Bill Kibbel

I personally don't think it is an acceptable practice. The space under the cabinet is part of the air supply ducting and the materials probably do not meet the required flame spread rating for supply ducts. A few years ago, I inspected a new French Chateau reproduction that had the same arrangement under a large built-in entertainment cabinet. The clients had me meet with the AHJ that issued the CO to discuss this and many other items I discovered. He refused to make the builder correct this installation.

I get a big thrill discovering secret rooms. The clients usually know about it and wait to see if I will find it. A late 1880 colonial revival had a third floor, but no stairs to get to up it. A small library on the second floor had all walls covered with mahogany bookcases. One section pushed back and to the side on carriage shed door tracks. There was a cast iron spiral staircase, supposedly from a W.W.I submarine, to the third floor which contained a complete separate apartment. A Queen Ann mansion had a "ticket booth" structure in the main parlour enclosed with turned spindles. The second and third floor bedroom doors had outlines in the shellac where they were once numbered. Each room had a built in wash basin stand. There was a large decorative wardrobe in a second floor sitting room that had a false back. Behind the opening were stairs that led down to an underground passage that terminated at a hatch in the floor below the carriage house. The agent proclaimed it must have been a boarding house and the secret passage was for the "underground railroad". I had my own theory about the use of the building, but kept it to myself. A couple days after the inspection, the buyers called me after meeting with a local historian. They had a copy of an article from the 20's describing a raid and arrest of many prominent men from the community including two NJ politicians in this house of immoral and illegal activities.

Hi Joe, "...what impact the new legislation has had on the education and re-education requirements." Don't know yet. "Are there any internet courses accepted by NJ for education/re-education?" No. The following are the only approved education providers for initial licensure: Bergen County Academies Hackensack, NJ Phone: 201-343-6000 ext 2288 or 2289 Web: www.bergen.org Building Inspector's Career Institute, Inc. Robbinsville, NJ Phone: 609-490-0022 Web: http://www.inspectoreducation.com Inspection21 Home Inspection Institute Hackensack, NJ (201)-457-1121-Phone www.inspection21.com Middlesex County Vocational & Technical Schools East Brunswick, NJ Phone: 732-257-3300 ext 1920 www.mc-votech.org/index.asp Morris County School of Technology Denville, NJ Phone: 973-627-4600 Web: www.mcvts.org

I'm rather fond of appraisers that "make it work". I tend to purchase major pos's that no sane person would ever make an offer on. Example: 300+ year old, re-muddled beyond recognition, tenant occupied for 12 years, vacant for 3, on market for 2 years home in a very nice nat'l historic district. I need a mortgage to purchase and restore and the bank's appraiser could not find any comps in the area to justify the loan. My friend, a Realtor, says "No problem, I'll get my guy that will make the numbers work". This facilitated the purchase, authentic restoration and subsequent sale of the property for a 320% profit.

Is there 30" total width in front of the enclosures? It looks like it. Can the panel cover be opened at least 90º? It looks like you can. I'm happy if I can just get to the cover screws.

This just in: NJ Senate Bill to abolish Home Inspection Advisory Committee "S2898 Abolishes Home Inspection Advisory Committee; transfers duties to State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyers. Sarlo, Paul A. as Primary Sponsor."

If I have to stop and ponder if something is unethical, it's likely that something aint right with it.

You guys are brilliant. Multi-laminated, Staggered Joint, Hurricane Resistant Roof Decking. Pat. Pend.

I see lightning arrestors installed like this regularly. I always identify it as a concern, but honestly, I've never seen any problems develop. I've read manufacturer's instructions that show it installed this way without any warning about compatibility with aluminum.

In the subject line, if someone wrote "Home Inspections; I won't kill your deals", how many would open it? [:-dev3]

Be advised I'm only replying because no one else has. I'm the least qualified to comment since a majority of the buildings I'm in have oil fired boilers. I'll assume that "flue" length is referring to what we call vent connectors. I believe cat. I connector length can be 75% of the height of the chimney. If said connector is "B" vent, it can be 100% of the chimney height. Cat. II, III & IV vent connector length should be specified by the manufacturer of the furnace. Could your lost chart be from a manufacturer?

I usually see PDF-2-Word converters for $20.00 to $30.00. I don't need to do it often, so I just grab a new free trial download every time.

"...approx. 7' x 9' or so." A habitable room must have a floor area of 70 sq. ft. or more. I would consider this room a "storage space", thus is only required to have a lighting outlet controlled by a wall switch.

Jeff wrote: "If you don't use software reporting, what has kept you from doing so?" Every software generated report that I have seen is only slightly better than handwritten checklists in containing useful content. They're usually overflowing with generalized garbage that has little to do with the actual building being inspected. General CYA disclaimers outnumber actual comments on the building and they're repeated on almost every page. They're full of inspectorspeak that seems to be written to impress rather than concisely inform. We quickly and efficiently generate custom narrative reports that contain only clear information on the building inspected. We've had thousands of repeat clients mention that they have kept, and often refer to, the report throughout their ownership of their current home. The report is the final product, thus is our best marketing material. We do more high value properties, historic and commercial buildings than any of our competitors and charge hundreds, sometimes as much as a thousand more than their fees. We dictate our reports using a digital recorder. The voice file and images are then E-mailed to typists that evening. The reports are prepared, proofread and E-mailed to the client usually well within 24 hours of the inspection. The advantage to this system: 1. Every word in the report is specific to the property inspected. 2. Dictation aids in the preparation of a report that is written as if the inspector is speaking directly with the client. 3. My verbal communication skills are much better than my writing skills, and I have a live person editing/correcting the final product. 4. We don't have to spend extra time on site preparing a report. 5. Our typists are stay at home Mom's making some extra dough. 6. We don't do a "Positive Attributes" section or include other unnecessary crap that seems common in many software generated reports. I don't know if this will help, but you asked. Good luck Jeff.

Is this trap to a fixture or a floor drain? Could it be siphoning out? I've come across numerous similar situations where flushing a toilet on a floor above creates a vacuum in the main waste line, sucking out a trap below a fixture in the basement.

That skylight flashing looks like the kit Velux provides for high profile roofing materials like concrete or spanish tile, not for low profile asphalt shingles. "Any advice on what to do with that part of the roof is welcome" -Find a competent roofer. -Remove and replace the roof with appropriate materials for the low slope. -Re-flash the chimney properly and include a cricket uphill. -Obtain and install the proper roof curb and flashing kit for the skylight from the manufacturer. (As Kurt said Velux doesn't leak if installed properly with the correct accessories) -Make every possible attempt to make the first roofer pay to have it done correctly.

www.veluxsolutions.com/static/Products/flashing.html Scroll down the page to ECX/EMX flat roof curbs.

"...under 2/12 you are not supposed to install shingles but use roll roofing and torch it on" You don't want "roll roofing". Mineral surfaced modified bitumen would be what you're thinking of. "...velux were not suppose to be installed on a roof with a pitch lower than 15 degrees" Velux supplies prefabricated roof curbs for their products used on low slope roof systems. Not exactly sure how low though. I know it's acceptable for 2/12. The contractor probably can't read the product's installation instructions due to his cranial-anal interrelation. Seriously, this guy needs to learn the basics of the products he's installing.

Good point, but it's been our SOP for 20 years (and 59000 inspections). Another advantage is that I don't have to argue with ardent buyers insisting that they come up there with me. True story. Early in my career, when I was too stupid to strap my ladder to the gutter every time, a gust came out of nowhere and took down my 28'. It was a vacant 19th century farmhouse off a desolate sand trail in the New Jersey pine barrens. I was up there for 1-1/2 hours and not one car drove by. The wife shows up an hour late to just stop by to give me a check and explain that her husband couldn't make it. She was dressed for work including heels. I was impressed and relieved that she stood it up on the second try.

That's why I'm on the roof 30 minutes before the scheduled appointment time.

If that's true, this is the first I'm hearing it and I'm in big trouble. The way I understand it, PVC from most manufacturers is acceptable for cold water supply. To be sure, I look for the certification mark NSF-pw. CPVC is needed for hot water. Terry, the codes state that plastic supply pipes must meet ANSI/NSF61. That's what is indicated by the certification mark.

"ae504.1 General. Accessory buildings shall not be structurally supported by or attached to a manufactured home" Is a deck really an accessory building? If the home inspector and building official are considering the deck a "building", would they flag a set of steps attached to the structure as well? Tough spot to be in Homn. Joe, that would make a great little vacation cottage. I couldn't build one for that price. I would seriously consider it if they would deliver from CA. I can't rest until I have a home with an "observation lounge". My wife wouldn't set foot in it though. The summer before going away to school, I lived in a '68 Econoline with mushrooms painted all over it!

Did the deck have wheels?[] I don't know the answer, but common sense would say that attaching any permanent structure would render the home non-mobile. I Never inspected a mobile home. Are there any that have been designated historic?

I think a 3" at 1/8" slope per foot can handle up to 36 drainage fixture units. I don't think 2 full baths come close to that value. The IRC should list the values per bath with an additional factor for simultaneous use. Again, it should be well below 36 DFU's. Hope this helps until someone who knows this stuff replies.

25-30% have it around here on single layer roofs. Roof-overs have a much higher percentage of it as it is used to hide the first layer.