Tim Maxwell

I've only seen two like that in 14 years. The first one I saw looked like your photos. The seller was there and confirmed the chimney fire. He said the fire department showed up and kept the roof and surrounding area wet till it burned out. The second not quite as bad but still a fire. More than half the chimneys I look at need cleaning. Home owners just don't think of that type of maintenance often enough if at all.

That's what one looks like after a chimney fire....

If you were interested I bet you could get that one published in the ASHI reporter. That is a very cool find.

My older brother has always been a Bud drinker. I've always hated the taste of it and would bring my own when getting together with him. I think I'm allergic to beech wood.

Good thread in many ways. I enjoy all the Yuenglings and keep it in the fridge as my standard beer. But I do like the micro brews, big micro brews like Sam Adams, New Belgium, Flying Dog, and Sweetwater. I thoroughly enjoyed the Cape Cod Beer when we visited. Draft and Growlers only with the Cape Cod beer and you can about get it only on the Cape. At the time Plymouth was as far out as they served. In the last 4 years I had two close inspector friends retire or move to another field. I still talk with them but it's not the same since they are no longer "in it". Lot's of vacant foreclosed properties but lately some resales are back on the rise.

I see them often. Many do not last long. The motors burn out and lock up. They often have open splices/improper wiring. I don't like them because of that and they are often installed with other upper ventilation that prevents them from operating as intended. I prefer the continuous ridge and soffit vents. Many folks in the south will disagree with me on the power vents. I say if you plan to install them that in many cases you will need more than one, let them be your only upper ventilation, and get the ones with thermostats AND humidistats so it will also work when needed in the cooler months.

I'd say less than 10% of potential buyers I talk know about the NO licensing in GA. Alot of buyers are moving here from other states that do have licensing only for me to be the first to tell them there is none here. Builders have only been licensed for the last three years or so. Before that the only thing protecting home buyers was the local code authorities and independent inspectors. Last I heard from the GA state level was that they were satisfied with "free market" just the way it has been. It is a pleasure to talk to savy buyers when I get them. They are usually going away from their "agent recommended inspector" and have usually found me through ASHI or a past client of mine.

Exactly the same here in VA - no licensing. There's a voluntary licensing program, that many of the guys opted into. Myself, I haven't and really don't think there's a need for state licensing here. In fact, that fact is precisely why state licensing has never come to pass - no need. ASHI is sufficient. Really, if they started a licensing program here I'd have to come up with a whole new sales pitch. I do use my ASHI certification to land inspection shoppers.

My ASHI membership has always paid for itself. And GA with it's no licensing and regulation makes it more important to be certified. Buyers almost never even know that there is no licensing or regulation in GA either. So when I get shoppers I land alot of them because of the ASHI certification once you give them a brief lesson.

Little Giant 16". Does the trick on 90% or so. My binoculars need dusting every time I use them.....

I always write up the wrong panel screws. BUT, both times I've had the sparks flying and me instantly levitating a foot off the ground the guilty screw was the correct screw for the panel. The threads of the screw was what cut the wire sheathing. I believe the panel manufacturers should design the panel so that the screws cannot come in contact with any of the wires.

Everyone I've talked to today was up late glued to the weather reports and radar tracking the storms. Worst since the early 70's they're saying. Scary, nerve racking night.

I don't think it's that bad. And from these pictures I doubt that I would give it a mention in the report. I might feel differently if I were standing on the roof looking at it though. I do see the gouged up/scuffed up front porch roof often that I do mention in the report. We all, or should, have our little trigger points for reporting this kind of stuff. I still use the ole "inspect it like you're inspecting it for your mother" attitude. And to me that means you want to protect her, but not worry her unnecessarily.

I've seen that one once before a few years back on a new construction. And from a related post regarding re inspects, they called me to go back and re check this. The builder did not fix it like he told them he had. I didn't hear back after that second visit.

kinda reminds me of the GPS taking the place of those huge map books. It never failed that I'd have to go to three different pages to get where I was going.

Indeed. Click to Enlarge 50.72 KB I have a couple of other issues that they need an electrician to fix so I'll just add this to the list.

I had this panel in a house today. The current home owner has never used it but seemed to recollect the previous owner tried to sell them a generator when they were selling. I've never seen one with the large plug inside the panel. Click to Enlarge 35.87 KB

I do re inspects for a fee but try my best to avoid them. When I do them I am always surprised when the repairs look good. I remember the first one I ever did about 13 - 14 years ago. There were 8 items on the summary page. The seller said that they had repaired them all and about 2 weeks after the inspection the buyer called me. I went back and the seller had done absolutely NOTHING. I couldn't even tell if anyone had been in the house since me. The buyer was smoking mad....

I don't think the real estate office has anything to do with the folders. It's the folder companies soliciting the broker or whoever at the RE office offering them the free folders for names and contact info to try and get the fees to print the folders. I've been solicited for years by these folder people and it always seems there offering the advertisement in a RE office that I don't even hardly know. I always pass on the "offer" and have on several occasions have them "threaten" to go back and tell the broker that I was not interested. Both times I told them while they were talking to this broker to tell them to not give my info out anymore. I personally believe the whole folder thing is just a scam by the folder company. Most recently I had a website company that was building a website for an agent and asked for me to support it. I knew this agent so I called him. He didn't even know what I was talking about. I agree with others on taking your marketing dollars and put them where you want them, not some offer that comes on a cold call....

My first theft from my vehicle was in 1985. Quick stop at a grocery store. I've been a real door locker ever since.

The only PB I see still in use at a house is with copper fittings and copper crimp rings. I very rarely see Big Blue that is still in place and if I do it is the 250 psi version, the 160 psi is the one you will rarely see because it has already cracked/leaked and been replaced. I still give the buyer all the info about the past problems and class action but if it's been in place this long it's about as much to worry about as any other pipes.

I had one last week (cat 1) that vented to the side wall and terminated at the brick veneer. It looked like the dryer vent.

Nice tweek. I too did not care for the first one. But the second is nice. Totally different.

Looks like that thing was built leaning. Francis Ford Cupola.

I've done 3 inspections in one day once in 14 years. That's all it took to cure me of that. It was a long day that spilled over into the next day. I offer 9 am or 2 pm. I used to offer the 1 pm but got a speeding ticket about 10 years ago that made me switch to 2 pm. I cover a large suburb area and on occasion will have 2 inspections that may be a nice long ride from one another. This has been an interesting thread to see how others operate. I would like to be able to work towards doing just one a day and already try it if it's a little slower.