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When will our industry give a serious look at E & O from the "self insured" perspective? 1000 home inspectors each contributing $2,000 per year into our own fund would pay to fight a lot of frivolous claims. Add to this the reputation we would quickly earn among these ambulance chasing attorneys and … wala …. we would each be paying in only $1,000 per year before you would know it.

I'm sure there pobably are local companies, but I have not even thought to look for any. I have my web site back now but they lost 1/2 of it. I know what is missing, I just can't figure out how to put it back. I'm going to drop these people as soon as I can, before it happens again. Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate the feed back.

Can anyone recommend a GOOD web host? My new one stinks. I had Burlee for 3 years, no problem. Then they were bough out by Interland. I had Interland for 3 years, no problem. Then they were bought out by Web.com I have had Web.com for two weeks and in that period of time my site has been down more than it has been up and I can no longer connect with it because they have lost Front Page extensions. George

I guess Scott will never learn. Poor guy, I see a few rust stains all the time.

I'm impressed Don. I can't even spell sublimonatable. But, what I can do is remove the avatar. Even though it seems to be the one used the least. Now, will somebody explain to this syber-idiot how to post his own avatar?

Hi Jimmy! No I haven't. Not even thinking about it. It is just that blue is my favorite color and that logo always makes me smile. After Kurt's post, it will now make me laugh out loud.

Hi Don, You are absolutely correct, you have to know your market. With cable TV the ads are really quite cheap. I found the do-it-yourself, home improvement, house detective shows don’t yield much. But the news and brainy shows like Nova do work quite well. For the mall I mean set up a table and sit there and talk to people. That DOES work and it only cost me $175 for 3 days that produced 5 inspections at $395 each. My radio campaign on the other hand on fizzled. As far as the truck lettering, I already pay more for commercial insurance. But take a look at why you might need commercial insurance, (tool coverage in my case). I a not sure about the team sponsorship either but the idea was name recognition. After you become known well enough, people just automatically call you. It is an unconscious thing I am told. The newspaper ads either have to be target specific or super generic. I got this from Chris P. I advertised in an area with a lot of new subdivisions for “warranty inspectionsâ€

I couldn't help but notice all the cobwebs over here on this topic. Here are a few things that worked for me: 1/ Mind set. I made up my mind that the home inspection business can be run just like any other business in my town. So I looked around at what other business were doing. 2/ Advertise: Newspaper (Q $ A form), billboard, cable TV, radio, truck lettering, newsletters, sponsorship of local sports teams, join the local chamber of commerce, Lions Club and Rotary Club. Mall displays, yard signs, a booth at local home improvement shows and bulk mail flyers. Advertisement must be consistent and always include a reason to call you. Like "before your new home warranty is up". 3/ Farm (cultivate) the heck out everyone you ever met. Family, friend’s neighbors and most of all every single past customer needs some kind of contact every other month to keep your name and what you do fresh in their mind. This contact can be a snail-mailed or email newsletter, phone call or even just a card. The contact should also contain some kind of useful information for them. Like how to clean and store used paintbrushes. You really can generate all the business you can handle without ever stepping foot into a real estate office. In fact, after not too long, referrals from past customers (I don't call them clients) will keep you busy enough that you can stop advertising. I forgot to mention, my advertising always included the hook .."For pricing, visit my web site." The whole idea was to get them there where I could REALLY advertise. What does everybody else do?

This will be interesting. For optimum heat transfer the transfer medium will need to be in direct contact with its heat source. For that to happen somebody is going to be needed to take his or her toothbrush and clean the old, dried "heat source" from the 300-meter long coil. This could open up a whole new cottage industry and we would no longer need home inspections as our primary source of revenue. Maybe mold is gold after all?

Nah, knowing this stuff makes us look smart. That is why I carry half the meters and guages I do.

Scott, If only we could get this from your lips to divine ears. If you remember, this issue of self-insurance was really hashed around several years ago, I believe on the ASHI forum as well as here. But for some reason most associations are afraid to even consider it. Do the math for heavens sake. Lets just say 8,000 QUALIFIED, conscientious, well-trained, experienced home inspectors were to unite. You know the kind, the ones like us that no one has ever had a successful lawsuit against. Lets charge each of them $2,000 a year with a $1,500 deductible. That is SIXTEEN MILLION dollars a year (escalating) fund and no spoiled freezer meat claims. Step two. No more rolling over and playing dead by passing out $10,000 (nuisance) settlements like Halloween candy. Pay just claims, but fight the stupid claims and even counter sue. Word would soon get out to the ambulance chasers far and wide that the Home Inspection Industry is no longer a big fat sitting duck. I told the story about how my lodge (FOP 130) went self insured with our own life insurance about 15 years ago. Within 7 years our premiums had dropped from $50 a year to nothing, because the past premiums earned enough interest to pay the future premiums. Coverage, by the way, went from $1,000 to $2,500. Small potatoes you say? … SURE ! But, scale is not the issue; it’s the dynamics that are important here. Make no mistake insurance is very a profitable business. Just look to where government goes when they need to borrow money. E&O carriers are making huge sums of money off of us. Don’t believe their propaganda to the contrary. The problem is they have no incentives to keep costs down because they just pass them onto us while adding a tidy little margin to boot. Can we do this? Absolutely!! Will we? Probably not until we get to a place where the premiums are equal to or greater than our gross income. But, by then it will be too late. George www.ChampionInspections.com

How about throwing good money after bad? Without a matched unit, you will not receive the SEER rating you just paid to have installed. I would be careful about any void warranty claims. I have never heard of any manufacturer doing that. That sounds like something from some shylock contractor.

"Roll out" like that when adequate combustion air is available can only mean one thing, an obstruction. The obsruction could have started anywhere in the exhaust system but will eventually plug everything up all the way back to the burners. The amazing thing here is that you didn't mention anybody being killed by the fumes.

Hi Mike, Yep, I'm still pluggin away. Slowing down a bit though. The big Six-O has a way of doing that to ya.

Not being licensed is probably part of the problem. The biggest factor however is that if you are not the lowest bidder you don't get the job. To be the lowest bidder, you need the cheapest equipment, cheapest help and, whenever possible, no permits and no inspections. Honest contractors no longer even try to compete in this market. This leaves an awful lot of reasons why people need us.

Darren, One never knows just why some people do the things that they do or what they think they are going to accomplish, but I have never come across any mfg installation instructions that called for such a thing. In my opinion it should be removed. George

Darren, The manufacturer is indeed the best place to go. They all have different installation limitations for different models and different years of production. Size of the pipe, bends, rise and even furnace size may all work to limit distance. As far as the barometric damper. I would say no way.

Rob, I agree with you BUT.... Lets say your background qualifies you as an expert in certain fields and you pass the buck knowing full well what is needed and how much it is going to cost. How would you justify NOT supplying the information? It is a judgement call to be sure, but I would only defer an issue if I really didn't know. Otherwise, they are paying for my opinion, and I give it to them. I think withholding an honest opinion is more dangerous than giving it. George

Chad, Copy that photo, It will come in handy many times over your HI Ka-Rear. George

In my minds eye I have a picture. This picture may or may not be accurate, but this is how I world write what I have pictured. The electrical system at this location is beyond salvage. A complete rewiring is needed before anyone can occupy this property. The roof, venting and soffits are in need of repair to stop the massive water penetration. The extent of structural rot is unknown, but the needed mold/mildew clean up may by itself cost more than the value of the property. Professional evaluation by a qualified contractor is needed here. Approximate cost to repair, minus mold/mildew clean up and repair of rotted wood is 25 to 30 thousand dollars. Relax. just call out what you have seen and you have done what you were paid to do.

Richard, The whole issue has many points that are unclear and or up for debate. As I understand it, the grounding of the gas pipe is not the issue. It is indeed hooked to ground both at the furnace and through the incoming pipe. The bonding of the gas and water lines together is to prevent a static charge differential from building up between the two systems. According to Carson & Dunlop, this type of bonding is a code requirement in some parts of the country. I understand how a positive static charge on one pipe system and a negative charge on the other could cause a discharge of voltage between the two ... BUT, I have never heard of it happening in the real world. I guess if we wait another week, we will hear about some new concern that none of us have ever heard about. George

Richard, I recommend bonding metal water and gas lines but I have never heard of a need to bond hot and cold piping. Can you give us the rationale behind this or where to find some reference material? George

We still have several differing codes and interpretations of these codes around this country. I just finished building a house where the 1st floor bathroom and one out door outlet were on the same GFCI. The municipal inspector passed it with no problem. When I asked, he looked at me like I did not know what I was talking about.

Kevin, I think that you are asking for more information than can be (practically) posted here. For immediate answers, do a google search "electrical ground" or something like that. For a little more, there are several good books on electrical knowledge needed for an inspector. Last, but certainly not least, a good class on the subject. George

FYI That Little Giant knock off lader is now at Home Depot for $99.