MMustola

I'm with Chad, If you have city supplied water a siphon powered pump is the only way to go. I battery will only last so long.

I have many horrible stories about turning water on at vacant houses. I'll give you two quick ones. Vacant $750,000 house which of course was winterized. The Realtor wanted me to turn on the water and when I explained why I would not she tried to embarrass and intimidate me in front of the client by telling me it was my job to turn on the water and every other inspector in town would do it. I held my ground and continued on with the inspection. A week later the client called to schedule a re-inspection of the plumbing. The Realtor had arranged to have the plumbing turned on and who ever did it failed to notice a leak under the kitchen sink. When I arrived at the house the kitchen and finished basement were flooded. They had to replace several kitchen cabinets, the hardwood floor, the ceiling, walls, and carpet in the finished basement. The cost was $65,000. Another example. Vacant house. Water off. Realtor wanted me to turn it on. I said no. The Realtor decided to turn it on herself. We are are in the basement when she turns in on. She does not bother to run through the house real quick. I want no part of whats going on so I am conducting business as usual, inspecting and explaining things. About ten minutes later we notice water running down the basement stairs. There was a leak under the dishwasher and now there was standing water on the hardwood kitchen floor. The house was vacant so there were no mops, brooms, towels, or any thing at all to clean up the water. I'm sure the hardwood floor was destroyed. I have many more stories like this. The chance of something bad happening when you turn on anything that is shut down it is just to great.

I'm in the very little probing camp. A small amount of visible decay could be just the tip of the iceberg. Many times there is no way to determine the extent of the damage without destructive testing. It seems that many inspectors feel they have to determine the full extent of the problem. I just don't agree with this. When I find decay I certainly look further to find the source of moisture. Is there poor paint, missing caulk or flashing, improper grade, siding or brick installed wrong, leaking roof, etc. If I found one of those defects and reported it, and the fact that the visible decay was a indication that the defect was causing a serious problem. I would then recommend that they have a qualified 'who ever' determine the extent of the problem and make the appropriate repairs. I would feel I did a good job as a home inspector. I am there to look at dozens of items across many system in the house and don't what to get bogged down trying to determine the exact extent of the damage.

Why SHOULD the return duct be insulated? I agree that it would be nice if it was, but it is never done in my area. We do not even insulate the supply ducts unless they run through an attic.

A little tread drift here. A friend of mine who, is a good inspector, is facing a $75,000 law suit because of poor report writing. The buyer claims there is serious structural damage to the house because of a lack of deck flashing. My friend found and reported the lack of flashing but failed to mention what harm the lack of flashing could cause or recommend the the client have it fixed. This inspector is still in denial over the extend of his liability. He feels that since he found the problem he should be off the hook. I tried to explain to him that to the average client just writing up that there is something missing is meaningless to them. He needed to report the missing item could cause harm and that action should be taken. I have learned a lot about report writing on this forum from Jim K., Walter J., and others. It really does not take much to write three simple sentences that say. what was wrong, what could happen, take some action.

The hp 450 is no longer availible. I saw the 460 at hp's web site but based on my past experience I am going to stay away for hp products. The Cannon ip90 looks good but I will also check out the I70 that Les mentioned. I want the wireless connection and I like a small printer that can be used without taking it out of the case. Battery powered is nice but not a must have for me. It would be nice to find a printer that fits into the case I already have. It costs a $100 and it would be a drag to have to replace it too.

I am in need of a new portable printer. Currently I have a HP450 deskjet that I use to print reports on-site. This is my second hp printer and I had a cannon before those. All three printers ended up have paper feed problems. I use a infrared connection to send the report to the printer. It seams I may have to go to a blue tooth connection because infrared is old technology. Does anyone have a recommendation on a printer that they have had good luck with. I know this has been discussed before but I was hoping to get get information.

For many years I did septic inspections. I would load the system with water, locate the tank and field with a probe, and in 90% of the inspections I would dig up and open the tank lid. The problem with septic inspections is that you are never really looking at the components. You are only looking for red flags, clues, and symptoms. It's like inspecting roofs with a foot of snow on them, you can not see anything and will only find a problem if it is failing right now! In my area 50% of the houses are on a private septic system. Because of this I thought I had to be the guy that could do it all. Because there is so much risk in septic inspections and the level of inspection you can do without pumping the tank adds almost no value, I no longer do septic inspections I am honest with clients and tell them (and Realtors) that the money spent on having a home inspector do a septic inspection is wasted. I recommend that they use that same money to have a septic contractor inspect and pump the system. As best I can tell I do not think this policy has hurt my business.

The National Association of Home Builders "Residential Construction Performance Guidelines" states that concrete floors in living areas shall not have pits, depressions, or area of unevenness exceeding 3/8-inch in 32 inches. Now I know may of you think these standards are poor and are really slanted toward the builder but I don't think the IRC address how level the slab should be.

I'm with Jim, I hate to see caulk in those joints, it's ugly and needs maintenance. A piece of flashing is clean, almost invisible and in most cases will last the life of the siding.

I have never seen a valve installed any other way than behind the unit and have never called it out as a problem. It would be nice if the had a keyed valve in the floor in front of the appliance like a gas fireplace

Mike, In the end we are making the same recommendation. I am just saying that I don't make two different lists or categories of recommendations based on the weather it's and upgrade or broken item. In this example I would say whats wrong "the balusters are to far apart by todays standard", why it's wrong "your child could fall through and get hurt", and my recommendation "fit it, repair it, upgrade it, replace it". If the client often has small children in the house they may see this as a major issue. Others my think the balustrade is so beautiful they don't want it altered. Both clients made a decision that is right for them based on my report. Weather it's a wet basement, old roof, outdated electrical system I report it the same. If you explain to the client what the concern is and why it is a concern and make a recommendation for action, they can decide if they want to take any action. Sometimes the client takes our advice and sometimes they don't. Its funny how some clients can blow small items out of proportion and some can ignore major issues. It impossible to tell what items are going to be hot buttons for which clients

I think the more interesting debate here is weather to call out something as needing repair or a maintenance item. How many of you classify problems this way? Lets look another example. If you found balusters that were 8 inches apart but met the code when the house was built, would you call that a maintenance/upgrade issue? Or would you recommend the the problem be corrected? How do you draw the line between items that should reported as recommend repair or update if you desire? I believe if the problem is worth mentioning you should be recommending that the item be repaired.

Wiring Devices PDF

Mike, I'm working on it. For some reason I'm having touble up loading a PDF file of the page image. How can I re-size a pdf file?

Les, Doug beat to to to punch. Here's a page out of the 1956 Architectural Graphic Standards.

Jim, I was at a flea market a couple of years ago and found a mint condition 1956 edition of Architectural Graphic Standards. I paid $12 for it. I have read through it many times and can't believe the amount of details the book contains. There have been many times that someone has tried to justify a defect by saying "that's how it was done back then" and I have been able to copy a page out of that book and show them "no, this is how it should have been done"

My guess is that the extra meter base was once used for an electric water heater. In my area the electric water company used to charge a lower rate for domestic hot water. The house would have two meters, one for the main service panel and the second went to another fuse panel that supplied power to the water heater only.

Gil, If possible, I would really like to hear stories or examples of how inspectors have gotten themselves into trouble. We could learn a lot about what not to do.

I never got started. I am up about 5 pounds this summer and feel like crap.

Mike, I like the journal you set up for us. Please send me the code so I can edit it. mmustola@aol.com I am 5'11'' and 200 pounds. At one time I was at 225 and got down to 180 counting weight watcher points. I think I will go that route again and your log will help me keep track of it. With other people watching, I think it will help me keep on track.

I could use a little motivation to drop a few pounds. Last week I had a check up at the doctor an he commented that I gained a few pounds since last year.

I have never seen it installed any other way than in direct contact with concrete. In my area the sewer lines and drain pipes are installed before the basement floor is poured. The concrete is just poured around the pipes. I have never seen the pipe sleeved, wraped, or protected in any way. Every house built after 1970 in mid-michigan in plumbed with PVC waste piping and I have never seen a problem because of the direct contact with concrete.

I never said being a member of ASHI means you are a good inspector. I said it can be used as a good marketing tool and in my opinion ASHI is the best HI professional society. The are many good and bad inspectors in all organizations. ASHI is far from perfect. But not joining a HI professional organization because none are perfect is foolish. I say join the one you think is best and be active in it. Join committees and work to make it better.

Chad, I like to sell ASHI to prospective clients whether they choose me or not. I tell them they should at least use a ASHI member because they have passed a proctored test, completed a minimum number of inspections, an are required to maintain 20 hours of continuing education a year. Inspectors who belong to other organizations do not have to meet these standards. Just because an inspector does not belong to ASHI does not mean they are not a great inspector, our market is flooded with new inspectors making all sorts of false claims about their experience and credentials. Most clients only know what they are told by the inspector. ASHI is a great tool to show clients that you are a professional who seeks out the best education and most stringent credentials. As far as candidates are concerned, There is nothing wrong with them telling customers that they are working towards certified member status. They can sell the fact that they have passed the NHIE, participate in continuing educational opportunities, and emphasize whatever it is that they feel makes them unique.