Steven Hockstein

Wuss. That made me laugh.

[:-thumbu] Okay, Tom & "Jerry", right??? Yes

The wood you can see from inside was all varnished but the interior where the crank guts are did look like raw wood. It seems like a bad idea to count on the home owner to finish areas that can only be easily seen from outside with the window open. I agree. FYI-A little diversion, but in the same category. Problems like this are not unique to one manufacturer. http://www.windowsettlement.com/ (not a surprise-if you read the settlement, the real winners are the attorneys)

Jerry's front door?

Unless the windows are pre-finished, the window reps that I know tell me that they require you to finish the windows shortly after installation or you risk voiding the warranty. In your photos it looks like the windows are still raw wood.

I tell my clients that I am not qualified to do a pool inspection and I exclude it from my inspection and report. I advise my clients to have a pool inspection performed prior to closing. I suggest that they find out who installed the pool and who has been maintaining it. I tell my client that it is not uncommon for people to defer recommended maintenance if they are in the process of selling the house. I tell them that the company that maintains the pool will have a better maintenance history than someone coming to the house for the first time.

I promise that this was not staged although it is astonishing how blatant this was and I felt the need to share it. I took this photo at my inspection this morning.

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I have a client that needs an inspection of a small commercial building in Union, NJ. I would do it but I am booked solid for the next two weeks. They are leaving the country in the middle of next week and want the inspection performed before they leave. They would like someone with experience in commercial/industrial building inspections (architect/engineer a plus). PM me if you are interested,

Source to learn about low sloped roofing systems... I attended the BURSI training when it was in Denver many years ago. Now a lot of the info is accessible through the internet. Great resource. For those nearby it is worth attending. http://www.specjm.com/commercial/roofing/institute.asp

also-I keep a couple of bath towels with me ("borrowed" from a hotel or two). I place the towels on the floor before I set-up my laddder to go into the attic.

A few other basic things come to mind.... moisture meter knee pads spare bulbs and batteries inspection mirror bandaids (people don't like you bleeding on their house) duplicate tool of whatever you think may be lost or stop working during your day a clean appearance and a vehicle that shows someone relying on your opinion that they can take you seriously

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Sorry Mike. The mailing was impressive so I just wanted to see what their Headquarters looked like. The image was funny so I wanted to share.

Just got an invitation in the mail to attend an InterNACHI event. Before disposing of the solicitation and out of curiosity I looked up the address of their "World Headequarters" (That is why I posted this under the International Discussion Forum). I am not very impressed by their "Executive Office." Here is what I found: http://maps.google.com/maps?rls=com.mic ... CCAQ8gEwAA

Ditto. Maybe they could also install a bucket seat toilet Click to Enlarge 19.02 KB

Why would anyone spend money for a company to design and install a structural repair when their paperwork states that they are not qualified to evaluate the structure? The logical process is to hire a qualified professional to first design a structural repair and then have the contractor follow a plan. I recently performed a home inspection and reported that there was some termite damage that needed to be further evaluated and repaired. On the advice of the selling real estate agent, the seller hired a framing contractor to fix the damage but then the contractor refused to provide paperwork that they did a proper repair. This raised questions about the quality of work and the bank would not let my client close on the house until an engineer certified the work. The seller hired an engineer but he did not like the work done so it all had to be removed and replaced with a different repair. In the end it cost the seller an extra four thousand dollars.

That is also what it seemst to me but now I am wondering why most of the local electrical inspectors are requiring a separate outlet for each basin, not one shared in the middle. I was thinking there may be something else I am mssing in the code.

I have been taught that there needs to be a separate outlet for each basin. Today a licensed electrician told me that it is OK to share an outlet between basins. Can an electrical expert please assist me with an expert opinion on this. (NEC 210.52 ?). Click to Enlarge 23.75?KB

Click to Enlarge 38.67 KB This is the stairway of a 2.5 million dollar spec house that we designed. The railing system does not come close to the quality of the one you photographed. Probably would have added another 50 grand to the price!

I find woodpecker holes often. It seems that that even after you repair the holes, the woodpeckers tend to return and make new ones. I suggest that an exterminator be called-in to inspect and treat the house as required because there may be food that they are seeking. I see fake owls, aluminum foil strips, pinwheels, and other visible devices used as an attempt to scare them away. I am not sure if they really work. One of my clients has a small speaker that occasionally transmits bird calls of predator birds that scares the woodpeckers. It is really annoying but might be good to use during the time they are away from the house. He said it works.

Nice railing and stairway. I also like the way you photographed it. Thanks for sharing. When I see beautiful wooden railings in old multi-family houses designed for working class people it makes me think about the amount of quality craftsman that were around a hundred years ago. It was considered standard building practice. Nowadays this type of woodworking is limited to the wealthy because it is so expensive.

I would stick to my professional opinion and invite the seller to provide legit documentation that proves otherwise (he can't).

Aluminum flanges are 36.725% of the Domestic Market, depending on whether you include the Kilbasy flanges or not. As home inspectors we all know the answer to this question because it is included in all Home Inspection Exams and we cannot be licensed without this knowledge..

We have an ongoing discussion in my office about the order of the work being done. The flooring people like to complete their finishing work and make others responsible for protecting the floors. The trades like to have an unfinished floor and let the flooring people follow. The problem is that working around finishes, espcially expensive cabinetry is risky. For those of you in construction I am curious about what you think. Do you like to finish the wood floors before or after painting? Do you finish hardwood flooring before or after you install kitchen cabinetry? I can argue both sides of the situations. Other opinions?