Robert E Lee

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Michael. Our family spent several days visiting Williamsburg in the mid 80's, kids were in junior high and was a great educational experience for them. The trip included time in Washington DC as well as Gettysburg and other civil war sites, would like to do a repeat of the whole trip.

I also give the client a copy of the ASHI SOP/COE, I used to buy them as well 50 @ $15.00, but have started to print my own. My printer will do two sided printing, only difference is the 4 pages are stapled together rather then booklet form.

I had the same problem David, then I got a "Microcell" from At&T at $150.00, but it does the trick, I now have 5 bars in my lower level office, where before I couldn't make or receive calls!

I also have an iPhone, my web site is set up so that when I get a request for an inspection quote it will generate an email as well as a text message, many times when I call folks back in response to the text message clients are amazed as they would have just sent the query. That being said, it's not something you really need starting out. If you have any cell phone with good coverage for your intended inspection area then I think you are going to be good to go.

I agree, have pointed them out for years. I'm much more concerned with getting out of the house in case of an emergency than stopping someone from breaking in, after all it only takes a "rock" to provide an entry point at any of the windows!

The reason I mentioned the hot humid weather this past summer in my original post, is that I believe the slight staining that is present on the exterior side of the vapor barrier is the result of condensation that has collected within the wall cavity. Cool basement, hot/humid outdoors, when that humid air encounters the vapor barrier, condensation forms and mold/mildew follows. I don't consider it a big problem, in fact as mentioned earlier I think this is a condition that would be found through out the building if the sheetrock were to be pulled off.

In the morning I am returning to look at a home (2007 vintage) I inspected this past summer. The client called with a concern about what he considers to be mold/mildew behind the vapor barrier in an unfinished area of the lower level. I said that I would be happy to come out and take a look, but what I expected was that condensation has collected on this vapor barrier (we had some very hot humid days this past summer) and what he is seeing is very typical and would likely be present in many areas of the house if we were to pull down all the sheetrock. My intention is to suggest he consider removing the vapor barrier and fiberglass insulation and replace it with closed cell foam insulation. Any other thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Hey! Were you been pardner? Long time no see.

Hey! Were you been pardner? Long time no see. Sorry, Terry, I don't think we've met--maybe another Robert E Lee!

Several years ago I did a radon test for a client buying a slab on grade townhouse, at the time I was using Eperm passive devices. The results came back over the EPA action point and the buyers Dad who was in relocation told his son to look for a different house. Of course, the seller blamed me, and hired a local contractor to conduct a second test using an electronic CRM, I ask if I could repeat the test at my own expense. The result was that both of the repeat tests came back with radon levels above the EPA action point! A week later I did an inspection and radon test on another slab on grade townhouse, not next door but in the same culdesac a couple doors down. The levels on that unit was in the neighborhood of 1.5 pCi/L! So, from my experience, you can't dismiss the presence of radon just because the home is built on a slab.

Ceiling joists are fine, looks like an ABS vent pipe running through the area.

With a low pitch like that and rolled roofing materials, I'm afraid your birds will be having some showers along with the additional light.

It is my understanding that high efficiency furnaces over 100,000 btu require 3" intake and exhaust, as noted seems like that may be the problem.

Improper gas/air mixture will cause the unit to develop soot. One of my units started to leave soot on the glass cover, disassembled it to find that the burner plate was cracked. It is about 14 years old, but I have it controlled by a thermostat so it runs a great deal more than most gas fireplaces.

This condition is very common here in Minnesota, the little snow drifts melt as the weather warms up and the moisture evaporates away. I have never seen any damage from the snow that filters in from the roof vents.

Minnesota law now requires CO Detectors within 10' of all bedrooms.

I've had one for a couple of years now, great little tool (toy as my wife calls it), the addition of the camera would be great, not sure I'm ready to spent an extra $600.00. I've had mixed results trying to take a picture of the screen to show a crack in a heat exchanger, what works better is to be able to point to the area with the client looking over your shoulder. Robert E Lee

Yes, they were steel coated with granular material and profiled to look like shingles. The roof had been installed in 2002 and the attic look fine, there were soffit chutes between every other truss. Thanks for the comments and web site references.

Inspected a home yesterday that had steel roofing, shingle profile, approx. 50" x 9". The concern is that there were not cap or ridge vents, is this a normal installation?

Yes, I use tri-pod's that I picked up at Wal-Mart, they will extend up to 25", I think they were around $20.00. Robert E Lee GENERAL Home Inspections

I've got a question, how does the phone number management work out? If you have service from your local phone company, and then call and cancel in order to use the Magic Jack isn't the local phone company likely to reassign that phone number to a new customer? Suppose you don't have a phone now, where does the phone number come from that you would use with Magic Jack? Beyond that it almost sounds to good to be true. Robert E Lee GENERAL Home Inspections

I'd try 1992, Mike had a furnace age chart up a while back. Likely is in the archives. Robert E Lee

I've run across similar control units in the past, I pull out the amp meter and measure current flow on the floor heat circuit to assure that the system is operational. Seems like they take a long time to warm a cold floor, but not having one in my home I have no direct experience. Robert E Lee GENERAL Home Inspections, Inc

When I was getting ready to start the business my thought was to come up with a company name that would be memorable. With a name like Robert E Lee, GENERAL Home Inspections, seemed to be a good fit. I get lots of comments and can't count the number of times folks have told me that they just had to have General Robert E Lee inspect their home. But your right Scott, if I were to do it over I probably would leave the "home" out and go with something like GENERAL Inspection services. Robert E Lee

There is a class action suit that relates to Carrier, Bryant, Payne and Day & Night high efficiency furnaces. Check www.furnaceclaims.com for details. The suit deals with problems in the secondary heat exchanger. Robert E Lee GENERAL Home Inspections, Rochester, MN