DLRambo

For 10 Years we've been sending out a newsletter twice a year to past clients. Kept our name out there. BUT, both us and them weren't really big on email untill the past 2 years. That means that its just gotten too expensive to keep mailing 6,000 people and getting 20% (+/-) come back every time. Right now, our MONTHLY NEWSLETTER is only going to the past 2 years worth of our clients that we have emails addresses for.

Sorry - I just saw this topic. I went to both sites but didn't see home inspections. Have I missed something??

We have about 15 short classes that we can put on at Realtors weekly sales meetings. These are 15-20 minute classes. We also have 4 classes that we can do at a monthly "lunch & learn" class. These are 45 minutes to 1 hour long). We then have 3 other classes that we do for CE that range from 3.5 hours to 7 hours for agents. The 15-20 minute classes are on things like: 1) Understanding Termites 2) Problems with EIFS 3) Aluminum Wiring 4) Polybutylene Piping 5) Preparing the House for the Buyers Inspection (replacing light-bulbs, moving stuff out from the foundation wall, taking the guard trained Pit Bull to Grandma's, etc) 6) Why New Construction Needs Inspections Too (40 slides of awesome New Construction Defects that passed Code Inspections) 7) Why Do Pre-Listing Inspections It works good. Gets you exposure in a non-confrontational scenario. Helps get you a reputation as the EXPERT in ....., and helps a FEW of the realestators understand WHY we talk about some of the things we do AND be less likely to try & hammer the next inspector that talks about Aluminum Wiring being a problem, etc.

Mike that sounds so cold. Are you telling us you don't wanta be their "Cradle to Grave Insurance policy"??? What Mike said is good. Over 28 years I've found that the BEST thing I can do for clients is to get their EXPECTATION LEVEL down to where I can really have a chance of acheiving it. To do that, I do exactly what Mike does. Folks I'm good but I don't have X-ray Vision and I can't see behind the furniture or wall coverings any better than you can. If there's a hole in the floor under the refrigerator that the seller didn't tell you about - it will still be there when you move in because I'm not a furniture mover. I give the same warranty that my Doctor does - Here's what you look like right now. Could you fall tomorrow and break your leg - Yep. Could you have a stroke or heart attack next week - absolutely. Many things (including people) can be older and worn BUT are working just fine one minute and then quit working completely 5 minutes later with no advance warning. I don't have a Crystal Ball and I can't predict the future, so your guess as to how long something will last is probably as good as mine. I'm not a Warranty Company, but if you want a warranty - I recommend that you BUY ONE. Some agents or even clients may think your being cold blooded, but in my mind you're just giving them the strait-skinney right up front.

Missouri does not have mandatory licensing of builders, contractors, etc. In 2/3 of the state there is no building codes or code inspections. There are some real good builders BUT, I can't count how many piss poor builders there are out here that don't know which end of the hammer to drive a nail with NOR squat about code requirements. The vast majority of the major screw-ups I see in construction were done by the type of contractors in the news article.

Crusty - I haven't been on the site in quite a while and your question is a year old BUT I want to give you something to think about. Your question was what about the penetration you put in the moisture barrier to probe the wall. Well what about utility penetrations, etc. They all penetrate or have openings through the moisture barrier.

The Texas Lathe & Plastering Group sold me their 3-ring notebook of details about 3-4 years ago and its good. I've had various local Code Officials see copy's of my reports with pages out of the manual and call wanting to borrow my book. They wanted to show a builder or installer how it should be done. I never see "Real Kickout Flashings" until the repairs start. Then they get used a lot. Stucco Screeds are never seen and not really needed in most instances.

Most of the guys around here (Kansas City)use the Sun Monitors. They're reasonable in cost ($525-$535 each).I've got 6 and only had a problem with 1 of them in the 5-8 years I've had them. The Femo-Tech is nice but real pricey and has lots of features we don't use. The largest Radon Mitigator in KC has about 80 monitors of all kinds including the Femo-Tech and his choice has been the Sun Monitor. Dan Bowers

I teach home inspection at PITI (Professional Inspection Training Institute) in Kansas City. We've had several guys from Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Nebraska come through over the past 5 years. Get on-line at www.homeinspectiontraining.net and look at their schedule and course content. We were named "Educator of the Year for 2003" by NAHI. We're approved by NAHI, ASHI, NACHI, etc. We've got some of the best instructors in the Midwest at PITI.

Like I said earlier to each his own poison, but as a sideline comment. I walked most roofs (about 90%) for 16 years - never had a complaint that I missed something or overlooked something on a roof. I've now spent the last 12 years where I walk about 35% to 40% of the roofs, and look at most of the rest from a window, with binoculars or on a ladder at the eaves (if a 17' LG gets me up there). I've still NEVER had a complaint, EVER that we missed something or overlooked something up there on the roof. My point is the 1st 16 years I thought guys that didn't walk 90% of the roofs no matter how tall or steep were wimps or lazy. I no longer believe that walking those BAD BOY ROOF's is really needed in most cases. Just my opinion.

My post was not a lecture. We have a lot of relatively new inspectors read what those of us with many years of experience write. When a newer guy reads our posts and starts thinking all the Big Dogs do something a certain way (like carry 68' long ladders and climb EVERY ROOF, they start thinking they're not doing something they should be doing - then they try to do it and they can get messed up bad). Definitely not worth it for the average inspection fee. Many roofers in my area won't walk a 9/12, 10/12 or steeper roof without toe-blocks its mind numbing to think the average inspector would try to. OR we can all be like "Spider-Man" Mulholland in Pensacola and rappel up and down the vertical walls of 200' high buildings upside down to do inspections. That would really impress our clients on tall roof houses.

To climb or not to climb - that is the question. To each his own. From 1976 until 1992 I drove pick-ups with camper shells and ladder racks. I carried a 21' fiberglass and a 28' aluminum extension ladder. I also packed 1st a 13' Versa Ladder (never again) then swapped it for a LG 13'. Anyone that tells you they walk all roofs is a liar and hopes you're dumber than he is. I walked 90% of the roofs - I say 90% because you have to count the snowy, rainy days; the 20 year old VERY BRITTLE wood shake or shingle roofs; the 10/12 metal, slate or tile roofs; the days that the roof is ice covered, etc, etc. Only a total moron would try to walk a roof at those times. Those first 16 years I was so proud of myself. I was real creative. The house had a widows walk with no access. My 28' wouldn't get me to the 2nd floor or 3rd floor. NO PROBLEM. I've dragged my 13' LG up to a 2nd or 3rd floor window - opened the window - removed the screen or storm - climbed out dragging my trusty LG with me - - inched my way up the side of the dormer - balanced myself precariously and put the LG so it straddled the peak of the dormer gable - then I climbed up and pulled myself up on the widows walk. What a rush - real scary! Damn, was I a hero home inspector. Then in 1993 I started having friends or people I knew getting really forked up by falling off roofs, having ladders collapse, or slide out from under them. I've had 2 good competitors have shingles or tiles come loose on them and slide them off the roof. All in all, I know 9 really good inspectors that have been really messed up this way. Because of the downtime or severity of the injuries no longer, several of them no longer have an inspection business. One man broke his leg in 7 places - has had 4 surgeries and 20 months later is still on a walker. One broke his back (he was out of work for 9 months and had to file bankruptcy - still considers himself lucky to have lived and walk). Dan's Personal Rules Since 2001. I carry a 13' and 17' LG (the inside ladder and the outside ladder). If the 17' won't get to the roof, I inspect with binoculars or ----. Yesterday, I had to inspect a 2-story on a very steep lot. The roof was a 9/12 or 10/12 pitch wood shake in the front (8 years old) and the rear of the house had a low sloped dormer. The back yard had a heavy tree growth and I couldn't get back far enough to see the roof. I imagine its roll roofing or single ply membrane. My report ended up saying that the wood shakes at the front of the roof showed no signs of major defects and appeared to exhibit wear typical for their age. However the rear of the roof was not visible or accessible due to the height and style, etc. I recommended they have a licensed roofer with a tall ladder inspect it prior to closing. I took $25 off my fee because of that and because I'm a heck of a nice guy. My safety is worth a lot to me. Dan Bowers, CRI

Jim - My gosh only having seen them in Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis and in picture books, I had no idea what they cost. At that price no wonder our poor builders don't put them in - if they put them in thats $20-$40 of profit thats not in their pocket. No wonder our house are so affordable - we don't use that expensive stuff like weep holes and the extra length of hose running exhaust fans to the outside rather than the attic.

In Kansas City you don't see weep holes in the brick - maybe its too expensive. Dan Bowers

Who cares - Many people have made mistakes and been caught. Many more have made bigger mistakes and never been caught. How about Tim Allen or Ollie North, etc. It ain't a perfect world. I was a Marine Corp Sniper in Vietnam - your and my government gave me nice medals for blowing people's brains out that I'd never met and had done nothing to you or me. Gosh I'd love a chance at the 911 guys. This ain't important in the scope of things. Dan Bowers, CRI

There are a whole lot of easier ways to clean the engine.

In Kansas City and surrounding areas the only "Old Time Conventional 3/4" thick Hardcoat Stucco I see is OLD or on Commercial Bldgs. Most residential stucco is EIFS or its the newer 3/8" - 1/2/" light weight stucco. We frequently get asked by lenders, insurance companies, owners, buyers, etc to moisture check it because someone had water leaks. The only way to readily moisture check it is to DRILL holes and insert probes. We do it quite often. It gets sealed just like EIFS does. We can't use the Tramex Wet Wall Detector on it because the metal mesh will make the meter go off everywhere. Therefore you use your eyes and look for the most likely spots - or spots around where you know its leaked. The idea is to put as few probe holes in the system as needed to verify the underlying condition. Check with EDI or Moisture Warranty Corp if you want further info.

I've got a friend thats has had his dishwasher overflow 3 times in the past 6 months. The rest of the time he says it works just fine. He swears hes not over-filling it with soap. Its a GE; its about 15 years old; the door seals look ok. The house itself is about 50 years old and uses cast iron waste lines and galvanized supply lines (some of which have been replaced with CPVC and copper). Any clues as to what could be sporadically screwing up.

If you're asking if codes address backsplash's on cabinets - they don't.

The lambs blood is not accurate - much darker. You may give some thought to checking for Vampires in the neighborhood. We used to have a family of them a couple of blocks over and they were so messy, they'd get blood everywhere .... Looks like some type of overspray or water quality problem from the pictures - or is possible the nails are the wrong type and its rust??? Dan Bowers

No matter how tactfully they lay it out or veil it, the ASHI "Branding" issue comes down to: "If your Home Inspector Isn't ASHI he/she's not Spit!!! I've been with ASHI 20 yrs last January, and that whole thing sits wrong to me. Dan Bowers (Kansas City)

Its a regional issue. The code book says one thing the local code people say something else. When I'm in Dallas, TX they go to the outside. In Kansas or Missouri "NO PLACE" that I've ever inspected (Kansas City, Wichita, Columbia, Lake Ozarks, Lawrence, St. Louis, etc) has run them outside and since 1988 I've only seen 2 times where its created a problem and in both cases the attic had no ventilation at all. Our code authorities have determined that if the attic is well ventilated then the attic is outside the living quarters and thats where they go to. Now for your general info, I'm told that because of mold issues Johnson County, Kansas will start requiring them to REALLY go OUTSIDE later this year. Dan Bowers (Kansas City)

Mike - On downflow furnaces, the cooling coil (A-coil or slab) is mounted below while the filter would be on the top. Are you sure its an upflow furnace and not a downflow. If its for sure an upflow, its installed wrong -I saw one about 1 year ago in a "No-Codes Zone" outside KC where they did a similar boo-boo and installed the A-Coil on its side in a horizontal furnace - owner and cousin bought the equipment and proudly installed it by themselves. Cooled like crap and the condensate pan was in an upright position so it caught nothing. They'd put a plastic rubbermaid pan under the unit with a garden hose to dispose of the condensate. Dan

On Licensure / Grandfathering - When I start thinking about "Grandfathering" of existing home inspectors with XXX years of experience or zzz many inspections, I have a hard time understanding WHY NOT. To start with like someone already said - many of these guys were the people that developed home inspections. Then I think about education. I've always been an education junkie. As an example: (1) when I had been doing HI's for about 8 yrs part time, I went to a 1 week long HI course; (2) when I wanted to know more about boilers, I took a semester long nite course in "Boilers" from the HVAC dept at my local Jr. College; (3)when I wanted to know more about electrical wiring, I took a semester long course in "residential wiring" at a local trade school; (4) when I wanted to be BETTER at diagnosing structural problems, I enrolled in a 1 week course in "Structural Design" at the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering - - then 6 months later took a 3 day class at Texas A&M on "Foundation Defects and Repairs"; (5) when I wanted to be more knowledgeable about building codes, I took 3 different 2 day classes on codes from ICBO and then got code certified by ICBO, BOCA, and later ICC. I guess what I'm saying is that over the past 26 years of doing HI's, I've always figured that most long time inspectors have done similar things to get themselves educated about our business. In my area, even many of the "BAD INSPECTORS" aren't bad because they're dumb - most of the time I think they know whats right or wrong to do or say - they simply choose not to do so to appease the realestator. So where does "Grandfathering" come into this. Do I fear testing - NO - I teach a 2 day class to help other inspectors pass the NAHI CRI, the NHIE, or various state exams. Do I feel any need to take another test to validate myself against a NEW INSPECTOR with 50 inspections and a 1 week HI course - NO - I think a lot of old timers like myself think the same way not out of fear of another test, but because its almost a spit in the face. Feedback Requested.

For me this sort of issue has always been real simple. (1) Is it right as it is??? (2) If they sold the house tomorrow and another inspector points it out as wrong - do I like the buyers well enough to want to buy it??? If the answer to either question is "NO", I report it!! In some instances, I might verbally tell them although the XXXXX is not technically correct, it will probably function as is - BUT it is wrong and its their decision to REQUEST REPAIRS or ACCEPT it as is. Dan Bowers