CheckItOut

Thanks for the comments. The reason it is titled as a major repair is b/c I define a major repair as something that will cost $500 or more. Other repairs are titled as minor. I still don't feel the need to tell them about a law suite they can't participate in. If I did that, I'd have to tell them about any other legal challenge/settlement that the other products on the subject house have been involved in. If it was an on-going, open issue, yes, they should be informed. Plus, the cracks on the drip edges are not covered by warranty or law suite last time I called. The other issue is that people tend to get very excited and feel the whole house will need to be re-sidded. I have many years of personal experience with this siding with my personal house and rental houses I own. I've seen this material in various stages and know what works for repair and what does not. However, I do understand your points and I can certainly make things clearer after reading your comments. Thanks again...

Thanks for your input. Personally I prefer reality of the big picture. I think that telling folks about a class action law suite that they will not be able to participate in generally scares people into thinking that all of the siding needs to be replaced.

I've seen comments ranging from very vauge, ie "hardboard siding moisture damaged on house. A contractor should evaluate siding and repair as necessary" to extreme, ie "this type of siding is prone to failure and has been subject to class action law suites... blah, blah, blah" What I have used was more in the middle and having experience with owning houses with hardboard, I know that cracks in the coating on the drip edges does not mean the siding has to be replaced. Painting (several coats) with Duration or the like can seal the cracks and keep it in service for many years without furhter problems. So, I have come up with what I think is a realistic comment when thin cracks are evident on the lower edge with no visible swelling of the siding. What do you think? Major Repair Many sections of the hardboard siding exhibit cracking on its drip edge (bottom edge) and unsealed nail heads that have penetrated the surface of the siding. These cracks and nail holes can allow moisture intrusion that can lead to irreparable damage over time. Cracks and nail heads can be sealed to help prevent moisture intrusion. It is beyond the scope of this inspection to pinpoint each piece of siding that needs attention. A contractor should evaluate siding and repair as necessary.

This was a five-year old Trane that made a loud buzzing noise at the evap box when run in resistance heat mode. Sounded like one of those little hand-held engravers and was loud enough that I could easily hear it from the main floor with attic door closed (unit was in the attic). I'm writing it up for further eval but just curious if anyone knows...

Thanks for the responses guys. The other big reason I actually test, and report the water temperature, is to warn about a potential burn hazard. Above 120, I report as unsafe. I see 140 all the time and have seen 160 several times. Look at the sticker on the water heater - it will tell you how long exposure to those temperatures will take to give someone a severe burn. An elderly person or small child could easily get hurt with these temperatures.

Please correct me if I am wrong... Here is how I test electric water heaters: I run hot water at the kitchen sink into a coffee mug with a thermostat in it (is just my method, follow me). I record the temp after about 2 min. I then monitor this temp for about 10 minutes while I check other items in the kitchen. If I note a significant drop in temperature, I suspect a heating element problem. If I suspect a problem, I then remove the cover(s) on the WH and check for voltage at the element(s). If none, I turn the thermostat up. If still no voltage, I write it up as a thermostat or element problem and thus in need of repair. This has proven fine. But I got a call today from a Realtor who said that the home warranty guy checked the WH on a house I'd found a problem at and said all was good. So, the seller wants me to pay him $60 for the home warranty guy's trip fee. Is my method flawed?

Thanks guys. Soffit. You are likely right but that may confuse the heck out of people. Yes, it was wet and decayed. It was like this near, but not touching, where a deck stair assembly attached to the house. This soffit area was about 3' or so off the ground. Then the staining was intermitent about 3' away from the stair area. Kind of wierd.

I'm trying to describe some stained and wet wood but not sure what it is called. This house had an 18" horizontal overhang beyond the foundation wall. The underside of the overhang is covered with wood (framing above this). What is that wood covering called?

Only guy I know that uses one has a fujitsu and he likes it. Cost about $2,500 or so. Others have any suggestions on one that can be viewed in the sunlight?

Inspected a 1963 house and the air handler was in a closet on the bottom floor of a split level house. The condensate drain dumps into a vertical pipe that then goes to a drum trap which has a pipe that goes into the concrete slab floor. I have no way to know where it goes from there but if it goes to the sewer does the trap need some kind of water supply to keep it from drying out? If it dries out I would think sewer gas would enter the condensate line. Old house, old practices but ok for what it is?

House built in 1983. Open the return filter housing and the return plenum is not tall enough for the filter. So, the plenum is about 3" shorter than the filter. The plenum is installed under a stair well (no insulation) so it would drawl whatever air is under the stairwell into the return. This is not ok today but I have no idea about 1983. Just trying to figure if this should go in the summary or body. Thanks

Electric dryer is vented into a un-used brick chimney. Entrance point into the chimney is about 3' up from the bottom. Chimney is about 12' high. Other than having a hard time cleaning the lint out, is this not allowed?

I wanted to make sure you could tell the species of wood involved [:-slaphap I tried to shrink it, and did by a lot, but guess not enough.

This was not over a garage - main portion of the roof. No bowing or other issues. I climbed the roof and it looked great.

House was built in 2005 and I know the ridge depth must be as great as the cut end of the rafter but wondered if there was an exception that I was not aware of. Rafters on one side of the redge board were fine but no the other side. You could nail an extension on the bottom of the ridge but without the opposite rafters applying "pressue" agains it, I don't know that it would really do any good. Image Insert: 38.94 KB

1965 house... One wall switch appeared to do nothing and I thought the overhead bulb may be gone. Switch on the opposite side of the room turned on said overhead bulb. Once on, the "dead" switch worked just fine. So, if the "master" switch is on, the other switch works. Is this a switched switch and what for?

FYI, that photo isn't lap siding. It's only a guess, but it's probably lap siding at the street-exposed side and panel siding on the sides and back and that's how he made his mistake. At least that's the way about 90% of the builders around here do it. OT - OF!!! M. You are kind of right. The house is a mixture of lab and panel. An odd mix. The photo though, is not of the lapped portions. Good info above on the bituthene - thanks.

In that case, isn't there a nailing fin on the window that's behind the panel siding? Some window manufacturer's actually say that flashing isn't required in this type of installation. The nailing fin essentially acts as flashing. - Jim Katen, Oregon Yes, there probably is a nailing fin back there. The drip caps though are slightly angled away from the house to direct water away from the siding. Maybe this is a best practice issue as opposed to a requirement. Thanks a lot for your help!

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like a vinyl window with its fin installed on the outside of the panel siding and with thin trim applied over the fin. Is that right? If so, it's screwed. - Jim Katen, Oregon No. There is no trim. What you see on the top horizontal edge of the window that meets the siding is just the vinyl window. Once the caulk gives way, water will go behind the siding.

I'll try the pic again... Image Insert: 50.94 KB

We don't see it here - just hardboard and fiber cement- in terms of lap-type siding I installed inage resizer - thanks for the tip.

The big concern I have with its installation is the lack of drip caps over the windows. I have a pic but I think it is too large to post.

OSB lap siding on a brand new home here in NC. House was listed as fiber cement but I looked a little closer. I did a web search and it seems that this material has the same issues that hardboard does. Is that correct? Is this material becoming popular in new construction?

This house had a basement and crawl space. The soil in the crawl space had been excavated back from the basement wall several feet - some fiberglass sheet insulation was affixed to the wall - maybe dug out to insulate. This excavated area suddenly drops like a cliff about 6 - 8' from the rest of the crawl space. So, if a child or someone without a flashlight entered, they could drop, drop, drop. Would you add this to the summary page as a safety issue? That is my inclination. Or would you mention it in the body. Hey, c spaces have many hazards in them in general right (not to this magnitude though).

Thank you.