Paul N Frey

I agree with Marc. Residential stucco sucks - why not since most of the installers can't read english and the super is nowhere to be seen. I have seen contractors that ran out of poly and went to the hardware store and purchaded a few coolers to fill in with!!

The clip was hilarious! As said before, Holems usually finds something "major" after they tear the hell out of the interior. What would you bet that if you bored a hole in his new front porch in about 1-2 years you woulf find the same air space. Showmanship - 95%, Reality - 10%!

As ScottPat said - they used everything ever made - too bad they just f----d it up so badly you have to laugh!! Even an idiot inspector would think something was wrong.

I see Pushmatic panels occasionally (along with Jim K) and the only thing I have noticed is that if you trip a circuit sometimes they will not reset for a few minutes. I just walk away and reset it later and have never had a problem other than there are not many connections since the breakers are so large.

My father was a Doc in the California foothills around Nevada City and up to Downeyville (sp). Some of his "funniest" stories were of patients that were hit by black widows while sitting on either the toilet or more commonly the outhoust pot. He said that these guys would literally beg him to "put them out of their misery" while laying in the hospital. Just picture a scrotum the size of a softball and you will get the idea!!

Here is a little different spin. While you must be licensed and take an "Exam" to do inspections in Oregon, we are woefully back country when it comes to WDO inspections. Literally anyone can do the "WDO Inspection" part but must be licensed to do the application. This leads most Structural Inspectors to throw in a WDO - many times with disasterous results. I followed one "Inspector" that identified subs incorrectly (it was old WBB damage and quite inactive) and to this day refuses to admit he made a mistake. I asked him just how much money he had required sellers to pay out for uncalled for termite treatments as a prequisite for selling the home and he just stared at me and said "not my problem"! So, Dan S in Wa is tough and lots of people don't like him (he is a little / lot dictatorial) but he has really straightened out the industry there. Here in Oregon we have a bunch of political pussies that are afraid to rock the boat and mandate licensing for a WDO inspection.

Just think, after you do your big stinky, the next person, and the next, and the next will be privy to your "labor of love"! How long has it been this way? New dormer?

What about a well thet supplies multiple dwellings?

Bear with me on this one: 1 year old residence with an ADA shower on the main floor. Crawl space under the residence. 1) Shower pan and walls are tile and I am assuming the floor base is mortar / tile set. 2) No threshold since it is ADA compliant. Shower enclosure is wall to wall (of the bathroom) and approximately 3 1/2' wide and the toilet "adjoins" the shower area approximately 5' off the main wall. 3) Original inspection for 1 year warranty noticed leakage in the crawl and builder applied silicone sealant to wall / pan joint and called it good. 4) At the request of the inspector I went out to check and proceeded to "flood" the pan area until slightly more than 1/4" of water was on the wall. Floor is poorly sloped so I didn't want to flood the entire bathroom. 5) Climb back into the crawl space and the floor was dripping water at literally every area where the wall and pan intersect on the 3 sides of the shower. Not a little - a lot and I only held the water for about 3 minutes. 6) My feeling is that the builder either did not install a pan liner or it was compromised during construction. I e mailed Mr Katen and he feels the same as I do in that a liner should have been installed and it should extend 3-4" up the wall. 7) Talked to a county inspector and he got quite a chuckle out of it - his response was something like "yeah, this is a real quandry in the code regs because of the ADA and ""exceptions"" therein". He really couldn't offer much in the way of help other than point me to the code references (which Jim had already given me). Oregon Specialty code 411.7 and beyond. Any feelings on pan liner requirements for ADA showers with no thresholds (pretty hard to get a chair over a threshold)?? This floor will rot out in a matter of years as installed.

This may be a little late but I just had to send a comment. Another inspector that I have mentored over the years - female and widely regarded by most contractors and some other "inspectors" as a "dumb woman" butting in on their territory - recently got involved in a pissing match with the listing agent over calling high moisture readings in a wall below a leaking roof / rotted sill plates. This "agent" managed to get her "regular inspector" to give a judgement call over the phone and he said that his company employees have been instructed for 20 years to "refuse to use moisture meters because they are not reliable"! One main problem with this scene is that he has only been licensed since 2000 as an inspector in Oregon. I just love the inspectors that can be duped into doing second guess "phone inspections" to keep their agents happy. FYI - he had inspected the same home last year and found rotted sill at the crawl entrance but failed to notice pretty obvious rot in 2 other areas at these other sill areas. Go figure! Any Portland, Or inspectors want to know who the "phone inspector" is just e-mail me and I will send info!

Thanks to all of your replies. As it happened we went to 13 Coins since she wanted one last burger (I should say "HAMBURGER" since it was $13.00+). She loved it except for the velveta cheese on top! Personally I was pushing for Anthony's but you know how that goes. Overall I would rate the total dinner at a 6 or 7 - other plates were OK (whoever thought we would see a 3/4" rib eye for $30.00 with no salad?) but not great. It was also during the dinner hour / Friday and packed. Service was great so would probably go back if in the area. FYI - the Ceasar salad was fantastic!! Thanks again for all your local help. Sea Tac is about 300% more efficient than PDX in terms of parking, ticketing and passenger handling!! Not that it was enjoyable but at least not totally frustrating.

Out the door directly behind the checkbook when you have 2 girls and a doting mother!!

Thanks Rob, I used to go to the 13 coins in Seattle and always had a good time. Didn't know they had 1 near the airport. Paul

I am taking my "baby" up to SeaTac on the 28th to deposit her ona plane headed for Rome. She is studying abroad for a semester (why wasn't this offered when I was in school - (all I got was an all expense paid trip to Viet Nam in '67)). We are spending the night somewhere around the airport and I wanted to take her out for dinner that night. Any suggestions on good seafood restaurants fairly close to the airport from some of you local inspectors? I know of some good ones in Tacoma but I really don't want to fight your traffic all that much since I will have just driven from Portland. You can e-mail me at "oregonwest@comcast.net" with any suggestions that pop up. Thanks much for the help. Paul Frey

That roof "has reached the end of it's useful life" as we say here in Oregon. If the RE agent wants to guarantee it let him put it in writing, otherwise stick to your guns and fail it. This roof was a replacement item years ago - missing shingles, etc. There will always be damage to the bottom butt ends after a few years (this is normal aging) but when you can lift up the butt end and break the shingle at the overlap they are done. Looks like a ----- shingle to start. FYI - I have been in many attics where you could read a book from the amount of light coming thru the shingles (they leaked) but the old timer mentioned had it right - the shingles swell after the first rains and do a pretty good job of being weatherproof - as long as they are in reasonably good condition. This roof is not! I wouldn't have even walked it due to the visible damage that you can see.