gtblum

Never ever cut your treads to length ahead of time while assuming the walls are at equal distance from the top to the bottom. Sorry about the lousy pic. Click to Enlarge 48.37 KB

Good for you, Ben. Government General Motors spent an assload of money driving that though my head for the eleven years I spent out of the trades. I wouldn't trade that education for anything. Including all of the stupid ass pancake breakfasts with Lou Holtz, or some other bigshot cheerleading our hung over heads on. FTR, there's an inspector who frequents this forum that witnessed a call I booked in the manor I described. He also watched me call the guy back with the price. Didn't you? I'm not the greatest salesman that ever came down the pike, by a long shot. It works. Try it. Good luck.

If you guy's are losing business you want, you need to put the whole price shopping thing behind you, and work on your phone skills. The reason most of these folks start their call with "how much", is because they don't know how else to start the conversation when they call. This is your shot at earning their business. This is when you sell your service and more importantly, you. This is your chance to keep them from making that second call. Write up a phone presentation, keep it on your desk, and stick to it until you know it by heart. Here's who I am. This is my background. This what I will do for you. Features and benefits. Talk to the people like people. Find out who they are, what they do, and try to hit a common ground. People love to talk about themselves. The more you encourage it, the quicker it breaks down barriers, and puts them at ease with you. People don't buy prices, and they don't do business with folks they're not comfortable with. Get an Email address so you can send a sample report and a copy of the contract for review. When they give it to you, it's a small commitment. You're half way there. Ask for the appointment. "My schedule is open on Thursday at ten am. Will that work for you?" If it's not going to work, they'll tell you right then, what day and time will work. Done deal. Now it's time to discuss the fee and manor of payment. Try not to forget that before you hang up. It's happened to me quite a few times. Instead of blaming the price shoppers for lost income, hone up your phone sales skills. They're going to hire someone.

Wow! I just use an old board game spinner I keep on my desk.

Not a good answer when being questioned by the pissed off seller's attorney. I don't see anything growing in the OP's pictures. Do You? I see a half an oz of weed in a closet, next to a suit with a hole in it, some unidentified sticks, foil, and some electrical defects that should be corrected. For all we know, this person might be using the foil to contact Marshall Applewhite for a ride. Yup. It's a police matter.

That's all good, Tom. But, that's not what we're talking about here. The Monday morning Quarterback show with the unlimited budget is one thing. Misleading folks who don't know any better about the limitations of a home inspection and suggesting unrealistic expectations is what this is about. Mr "make it right" should practice what he preaches. The more important part of this is, whether or not any home inspector should be sticking their neck out on the chopping block by calling someones home a grow op. Anyone have a clear legal definition of what determines a grow op? One plant? Fifty? Intent to distribute? I know there's a couple of retired cops here. How long and how much training should an HI have before they're ready to defend their call in a court of law?

Hi Mr Todd, You're a friend of his who just happened to stumble upon this? Mr Todd, after thinking it through, I can see I'm clearly in err for ever suggesting your friend might be a "Jack wagon". The man is nothing less than a genius. He has two TV shows. He teamed up with a Canadian reporter and went after incompetent inspectors for not recognizing a grow OP. A grow OP he would have easily spotted at the age of eighteen. He then went on to tear a section of carpet and flooring up to expose an alteration to one of the structural members to make room for part of the grow op system. Brilliant! Problem is, home inspectors don't tear up floors. Ever. So, If a guy is sitting home watching this and has nothing to go by other than what the righter of all that is wrong with contractors or home inspectors says, what's he going to believe? Does the guy on TV set the standards? Did the guy on TV mention anything about the difference between what he considers a grow OP, or junior using the attic and mom's tin foil to grow a few plants? Is the tin foil and hydroponic set up there for weed, or did grandma see it on the internet and have grandpa set it up to get a head start on this year's garden? Should home inspectors be responsible for what the previous occupant did in the home? Hell no! Is it irresponsible and "jack wagonish" for someone the public trusts to lay that responsibility on a home inspector and suggest to the public that this is a standard they should be held to? There are tens of thousands of registered sex offenders in this country. They move in and out of neighborhoods. Is that the next thing a home inspector should be trained to recognize and be held responsible to report?

Thattaboy...........I knew I could count on Jimmy to shock me back to clearheadedness........ I posted this in response to the drift over on the other thread......I don't know what came over me....... Well, I appreciate the consideration and the split. Don't worry. I'm sure if you can find a little kid to steal some candy from or an old lady to punch, you'll be back to your old self in no time. Thanks for the opinions guys. I was curious about this.

Any chance you might split this and open a discussion on radon? More snake oil?

I'd stop short of doing police work without proper training. I don't think I'm qualified to determine, or obligated to speculate whether or not the previous occupant held naked square dances on the third tuesday of the month. I'm there to report on the condition of the home, and only that. I'll leave that sensationalized self serving dangerous stuff for Jack Wagon's like Mike Holmes to puke out. But hey that's just me.

Sorta kinda like this? http://www.nationalgypsum.com/literature/Stucco.pdf

That was kind of scary. There was plenty to see. A real good idea to have a plumber there at the time. Problem is, They ran right out and turned it all back off when I was done. The plumber is scheduled to go back Thursday and fix some or all of what could be seen today. He (a guy my friend sent out) seemed to be under the impression that I was there to make up his punch list. He wanted to know if he should wait for my report. I had to make it very clear, very quick. Have the plumber fix this, this, and whatever else HE may find.

I know the plumber. I'd rather get his reaction so his brother and I could bust on him. The client is in the land down under. No worries mate.

I'm supposed to look at a place later that was winterized last fall. The water is being turned back on today @ 3pm. Is there an amount of time you should/would wait before inspecting.

Rockler has all of the hardware and plans for building your own, your dog's, your cat's....http://www.rockler.com/search_results.c ... ubmit.y=11

That kid's going to be in the NFL. Look at the way that toy was carried. Is that a Heisman trophy pose in the last pic, or what?

Thanks. I've never seen that before. Like I said. It was how my question was answered.

Everywhere it states, " walking / working". I don't see that written anywhere. I just read it again. The whole thing, again. It's not my interpretation. It's how my question was answered when I asked about it during an OSHA 10 course. If we're not covered under the construction regulations, what are we covered by? Anyway. I was just curious. Forget it.

Are you suggesting they don't? Other than a crab boat, I can't think of anyone they don't have jurisdiction over when it comes to occupational safety.

Does that drive the cost of insurance and equipment for company's with mutiple inspectors through the roof? The OSHA regs for fall protection when working on roofs, require even low sloped roofs to have a guard rail system installed to protect employees, along with paragraphs of other not very cost effective fall protection regs. And, we all know, if your on the roof, in OSHA's eyes your working. OSHA 1926.501 Duty to have fall protection. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure you guys read these laws, and considered all of this before including it in your SOP. I'm just curious about how your council made the decision to mandate this rather than to leave it to the discretion of the individual, in the interest of safety.

Download Attachment: 2 Cement board siding damage4perpg.pdf 523.59 KB The bottom left side pic with the white siding is a perfect example of what happened to the piece we saw.

I'm sure you're right, but it sounds like an awful way to spend the days. It's a brilliant idea and it's the way things get done these days. Here's a check. Go away. It's cheaper than going to court.

I think it's because the public doesn't have a clue about what a home inspection is supposed to be all about. They think we're some sort of service the REA's offer as a courtesy. (We use, We recommend, This one's the best). They only know what they're told by the person they trust to help guide them through unfamilar territory. 2. The less trouble an inspector creates for someone who depends on a percentage of a commission of a sale for their livelyhood, the more likely they'll steer someone toward that inspector. Can ya blame them? What would you do after chasing sombody's picky ass around hells half acre for six months in search of the "perfect home". Would you want a guy who actually does his job, submits an honest assesment of a property interfering and have to take a chance on the HI's findings bringing you back to square one when there's a Beamer payment due? As far as complaints go, who cares? No skin off of anyone's nose but the HI's. There's another hungry one finishing school this week. Being better and working harder means nothing. It really is just the way it is, huh? Maybe even more so in a small town. Now, back to my windmills. I'll kill one, one of these days.

Thanks. Now that you mentioned lime, it had the same consistency and easily crumbled to powder the same way lime would. Here's a better view of how they did it. Click to Enlarge 51.96 KB

This house was built in 1820. This "stuff" is sandwiched between the floor, and the rusted sheet metal that's held up by what looks like scrap from the original floor. It runs the length of every joist bay of the original section of the house. Could it be the "A" word? Got more pics if you need them. Thanks. Click to Enlarge 60.8 KB Click to Enlarge 32.35 KB Click to Enlarge 62.21 KB