msteger

Ditto to what the others say. Call a qualified fireplace technician in to service/repair the gas fireplace.

If it was converted from oil to gas, why'd they leave the barometric damper installed? (Top left of middle photo) I've seen a few of these beasts as well and each was burning gas. Actually, I saw 2 a few weeks ago in a duplex...both were venting into the same unlined chimney.

Would have made more sense for the guy to run the conduit under those deck steps and into the garage.

I'd recommend replacing the discharge pipe with a piece of rigid copper (same size as the T&P valve) and terminate the pipe 6" from the floor. No threads at bottom of discharge pipe. Was this in a garage or basement? If above living space, I'd recommend a pan. I can't tell if the electrical panel is near by or not. If in a different room, I'd add a power disconnect, as well.

I occasionally, also, see certain fixtures or complete bathrooms plumbed backwards. I even did one home several years ago that was completely plumbed backwards. I guess these plumbers just don't check their work. I would assume they pressurize the lines and check for leaks but just aren't putting their fingers under the spigots to verify cold and hot are on the proper sides.

Thanks for the info.

Any chance you can briefly tell us what was changed/added? I have a version of a previous one saved locally, but I have some extra info like contact phone numbers and other stuff on my version. So, simply saving your new update would make me lose my changes without a lot of copying and pasting. Just curious.. Thanks.

Possibly, and also the various association (NAHI and ASHI) standards of practice will need to be changed to include these, assuming they want to build these into part of the home inspection standards.

But we haven't talked about privacy violations yet.

I would agree.. being in PA where statewide building codes didn't exist until 2004, I see all sorts of things that would be 'banned by code' but if the home is older than 4 years old, who knows what was required when it was built. It makes inspecting homes in PA quite interesting at times. We now have IRC (currently on 2006), but most 'rural' areas (where I am located) had nothing.

An A/C system requiring 3 phase power? Are we talking about a regular sized home or a large shopping mall?

I am not saying the inspectors should or shouldn't be held liable but there is no way we can tell now what was visible and apparent at the time of the inspection. The news story doesn't mention this, nor do they mention that home inspectors are performing a non-invasive visual inspection. They infer that inspectors should be able to see rot and mold in walls. Again, we don't know if there were any signs or red flags in the visible areas that the inspector should have seen or could not have been seen. This story only tells parts of the story and paints inspectors overall in a negative light. I guess you can spin something anyway you want. What they should have done was also interview some 3rd party local inspectors to see what they had to say about their own limitations during the inspection.

Does that apply to Virginia inpectors also, or just this numb skull? This leads to an interesting thought, what are the ramifications of inspecting across state lines? I am about 45 minutes from PA, and I know that PA will accept my NY license, but NY would not aprove if it were the other way around. Tom Since PA has no home inspector licensing (yet), as long as you 'claim' to fulfill Act 114 (which has no teeth for enforcement, by the way), you could operate in PA. If operating in a state that has licensing and you are no licensed to operate there (or your state has licensing and the other state won't recognize your license), I think you better either not operate in that other state, or you should get licensed there.

I see this from time to time and every time, the local utility (PP&L) says it is OK. A few times I've even seen worn down insulation (yes, portions of bare conductors are visible), and PP&L OK's it. Sometimes, this is in front of windows, sometimes it is easily within reach of a porch or deck, etc. I know the utilities don't follow the NEC, but come on, use some common sense guys. I've stopped recommending clients call the utility, but rather now suggest calling a licensed electrician who may actually back me up.

There were no ANSI stickers on the unit and no manuals. Those are all things I often look for when I can't date a furnace, but they were all missing. It was a rental, so as you can imagine, the area around the furnace was limited in access and full of stuff. I was guessing 1970s, so I think I am in the ballpark. The woman at Nordyne said 2004, but she may be off a few years. Whatever the exact age is, though, the unit is well past its life expectancy. The woman at York actually told me they only bought the Westinghouse building but didn't make Westinghouse furnaces. Just telling you what she told me. Thanks Guys.

I believe the supply vent temp was around 130~140 degs or so. I take the cover off, take the filter out, check to see if anything is on the other side of the filter, etc. Yep, I have found Barbie dolls, 2 or more filters, socks and other clothing, etc. stuck in there. I typically watch the unit fire for a few minutes and wait for the blower to start, then continue the basement inspection. Then, I go upstairs and check for heat in most if not all of the rooms. The furnace was not at the bottom of the basement stairs, but rather approx. 15' from the bottom of the basement stairs along the outside foundation wall. It was a duplex from around 1950. According to my report, the air filter was clean (serviceable), so it wasn't cruddy like some of the filters we all see from time to time. I, too, thought the return duct idea was a little odd based upon what I didn't see stuck in there and I don't recall seeing an extra small return duct plenum or anything like it. It appeared normal at the time. That's why I posted it here since I thought it was rather odd. The first thing I thought of when the client called either was the limit switch, the thermostat, or burner. According to the client, the return duct was replaced Tuesday and all is well. Oh well. Go figure.

Looks like most electricians don't know about this. Most of the panels I see in homes from 1985 and later aren't labeled either... even some new 2008 service upgrade I've inspected this year had little to no branch circuit labeling. I always note in my reports whether the breakers or fuses are labeled and recommend all non-labeled circuits be labeled for safety reasons.

Mike: That's strange because when I look at the Furnace Age Chart (that you mention), it skips Westinghouse and goes from Trane to Whirlpool. What am I missing, Mike? I am obviously not seeing the same info you are seeing in reference to pre-2004 (pre-Nordyne) units. I looked at the thread you mentioned, but since Nordyne took over Westinghouse in 2004, and I know my furnace is much older than that, I can't go by Nordyne's info. I contacted Nordyne directly and they couldn't tell me anything about pre-2004 Westinghouse furnaces since they didn't make them. I actually did do a search for "westinghouse furnace" on this website and only found to threads, one of which was the one you linked to above. Again, nothing of help for a pre-2004 unit.

I don't see any listing anywhere (on TIJ website or elsewhere) for Westinghouse furnaces. Westinghouse oil fired forced air furnace - Serial number EH 15714 Model number: founo98 EE (1 or both of the "o"s may be zeros (0)) Anyone have info for Westinghouse? If I had to guess, I would say the 1970s. Maybe that "71" in the middle means 1971? Nordyne owns the Westinghouse name for furnaces now, but can't find who owned it prior to 2004. Thanks.

I also thought it was required going back to around 1990 that code required new panel installs to be labeled by the installer. I also still see some townhomes with gas service only served with 100 Amp service. The only 240 Volt circuit is the A/C. Clothes dryer, range, water heater, and furnace are all gas.

A client called me a few days ago after I did an inspection for their new home and the end of Sept. Home was occupied and seller moved out a few days before new buyers moved in. The reason for the call has to do with a gas fired Heil furnace not running properly. From what he describes, it appears to be short cycling. He called a HVAC tech who says the issue is related to the return duct not supplying enough air to the furnace and this is causing things to overheat and shut down prematurely. From the serial number, the unit was manufactured in 1994 and if I recall, it was a mid-efficient model (approx. 80%). Generally, these types of furnace's have air grills either at the top or in the front grill, or both. At the time of the inspection (Sept.), the unit was running fine. I typically run furnaces for at least 10 minutes (normally more) to ensure proper operation, etc. and found no issues in Sept. Also, we had several cold October nights and seller made no observations that the furnace was working improperly b/w the inspection and moving out. I would think they'd notice something irregular on those cold nights, but who knows. The only service records visible at the inspection showed November 2007. I recommend C/S on all HVAC systems not showing recent (12 months or more recent) service records. I would imagine that, assuming the tech is correct, that the duct issue would probably have existed from day 1 of the unit's installation (either in 1994 or 1995). It's not something that was worn out over time, but rather something that was there at the original install. Has anyone out there ever heard of short cycling due to a small return duct? First time I've heard of it. The client purchased a home warranty, so they are taking care of it, but I am still curious as to the cause.

Agree 100% with AHIS. The shingle manufactures require/recommend (depending on the manufacturer) specific ventilation standards. I would recommend ridge venting and soffit venting, closing up gable vents, and removal and covering up power vents. Proper ridge and soffit venting will provide a uniform air flow to help keep the underside of the roof cool. Other vent types can create hot spots, cause the shingles and sheathing to wear quicker than designed, and also possibly allow for mold growth or increase cooling load on the home. Ice damming is also a concern with inadequate attic ventilation.

You just gotta love inspecting foreclosures in questionable neighborhoods.

Can't say I've ever see asbestos shingles like that in my neck of the woods. Must be a left-coast thing.

Personally, I think an inspector who states that a system (with a generally short life span, like a water heater) will provide many more years of satisfactory service when its already 10 years old is just asking for trouble. I provide the approx. age of the system and what the typical life expectancy of that system is and whether it is functional at this time. We are there to determine the approx. age of the water heater (normally printed right in the serial number), look for leaks, rust, presence of a T&P valve and appropriate overflow pipe, etc. and note that the general life expectancy of a water heater is normally 8~12 years (that is the range I use). We are doing the inspection on a specific date at a specific time. Our findings are based upon that time/date. We are not fortune tellers and should not tell people that most of these systems will last for years and years, without asking for it to come back and bite us. Telling a client that a 5 year old roof (assuming no other issues) with 25 year shingles should last approx. 25 years assuming regular maintenance is one thing. Telling a client that a 10 year old water heater will last many more years is just plain careless. The contract verbiage about 'not a warranty or guarantee' is wise and should be in every home inspector's inspection agreement to protect the inspector AND the client.