davidlord

I see the sunken tub occasionally. Most of them are downright dangerous due to the long step down into the tub.

I just bought one of my pest control guys a Dell Mini 9 for $389.00. He uses it to access the main computer at the office for data entry and to complete WDO reports and such.

Yea they blew that BYU/Washington call. Miami played a good half in the swamp but in the end the depth of UF was overwhelming. Not much of a drop off in talent from the 1st to 3rd guy on the chart.

I have the same 17'LG (225lbs version) that I bought when I started this gig. Don't see why it won't last another 10. I also bought the 21' heavy weight model LG and might have used it 2-3 times. Right now its sitting in my garage collecting dust. When I need a ladder around the house I get my LG out of the X.

As usual the SEC will be tough but Tebow and the Gator's will be up to the task. USC and Florida for the National Championship.

I have a Gateway convertible because I didn't like the idea of not having a keyboard. The tablet sounded like a great idea but in reality any old laptop would do. I rarely use the tablet function anyway. If all you do is point and click then a tablet may work. I'm going with a MacBook next purchase.

I would say its asbestos and anyone that didn't think so could prove me wrong.

I had a water pressure gauge when I first started this gig and used it several times. Can't say I've used one it the last 8 years or so. I was at a vacant house this morning and I reached in my bag to get my voltage detector (garage door opener didn't work so I figured I would check for power to the unit) and kind of chuckled at how few tools one really needs to do this job.

The return air should pass through the coil prior to the aux heating elements and blower assembly. Some units are installed in an upflow config and some in a down flow config.

That looks like one of those inspections you would rather price yourself out of.

Around here they do. M1403.2 Foundations and supports. Supports and foundations for the outdoor unit of a heat pump shall be raised at least 3 inches (76 mm) above the ground to permit free drainage of defrost water, and shall conform to the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

I'm 6'2 195-200lbs. I buy the run of the mill 2 or 3x long sleeved coveralls. I slip on a pair of cheap rain pants prior to the coveralls. When the coveralls get worn I toss them and buy some more. I find knee pads a pain in the a$$. It's rare that I actually have enough room to get up on my knees anyway. I always wear a respirator also.

The area I live in is probably 2 miles from the Intracoastal and on a sand ridge and water disappears quick so no problems in my neighborhood. Downtown St Aug by the bayfront floods during a regular summer shower so I'm sure there having problems. Several hours south of here in Melbourne its really bad. That's where the snakes and gators are coming out.

Sure most of the stuff I have detected with the IR I would have found anyway. Somethings I would not have found. You could argue that if you can tell if something is wet just by touching it then who needs a moisture meter. The one eyed man on a running horse is just funny and made me chuckle out loud. I think most folks who don't use IR think it's not applicable, to expensive, or you can do the same thing without it or worse yet their gonna get sued. Folks that use IR and have completed level 1,2, whatever tend to think that an HI that's using IR without training is an idiot and just doesn't understand the science of IR. Then theres folks like myself that decided to buy one and found out that for HI work it's a great tool, makes for great marketing, not to mention the wow and in my case fun factor. I gotta go drain some more water out of the pool.

I'm not try to be a smart ass so don't take anything personally. I do have a very sarcastic sense of humor (often not appreciated by my wife of 21 years)

Think whatever you want Terry. I've stated my opinion. Missing insulation in an unaccessible attic. Image Insert: 12.22 KB Active roof leak around chimney (verified with contact moisture meter) Image Insert: 12.21 KB Overheated Breaker Image Insert: 11.32 KB Overheated Service Wiring Image Insert: 13.06 KB Roof leak at bottom of valley (verified with contact moisture meter) Image Insert: 15.78 KB How am I doing on my analysis so far Terry? I'll post examples of some anomalies and how through the power of channeling a level 3 thermographer I reach my conclusions.

Terry, No difference. You just decided to make an assumption. If I said level 1 trained inspector, or such and such trained inspector, or maybe had some nifty little IR logo you would have a point. I consider myself trained in the use of my IR camera from the experience of using it. No deceit implied or intended. If you knew me personally you would know that assumption is incorrect. Like I said. Using IR in residential home inspections is just not that difficult at least for me its not. I'm comfortable with that. If you want or need level 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 then by all means get it. If I was in the business of inspecting commercial, retail, schools, and even state legislative buildings I would probably want some kind of moniker. Thanks for visiting my website though. This message was brought to you by a rural Florida high school graduate. Is this a great country or what.

Mike, I have a PIA I just don't worry about anybody signing it. I don't even have a place for them to sign it. Its at the front of the report and basically says by using this report you agree to blah, blah, blah. In the end a PIA isn't going to save you if your a knucklehead. Not trying to change the thread it just seems most HI's are more concerned about who may sue them. I'm just saying I don't need a $1200-1800 class for me to use my IR cam for what I do. Did anybody get "certified" to use a moisture meter or a laser thermometer? I will get the level 1 cert at some point when things are slow but I don't see it as a necessity. Just my 2 cents.

It amazes me that the majority of the people in this profession are so fixated on being sued and what the defense lawyer is going to do. I will guarantee you that I will never be sued because of something I've done with an IR camera. I would find another way to make a living if all I thought about was if every move I made somebody is going to sue me.

Using IR as a tool for home inspections is just not that difficult IMHO. It takes very little practice to figure out most of the anomalies such as reflected light and so on. I'm sure in other applications advanced task specific training is needed. I'm not knocking training I just don't find it complicated for home inspections. It takes practically no skill to figure out if something (like a service entrance wire) is outside of its normal operating temperature or the insulation is missing in an attic or wall. As for using temperature markers on the photos my clients don't care if the temp is off a few degrees. One picture showing an insulated wall temperature of 78 degrees and one showing an uninsulated wall temperature of 102 degrees really helps them understand heat gain. Now if I were scanning the external liquid fuel tank of the space shuttle during the fueling process I'm certain someone would care about a few degrees. For the record I have taken no IR training to date and I'm not crazy. I don't have clients sign contracts or agreements for anything and I'm still not crazy. 9-10 years and counting and loving what I do for a living.

I've been using IR for the last several months. Clients love the IR cam and it makes me look smart (not an easy task). It's great for verifying problems you suspect but can't see and sometimes reveals problems you don't suspect or see. It's got way large cool factor. It's one thing to say "the house is going to burn down soon blah,blah,blah" but when you add the pics it's much more dramatic. Image Insert: 7.62 KB Image Insert: 13.07 KB

John. That was sarcasm. My wife sometimes does not appreciate it either.

I've been using Report Plus for almost 10 years. Other than editing the stock boilerplate its been a good product. Cramer's Intelligent reporter is basically the same product in a different format with better boilerplate. There's also some new fangled outfit (intuit I think) that is selling software that handles all things financial. Crazy what these people come up with. Let me know though if your banking software will also keep track of my golf handicap.

Drainage fittings shall have a smooth interior waterway of the same diameter as the piping served. All fittings shall conform to the type of pipe used. Drainage fittings shall have no ledges, shoulders or reductions which can retard or obstruct drainage flow in the piping. Threaded drainage pipe fittings shall be of the recessed drainage type, black or galvanized. Drainage fittings shall be designed to maintain one-fourth unit vertical in 12 units horizontal (2-percent slope) grade. (IRC P3002.3.1)

I just tell them there have been serious problems associated with these types of panels and that they should have it replaced. I hyper link to a pdf that has all the supporting documentation. I'm done at that point. Any arguments will be referred back to said documentation. I don't care if they replace it or not. I've done my job by making them aware of the potential problem.