, and it'll teach you a lot. Good luck, and thanks for your service.

Call/email the manufacturer. Most respond quickly with good info.

Big brass ones, John, throwing your work out to be critiqued. Bravo. That said... - I don't quite understand the blurry graphic of the house on a pile of money. - You don't have to provide instructions on how to use the internet. If someone's on your site, they'll probably figure out how to click on the buttons. - The color contrasts are rough on the eyes. You don't need big text in bold colors on a white background. Check out the sites that Randy and Kurt have - they are great examples of clean sites that are easy to view. - The home page, as it is, says nothing. It's supposed to be your introduction. Maybe move your "goal" stuff, or your "bio" stuff over to your home page. Keep it brief, though. - When you're writing the text, relax. No one actually says "I have resided in the state of Maryland since..." How about "I've lived in Maryland since..." That's some format stuff. I hope it's helpful.

Morgan I took the Kaplan 11-day program. During the class, it quickly became clear that they would not be preparing me to be a good home inspector. Instead, they were preparing me to graduate from their class. The instructors were generally intelligent, generous, helpful people. The program simply did not provide enough time to teach what you need to learn. They also preached extremely conservative inspections, a lot of referring-to-an-expert, cover-your-ass reporting, etc. They have to, because that's the only way to get a meter maid(for example) to do home inspections in two weeks. The shorter correspondence course can't be any better. If you read every book and handout they provide, it still isn't close. That said... I did find the class helpful. It provided a starting point. With that, and going out on a few(about 100) inspections with someone who wants to teach and knows what he's doing, you'll start to feel like you know what you're doing. Until then, you probably won't be helping your clients much. Good luck. Read everything you can, especially here on this forum.

That's an interesting perspective, Lewis, that I've never seen addressed on this board. Thanks. Certainly proof that the rules change by geography.

I can see how those pictures were easy to forget.