John Dirks Jr

OK Walter I'll give it a try. I'll start by dumping the redundant legal text. From there the goal will be K.I.S.S. Sound good?

You guys have have shown a great deal of patience in dealing with me. Thank you all very much for that. I understand the importance of communication both written and verbal as it applies to the HI world. Because of your efforts to direct me I plan to focus on improving my communication skills. Exactly how I am going to do that I have not quite defined yet. The important part is, I admit I have a problem to solve. Isn't that half of the battle? PS: Should I have broken this into multiple paragraphs as such?

This next statement should be clear enough; The combined efforts of some members of this forum have convinced me to make a change. I will be removing the CYA legal text from the body of my reports. I will construct an appropriate Inspection Agreement which will contain the necessary language to provide me with suitable liability protection. After deciding exactly how the Agreement will be worded, I will hire a local attorney to go over it and verify that it will not conflict with any local laws. Are there any online sources of Inspection Agreement Language? If there is no risk of copyright infringement, would anyone care to share what language they use?

Darn it. I missed typed again. I typed feed. I meant to say fed. The branch that is "fed" from a GFCI outlet, are those items down line protected by the GFCI outlet that feeds them?

OK. What about a problem on the feed circuit? Will that trip the GFCI that feeds it?

Sorry. OK, you have a GFCI receptacle that feeds non GFCI recptacle. Are both protected?

Not to hijack the thread or go off on a tangent but are other non GFCI receptacles fed by GFCI receptacles also protected by the feeder GFCI? I thought they were not.

If there happens to be a GFCI on the garage circuit then there is surely a chance it could trip and prevent the functioning of the door. I think it is worth explaining this to the client. Given this possibility, I think its is also important to inspect and explain to the client the functioning of the emergency mechanical release mechanism of the opener. Make sure it releases easily. Make sure when it does release the door can be manually lifted with out too much effort. The tension springs might need to be adjusted to allow the door to be easily lifted. Especially with heavier older wood doors.

Interesting. Normally when you think of things gravity related, you think of them dropping or falling. So that thing is vented to the outside isnt it?

On a side note to this thread, in the pic I see the dishwasher discharge line looping downward. Just curious since the pic doesnt show it all. Does it either connect to an air gap in the counter top or loop all the way up to the counter top before dropping back down to the dishwasher?

Im in the learning curve here so help me out please. Why do the call it "gravity vented"?

Walter, A brilliant writer like you must also have excellent reading comprehension. I just dont believe it when you say you dont get my point. Are you trying to confuse me? Its working. If I have to learn the hard way, so be it. Out of the gate, ethics will be at the top of my list. I wont be focusing on making the most amount of money possible. I just want to make some money. I want to stay in business for the long haul.

In any event, happy 4th everyone. Be safe.[]

That is a fine answer Walter. It was well thought out. Based on you assessment of things in the real world of home inspections, I expect to do well. Now consider this hypothetical situation. There is a scheduled event that is just beginning. The event is a home inspection. Present are a number of equally polite and intelligent people. There is a seller and their agent, a buyer and their agent, and a builder who had recently done some significant additions to the property. Last but not least there is the home inspector. So there are 6 people there. Now even though these people have a common bond for all being there at the same time, each one has their own thoughts which are most important to them as individuals regarding the situation. Now with respect to the reason for the event, the home inspection, one of those persons is charged with the responsibility of implementing a Code of Ethics directly related to that home inspection. Which person is that? We all know the answer right? Its the home inspector. So with regard to the main reasons why there are a written Code of Ethics and the person who is responsible for upholding them, which persons thoughts matter the most? If you stay within the context of this hypothetical situation the answer is easy.

Walter, Are you saying that in the HI business what an inspector might think is not as important as what the customer might think? Careful now because my next response is hanging on your very answer to this. Jim, yes I am working with software I purchased. There are two main reasons I choose not to mention the maker at this point. 1. I am aware that the sponsors of this forum are competitors in that they have their own software on the market. I don't want to step on their toes by mentioning the competition. In addition the responses relative to the quality of a competitors software may be biased in this forum. 2. I am still new and have much to learn. I am probably not the best promoter of software related to the HI business at this time. So out of respect for the writer of the software I choose to conceal the brand at this time. Its not the tool..its the user...

Yeah if the detectors are hard wired to house current I would agree they belong in the electrical section. Then there is the battery operated ones. They arent really a part of the homes electrical systems. What about Carbon Monoxide detectors? Do any of you recommend those anywhere in your reports? If so where?

I found this system. Its not a central site for all methods though. http://www.thenaturalhome.com/drywellinstallation.htm

Ok guys, where in the report is a standard place to mention things related to smoke detectors? Interiors?

Got that right Randy. My house was built in 1962. It has this wire with what looks like a woven kind of asphalt like outer sheathing. On the wire it says 14 gauge but the copper wire cores are way thicker than the 14 gauge romex of today. Now the ground wire on this older wire is thinner but the hot and common are way thicker. Wait a minute. I might have to take that back. I went down and checked and the thicker stuff does have 12 printed on it. The insulation is thicker on the older wire though.

Got that right Randy. My house was built in 1962. It has this wire with what looks like a woven kind of asphalt like outer sheathing. On the wire it says 14 gauge but the copper wire cores are way thicker than the 14 gauge romex of today. Now the ground wire on this older wire is thinner but the hot and common are way thicker.

Randy, according to Wikipedia, niether, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travertine

I would not have thought of all of these on my own. I suppose I could have googled it. Its fun to get everybody slinging ideas around. Thats why I posted the question here.

Jim, Ouch!! You sliced me up pretty good there. I should not have put the mumbo jumbo statement in there I admit. I left myself open to that one. But in the context of the entire paragraph I think you know what I was trying to say. Cut that one part out of a paragraph and its easy to attack it on its own. The safety category would be the final section of the report and would not include anything other than what would be included in the rest of the report. Just a second chance to have those extra important issues pointed out clearly. A safety summary of the actual issues that were included in the report. Thats all. It is interesting to hear that you have thought about it yourself. My own thinking of exactly how to implement the idea has changed since I first considered it.

I wont take any negative comments to heart. Its all good. I appreciate the time you all have spent. If what I was saying or doing was worthless I am sure you all would have just ignored me. Instead you engaged and that is a good thing for me. Because you have engaged its obvious I have made you think. In return you have made me think as well. I have no regrets for posting my samples but I think I will hush in that respect for now anyway. In other news I have $2000 worth of training in the HI business on the horizon. 48 hours as required by my state begins July 16th. In addition to that I am taking a couple of extras. An 8 hour apprentice class which includes 2 full on site inspection jobs, and a 4 hour class designed to educate on the business end of the HI industry. I am glad to have the resource of this form to learn while I wait for classes to begin. I will be able to understand the upcoming material much better with the knowledge I gain here. Thanks again,

Kyle & Jim, I like both of those shown in the links you listed. I plan on ordering one of each. Then I can utilize my free shipping coupon professional equipment sent me in email. I have done business with them before. Steven, Is that thing metal? I wonder if they have something like that made out of non- conductive material mounted on the end of a plastic lever of sorts. That way you could rotate it to the range of possible size you were measuring and stick it into the panel to a stripped portion of wire for a measurement. Hey theres a patent idea....someone go for it.