Brian G

I simply cannot agree that all HI schools are worthless, or worse. Many may be, or even most, but not all. I learned a great deal from my one week, none of which has since been refuted by any other source I've encountered. One of the most vital things I learned was how much I didn't already know (contrary to what I thought before I got there). Like so many other opportunities, what you make of it is almost as important as what you're given to work with in the first place. I turned off my cell phone (all day, every day in class); I went back to my room and studied every night; I asked questions and engaged in discussions; I listened. Sadly, very few others in the class were doing likewise, and I expect that not more than one or two others of that group are still in the business. I've survived for more than six years in a small market full of hostile realtors, and I still give part of the credit to that one good week of professional training. One or two weeks is certainly not enough to turn a clueless Joe into a competent home inspector, but it beats nothing if the school has good instructors and the students are serious. A lot of places still require nothing. It's miles and miles from perfect, I don't dispute that, but I'll bet there are plenty of other good HI's making it out there that don't have anything bad to say about the training they took to get started. What it should be....hell, I don't know. I'd like to see the profession raised, but I don't want to see the bar set so high that a guy like me has no shot at it anymore because it costs a fortune up-front. If I'd already had a fortune, I wouldn't be crawling under houses and fencing with crooked realtors. Brian G. ITA Tampa [^]

There's a guy around here who has one (local owner a franchise known for IR). I hear he goes around telling realtors he can "see inside the walls". To me that very much implies something on the order of X-ray vision, which IR is definitely not. It has uses, there's no question about it, but it also has limitations and can never, ever replace a sharp, well-trained mind and a pair of eyes. I expect to have one of these within a few of years, but I won't be making claims like that when I do. Right now I'm thinking I'll use it for certain things on every inspection, and just raise my base prices to cover it. Things may change later. Brian G. It Is What It Is, It Ain't What It Ain't [:-magnify

Wow! $720 for a cover sheet and 3 pages of widely spaced sentence fragments and run-ons. Bonnnnnie! Primary goal is to stop water infiltration - that means new roof shingle installation Fragment. Was there only one bad shingle? Or how many were there (at least roughly)? What was wrong with them? Jeez. Remove and replace contaminated roof decking and insulation in attic Fragment. Is the roof decking in the attic? Repair master bath sink so water stops dripping under vanity Fragment. Can the water be directed to drip somewhere else, just not under the vanity? Install higher capacity bath vent fan and vent directly to outside through roof Fragment. Roof is leaking in several places as seen by wet insulation Fragment. Already ridiculed by Kurt. Evidence of moisture condensation near the eaves roof boards are blackened Two fragments forming a run-on sentence. Downspout needs to be directed away from the foundation *Sigh*....another fragment. Is there really only one downspout? I mean, it's possible, but pretty rare. High moisture in foundation result of downspout draining near home Le fragmenta. Most downspouts drain near the home. Is the grading screwed up? If not, the downspout shouldn't be much of a problem. I'd hate to have to prove in court that the moisture in the foundation was unquestionably caused by the downspout, and only by the downspout. Shrubs should have at least 1 foot clearance away from siding I agree, but is that really mold related in this case? If the siding is wood, probably; vinyl, not so much. Missing siding Wow...word economy reaches a new low. What a rip-off that "report" is. It has all the depth of water splashed on a rock. I counted 116 words, including titles (but not the cover sheet). That divides out to 6.21 per word, or $240 per page. Brian G. Mold Gold Strikes Again [:-banghea

If I didn't know better I'd swear they paid the reporter for that article. Aside from being poorly written and totally unresearched, what a nice, warm butt-kiss it is for the dynamic duo. Brian G. Gag Me [:-yuck]

Originally posted by hausdok The recalled electric motor is part of a residential whole-house exhaust fan that is typically mounted on the floor of an attic. The shutters of the fan are visible on the ceiling of the floor beneath the attic and must be opened and closed by the consumer. Jeez, I thought those dinosaurs were all but extinct. The only ones I see are old, like 40 - 50 years, minimum. Where are these commonly installed these days? Brian G. Air Blast From the Past []

Originally posted by AHI in AR I forgot to add this since I thought you were joking. Maybe you were. I was, but what the heck. Cold is merely the absence of heat. I've heard that before and I realise it has a serious scientific basis, but it sure sounds silly in a way. A critical, non-scientific mind can't help immediately wondering why it isn't equally true that heat is merely the absence of cold. If I recall correctly, the reasoning is that heat must be generated somehow; not so for cold (in the universe as a whole, not in Mississippi in the summertime). No matter how cold it feels to us, until you reach absolute zero, there is still technically some heat outside. True. As long as we're wandering around hot and cold for kicks, I have to mention a show I saw years ago about a guy who had a business freezing things. His computer-controlled freezers took items down to absolute zero, for a fee (waaaay below "normal zero", but I can't recall the number). At absolute zero all the molecules will spontaneously realign themselves to be exactly the same distance from each other, no matter what the material. This results in certain desireable improvements, most notably durability. He did everything from expensive machine parts to complete Harley motors. Way cool. Brian G. "Freeze Master" Franchises, Anyone? [:-cold]

Hideous. [:-yuck] Brian G. Still Hideous [:-blindfo

Originally posted by paul burrell Anyone that is not a certified qualified mold expert is asking for trouble by commenting on mold, especially when writing the report. Same goes for a non licensed termite inspector. That depends entirely on the comments made. I certainly have to talk about either one if I find them, as I'm sure you do. Like most members here, on mold I concentrate on the issue of moisture (the source), along with the visible physical damage and whether this looks like a real money eater. I'm comfortable with that. I don't get into identifying what all does or does not have to be torn out, what kind it might be, or what health issues are relevant. All of that falls to others. Brian G. Investigate, Document, and Report; Mold & Termites Included [:-magnify

I'm being lazy, because I'm sure someone here knows this off the top of their head: At roughly what temperature/range do heat pumps become ineffective and need back-up heat to keep up? I'm sure it can depend on certain variables, but I suspect there's a general rule of thumb of some kind. Brian G. Why Are They Called Heat Pumps Instead of Cool Pumps? [?]

Call it "art" and add 10 grand to the value of the house. [^] Brian G. Now the Wall Has "Movement" []

Even if installations are done correctly, strange things can, and occasionaly do, happen with gas appliances and conditions, creating a deadly CO hazard. I don't know that any inspector can account for all of them, and if they did it would only be good for the short term. There simply is no substitute for a constant CO monitor; a good, low-level one. Please recommend them to your clients who are buying houses with gas appliances, religiously. Someday you might save a life like this one. Brian G. Protection, Not Post-Mortems [:-thumbu]

If you got down into the nuts and bolts of the code you might well find some reason why that rig isn't kosher, but if it's only 8' and isn't apt to be snagged and pulled, I'd make a quick note in the full report and move on. Usually when I see something like that it'll only have a staple in the wall for strain relief, so this would be a step up. Brian G. Bigger Fish Abound [:-goldfis

Unless there's a lot of land involved, I walk the whole lot. Anything I see that strikes me as relevent gets reported; dead-but-standing trees, moles, open holes, problems with fences, storage buildings or playhouses, piles of asbestos pipe insulation...anything. Some things go in the full report, some in the summary. I find clients are generally grateful for a heads-up on something like that fence, whether they actually do anything about it or not. I can't imagine ignoring that if I saw it and made the connection. Brian G. Disclose All [:-thumbu]

Originally posted by Jerry Simon Hey, Goodman...looks like next week could mean something for you guys, along with losses by Minnie and Wash. Sorry to keep you hanging Jerry, I just drug in from Christmas at the In-laws. I'd say the odds are really bad, but you never know. I think Washington should get it, but "should" doesn't mean much. Minnesota won't go anywhere if they get in. No QB. Wanna chance to get your t-spot back? Even up? Sure, why not. Last year both teams were up, this year they're both down. Sounds fair enough to me, but when do we get a shot at your boys in the dome fer Pete's sake? [:-irked] Are you going to New Orleans for IW? Brian G. Throwing Good Money After Bad? [:-wiltel][]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp I think it's also the show where I saw the hoopster with the 360-degree court vision, Jerry Rice getting off the line quicker than lightning, and a hitter adjusting to a major-league fastball. Actually, I think that was on a new show on Fox Sports channel. I want to say it's called Sports Science, or something simple like that. I caught that one too. Brian G. Wandering the Airwaves in Search of the Interesting (largely unsuccessful) [:-magnify

No need to wait Brother Oz, you can get it right off the web. http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/ed ... enses.html Brian G. Tasting Is Believing? []

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp Weirder yet: You don't actually see through your eyes, or hear through your ears. Once the light hits your retina, all the information becomes electrical signals that travel through the optic nerves, and are interpreted by the visual cortex. Did you happen to see Wired Science on PBS last night? They were demonstrating a system that lets the blind interpret visual signals from a camera with thier tongues...and it works! The guy negotiated around obstacles, threw wads of paper in a trash can, named playing cards on the table in front of him, etc. A lady used the same technology, slightly altered, to re-train her brain to balance herself, after losing the ability to do so because of inner ear problems. It all sounds bizzare, but could mean great things for the disabled in the future. Brian G. Tastes Like a Pair of Jacks []

If you can still find any, I recommend the locking adjustable wrench instead (Stanley 85-610; 10"). It's bulkier at the handle for obvious reasons, but when you clamp that son of a gun onto a nut, it's there. It grabs far tighter than a standard wrench or socket, a.k.a."the right tool". Cost is about the same as the one you're considering. Brian G. Tool Addict [^]

I'd have to say it doesn't take a high IQ to frame a floor properly, but a moron will screw it up every time. It would greatly help anyone with even minimal intelligence if the guy training and overseeing them was good at his job, but that isn't always the case either. The athletics, the mind/body synthesis, is fasinating stuff. Abilities like those Walters describes are possible for a number of reasons, including practice, instinct, and a young lifetime of singular pursuit. Those things, and the brains ability to calculate, measure, and make choices far faster in the unconscious parts of the mind than in the conscious. Anybody here ever played a sport like racquetball? At times the play is so fast you can't possibly use your conscious mind; no thought, just action and reaction. My personal favorite is golf though. When I putt, I take a good look from the opposite side, maybe another quick one from behind if it's tricky-looking, two practice strokes, and go. The last thing I do before "going" is turn off the conscious; don't think about anything. It works great for me, and I can only say that I believe the back of my brain knows what to do if I'll just get the info in and keep the front of my brain out of the way. Brian G. The Unconscious Putter [:-cyclops

I have to agree with Kurt's comments. I clean my wife's side of the double vanity out a time or two per year, and that device wouldn't help. It's always hair and gunk that's clinging to the hair, primarily at the stopper mechanism and just after the trap. That wheel thingy ain't gonna move hair anyway...it'll just wrap around it. I stick a pan under the trap, take the PVC pieces apart (no tools), clean out, and put it all back together in about 10 minutes. The amazing part is that the PVC pieces never leak afterward; fabulous. Brian G. NEXT! [:-bigmout

Gable vents were once the primary form of attic venting, but have proven to be ineffective or counter-productive in creating the necessary airflow. As Kurt says, the particulars of a given house would be important, but first I would want to know: "Proven" by who? When? How? I've done houses just under 200 years old with nothing but gable vents, and found no ventilation-related problems. Brian G. I'm Not From Missouri, But Show Me Anyway [:-magnify

Geez. It wouldn't have taken any more effort to do it right. Improvised, non-professional, not allowed, needs repair. Tell the truth...you chuckled when you found it, right? [:-slaphap Brian G. I R a Lectrichin [:-dopey]

I'm sorry to hear about Ms. Meyers, but at her age and with those injuries the odds couldn't have been good to start with. It was a bad way to go, especially if it was directly caused by one of those horribly designed FPE panels. I hope the investigators will take this all the way. That's all they can do for her now. I won't bore anyone with the long version, but I've always opposed using EMT as an equipment ground conductor. It isn't reliable; just pull one more wire and be sure. Brian G. Fire Is a Four Letter Word [:-grumpy]

Time to re-write the boilerplate Mike. All that stuff about the 8" nipple would also be true of your Myers hub w/nipple; a really low-resistance pathway back. Brian G. The HI Biz; Learn, Adapt, & Adjust [:-graduat