robert1966

Ditto here, I have only had good luck with Hardie as long as it is properly sealed and maintained. Just like any other building product, if you neglect it, it will eventually fail as well.

Great information on the reply posting.

You may want to have the mold investigated further and have an indoor air quality and humidity test performed for good measure.

Is the bathroom used regular, could be a p-trap or lack of a trap that allows sewer gas to enter the bathroom during hotter periods.

No it is not padding or any type of foam. It is in layers that break apart and the stuff looks as if it has been wet down before removal. I though maybe to limit separation and dust. On the inner most layer it has ridges just like the corrugated asbestos paper picture on the web. What ever it is, the previous home owner believed it had insulating properties. They went through extreme efforts to get if in the tight spaces where the roof is low. There have it over about 3/4 of the attic and had enough bundles to cover the rest. The bundles were rolled up and tied with bailing wire. It looks like the photo I attached of corrugated paper used to insulate pipes I got off Inspectapedia. Click to Enlarge 70.85 KB

Good thread with lots of great information, I am saving this one to come back later to try to digest it all.... Great job

It seems that diigtial reports via email will be the future, hand written on-site reports will become outdated.

Same here, doors stops are the only thing I note and I put it in interior under doors, now if they tear the fixtures off the walls and damage the wall finish I note that on the interior wall section.

Yes a purifing light, to help the little creatures see where they are going.

I seen one about a year ago that looked similar, may be a patent infringement. I think their stones were a differnt color though.

Only the round ones, the square ones will get right through!

I have seen these also and they were for inspection or system monitoring, but the caps could be removed.

Is this Asbestos? I think is is either asbestos pipe insulation or asbestos corrugated paper. Either way, there were bundles of it in the attic of this home and they had broke the bundles apart and placed it in the attic where the insulation would go between the joist. Thanks, Robert www.atexinspects.com Click to Enlarge 45.42 KB Click to Enlarge 63.54 KB

What about the newer homes with no attic ventilation, they are sealing them tight to include the soffits with sprayed foam insulation. Will there be problems later?

Interesting information. I know of some inspector who offered Energy Audit and when I referred my clients to them, they were told that they no longer do energy audits....I have been told by other inspectors that there is not a lot of business out there for energy audits. I think business is what you make it. Robert, www.atexinspects.com

We just had a custon paint job done on our entire interior and used SW Promar 200 and 400. The contractor had an account with SW and we used his account and save lots of money. The average SW Promar 200 flat cost 49.95 street price, but with his account we got it for 18.95-19.95 per gallon depending on the base used. The most we had to pay was for the trim (white chip) which was 30 plus dollars a gallon. We saved over 50% on the total purchase. My wife was so impressed with the paint and prices that we are the proud owners of about 10 different earth tone colors in the home. The colors complement each other nicely. Robert ATEX Inspects www.atexinspects.com

Hey Robert, I have had two homes with similar conditions, both had standing water in the crawl spaces. There were no vents anywhere around the home and the 2nd home had all the HVAC ducts in the crawl space which were sitting in the water. Robert ATEX Inspects www.atexinspects.com

Has anyone used or had experience with Extech brand IR cameras? Thanks, Robert www.ataexinspects.com

I have been a Houston Professional Real Estate Inspector for several years, I have seen my share of great investments in the line of foreclosures and I have seen some really bad investments as well. It is not always easy to tell one from the other without the assistances of a professional. Buying a foreclosure property can be a great investment, but you need to do your homework first. Don’t rush into any real estate deal blind, you may trip and fall. How far and how hard you fall depends on you, your financial status and the property at hand. It can be an ideal situation that is both for both the buyer and the bank or lean holder. This article is directed at the buyer, the one taking the real risk with the property transaction. First check and see what the other home’s in the area are selling for, what is the climate of the neighborhood and is the area located in a flood plan. After you have found a home that is selling for a great deal below the average cost in that area STOP! Smell the roses and look for the thorns, get involved with a real estate agent if you are new in the business of real estate investments. Wrong decisions here can mean your first investment will be your last investment. Consult with a professional real estate agent that specializes in buying homes in this market area, better yet, one that specializes in foreclosure investment properties. Next, contact a licensed real estate inspector who has extensive experience with foreclosed or reposed property inspections. Compare their qualifications, but also their quality of home inspection reports. The inspection report is only as good as the paper it is presented on. Trash in equal’s trash out, a poorly written inspection report will not benefit you in making the final purchase decision. Have the home inspected, asks the inspector; if they were you, would they buy the home for investment purposes. If they are hesitant to answer that question, you may have hired the wrong inspector. OK, ask them that question before you hire them. They should be more than willing to give you an honest answer at the conclusion of the inspection process. Most professional real estate inspectors will give you a rough estimate of the cost of needed repairs. Most of the homes that are foreclosed have been legally reposed by the lean holder, they are normally eager to sell the property, but not always eager to have the property inspected. Most often the utilities are disconnected to these properties get involved with your real estate agent to negotiate with the lean home to have the utilities turned on and schedule your inspections accordingly. The house is generally sold at 20-35% discounted rate of the market value. Therefore the investor can purchase the house, repair it and resell it to make a huge profit. Take the selling price, add in the estimated cost of repairs and determine if this is a profitable investment for you. Be careful on you first couple investment properties that you do not get in over your head and purchase a home that requires extensive or timely repairs. Always be aware of homes that have significant damage to the roof, foundation, electrical systems or homes with excessive termite or water damage. Buying a foreclosure can ensure a lot of money in just a short amount of time. It is definitely a good investment to make and especially when the market for distressed homes is continuously growing. However, once you have bought the house, you should repair it and refurbish it so that you can put it back in the market at its after repaired cost. This will give you a huge profit margin. But to get that profit margin you must make sure that the homeowner’s debt’s are not very close to the market value of the house. If it is, it will be best if you move on to another property in the hopes of buying it. Sincerely, Robert Welch, PRI Houston Professional Real Estate Inspector http:www.atexinspects.com Robert@atexinspects.com

I agree with taking the pool school course, there is also great courses offered locally. The ASHI list is pretty much inclusive of what needs to be inspected. It covers most of the larger topics of the inspection, but you will need a lot of additional knowledge to be able to inspect all the general topics and make conclusive recommends in related terms of equipment types, deficient items and needed repairs. Each type of system and each builder follows a standard pattern of installation, but most have unque features and require operation setups. Robert, http://www.atexinspects.com

Can you relocate it to Houston, TX for me? I am also pretty sure that putting an above ground in the ground voids the manufacturer's warranty if it is more that 18" below grade. That may be a problem. Robert, www.atexinspects.com

I would use some landscaping that comliments the home's features, but do so sparingly. Avoid anything that takes away from the home, instead arrange the landscaping the draw the eye of the viewer toward the home itself. Robert, http://www.atexinspects.com

I performed two home inspections on new homes this week, both had cracks in the garage slabs. These cracks are starting to separate and radiate out from the cent of the garage floor towards the outer foundation footings. There are 4-5 cracks in each home's garage slabs and some travel toward the slabs raised portions and run along the edge of the raised slab for several feet. I have seen these in older homes and they always seem to eventually transfer into the home's slab. I was not able to upload any photos from the report. The cracks average 3-5 feet in length and split into 3-4 different directions. One of the homes had what appeared to be settlement cracks in just about every corner of the home's interior wall-ceiling sheet rock joints. The builder's always tell the buyer that these are superficial curing cracks, but these appear to be deeper that curing cracks and already have separation and the edges are chipping on a micro level. Any comments on these cracks would be appreciated - Robert, http://www.atexinspects.com

I agree with comments below, I would recommend inspecting the heating system air exchange and I have also seen poorly insulated commercial windows in high-rises that do the same thing. Upon further investigation, I situation exposed poorly insulation and framing around the windows which allows cold air to encounter the heat interinal air. Robert, http://www.atexinspects.com

I have used two or three brands, the better ones are listed in the threads below. I have however found that the pinless detectors typically cost more, but have more applications. The pins are more invasive and some types that is not applicable. Robert, www.atexinspects.com