Jim Baird

"...Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you're always afraid Step out of line, the men come and take you away..."--Stephen Stills

I don't think these viruses are a joke. We were warned many times about viral mutations and their widespread effects. We have to remember that "science" itself has a fairly short history.

Mike, this is a prizewinner. You should show it around!

I’ve written before about other inspectors, the kind the real estate people like, and some of my experiences coming behind them. Listing agents love boosters, they love smiling faces, they love the trappings and graphics of franchise inspector types, the logo knit shirts, the logo ball caps, the canned software, and the lighthearted approach to property transactions. I recently encountered a relatively new franchise that takes the booster ball and scoots through the diligence red zone to the cloistered closing table with a curious stable of older guy inspectors, mostly retired, avuncular types that don’t move very fast, that can minimize so called problems with a wink and a shrug. They fill out the canned software they carry and focus most on the reduction of buyer anxiety. There are inspectors who emphasize the gravity of the transaction, the fear of missing a problem that turns ownership into a dip in a money pit. They warn of toxic molds that afflict surfaces, of poisonous gases that pool in basements and crawls, of antiquated components that might swamp the whole household in a wave of negligent toxicity. All the realtor and the finance agent want to see is a signature at the bottom of a stack of pages, the kind the lawyers shuffle and scatter around the big closing table’s seats, with rapid fire legal banter not designed for the benefit of the signatory. I am neither booster nor fear monger. I am simply the building guy. I look at the building and I report what I find. I try to be as objective as possible. As some say down South, “I dont have a dog in the fight.”

So called "master traps" are paired with grease traps for commercial kitchen use. Grease trapping is a local sewer issue.

Any one here noticed a decline in quality of ordinary residential light switches? In an outbuilding I have had to replace ordinary 15 amp switches more than once. They are rated now for frequency of use. Has their design become so refined that their obsolescence is measured and predicted by number of flips?

"These stairs are dangerous. Probably not feasible to correct, however."

Tubing say quest, but did not see any leaks. 1991 home. Comments?

Jim, I think this might represent a springboard booster that could lift the whole team to a level never dreamed about before our team leader woke up that morning with such a great idea. PM me for a link to permission to access ever increasing horizons of opportunity!

Sorry, but the OP appears to be a query by "Flipper McGee", just trying to "maximize his equity", as they teach them in MBA skool.

In our area there was a time (now we're talking early 60's) when a university here was granted approval to reduce floor/ceiling concrete slab thickness by some measure (not sure exactly the difference) by spraying ceilings with popcorn containing asbestos. The reason had to do with fire rating. It only made sense past a certain threshold of scale. These were 6 to 10 storey high rise dormitories using large amounts of concrete. About 15 yrs after occupancy a student noticed a thin dusty film on the top of a drink in a cup. Analysis found the film was asbestos fiber that had drifted from the soft popcorn ceiling finish. Does your ceiling look like it could shed fiber by mere effect of gravity? Doesn't look like it to me.

This post reads like a google translation from another language, ergo "wrench" instead of ranch. As an AHJ I inspected a home where new owners jumped the gun and moved in prior to final inspect. It was one of these "kit" homes where everything is engineered and parts are shipped for on site assembly. It used wood manufactured I-joists that bounced so much the newly moved in and loaded china cabinet rattled when you passed it.

If the buyer walked that faucet likely was not the only problem you found. The listing agent was likely used to the "other" kind of inspector who never causes a deal to go down.

With that age they have to be "Patina".

T'was 6 days before Christmas, and all through the town, people wore masks, that covered their frown. The frown had begun way back in the spring when a global pandemic changed everything. They called it corona, but unlike the beer, It didn’t bring good times, it didn’t bring cheer. Airplanes were grounded, travel was banned. Borders were closed across air, sea, and land. As the world entered lockdown to flatten the curve, the economy halted, and folks lost their nerve. From March to July we rode the first wave, people stayed home, they tried to behave. When summer emerged the lockdown was lifted, but away from caution, many folks drifted. Now it’s December and cases are spiking, wave two has arrived, much to our disliking. It’s true that this year has had sadness a-plenty, we’ll never forget the year 2020. And just ‘round the corner - The holiday season, but why be merry? Is there even one reason? To decorate the house and put up the tree, who will see it, no one but me. But outside my window, the snow gently falls, and I think to myself, let’s deck the halls! So, I gather the ribbon, The garland, and bows, as I play those old carols, my happiness grows. Christmas is not canceled and neither is hope. If we lean on each other, I know we can cope... Keep it going! Merry Christmas family and friends! Xoxo Copied & Pasted & love it! Keep it going.