Jim Morrison

I agree Dan. Jim, this is essentially what I was trying to say, but as you know, sometimes I get a little too excited about something I am passionate about saying. For that I apologize. I just think that any organization or association dominating to the point of running everyone else out of business is not good for the economy, not just my personal bank account. I just think people should have a choice of whether they belong ot an association like ASHI or not. I think it should be available to anyone who can benefit from it, but I don't think it should have any affect on squeezing out other HI's that make an informed choice not to be a member. It's kinda like Wal-Mart coming in and running the mom and pop local stores out of business. Businesses that have been successful for many many years. I know this can potentially open up a whole can of worms, so I do not wish to debate this issue and cause thread drift. It is just one of the only examples I can feasibly think of at the moment. Beat 'em or join 'em, friend. It's your call and it's been done both ways. Three out of every four inspectors on our continent are neither members nor candidates of ASHI. And I believe Chad is the one with a story about some Kiwi twins that he has, up until now, been too much of a gentlemen to share....

Dan, You've been inspecting houses since men lived in caves, so I have a certain amount of respect for your opinions, but how can you criticize ASHI for saying: "We're the best! Hire an ASHI inspector."? Isn't that what every HI org. is trying to do for their members? What am I missing?

Not me.

Dan, You're taking me too literally. The distinction is this: Neither ASHI nor any other org will ever control this profession the way you describe. They all say they want to control the HI universe, and none of them ever will. Tag lines like: "We seek to garner you no more than your fair share of inspections per year" just don't have the same appeal. A wise man once said: Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.

It isn't inadvertent, it is entirely on purpose. There's nothing wrong with trying to become a monopoly, it's what every HI and HI org out there is trying to do.

Should ASHI try to spread referrals out evenly between members and non-members alike?

Actually, it's funny you should bring that up, Kurt. I was driving down the street the other day and met up with another inspector. It was the perfect opportunity to beta test my new invention. As luck would have it, someone had a camera handy...http://viral.lycos.co.uk/attachments/13 ... onkey.mpeg Sorry dial-uppers!

Chris, It's not something that I'd get excited about by itself, but if I'd noticed something else that required an electrician's attention, I'd probably tell my client to get the sparky to look at the issue in your photo as well. Like you imply and Kurt said, altering the panel is wrong, wrong, wrong. Every time. That said, electrical is my weakest area. I'll be interested to read some Katenic verses on the subject. Jim "When in doubt, be conservative" Morrison

Brian, Aren't you the guy who, three posts up, just said: "I still have a menstrual cramp in me."??? Calling me a sissy? To all of you stakeholder-lovers, Anyway, Here's an analogy most of us can understand: Let's just say that the kids are asleep, and you and your spouse are expressing your affection toward each other in its highest possible form. One could consider and discuss the many "stakeholders" in this transaction, too. It's such an important part of your relationship, many people have an interest in it's success: The kids benefit from having their parents enjoy a healthy relationship. Your parents, hers, heck, everyone in your famliy has a stake in this. I'm sure your neighbors would be delighted to know how well you're getting along. You know what its like living next to a couple that's always bickering. Expanding the circle even further, and being fully cognizant of the impact of divorce on society, everybody in town has a stake in this one when you think about it. In some ways, the future of this country will be affected. Why, even President Bush, with his focus on strengthening and protecting his idea of the family unit would be glad to know. I bet if he were in the room there with you, he'd be patting you on the back, or thereabouts. But if you're smart, you're not thinking about any of those stakeholders. You're concentrating on doing your job to the best of your abilities and keeping your client happy. Let the stakeholders take care of themselves. Capice? But I just noticed that everyone who has chimed in on this thread is generally in agreeement. And why is it that home inspectors and the dozen or so specialty inspectors (pest, radon, lead, pool, septic, well, feng shui, etc) are all conspicuously absent from the list of stakeholders? If we're not stakeholders, what are we?

The entire "stakeholder" discussion was started by, and designed for, marketing types. I tune out every time I hear the word. Here's a bedtime story about a home inspector who recognized more than one stakeholder in a transaction: http://www.meislik.com/recentnj/recases/rec01576.htm Keep it simple: Do good work for client. Receive big check from client. Let stakeholders take care of themselves. Repeat daily. Fellow Judo Player (and its all mental), Jimmy

Almost every house is built with one of the foundation walls parallel to the road, right? Lately I've been noticing that many homes built during the 18th century seem to be built at a 45 degree angle, particularly if they are on the corner of intersecting streets. Is this common in other regions? Anyone ever hear of a good reason for it? Illuminate me, Jimmy

If there are two rules I observe in my personal and professional lives, they are these: 1) Never operate A/C equipment unless it has been above 65 degrees or so for the preceding 24 hours. And 2) Never argue with anyone named General.

Mark, I think you're being disingenuous when you imply all ASHI business is conducted in the open. Let's not forget that nothing which occurs or is said in Executive Session is recorded in the minutes, and the current and most recent administrations just LOVE to go into executive session. Then, there's the oath of secrecy that one must take if you want to receive a copy of the board book. This book is absolutely essential if you want to understand the goings-on at a Board meeting and there is a hyper-secretive oath you have to sign before they'll let Board members or Council reps see one. Most council reps would not sign it, feeling that it was so restrictive as to prohibit us from doing our jobs as council reps. Of course, the "Please do not copy any portion of this correspondence for any reason without written permission of the author" at the bottom of almost every email from an officer or board member is just silly. And the attempts to remove, censure, and banish the Speaker of the CoR from the Board meetings cannot be ignored either. The move towards transparency has so far been, well...transparent. ASHI may be operated more out in the open than other orgs I'm familar with, but is still way too secretive in my opinion. After all, we're just a bunch of home inspectors, not the CIA. Or are we?.... That said, I can't moderate a discussion I'm part of, so I'll bow out here. It's just that your claims were too outrageous to leave unchallenged.

Gerry, Your concern is touching. I haven't needed to pull out any Kevlar underwear yet because no one is taking shots at me -yet. And you shouldn't feel like you missed anything. What we have here, is someone with an unpopular opinion who cannot express it like a professional -or back it up. When this is made apparent, nastiness ensues. To anyone willing to listen: Unpopular opinions are common in our field and on this forum. Perhaps when our friend gets a little HI experience he will learn, as we all must, how to communicate accurately, effectively, and with some tact and diplomacy. Be professional or be gone, Jim Morrison

Dan, The preceding was me offering you a graceful way out. Your next move was to ratchet up the vitriol. Mine was to nuke your nonsense. No hard feelings, I'm just doing my job.

It's rare that I see a chimney flashing like that. I almost always see cut-in flashings -even in new work. About 1/2 the time there is no base flashing beneath it, though. I don't do a lot of new construction, but they aren't building chimneys around here much anymore. Everything is direct vent, with the occasional boxed-in, metal chimney. Most common of all, though, is a 2 inch thick coating consisting of various applications of non-descript black goop in the vicinity of where you might normally expect to see a flashing. Sometimes I go weeks without laying eyes on an honest-to-goodness, real-life flashing.

Dan, You have to go with what works for you. Being a member of ASHI, and much more importantly, my local chapter works well for me. I rub elbows with the best of the best and I learn a tremendous amount from them. Some of them are my very good friends. And though I don't have an MBA, I do have a BAM (big ass mortgage)which makes me appreciate the $30,000+ my company grosses in referrals from these folks. All professional HI orgs have their benefits and liabilities, but anyone in this business who doesn't belong to one is denying himself professional, personal, and financial growth in my opinion. Some of those benefits can be had right here on this forum, but to discount all orgs without having tried a single one is small-minded.

I have. I got a couple grand worth of business off the site in the past month. My company paid for all three of our inspectors to be branded so it looks like it is paying off. If I got one inspection a year off the old site, I considered myself lucky.

Never rely on dye tests.

Most everything you hear about lead paint is urban legend -especially from realtors. What'll they think of next?

Absolutely not a slam. You're an honest guy looking for some info and I was just cracking a little wise with you. No offense intended,

InspectorMan Dan, Use the search function under the Forum tab about 2/3 the way up your screen. Read up on these bad boys. Nobody's going to razz you. You gotta have stones to stand up and ask a question around here and most of us respect that. Integrity may be first, but education is a close second. You got some studying to do,

Forget about that nonsense! What I'd like to know is: Do I place my HI license in jeopardy when I fart directly into an attic (thus bypassing the fan) during an inspection? What about when I'm at home? Out of state? Or should I start another thread? Jim Morrison

Didn't someone post a great photo illustrating why this is a bad idea in the colder climes a couple of months ago? I can't think of a good reason not to get both moisture and farts directly to the exterior as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, in a small house nestled among the apple orchards of Central MA, a knowledge-hungry young home inspector dreams wistfully of the day he coins a phrase as poetic and dead-on descriptive as “orange-vested-aisle-urchinâ€