Scottpat

I had them on my home in Mississippi, Katrina took care of them before I filed a claim. They were fairly widespread and from what I could tell most were installed in the early to mid 1990's and it took about 8-10 years for the cracks to start showing in them. It took about 8 years on my home before I could see any cracking. The lawsuit is a class action and the homeowner will not get enough money to replace the shingles. If you make a claim against the company you only get a prorated value for the cost of the shingles and not the installation.

Any Canadian's have access to the MLS website. Is it different in some states? Michael In all of the States that I know of you must belong to the MLS service which means you are a Realtor or an appraiser. When I was a broker back in 1990-94 I paid around $35 a month to access the MLS as a Realtor.

I'd rather pull that off of the MLS sheet. Many of my client's don't have clue as to whether there's a crawlspace. How do you access MLS if you are not an agent?

I think it would be helpful to add the type of foundation: Basement Crawlspace Slab Many base their price or upcharge depending on the type of foundation the home has.

You should not really be concerned with class action lawsuits and how you write your report. Report what you find and you will be doing your job. If you find cracking or splitting shingles then report them as such; it is a difficult task to ID a particular brand of shingle and call them defective.

Well, I'm an ordinary member as well and I just received my ballot and have voted as an ordinary member! Remember to vote and vote often![] Soooo. . . . . . ? I'm confused. As an ordinary member, did you vote YES or NO? I voted as you did!

Well, I'm an ordinary member as well and I just received my ballot and have voted as an ordinary member! Remember to vote and vote often![]

I have never seen that either in a home and I'm from an area that a good number of the homes are on slab foundations. It kind of looks like something you would see in a commercial building so that electrical, phone, computer and air ducts can be run without tearing things up. Very strange.....

Good point, but the SM does only read about a 1/2" in depth and the ME goes down to around 2 1/2" in depth.

Yes, barometric pressure does have an impact on the readings. Low pressure makes a house suck so to speak. You can have snow on the ground and the soil might not be frozen. The snow that dumped up on the Wash DC area not long ago came down on warm ground that was not frozen. Then, the snow acts like an insulation blanket of sorts and keeps the ground from freezing solid.

Whatever it is, why in the world would you stick a hunk of plastic in the middle of a few thousand dollars of granite!

When I find old switches like that it sends up the Red Flag to really start looking for that pesky K&T.

I thought the Protimeter SM used radio frequencies instead of the resistance method.

It is just sap.

Same as Kurt and Jim. Love the Mountain Khaki brand pants.

Well, I fell of the wagon when I went to Inspection World in Vegas back in January. I'll be back on the weight loss program first thing Monday morning. The wife and I have a couple of events this weekend that involve wine, cheese, rich food and music at a few events in Nashvegas. Plan to have fun and not worry about the waistline this weekend! Actually, I'm still down a few pounds from when I started back early January....

The drain line from the disposal should connect to the line coming from the sink without the disposal. A directional fitting with a baffle inside of it will direct the water down the line and keep it from backing up in the sink. A trap is then below the connection point. This is the best method. The "T" configuration can still be used but you need to install a directional "T" with a baffle in it. You can still get some backup simply due to the sinks and drain lines all being the same, but it should not be as bad. As for the leak it sounds like a compression fitting that is messed up. You might want to call a qualified plumber, they should be able to take care of this in about an hour or less. You do not want to use any sealants! This is not how you repair leaks.

I do believe that Caoimhín is from the Emerald Isle. So is my Grandfather - and that means? He likes Guinness!

I do believe that Caoimhín is from the Emerald Isle.

Have you ever noticed that about the only folks who are profiting from going "Green" are those who sell the products to do it! Just look at all of the inspectors who have paid for the classes and then purchased all of the equipment and they are not making a dime of profit. Look at the homeowners who spend $10,000 to upgrade their home in order to save $50 on their utility bill. 16 years down the road they will have recouped their investment on the first go round, but by then they will have spent another $7,000 or so to replace their HVAC system. The logic meter just does not work when you get down to the money part of the equation. Sure it helps the overall or global environment or so we are told. Disclaimer...... I was or I guess I still am a Certified Energy Rater... Back in 1992 I was certified under Energy Rated Homes of America, I think that they ended up becoming the founder of LEEDS. I performed over 200 energy ratings on homes (blower doors and the whole shebang). Most of the test were on homes that the owners could not afford to make the needed improvements! I think we sold the test for $250 to $300, they took about 2-3 hours on site and another 2 hours to write the report. Almost 20 years later and the fees for energy testing are just about the same! Just not much profit in them when you get down to it. Oh, and Al Gores home here in Nashville! In 2007 and 2008 (it took 18 months) he spent over $400,000 making his mansion "Green" and it still has a monthly utility bill over $4,000 according to the local ABC news station.

Well it is part of the package, but not what it is made for. Heck, if I needed a new template and I found one that I liked and I could pick it up for a $100 or so I would. I hate tinkering around with templates, but that is me. I would prefer spending the time working on my stained glass projects or baking bran muffins. Michael has some good looking templates he would be my first choice as well.

Well, I'm in TN and the lawyer that said mine was OK did not mention it on mine. I have it built into my contract as well. They must must mark Yes or No that they do or don't want the test. It is really not an agreement, but more so they can't say I did not offer the test to them. Outside of this I do not use any other agreement. I post my notice and give everyone a copy that tells them about the test and bla bla bla and if they mess with the CRM somebody is going to have to pay for a new test. Now if you have a specific radon testing agreement that might be different, but I don't know. If you think about it just how much extra liability can this increase it by? It can't be very much if at all. Radon testing has very very little liability when it comes down to it. Makes me wonder if the attorney is looking for a little extra billing this month! []

Hi Morgan, Chris and Les have said it all..... You need to keep in mind that Louisiana is unlike any other state in the Union; Napoleonic law is highly integrated into the legal system in the state so it is a must for an attorney to review and bless as you said everything.... The best agreements are the ones that are easy to read and understand. Good agreements protect your client and you the inspector. Take a look at what I use in TN, it also works well in MS with a little tweaking. It has been "blessed" and cussed by several attorneys and a judge over the years. Actually a US Federal judge helped me with a good part of the verbaige. http://www.traceinspections.com/2009%20 ... EEMENT.pdf

My_see_lee_um .... Will get you pretty close to how it is pronounced....

Looks like mycelium, now where you are going to find the fruit that is a good question. It might even be underground.