plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 A lady I know called me about an inspection she had done on a property she wanted to buy. She wasn't quite sure about what the inspector found and wanted me to look at some electrical issues he had listed. Before I could even get inside I was hit right in the face by lots of stuff that didn't look right to me,but didn't seem to bother the home inspector. Im no carpenter,but feel free to let me know if this stuff looks right to you. Click to Enlarge 90.5 KB Click to Enlarge 65.57 KB Click to Enlarge 37.97 KB The bottem picture is the plug box that he wrote up for being in between the dishwasher and under sink area because some clown couldn't read a tape measure,he didn't notice the boot legged plumbing coming up through base of cabinet for some reason though. Other pictures are from deck on rear of house which is built from a combition of pressure treated and untreated pine lumber sitting on dirt with no footings and no real support for steps. His note said deck material needs to be treated/stained![:-censore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Click to Enlarge 37.84 KB Click to Enlarge 63.57 KB Click to Enlarge 65.19 KB Click to Enlarge 56.65 KB Click to Enlarge 66.06 KB The top picture is from behind a bathroom cabinet that was just sitting there that the home inspector apparently didn't want to move,sure looks like mold to me anyway.[:-yuck] The other shots are from deck on front of house. Inspector wrote up trim on front door needs repaired,gee ya think? Zoom in on the door for a good laugh![:-weepn] again he didn't notice the pine lumber on front deck,steps without support generally hacked up work. Again ,he said lumber needed to be treated to preserve it. I was so bent out of shape after seeing this property that I actually had the county inspector come out and threaten to condemn it. So you see there is a huge difference between an inspector who knows what hes looking at and a clown in a pickup truck. The same goes for contractors.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 What's your point? Check one: These pictures prove that all home inspectors are morons. These pictures prove that I'm smarter than home inspectors. These pictures prove that you can find dumbass workmanship in every trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 The last line said theres a big difference between an inspector who knows what hes doing and a clown in a pickup truck,same goes for contractors. Or didn't you read that part? You guys tore speedy petey a new one on the electrical forum about showing the sloppy work done by some home inspectors,So Im showing you some of my personal recent experience. Ive never said all home inspectors are hacks,you guys just seem to constantly want to make it sound like you walk on water. Im just saying that hacks come in all shapes/sizes and trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I am a carpenter, I own a pickup truck, and if you read some of the wise ass remarks I've posted, also part clown. The deck ain't pretty. I'll give you that. From what we can see, it needs correction. I can't see any untreated lumber in the dirt. I'll take your word for it. As far as using a combination of treated and untreated lumber anywhere else, stain it and walk away. I'm one of those guys who hates treated for anything other than ground contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 The last line said theres a big difference between an inspector who knows what hes doing and a clown in a pickup truck,same goes for contractors. Or didn't you read that part? I read it. It just seems like a stupid kind of point to make when everyone on this forum already understands it. You guys tore speedy petey a new one on the electrical forum about showing the sloppy work done by some home inspectors,So Im showing you some of my personal recent experience. No. We disagreed with his broad generalizations about home inspectors. Things like, "I've been saying it for years now: Home inspectors used to have a definite purpose for safety and finding high $$ future problems for potential buyers. Now your sole purpose is to get a lower price for buyers, simple as that." Ive never said all home inspectors are hacks,you guys just seem to constantly want to make it sound like you walk on water.Im just saying that hacks come in all shapes/sizes and trades. If you read even a little bit of what's posted on this forum, you'd find that we're tougher on each other than we are on a lot of others. We're aware that there are a lot of poor home inspectors out there and we're trying to help remedy that. If you & Petey would qualify your statements instead of painting with such a broad brush, you'd find that we agree with you on most points. One other thing to keep in mind. If you didn't actually see the home inspector's report, you really don't know what he missed. I've had inspections where my report showed a long list of electrical problems but the buyers decided to only have the sellers address a few of them. When the electrician came out, he started spouting off about all the stuff that I had "missed." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjr6550 Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 I am a carpenter, I own a pickup truck, and if you read some of the wise ass remarks I've posted, also part clown. The deck ain't pretty. I'll give you that. From what we can see, it needs correction. I can't see any untreated lumber in the dirt. I'll take your word for it. As far as using a combination of treated and untreated lumber anywhere else, stain it and walk away. I'm one of those guys who hates treated for anything other than ground contact. The codes I'm familiar with generally require treated wood or decay resistant wood for decks, regardless of whether it is at or near the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 Can somebody splain to me what "bootlegged plumbing" is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 Can somebody splain to me what "bootlegged plumbing" is? Past participle of the verb "to bootleg," meaning to produce illegally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 I've had inspections where my report showed a long list of electrical problems but the buyers decided to only have the sellers address a few of them. When the electrician came out, he started spouting off about all the stuff that I had "missed." Or worse. My single bad review on Angie's List is about the basement water issues I missed. Panicked, I looked up the report, and I had found 2 spots with water entry, rotting wood and damaged drywall, and I told then to open up the wall to figure out where and why water was entering the basement. They didn't do anything that I told them to. We get them for a few hours. The rest of the time, it's a nonstop bombardment of stupid crap from realtors, HGTV, and popular media. They hire us, and they don't know why. It's easy to hang the HI. Happens all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Simon Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 We've all got the stories. "Flue gas condensate leakage can damage the furnace components; get it fixed A.S.A.P." Client pissed-off 'cause furnace zonked the week she moved in, and I didn't tell her it would happen so quickly. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 I got a call last week about a leaking master shower on the second floor from an inspection I did two months ago. I flooded the tile shower a couple of inches as I normally do, checked the ceiling below with IR a couple of times and nothing showed. No signs of water seepage, etc... Contractor said it had been going on for a long time.... We can only do so much and as my agreement states, I'm not Superman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resqman Posted August 10, 2014 Report Share Posted August 10, 2014 Got a call last week about mold I missed. Client sent email with a snarky comment that had I bothered to look up I would have seen it. Picture of the mold in the report. My reply suggested he look at specific section # in the summary at the beginning of the report and on page N of the body for a pictures and written defect description. His reply was that he did not read that far into the report... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted August 11, 2014 Report Share Posted August 11, 2014 Gary I see what looks like spruce lumber on the handrail assemblies. The spans on one flight are way over for the treads. Re the county guy I never heard of an AHJ willing to visit unless there was an urgent safety concern. The deck is very sloppy and substandard, and will rot/fall apart in short time, but is not imminent hazard. While I served as AHJ underbuilt decks were one of the most common problems. I am a carpenter, I own a pickup truck, and if you read some of the wise ass remarks I've posted, also part clown. The deck ain't pretty. I'll give you that. From what we can see, it needs correction. I can't see any untreated lumber in the dirt. I'll take your word for it. As far as using a combination of treated and untreated lumber anywhere else, stain it and walk away. I'm one of those guys who hates treated for anything other than ground contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted August 11, 2014 Report Share Posted August 11, 2014 Gary I see what looks like spruce lumber on the handrail assemblies. The spans on one flight are way over for the treads. Re the county guy I never heard of an AHJ willing to visit unless there was an urgent safety concern. The deck is very sloppy and substandard, and will rot/fall apart in short time, but is not imminent hazard. While I served as AHJ underbuilt decks were one of the most common problems. I am a carpenter, I own a pickup truck, and if you read some of the wise ass remarks I've posted, also part clown. The deck ain't pretty. I'll give you that. From what we can see, it needs correction. I can't see any untreated lumber in the dirt. I'll take your word for it. As far as using a combination of treated and untreated lumber anywhere else, stain it and walk away. I'm one of those guys who hates treated for anything other than ground contact. I was trying to be nice about describing that POS. I'm just not a fan of treated lumber. While we're sort of on the subject of decks, anybody else seen or worked with this latest, greatest, answer to replacing rotted trex? Tuff deck? A project I'm trying to wrap up for someone. The material is like licorice when it gets warm. Butted end joints opened to a quarter inch, two days after I installed it. I may have compromised the integrity of the frame with the weight of the blocking I had to have to support the pattern. Don't be picking on the off colored piece. it was replaced. Click to Enlarge 50.27 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted August 11, 2014 Report Share Posted August 11, 2014 Composites expand and contract along their length. The good ones return to their original size. The bad ones shrink. They expand 1/4" and contract 5/16". The really bad ones expand in all directions so you not only get the gaps when they contract, but they push their neighbors off the deck. I had a Tendura porch do it and it was covered. The untreated lumber in the OP will be fine. There is so much else wrong with that deck that it will fall down long before the spruce railings rot out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjr6550 Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Composites expand and contract along their length. The good ones return to their original size. The bad ones shrink. They expand 1/4" and contract 5/16". The really bad ones expand in all directions so you not only get the gaps when they contract, but they push their neighbors off the deck. I had a Tendura porch do it and it was covered. The untreated lumber in the OP will be fine. There is so much else wrong with that deck that it will fall down long before the spruce railings rot out. I thought they recalled Tendura, or took it off the market. I saw a few covered porches with Tendura and were buckled very bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Tendura suffered a fate common with composites; failed, recalled, redesigned, failed to recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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