Jeff Remas

OK Brian, I understand. Thanks for qualification of your statement.

This is an article that I wrote for a local website. YES it is area specific! Crawlspaces Every day that I wake up & head out to inspect someone’s home that has a crawlspace, I could probably fill some of my inspection forms ahead of time. It is an unfortunate fact is that most crawlspaces have moisture problems. As we all know, there are plenty of horror stories out there about crawlspaces & moisture problems so why don’t we talk about the cause and cure of these problems. There are two different types of crawlspace setups, vented and non-vented. Vented: There are vents that provide adequate cross ventilation, the sub floor of the home is insulated along with the pipes in the crawlspace to prevent freezing, there is a vapor barrier on the ground and the vents get closed in the winter time. A small heater or heat tape is used help keep the pipes from freezing in addition to the insulation on the pipes. Non-vented: The crawlspace foundation walls are insulated, the sub-floor is not. The vents are blocked off with insulation all year long, a vapor barrier is in place on the crawlspace ground and the air is conditioned with a dehumidifier. A small heater and pipe insulation are still recommended. Causes & Cures: 1) No rain gutters. Although controversial, we all need gutters to keep the rainwater away from our homes. The average roof sheds 1,000 gallons of water during 1 inch of rain. This water will fall along the foundation and find the crawlspace very quickly. The best rain gutter covers are solid and cover the gutter opening, allowing water to come in by curling under the cap via gravity. Mesh and screen covers just get clogged up or collapse. 2) Downspouts terminate along foundation. The downspouts need to shed water away from the home at least 6 feet or more or to underground pipes that lead away from the home. 3) Terrain slopes toward foundation. Make sure that the landscaping does not do this. All surface water should be directed away from the home. A swale may be necessary if your home is built on a slope. The foundation can have significant structural damage caused by water along the foundation that freezes in the winter collapsing the foundation inward. 4) Inadequate ventilation. Don’t forget to open those vents that you closed for the winter. A crawlspace needs a minimum of 1 square foot of ventilation for every 150 square feet of crawlspace floor area and should be within 3 feet of the corners allowing for cross ventilation. Low decks, other types of construction above or against vents along with shrubs can block the vents making them useless. Your home needs to breathe. 5) Insulation installed upside down. Depending on how you have your crawlspace set up, either vented or non-vented, you may have insulation in the flooring. The paper side of the fiberglass insulation should always face the heated living space and sit against the sub flooring. When it faces downward towards the earth, it has a tendency to trap moisture between the sub floor and the paper hiding moisture damage. If your crawlspace is set up properly as a non vented crawlspace, no insulation is necessary in your floor. 6) Damaged or loose vapor barrier. You should have a 6 mil thick poly vapor barrier on the ground of your crawlspace, overlapped and sealed around columns and the walls. This will help to keep the ground moisture vapors from rising up into your framing. Most homeowners will add gravel on the top for protection. 7) No or non functioning sump pump. If you have a sump pump installed, make sure it is at the lowest point in the crawlspace and all area easily drain to it. The pump should be inspected regularly and function automatically. If you get standing water in your crawlspace even with items 1 through 6 in place, you need a sump pump. Nothing can take the place of a properly installed perimeter foundation drainage system by the builder but a sump pump is the next best thing. The pump should be in a plastic cylinder in the ground and eject water outside, away from the building and not into the septic or sewer system. A non vented crawlspace with no dehumidifier. If you are going to set up your crawlspace as non-vented, you must condition the air with a dehumidifier and have the water collected piped to the sump pump or install a condensate pump. If you don’t pipe it to drain automatically, you will be emptying the collection device daily. Buy a quality dehumidifier with an adjustable, automatic setting so it does not run all of the time. Please remember that a crawlspace is an integral part of your home and should be kept neat, clean and easily accessible. Inspect if often looking for signs of moisture or mildew and consult the local code official for any repairs. Remember the old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cureâ€

Scott, I knew it had an A in it. I just hope I remember when I buy our plane tickets.

Brian G. I kind of take offense to the remark that to have 350 inspections in 3 years you are a buckethead. 350 is a about 1 year of inspections for me and "I aint no buckethead". Real Estate agent referrals make up less than 50% of my business. You and only you have total control of the volume of your business (along with market conditions) I have a guy in a local chapter who said he converts 1 out of 20 phone calls into an inspection. I book at least 9 out of 10 phone calls. I wish I had more competition like him. Seeya in San Antonio.

Can we start our own new organization? Maybe some type of a national elite organization with very difficult requirements. Kind of like a NAHI CRI and Full ASHI member on steroids. We should make it a for profit organization.

I would like to take this time to offer my public apology to Jim Morrison for my original undedited post which called him a name with an acronym. For those of you who saw it, you will notice that it has been edited for several days. For those of you who did not, don't worry about it and you can chill your curiosity. Mr. Jim Morrison, I hope that my humor was not taken too harshly and I will have to prohibit myself from any further impulse typing. Apparently you are a professional just as I am and I must have crossed the line. For that I am sorry.

OK Jim, I actually PM'd Mike to let him know I was having some fun with my reply and to let me know if I crossed the line. I hope you were not offended. I figured that since we are ASHI brothers it is just like having fun with family. You know us elite inspectors have to keep our supernatural skills honed. I have edited my post to better suit your personality.

Thanks for the replies guys. I did exactly what George posted because I am not a specialist in mitigation, only testing. appreciate the input. Looks like this one just may not be correct but we will see.

Anyone know what the rules are for this one? I believe it has be be 10 away from any window unless it is 2.5 feet above the window. Thoughts? Download Attachment: P3251177.JPG 95.5 KB

Come On Jim..........you just can't play nice can you? I belong to both (you know what I mean) and I get something from each that helps me, otherwise I would not belong. Stop putting the org in front of the inspector, it is always the person who makes or breaks their own business, it is not a matter who they belong to. I'm sure you don't agree with many things that your org does and I am no exception with either org that I belong to. They both do stuff that I think is stupid and wrong. It is all personal opinion. Remember the old saying "when they start calling you names,............you've won" America's Super-elite Home Inspection-gods

The issue with grandfathering is legitimate. Some of the worst inspector out there would be easily grandfathered. Some of the other worst inspectors would not make the cut for the grandfathering clauses. If we want a level playing field then Dennis has a pretty good idea as long as the law is written to minimized the loopholes that agents will find just to get their inspector in the door. Would it hurt me, YES, however we must all adapt to change or learn how to. I have made this statement multiple times before and I will do it again: Many of the inspectors out there who are pushing for change in the industry with grandfathering that meets their needs are the same ones who started when there were no rules or regulations and if the new rules were in place when they first started in business, they may not have even made it this far because of the hurdles. This is why everone needs to put their experience where their mouth is and take the same tests, be reviewed for compliance to SOPs and have the E&O required. I know the E&O is a sensitive subject but it is required in my state and will be in your states in the future. A client cannot get reimbursed for damages suffered from a guy who operates with no E&O and has nothing. It is for the protection of the consumer EVEN THOUGH it may have been used as a target in the past but these are RARE. I do believe that licensing CAN be a good thing if written properly and EVERYONE must comply. Once again, one of the most successful inspectors in my area has been in business for over 15 years, does a 45 minute inspection and deals never fall through. The realtors love him. He can even treat for termites right on the spot to get that deal to go through even quicker. I also know at least 5 people that he has reimbursed for the cost of the inspection or repairs. This guy would be grandfathered. Hey Morrison, are you sure you don't want to meet me in Syracuse to buy me a brew?

Before I opened up the lid to this treatment tank I looked inside the inlet inspection port cap and noticed the liquid level was level with the top of the tank. "Wow" I thought, this tank is backed up. When I took the man lid off, I found out that the liquid level was normal. "Huh"? I dug up the inlet inspection port lid and when I removed it I found out that the lid never breached the tank so the inspection port was serving no purpose. Must have been the end of the day when these guys put this together. An inspection of the interior of the tank showed nice and smooth concrete where the inlet inspection port cover was located. Quality at its best! Download Attachment: InspectionPort.jpg 93.54 KB

As far as the inspection of these systems, "graveless absorbtion" or "chamber": *They should be installed with 4" inspection ports but may not. These inspection ports with removable caps should be installed near the linear center point of every "run" of chambers. This will enable direct observation of any standing effluent in the chamber. *In a full time occupied structure, if there is standing liquid in the chamber and less than 5 inches of free space between the top of the liquid and the top of the chamber then a hydraulic load test should be performed for further evaluation. *If there is no space between the top of the liquid and the top of the chamber (no clear space)then it is an unsatisfactory condition. I just got a revised copy of the inspection procedures from the National Onsite Foundation yesterday. They covered the chamber systems a little more in depth this time around.

There are 2 easy problems, are there more just from what is visible? Download Attachment: P3101004.JPG 60.53 KB

Why the Protimeter Surveymaster SM? What can I do with that.........that I cannot do with the Protimeter Mini for almost $300. less? I don't do EIFS and don't plan on it in the near future. I want the best BANG for my buck without getting a bunch of bells and whistles that I don't need. Thoughts there gents & ladies. Come on, I know we are all gadget freaks.

Great info, thanks folks. I have been on the fence but have recently realized that this is a MUST tool. My dilema will be choosing a meter that will do the job at the right price. I don't need tons of bells and whistles, just an accurate, dependable, durable meter.

Here is a topic that has been covered in all the messageboard, BUT I want to add a twist. For those of you who use a moisture meter: When do you use it?Why? Do you record your findings? How do you present them in the inspection report? Has a moisture meter ever been a real "life saver" for you in a situation where you may have not caught something? Thanks guys

Have my Cosco 17' for almost 2yrs and no problems. when I bought it at Sam's it was $142. the price has dropped since. I too am looking for a 21' to come out......is there one?

Yes they are and I love to show this to every single contractor / builder who thinks it is OK to put a bathroom vent into the vented soffit. Download Attachment: BathroomVentMold.jpg 70.42 KB

Instructions? What Instructions? I got a plastic box with a tester and that is it. Looked all over for directions but none found. I read the container but that was it. Thanks!! This might explain alot. I am going to check the Ideal website to see if I could download the instructions.

OK, so I have become a real geek because I started using a SureTest by Ideal. It does a bunch of things that are beyond the scope of a home inspector but so what, I have an extensive background in electrical. Just noticed that since I started using it, I am now finding some "False Grounds". Most of them all had something in common which I thought about but "brushed off" anyway. All of the false grounds have one thing in common:........they are always on receptacles that are close to the main panel!! I had a gut feeling that was going on but I just confirmed it tonight as I finished wiring in a "quad" box with receptacle for my remodeling of the living room. After I tied everything together, I got out my trust SureTest and low and behold, FALSE GROUND!!! Guess what? The quad I just put in is directly over the top of the main panel which is in my basement. This is a first floor quad so it is about 5 feet away at best. Anyone else notice the same thing? Hopefully someone can shed some light on this one before I contact Ideal and inquire about it.

The branding campaign is the only thing putting on the brakes keeping me from joining ASHI. I took the NHIE and passed, have well over 300 inspections, but the costs involved along with some things that have happened are keeping me away. My state requires me to belong to an organization and I have gotten alot of mileage from my NACHI membership. NAHI is sitting quietly on the sidelines looking very tempting at this point. I am looking to belong to more than one organization as a safety net and for more resources. Seeing many ASHI folk leaving and disgruntled are a few of the items that are keeping new blood like myself from hopping onboard. I hope that the powers that be are aware of this. I am not here whatsoever to start any trouble. I am not pro any particulat organization, nor do I want to bash any other. I just want to share some valuable information. I actually get very few inspection from the NACHI site, but enough to pay for the membership. I am sure I would get enough from any other organization website to pay for the costs but that is not the point. Scott P. states that he gets alot of business from the ASHI website but he is one of only 100 home inspectors for the entire state he lives in. In some of our PA markets there are over 100 in a 30 mile radius. Results may vary by area. Anyway, getting off topic. Bottom line is that the negative vibes from the many/few/whatever of those leaving ASHI along with the additional costs (Mandatory) make other inspectors reluctant to join. I am already busy and successful without a second membership. Any comments? (like I had to ask)

Great article in original post, bottom line is that nothing will change. The CPSC paper is full of junk information and has no bite because it ultimately states that they stopped the investigation due to lack of evidence. I will continue to call these out as potentially unsafe and recommend review by an electrician and 100% of the electricians I know or am friends with always replace them or advise that they do. Like the original article stated, home inspectors are reluctant to take on the liability. It does not make us look good at all when the people don't have it replaced or evaluated then can't find an electrician to work on the house wiring with that panel in place. Most RE agents are aware of the problems and don't make a fuss about it. I am not one to kiss their butts anyway.