Nolan Kienitz

Attached is a page from a list of some 'administrative actions' takes by the TREC Enforcement group in Austin. This is not all inclusive and that there is more documentation that goes into each of these actions, but some of the verbiage is very troubling. IE: An inspector gets admonished (Advisory Letter) for noting something as "Deficient" that was not part of the SOP. The IAC (Inspector's Advisory Committee) asked TREC Enforcement for an explanation of such a finding and Enforcement and they could not answer. If this is the trend for inspections in Texas it is a very sad day and troubling for all honest, hard-working inspectors. The $199 / Drive-Bys won't give a flip as their soft reports will allow the deal to close and the agents to make their 3 to 6 percent. Go figure!!! [?] Download Attachment: enforcement_2.pdf 371.44 KB

I had two clients this past week that I spent a fair amount of time with explaining mold and 'mold is gold', etc.. They finally 'got it' ... albeit one couple's wife was still a tad hesitant, but the light bulb finally did go on for her after another conversation with a State of Texas licensed mold inspector. He is 'honest' about the whole thing. I also received a cold call this past week from a company (I think in NC) asking if I was certified to do mold testing for my clients? Turns out this company was wanting to sell me some course that I could take (and spend $$$ on) and become a mold specialist and do those inspections and sell them for additional revenue from my clients. I about lost it, but held my tongue and told him that he obviously doesn't know the rules in Texas that mold inspectors have to be licensed and certified by the State of Texas. Anyone else claiming they do mold inspections without that certification (from the State of Texas) is a sham and operating illegally. The call ended rather abruptly. Bottom line is that there are folks/schools out there still beating the drum for this.

Of course depends upon what the AHJ has adopted and (more importantly ... enforces). Most of the local D/FW AHJs are reasonably current with NEC and IRC. That being the case, yes the AFCI product would have to be in place as well as GFCIs ... at least in the garage. I am going to assume the SEP is located in the garage. The receptacle in the ceiling for the garage door operator also has to be GFCI protected. (Don't even ask why on this one) I know many others know far more about the details for such, but that is the approach I would have.

I switched over to HelloSign as well. Works very nice and customer service is very good.

Its the new "convertible" model !! []

Danny T. - I'm in the same camp as all who have already posted above. I provide my clients what I call a "verbal book report" of my findings and that is a preview of what will be in my report that they often get by 10PM or midnight, but usually the next day. There are so many clues from images captured and reviewed and other data points that involve (not always, but often) additional research that are also added to the report. Most of the HIs (in our DFW market) who deliver reports on-site are characterized as the 'production' or 'drive-by' (aka: McDonalds) inspector. Agents love 'em. Do what is right for you. Be patient and serve your client well.

FWIW ... I went to my local big box HD on a mission for smoke alarms and they had a good supply of: CO, Ionization and Combination. Not a single photo-electric type on their shelves (at least at this particular HD). I have not yet ventured over to the big box Lowes yet.

Same here. Very nice. Douglas, Paddy, Jim and all - Excellent work and well worth the wait for the update to a very good document.

NBC's Today show did a piece on the smoke alarms and featured an extremely well respected engineer from TAMU (Texas A&M Univ). This was aired on 10/03/2012. This story was not easy to miss, but seems like many have. I've attached the links below. NBC Today - Jeff Rossen Reports (Smoke Alarms) Texas A&M University - Dr. B. Don Russell

RE: In The Mood ... Nah, it was Glenn Miller and his Orchestra that brought it to #1 in the 1940s. Albeit, Benny Goodman was also excellent. Most often when writing reports I'm listening to Big Band Era music. I'll stop hi-jacking this thread now ... []

Darren, Did you recognize the tune [?] (I just had to do it ... you set me up and I was 'in the mood') [:-slaphap

Did a buyer's inspection today on a home built in 2007. Plumber must have not been able to get the right size manifold on his truck for this installation. So he just extended and made up his own manifold. Such a deal. Click to Enlarge 70.76 KB

I stopped doing crawl space properties ~two years ago for multiple reasons I won't go into. We don't have that many down here, but as Katen and others noted by the time i collected all the information from the client about the property my pricing matrix was then able to provide a fee for that property. Those with P&Bs were always $150 additional due to the time it took to effectively inspect ... no options were provided.

Very good, Kurt, but your birthday must have short-circuited your patience. [] I'm up on you by a few years so maybe my "patience tolerance level" has extended a bit more already. Actually, I've been wondering the same thing, just didn't do what you did and I thank you for that !!!

Being up North this is probably a question that is unnecessary ... but what did the A/C coils on the EVAP unit look like and any plumbing or freon lines related to same? Like I noted ... this Q is out of the ballpark as the separate EVAP coil and condenser unit are not as common up there as they are down here?

On dual-panel windows it is stamped/etched somewhere on the inside aluminum. A string of numbers.

Excellent education. Tnx Kurt.

I might have missed something along the way (not hard - BTW) in that all the TR receptacles I've seen have always had the shutters on the blades not in the ground pin. [?]

If the valve were rotated to be on the right side of the faucet then pushing it back would be hot. What I would perceive as "expected". This one is still doing the same thing, but has been rotate to the 'left' side of the faucet.

Just wait until it starts a slow, dripping leak ... Obviously won't be testing the TPR Valve like the manufacturer states we (as homeowners) are supposed to do (once per year) ... I know, I know ... nobody does that anyway. [:-crazy]

Jim L. - I've been thinking about just taking a shower with all those high/low/overhead sprays with the classical music playing ... like the TV commercial. I think that would handle the "functional flow" test. [:-slaphap

RE: Texas TREC SOP We've been working to remove the "requirement" for the static water pressure readings in our SOP and had it out. Of course if an HI wants to test he/she is more than welcome to do as they wish. The static pressure requirement was "forced" back into the SOP just a couple of weeks ago as an individual rather high in the food chain of the governor's office intervened and spent many hours on the phone with the chair of the SOP committee. After that phone call the requirement was put back into our proposed-new-SOP. So ... politics at it's best in Texas from the state's highest office down to the level of what we inspector's are being required to inspect and not inspect. Don't tell me that a 'state-controlled' inspector's group is a good thing. I feel more and more that I'm doing an inspection to be sure I'm doing a CYA so that I don't get set up for fines from the penalty matrix or worse. Can be frustrating.

40 to 80 is the IRC required range. Below is low ... over is high. Texas TREC SOP requires that HIs check for water pressure. If they don't and get caught it ends up being a fine from the TREC Inspector's Penalty Matrix that can be 'spensive.

Whisper Reporter Highly customizable to do whatever you want/need.

The Texas TREC SOP requires that we test/run appliances. The SOP does indicate testing in "basic" mode. Basic mode meaning that I do NOT test convection or any other special capabilities. Basic is "BASIC". D/W run on 'short cycle' with soap tray cover engaged to ensure it has 'opened' after the cycle. Ovens ... turn on broiler (do the coils light up Y/N) then turn it to 350-degrees with an oven thermometer inside to see if the resulting temp (after an hour or so) is +/- 25-degrees of the requested 350. Yes the 350 and the =/- is in the SOP. Now if my oven was outside of 25 degrees +/- I would not be a happy camper ... now mind you I do a lot of cooking at home and my oven had best be damn close to what temp I call for. All in all ... a lot of verbiage above, but truly not a big deal. I'm just not sure about having to deal with the TREC moving our "doorbell" item from the Appliances chapter to the Electrical/Branch Circuit Chapter in our SOP and 7-3 report template ... That could give me some heartburn ... [] As for them being part of an SOP ... I really don't care as it is a requirement in the state where I inspect and am licensed and required to already inspect such. As for ASHI or any other state ... I would not have any problems with them adding such. Like Jimmy noted ... not something to get one's knickers is a wad about.