Brian G

In my opinion ASHI has serious problems with its political structure and some of its policys. During the debate over Branding the dividing line between those in favor and those opposed fell almost exactly along the lines of who did and did not have an ASHI title under their name. Membership was indifferent at best, violently opposed at worst. Leadership didn't care. When told by consultants that losses could run 30%, they forged ahead anyway. I'm totally unable understand how they could rationalize the prospect of such significant losses as the elected representatives of ALL members, including the 30% they were willing to jettison. Some parts of the program are good (IMHO). The new website and more aggressive internet presence were overdue. I would have paid the increase for that alone. But ASHI should be quietly moving away from realtors, not towards them, with the ultimate aim of cutting them out of our business equation altogether. The aim of dominating local markets to the point where one must be ASHI in order to work is repugnant, in my view. Monopolies are never in the best interests of anyone, not even the monopolizing party in the long run. Given that ASHI is unable to effectively police its members (for whatever reason), there would surely be more than a few who would join, work to meet the minimum requirements, and then set off on an endless, profitable run of substandard work that would embarass us all. The "Special Forces" metality that appealed to me has been supplanted by a desire to be overwhelmingly huge and powerful, ultimately to the benefit of ASHI national and the detriment of the individual ASHI member. I pray for the return of the ASHI where excellence was top priority, not sales. The creme of the crop, not the whole damned harvest. All my personal opinion. Brian G.

I think you have it about right General. I don't have an exact temperature, but if I need to run the heat for comfort I'm probably not going to run the AC behind it. I've had clients move to turn on items I've decided not to test for liability reasons. If I'm standing there I stop them and remind them that the house still belongs to the seller at that point, and advise that they should have the seller do it. "If the seller turns it on and it breaks, it's the sellers problem. If you turn it on and it breaks, it's your problem." So far that has worked every time. Brian G.

I can see what definitely looks like a footplate, but it ain't standing on anything. Brian G.

I remember some of that. Sometimes his "approaches" had interesting aspects, but most times the air of "I'm really more qualified than any of you clowns but no one will listen" was unmistakeable. Brian G.

Mine is running at double the pace of last year, but it has nothing to do with ASHI either way. The market is much better and I'm more established...that's all. There's very little ASHI can do to help or hurt me in my little corner of the world, but in my opinion subsidizing your HI organization to help them become better known in your market than you are is nuts. To paraphrase one of the other members,"I want them to think Brian = good inspection, not ASHI = good inspection." The marketing yap about "strengthening your micro-brand" is plain hogwash. If nothing changes by October I'll probably move off and join elsewhere, but I don't want to. Love 'em or hate 'em, ASHI has more impact on the industry than anyone else by far. Brian G. Administratively Suspended (Didn't Pay, Didn't Quit)

My ladder arrived late this afternoon. Seems like a nice piece of work. My 5 year old loves it...So cool! Boys and their toys... Thanks to Chris for the heads-up. Brian G. Now I Have 2 Things That Seem to Extend Forever [:-dev3] [:-eyebrows] (Actually the other is my mortgage.) [:-headache]

The lack of mortar joints is no problem with manufactured stone, they call it "dry stack". My house is covered in it. There should be a thin coat of mortar behind it (filling nailed-down galvanized screen), but that's all it needs. I agree about the plywood behind the shutter. It won't last forever. I would have capped it with metal flashing, like the aluminum they use in conjunction with vinyl siding. I can't tell much about the window. Brian G.

The irony is that by asking a lot of "dumb" questions one becomes much smarter. Brian G. [:-graduate] Sophomore, TIJ University (Mississippi Campus)

Ummm...would that Bjorn Borg the tennis great or the bad guys from Star Trek 47.3? Mysterys are no fun without any clues, it looks like plain ole' chest thumping. Brian G.

Some of this is regional in my opinion. If you live in the steamy South and you have adequate attic ventilation (just adequate), venting bath exaust fans into the attic is harmless. I've never seen one that was actually vented to the exterior. In other parts of the country I'm sure it would be a problem. Given our daily humidity levels, the amount of moisture vented into an attic after a shower is akin to taking a whiz in a lake...no harm done. I see it on every inspection, and I don't write it up. If I lived where Rob lives, I'd write it up every time. Brian G. Wild-Eyed Rougue Inspector [:-masked]