crusty

Yep, that and the fact that the gate's position in relationship to the stair opening sucks and IMO violates the door/stair relationship provisions of the code. Under UBC standards those are not steps. It takes 4 risers, different than the IRC.

After reading the the reasoning behind it I decided that appears to does sound a little weasely to me. I feel it does undermine my credibilty somewhat. I prefer to use "is." I like "may be" when further evaluation is warranted to make a determination. An interesting tidbit concerning code writing. The reasom water heater and furnace ignition and flames are required to be 18" above garage floors is because it was thought that was as high as one could go with a standard water heater without raising the ceiling height. Gasoline fumes will rise much higher than 18" although in lower concentration.

Including me.... Your inference of my alleged implication is exceptionally astute [}][:-eyebrows]

The winter wind in Chicago has been know to twist everything in its range.

Oops, missed that joint. I am not sure about IRC but UBC requires 2" clearance above hardscaped surfaces.

The stucco in pic #2 does not have adequate ground clearance at the column and appears to be taken right down to the concrete on #3. Pic 3 has joints on the side wall where the others don't.

Good calls considering that in your geographical area swimming pools function far more effectively as ice skating rinks []

Good calls Chad. That's most of what I picked up, the switch is weatherproof, kind of hard to tell from the pic. I did recommend against the carpet and recommended ventilation under the deck to ensure a longer life and restore the home crawl space ventilation that was blocked by the pool deck. Illegal carpet though? I am not aware of any code restrictions, it don't make it so but I'd love to learn. Frankly I missed the vent outlet, good call Chad. Thanks God the roof is tile so the little buggers wet feet will cause them to slip and fall off before they get a chance to dive from it. The rail was pretty rough so threat of splinters keeps my hope alive. Things that were hard to pick up from the pics: No saftey glass in the windows. The fence height is too low (the AHJ requires 5 ft.) The barrier is hugely climable since the deck serves as a horizontal member, is less than 45" from the top rail, a condition requiring a max. 1-3/4 inch spacing of the balusters. The pool coping and upper walls are metal. Since the under-deck area was inaccessible, the recommendation was for further evaluation to ensure bonding of these components. Current odds are 80:1 against, if anyone cares to place a bet. Sorry if there is any difference but I inspected to UBC since California probably won't adopt the IRC until sometime in the next decade. I've quit reading code books so if there is any difference in the IRC I apologize [:-clown]

Ours just fall down in the quakes.[:-dev3]

They were no doubt thinking... "OMG! That's a lot of snow!"

I couldn't resist posting these form what seems like my annual pool inspection. I don't get a lot in this area. I called 8 safety items. 4 of them pertain to the enclosure (one of them being a common more restrictive measure imposed by the AHJ.) Feel free to use this as an exercise if you want. Download Attachment: 134_3414.JPG 71.51 KB Download Attachment: 134_3415.JPG 51.53 KB

All good points. For me the key paragraph is the next to the last one. Something I've seen coming for about 30 years.

The mold is most likely caused by excessive moisture in the attic, as others have mentioned, due to inadequate ventilation and/or the discharge of vent fans into the attic. If the vent fans are properly discharged to the exterior of the dwelling (and have been all along) them IMO the monkey is on your roofer's back for performing substandard work by not upgrading the ventilation when he replaced the wood shingles with comp shingles. A call can't hurt asnd good luck.

Panel: Mold Blamed for Breathing Problems Tue May 25, 11:08 AM By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Increased effort is needed to reduce mold-producing moisture in buildings that has been blamed for respiratory problems, including some asthma, a scientific panel said Tuesday. While the study by the Institute of Medicine did not blame mold for other, often major illnesses that some have sought to associate with it, the report couldn't rule out those dangers either. "In short, excessive building dampness is not your friend. It's associated with a lot of things that could give rise to problems," said Noreen Clark, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. "Even though the available evidence does not link mold or other factors associated with building moisture to all the serious health problems that some attribute to them, excessive indoor dampness is a widespread problem that warrants action at the local, state and national levels," she said. Clark headed the panel that studied the health effects of mold, which has drawn increased attention in recent years with the shutdown of a major hotel, delayed openings of schools in several states and a raft of lawsuits. The Institute, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, urged the mold problem be corrected through a range of steps, including changes in how buildings are designed, constructed and maintained. "An exhaustive review of the scientific literature made it clear to us that it can be very hard to tease apart the health effects of exposure to mold from all the other factors that may be influencing health in the typical indoor environment," said Clark. "That said, we were able to find sufficient evidence that certain respiratory problems, including symptoms in asthmatics who are sensitive to mold, are associated with exposure to mold and damp conditions," she concluded. Excessive dampness influences whether mold, as well as bacteria, dust mites and other such agents, are present and thrive indoors, the committee noted. In addition, the wetness may cause chemicals and particles to be released from building materials. A rare ailment known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis also was associated with indoor mold exposure in susceptible people. But the committee said it was unable to find evidence that mold is associated with fatigue, neuropsychiatric disorders or other health problems that some people have attributed to fungal infestations of buildings. The little evidence that is available does not support an association, the committee said, but it added that because there are so few studies it cannot rule out a connection. Molds that are capable of producing toxins do grow indoors, and toxic and inflammatory effects also can be caused by bacteria that flourish in damp conditions, the report noted. The committee said information exists on how to control dampness but architects, engineers, building contractors, facility managers and maintenance staff do not always apply this knowledge. The members called for development of guidelines for preventing indoor dampness and said they should be promoted nationally. In addition, building codes and regulations should be reviewed and modified as necessary to reduce moisture problems, the committee said. Lawsuits claiming illnesses from mold in buildings that were not properly built or cleaned up have multiplied in recent years. Changes in building codes in the 1970s to make homes more energy efficient and airtight had the effect of allowing less ventilation through a house that would dry out a wet wall or floor, which in turn may have led to more mold damage claims, according to attorneys involved in some cases. The National Academy of Sciences is a private institution chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters. The study was funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

$1600 may well be the bargain of the century since the remediation for fungus (of which mold is a sub species) typically requires removal of the affected cellulose material. Wood can't be cleaned.

I am not aware of any building code that does not require attic venting. If the roof was done with permits vents should have been added.

"Nuff said Dan. You and I couldn't agree on how to order a half and half pizza to split.

As I re-read the posts I can't find anyone advocating the memorization of code. I for one never quote code or mention the word in a written report.

I agree with both of you. You’re preaching to the choir. I practice Christian Science so that pretty much says it all about what I believe about toxic effects of anything. In my area the poly barriers I see are usually sloppy, disturbed or damaged and seem very ineffective when compared to the homes that I do with rat slabs and a drainage outlet. I too feel that the guys who use scare tactics built around mold, or any other issue for that matter, are off the wall, but I wouldn't discredit the effectiveness of the product because of it. It may still be a good thing, frankly I have no familiarity with it. I’d love to hear from someone who knows the product.

Sorry you have obviously had a bad experience with mold identification or mitigation Mike but a vapor barrier on the bottom of a crawl space significantly reduces moisture which by simple deductive reasoning will significantly reduce mold growth. Plain and simple. I enter crawl spaces of both types about 8 times per week and have been doing so for the last 7 years and I know this to be fact. I have no idea if this material preforms as well as a lean concrete slab but the concrete reduces moisture significantly. Given the leaky condition of heat ducts in crawl spaces and especially ones that inspectors have jarred loose or broken by crawling under, over or around, the excessive mold growth noted in some extremely damp crawl spaces can have significant effects on those with a sensitivity to mold spores. No it's not a cure all but can be a step in the right direction.

If it isn't code, what is the basis for your comments and findings? And thanks for your concern Dan but I'm getting my 8-12 per week.

Pretty much like the difference between the old Renaults and Volkswagons Mike or between Mickie D's and and a good steak on your grill at home. While state of the art performance isn't necessary, especially if the need to utilize it isn't there, IMO dependability is a huge issue.

Sorry, but I could not disagree more heartily. How can one know what is in the code books in order to look it up if one has never read it? Rely solely on others to trickle it down to you? Good for beginners in the industry but hardly a blueprint for a life long approach to what it is we do. If one was never alerted to an issue how could one catch it when doing an inspection? How could one know an issue is an issue? Education in this profession never stops if one is wise and being familiar with the code, while not necessarily memorizing all of it, is imperative in being able to apply it. That is the beginning IMO. After that comes the understanding of the principles underlying the writing of the various code provisions which gives HI's the ability to "interpret" code. You are right, we are not code enforcement inspectors. We can choose to exceed code provisions in our observations if we feel it is in our clients’ best interest. We need to be a notch above a code enforcement official in our qualifications. After all our assets and credibility are on the line which they are not for employees of the AHJ. One of the great values of a forum like this is to discuss issues, verify and check them against the code. Be careful who you trust. Everyone errs at one time or another and some more often than others. Case and point in my erroneous post above. I never cease to learn something new from the code book every time I open it and it makes me a better inspector as a result. That is one of the reasons that I post code references rather than copying and pasting the text. I don't want to cheat anyone out of their opportunity to continue their education. As time progresses you will find more and more that there will be 2 inspections on properties, especially with the curre3nt propensity, especially of listing agents, to want to use lesser qualified inspectors for their listing inspections and especially ones that use inspectors who use the prepackaged non offensive weasel comments. In my area about 65% of the homes are now getting listing inspections and about 1/3 of those get a second inspection for the buyer. I follow other inspectors on about 25% of my inspections. As this tendency progresses it is not good to be the first guy in line when a more educated inspector follows, working for the buyer. This is the direction of the industry. The wise will continue their education and learning what is in the code is the first step in the direction of the mother lode. On the path to the hopeful forthcoming of true standardization of our industry, the bar will be raised several more times, and only the knowledgeable will be able to get over it.

The primary difference between machines that have good reputations vs. machines that have bad reputations is quite the opposite. Of the ones that have good reputations lower end does not always equate to lower quality. The better products like Toshiba and Dell use higher quality components that may be smaller capacity or speed like HD's or chips but maintain integrity of the components and workmanship. Lower end products like Crapaq, the old Packard Bell and e machines use a lot of cheap components including the mother boards throughout their product line, from the biggest to the smallest.

[:-ashamed][b)][:-blindfold] OOPS ! Correct for the UMC as well.