Chris Bernhardt

The SM is the Aquant and the Protimeter combined in the same package. I prefer the Aquant over the SM because it's form factor (no pins extending its length) can get into some tighter spaces. Chris, Oregon

Wha, wha, what did that say? Do you think a statement like that can be defended? Little old lady vrs home inspector; judge laughing out of his chair. Chris, Oregon

Oops, now I have competition in my own backyard. Chris, Oregon

Maybe it's just mine, but I don't trust the suretest. It often seems to give me bogus readings. One of my plans this year is to spend more time looking at a homes electrical system under load with my IR camera. I wonder what correlation exists between what the suretest says vrs infrared? My guess is the correlation is poor. Chris, Oregon

They came apart like fungus. Chris, Oregon

That's a splice shingle. My understanding is that during the production run that was the shingle that bridged the end and start of the roll. I'll see one or two maybe even three on a roof sometimes. The roofer is supposed to throw those away. Chris, Oregon

The ground in the crawlspace was covered with this stuff. What is it? Click to Enlarge 72.24 KB Chris, Oregon

With regards to the limitation of liability clause, it seems that some states will enforce them and others won't as in this case. Chris, Oregon

I don't know of any contractors around my parts that have a clue when it comes to solving wet or black attic problems. However, there's a number reputable drainage contractors with years of experience solving wet crawlspace and basements problems. In theory, air sealing the ceiling would work, but William B. Rose has always advised controlling humidity in the building over that and attic ventilation. With 3 stories, you might have a stack effect that's agravating the problem. The roof decking is probably so soaked, that even with fans it will take near summer to dry the attic out. The lack of insulation in the attic I think would help rather than hurt. The insulation will not block the vapor and it will lower the temperature and impede ventilation in the attic and allow more condensation to occur. Questions: Is the home occupied? What's the foundation - crawlspace, slab or basement? Is the home partially built over the garage? How's the home situated on the lot, sheltered by other buildings, trees, is it on flat or sloped lot? What's the square footage of each floor ~? What are the floor and wall coverings, and whats their moisture content looking like? What kind of windows? On what floors are the bathrooms,kitchen and laundry located? How are the kitchen and bathroom exhaust systems ducted out? Where's the attic access - hallway, room, near stairs? Is there a fireplace? What kind of heating system? What's the homes orientation into the prevailing winds? Is the attic wet through out or concentrated in some areas rather than others? Chris, Oregon

The home had been vacant for a year, so the leaking occurred when I ran the sink upstairs in the master bedroom. I had already scanned the ceilings on the first floor with my IR cam before running the plumbing upstairs, so I could make comparisons, which I do as a matter of practice. The point is that wetness that's just on the back of the ceiling drywall is not going to be readily confirmed by the SM. It doesn't mean the SM is useless, far from it. I use the SM & the Tramex ME+ both all of the time, even the protimeter to characterize moisture anomalies. I even use the super sensitive Tramex wet wall detector on occasion to help flush out or characterize anomalies. What I want to point out is that when you get your infrared camera, you might want to consider adding to your arsenal of moisture meters. Chris, Oregon

Performance comparison between a surveymaster (actually an Aquant and protimeter) and a Tramex ME+ on wetness in a ceiling from a drain leak. Click to Enlarge 24.49 KB Click to Enlarge 27.62 KB Click to Enlarge 27.55 KB Click to Enlarge 25.33 KB Readings a foot away Click to Enlarge 28.2 KB Click to Enlarge 27.79 KB The Tramex ME+ is more sensitive than the SM. Using the SM only, could make confirming wetness in a ceiling more difficult. Chris, Oregon

A couple of more points. I didn't need IR to find this leak, just rain. I knew pretty much what to expect when I saw the leak in the crawlspace. But what does bother me is how many times I may have missed this in the summer time. A leak like this could go on for years before anyone notices, and with two shingle layers or more how do you know if the stains are old or new? IR is fun in the winter rainy months, but it's about useless in the summer months for this kind of problem. Chris, Oregon

1950's cottage, pouring down rain, roof has 3 layers. I happened to go up on the roof first, and I didn't see any initial concerns. I happened to go into the crawlspace next and found leaking at the bathroom sink drain. I knew right away since the water was off to the home at that moment, that the source was most likely a leak at the P-vent on the roof. I went in and visually looked in the bathroom and the adjacent bedroom and didn't see anything. I even took out my Tramex ME+ and scanned the bedroom wall where I thought the pipe ran and didn't find anything. I then scanned the wall with my IR camera and found I was scanning with the Tramex in the wrong place. I then went up into the attic and confirmed visually the leak at the P-vent, and then finally went back up on the roof and found upon closer examination that there was a depression and soft spot in the roof adjacent to the P-vent flashing. Click to Enlarge 56.46 KB Click to Enlarge 39.61 KB Click to Enlarge 26.85 KB Click to Enlarge 35.66 KB Click to Enlarge 46.63 KB Chris, Oregon

I generally wouldn't cite the 2%. I would just tell them to slope it to ensure positive drainage. Hard to argue with that, but boy they sure will argue over a stupid number. Chris, Oregon

No. I usually see more waviness on the southern and western exposures on long walls like the one in your pic. Do you think they nailed the siding to the studs or to the sheathing? Chris, Oregon

I'm set up with an ARU account where I can process CC's over my cell phone. It's 2.8% and a $1 per transaction with a $5 a month maintenance fee. I tried paypal, but it's a hassle in my opinion. If a client shows up at the inspection without a checkbook, I can process his CC on the spot. I don't have to go back to the office, send him an email and hope he'll take the time to respond. As far as I'm concerned, paypal is the same as trying to get them to mail a check. Chris, Oregon

I understand. Many of us get started in this biz worrying about controling liability; you can't control liability. Thinking in terms of your liability is like walking a tightrope looking down and saying to yourself "I hope I don't fall!"; it's a recipe for disaster. Instead change the perspective to covering the clients ass; only then and only then will yours be covered. It's a myth that whatever contractor you want to punt the client over to is going to be smarter than you, understand the problem better than you and cover the clients ass better than you. If you were to really follow what happens when you punt, you'll find that most often either nothing is done or the wrong thing is done. I'm very interested in black attics and have been studying them for a while and I can tell you there aren't any roofers around here that have a clue. The best source on the subject of moisture in buildings is William B. Rose. Get his expensive book - Water in Buildings. Google his name and download other more recent articles written. Chris, Oregon

Says who? How many flat roofs have you seen ventilated? what if they sprayed the underside with foam insulation, would it need ventilation then? Who says it's vital? Marc, if somethings missing, and you really think it should be there, then advise the client to remediate the missing whatever. There's no need to explain it. If anyone asks, explain it then. Like the roofer that screwed it up to begin with? Marc, you should be fully capable of rendering advice for moisture in attics. If any investigating is needed, you're the best man to do it. Don't try and cover your butt. Do what Jim Katen preaches, think in terms of covering your clients butt, and then yours will be covered. Chris, Oregon

In all of the arbitrations and court case I have reviewed in my area, none have raised the issue that an inspector failed to find something because he didn't use some tool or use it properly in a visual inspection. I'll use any tool that I can afford if it aids me in performing visual inspections. I use ladders, binoculars, magnifying glasses, powerful flashlights, several different moisture meters, IR camera, probes, hammers, various levels, plumb bob, string, tape measure, etc. to ensure a thorough visual inspection. I don't perform IR inspections. I use the IR camera as an aid to a visual inspection. I use it in just about every inspection. It has a lot more utility in the winter and rainy season here than in the summer, dry season. If you can afford the over priced training, go for it. If you are going to use an IR camera in a business model like Kevins, I would recommend you follow what Kevin says. If you are deeply interested in performing the best visual inspections you can, than use any tool that you deem will aid you in doing that. Chris, Oregon

In the last few months I've had a couple of clients who found me via the internet. Both told me they checked me out at the BBB website. They cited my website and the BBB A+ rating as why they chose me over other local inspectors. I reupped with the BBB for another year. [] Chris

How about sticking that kind of stuff on your website and then put a reference to it in your report. For other good things to do and maintenance to be aware of goto Terence's website. Chris, Oregon

After I got the IR cam, I also started delving into the capabilities of the different moisture meters out there, and whenever I found anything interesting, I looked at it on IR and applied several different moisture meters to it. Durring the rainy season here, IR is great at finding roof leaks via looking at the ceiling. Sometimes, there is just no visual evidence of a leak, but IR indicates it and scanning with a Tramex confirms it. But what I found was that the SM was not picking up a number of leaks indicated at the ceiling because it can't scan deep enough. On the other hand the tramex can be too sensitive and can indicate elevated residual moisture in a floor say at the toilet or tub, where an SM indicates there's really no saturation or big deal. Used in conjunction, IR and moisture meters with different sensitivities, I can get a better understanding of what's going on, and how to investigate it further. I think the truth is that roofs, walls, windows leak far more than we know and by using more powerful tools we begin to find this out. The trick is to decide how much leaking really is a problem. Chris, Oregon

Ones not better than the other, you need both IMO. The SM or Aquant only scan about 1/4" deep. If the roof's leaking and the back of the ceiling drywall is wet, an SM won't detect it. You would need a Tramex moisture encounter plus to do that. So, if there are moisture stains on the ceiling, a SM can't be relied on to confirm or deny wetness of ceiling drywall unles it happens to be saturated all the way thru. If a substrate has gotten wet and started to dryout, an SM will probably not indicate anything significant, but the Tramex is likely too. Using both together they can help you characterize the degree and depth of suspected moisture. If you're trying to scan EFIS, you'll need an expensive Tramex Wet Wall detector. I have done a number of experiments, and your right if there's a thin layer of moisture between two layers of saran wrap, the SM doesn't indicate well, but I have not had that problem with moisture trapped between two layers of vinyl. In my experience you can reliably tell if the moisture is trapped in a thin layer near the surface by using a Tramex and an SM in conjunction with each other. Chris, Oregon

Jim, what's been your biggest report, number of reported items? Chris, Oregon

It's pretty easy to gauge by site if the butt joints are landing off stud near the windows. From what I have seen around here, if they have nailed it wrong, the siding will start loosening, and look like crap on the weather side after a few years. I was wondering if anyone has gotten dragged in for not spotting it and bringing it to the attention of the client. Chris, Oregon