Terence McCann

Actually one of the nicer panels I've seen. Two neutrals on the ground bar (not that it makes much difference with a main)?

I always ask the client if the home is occupied or not. If the home is not occupied and the utilities are not on I tell them to get in touch with their realtor and arrange to have them turned on by the time of the inspection. I explain that I do not turn on any utilities that are shut off and the reasons why. I also explain that if I show up to the home and the utilities are still off (happens 99% of the time) they have two choices: A) I charge 85.00 flat fee to show up and turn back around or B) I will do the home inspection (no discount) and just not check all the items such as furnace, plumbing etc. The client understands it is important to do a "proper" inspection. They also understand that my time is money and why it is important not to waste both. The onus is on the buyers agent to make things happen - it makes things interesting when you show up and the water is off and the meter is laying on the floor. []

5° this morning - if Spring has sprung it ain't sprang here yet. [:-yuck]

There's the 102 use for Tupperware. Ranks right up there with duct tape.

Jim, I fired off an email to the client and he replied with: "Terry, Just to give you a prospective, I initally contacted Basement Systems by Corning (http://www.basementsystems.com/crawlspa ... medium=ppc) and they quoted me almost $10,000!!!! Getting the material myself for Form Tech, I paid $1500 for material and $800 for labor of cleaning crawlspace first and then installation. I don't mind sharing this info. I'd love to see someone who can benefit from my solutions. Our health is more important. Feel free to get in touch with me for anything related to this. -Ash" The client is a Doctor at one of the main hospitals here.

What did it cost? - Jim Katen, Oregon No idea Jim, never thought to ask.

I use Sun Nuclear 1027 Les and it ran for 48 hours. I think the highest reading I saw in the 48 samples was 4.0 pCi/L.

A while back I posted that I performed a Radon test in a home with dirt crawl spaces. The Radon test came back at 15.8 pCi/L. The client called me a few days ago to retest the home. He had a contractor install Viper Vapor Check barrier. The barrier was taped to the walls and taped around any piping coming through the floor (you have to use their special tape). The installing contractor really did a nice job as well. Also, this system did not have a vacuum fan installed. The test came back at 2.0 pCi/L after 48 hours - I was amazed. Here's the link: http://www.insulationsolutions.com/prod ... ation.html This stuff really works.

Thanks Mike - I've just d/l a few from that list, good stuff.

My wifes new desktop came with Vista. After 20 minutes with it I reformatted the hd and promptly installed XP Pro. Vista reminds me of Windows ME - another pos.

Thank you for contributing the PDF. That goes in the live well.

I take it you're not charging extra for using it then, just part of the service?

That's really not a bad rule - especially at Thanksgiving when your trying to wrestle a bird in and out of the oven. Might save you from some nasty burns.

When we get more than two inches of snow the local talking heads are out on the streets doing live reports with great gusto. It's Cleveland for Christ sake, it snows here in the Winter.

Another good example of regional differences.

You would never bury a grease trap (they need to be taken apart and cleaned). I've seen a ton of grease traps but only in commercial applications. It's a clean-out of some sort. Did they waterproof this (or any side) of the basement? What's the thing to the left of the PVC? The driveway looks newer - they most likely put this in at the time they got the new driveway. Should have cut it flush at the time of the pour.

I talk about this, as the client and I are looking at the box, however I don't write it up unless I see a problem like discolored insulation. By the time we get to the box (last item I check) there's a wisp of smoke coming out of my clients ears and I already have a laundry list of major items to correct.

Joe, You have a comma at the end of "database" in your link, this is keeping it from working. If you can edit and remove the comma the link will work. Thanks for the info too.

Amen. Don't sweat the small stuff.

I would have asked her "What if you're using a 3-way switch?" Wonder if smoke would start to come out of her ears? Relax John and don't be too concerned about what realtors think, you'll live longer.

I do believe they make a software product (Ed Norton/Semantics Product) which is called Restore - A - Smoke. You install the software on your computer, attach a serial cable to an unsuspecting computer in your local library branch, hit the "Transfer Smoke Now?" button and presto, good as new. Do not get caught as most librarians do not have a sense of humor.

I saw mention of this in the Reporter but didn't read the article yet. Is ASHI going to shut down ASHI.ORG or are they going to run two web sites, one for HIs and one for the consumer? Also, why the new web site for HIs? Any idea of the cost of this Scott?

Why the cap over the plumbing vent?

The manager, from the company that did the installation, said that there is no "sill muffler"? Is a "sill muffler" an option that is presented to the home owner during the selling cycle or did they just forget to install it? "We always advise our clients to get the undercoating, rust proofing and a sill muffler but sadly, these are extra. Upon signing you decided against purchasing these options, with the free set of steak knives, in favor of our econo-vision model." I left my bs horn around here somewhere.

While it's true that the furnace shown in the picture deserves retirement I think it's still a good idea to discuss different ways of checking them for the benefit of those that have not been exposed to this type of thing. I've picked up a lot of great inspection techniques, on areas of the home that are not my strong suit, from the knowledgeable folks here through this type of discussion.