hausdok Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 A Texas home inspector is being sued by a couple that allege he failed to discover mold and water marks inside a homes HVAC system. To read more, click here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark P Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 What a crock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 In the article, when they say "inside the HVAC closet/cabinet", do they mean the space that houses the HVAC equipment, or the inside of the air handler itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichNSpect Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 The article does say the "cabinet", but that could be open to debate as john has stated. "Only in mid-January, after the Landry's move-in date of Jan. 9, did they find the visible mold growth throughout the HVAC cabinet. Visual water marks could also be seen on numerous locations in the cabinet, the Landrys say." There are some people that will sue at a drop of a dime, but if there was "visible" evidence of fungi growth and moisture stains inside the cabinet, then that should have been easily detectable by the inspector and reported on accordingly. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Keep in mind that this is in Texas where a brain dead jury awarded Ms. Ballard more than $30M as a result of the lawsuit that started the mold-is-gold rush. Even though in the end about 80% of that award was tossed on appeal, I bet some Texas lawyers still want to hit the trifecta with mold lawsuits and aren't going to stop trying. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 The same thing happened to two separate people in my area. One guy settled out of court, the other won by summary judgment. It's damp inside those cabinets, so a little mold on paper labels is normal. But take a photo of any organic gunk and show your peeps. Let an HVAC dude tell them it's nothing to worry about and assume the liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 In the article, when they say "inside the HVAC closet/cabinet", do they mean the space that houses the HVAC equipment, or the inside of the air handler itself? Good question... If it was on outside of cabinet not much excuse to miss it, inside air handler???? As most of us know it is a pain in butt to take out a few screws to view the insides of some a/c components, and gas units can be a real pain.... however (when I do) I routinely see rust, corrosion, dirty A coil and once in a while BOG and write up accordingly... I do check out the furnace section but must say usually don't check out a/c if too inaccessible Guess my question what is too inaccessible... do most of us pull panels for reasonable accessiblity to inside a/c or not... Is pulling a few screws technically exhaustive... just wondering....whats your opinions ?? guess getting sued might change the perspective... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 In the article, when they say "inside the HVAC closet/cabinet", do they mean the space that houses the HVAC equipment, or the inside of the air handler itself? Good question... If it was on outside of cabinet not much excuse to miss it, inside air handler???? As most of us know it is a pain in butt to take out a few screws to view the insides of some a/c components, and gas units can be a real pain.... however (when I do) I routinely see rust, corrosion, dirty A coil and once in a while BOG and write up accordingly... I do check out the furnace section but must say usually don't check out a/c if too inaccessible Guess my question what is too inaccessible... do most of us pull panels for reasonable accessiblity to inside a/c or not... Is pulling a few screws technically exhaustive... just wondering....whats your opinions ?? guess getting sued might change the perspective... How long does it take to remove and reinsert ten or twelve screws? And look at the fun stuff you can discover. Click to Enlarge 37.49 KB Click to Enlarge 44.12 KB Click to Enlarge 57.24 KB Click to Enlarge 56.36 KB Click to Enlarge 42.39 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Spot on John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSwamp Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 It would be interesting to see what the HI wrote in his report. Could have been "worthless pablum." WJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 A lot of times, you don't even have to pull the screws to see the coils. Just pop the filter door, slide your camera thru the slot, turn it on, and shoot a little arc. Click to Enlarge 57.01 KB Especially helpful on those "A" coils with no front access. And you can usually see the blower fan (as John's pictures show) even if you can't get coil access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 And then there are the EVAP Coil access panels that are well wrapped with foil tape and slathered with mastic seal that do a great job of covering up the 10-12 panel screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 And then there are the EVAP Coil access panels that are well wrapped with foil tape and slathered with mastic seal that do a great job of covering up the 10-12 panel screws. Yeah, That seems to be what I always run into here. It always seems to turn into a time-gobbling mess when I try and get into those things. It sems like most of the guys that put those things in here don't realize that someone is going to need to periodically open them up and look inside. Then there are the ones that I open up that have notations on the service records showing that an HVAC tech had just "serviced" them and the coil looks like a science experiment is growing on it. I don't understand why manufacturers can't make these things with a hinged door that's placed where it won't be blocked by the plumbing and the exhaust vent, etc. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I don't understand why manufacturers can't make these things with a hinged door that's placed where it won't be blocked by the plumbing and the exhaust vent, etc. Maybe because if the old units got serviced the systems would last longer and the manufacturer wouldn't be able to sell as many new units? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n/a19 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The home inspector I hired missed a sewage leak and a 3' foot long 6" wide horizontal crack in the crawl space which resulted in mold. I kept emailing him asking why the crawl spaces smelled so bad he insisted the smell was because the unit hadn't been occupied in over a year (previous owner bought the condo just to flip it). Turns out there was a broken sewage pipe on the other side of my foundation wall that had broke and sewage initially started seeping in through the foundation as time went by the soil eroided and the sewage started coming in from the bottom of the foundation wall. I lived in the condo 6 weeks before I became so sick I was forced to abandon the condo and all my belongings. I am now hypersensative to mold and must live in a house that hasn't had any water leaks mold or mold spores. Can't get an attorney because mold cases are to expensive and I don't have the money to pay up front. Beings I have pictures of 5" of contaminated water in a 6" hole combined with the crack in the foundation I could hold him for gross negligence, no such luck. Had he even mentioned the foundation crack it would have raised some flags and we would have looked into why the foundation was cracked. I worked for a major airline for 25 years which i lost due to my on going health problems caused by mold, the condo, all my possessions, had to file for bankruptcy used up ever penny of my retirement and am one move away from being homeless. My life has been ruined and this so called home inspector keeps inspecting homes never giving a second thought on how he single handedly completely destroyed my life. I'm begging you, next time you go out on an inspection to please pay close attention to detail some inspectors don't realize how one missed item can have such a huge impact on a persons life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The home inspector I hired missed a sewage leak and a 3' foot long 6" wide horizontal crack in the crawl space which resulted in mold. I kept emailing him asking why the crawl spaces smelled so bad he insisted the smell was because the unit hadn't been occupied in over a year (previous owner bought the condo just to flip it). Turns out there was a broken sewage pipe on the other side of my foundation wall that had broke and sewage initially started seeping in through the foundation as time went by the soil eroided and the sewage started coming in from the bottom of the foundation wall. I lived in the condo 6 weeks before I became so sick I was forced to abandon the condo and all my belongings. I am now hypersensative to mold and must live in a house that hasn't had any water leaks mold or mold spores. Can't get an attorney because mold cases are to expensive and I don't have the money to pay up front. Beings I have pictures of 5" of contaminated water in a 6" hole combined with the crack in the foundation I could hold him for gross negligence, no such luck. Had he even mentioned the foundation crack it would have raised some flags and we would have looked into why the foundation was cracked. I worked for a major airline for 25 years which i lost due to my on going health problems caused by mold, the condo, all my possessions, had to file for bankruptcy used up ever penny of my retirement and am one move away from being homeless. My life has been ruined and this so called home inspector keeps inspecting homes never giving a second thought on how he single handedly completely destroyed my life. I'm begging you, next time you go out on an inspection to please pay close attention to detail some inspectors don't realize how one missed item can have such a huge impact on a persons life. That is a shame that you have had to go through this. Not that this will help you much, but if you were in a state that licensed and controlled home inspectors you would most likely be able to get some help from that state agency against the inspector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Aw fer cryin' out loud, Scott, please qualify that statement. You make it sound like a state licensing agency would expect an inspector to be concerned about mold when I'm certain you mean they'd be concerned about the fact that an inspector missed a crack in a foundation wall and sewage seeping through the wall (assuming it was visible from inside the crawlspace) and you do not mean they'd be concerned about mold in a crawlspace of all places. OP, let me understand this. There was a broken sewage pipe below grade outside of the foundation, sewage was leaking into the crawlspace through a crack and that caused you to get so sick from exposure to mold spore that you had to abandon your house and possessions? How? Were you going into the crawlspace every day, sitting down in a recliner and reading a book while inhaling as hard as you could? Did you bring your possessions into that crawl and leave them there for long periods so that mold spore in the crawlspace air would become imbedded in them. Jeez louise! Where on this planet do you intend to go where you won't be exposed to fungi spore, 'cuz there ain't no such place - unless you want to climb into a plastic bubble, wash yourself down with fungicide, wash the interior of the bubble down with fungicide, have your air pumped to you through a couple of thousand hepa filters and not eat anything or take any water that comes from the outside of that bubble. You'll live, oh, about three to five days and then you'll die of dehydration. That's a very nice martyr complex you've got going there. Get some pshychological help. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n/a19 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Mike, its unfortunate that you a housing inspector doesnt know much about mold, mold spores and mycotoxins but I'll try to give you a better understanding of how mold works. Mold releases mold spores in order to survive, these mold spores are just waiting for the perfect conditions to colonize once they do the whole process starts all over. As time goes by mold overtakes the structure, once a person is exposed long enough regardless of where the mold is they can and will have health issues. Once the hvac is turned on the spores are sucked into through the return and and distributed through out the house making the house as contaminated as in my case the crawl space. Depending on the individual and their susceptibility to mold will determine what course of action that person will have to take beings no one knows whether they immune system will be able to remove the toxins one must assume the worst and hope for the best. I am one of those people whose immune system cant detox as fast as Im ingesting mold spores so the toxin continues to build up in my system causing a whole host of other illnesses due to mold and the mycotoxins that are in the air. Theres a term called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) which is recognized by the EPA you can read more about it http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html. Regardless of what the toxin is if exposed long enough it will over come the individual and create health issues. Mold is one of those toxins that some people (like myself) cant handle and must practice extreme avoidance to allow their system to remove the toxin and regain their health. Beings youre an inspector all Im asking you to do is take the time to read how mold can destroy a person life and take years to regain their health. In the mean time they have lost everything to isolate themselves because if they dont they'll never recover. Below are the pictures of my crawl space, hard to believe someone could actually miss a crack that size and that much water damage not to mention the mold on the a/c coils. Click to Enlarge 56.95 KB Click to Enlarge 58.63 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Mike, its unfortunate that you a housing inspector doesnt know much about mold, mold spores and mycotoxins but I'll try to give you a better understanding of how mold works. Mold releases mold spores in order to survive, these mold spores are just waiting for the perfect conditions to colonize once they do the whole process starts all over. As time goes by mold overtakes the structure, once a person is exposed long enough regardless of where the mold is they can and will have health issues. Once the hvac is turned on the spores are sucked into through the return and and distributed through out the house making the house as contaminated as in my case the crawl space. Depending on the individual and their susceptibility to mold will determine what course of action that person will have to take beings no one knows whether they immune system will be able to remove the toxins one must assume the worst and hope for the best. I am one of those people whose immune system cant detox as fast as Im ingesting mold spores so the toxin continues to build up in my system causing a whole host of other illnesses due to mold and the mycotoxins that are in the air. Theres a term called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) which is recognized by the EPA you can read more about it http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html. Regardless of what the toxin is if exposed long enough it will over come the individual and create health issues. Mold is one of those toxins that some people (like myself) cant handle and must practice extreme avoidance to allow their system to remove the toxin and regain their health. Beings youre an inspector all Im asking you to do is take the time to read how mold can destroy a person life and take years to regain their health. In the mean time they have lost everything to isolate themselves because if they dont they'll never recover. Below are the pictures of my crawl space, hard to believe someone could actually miss a crack that size and that much water damage not to mention the mold on the a/c coils. Click to Enlarge 56.95?KB Click to Enlarge 58.63?KB Tug, You might gain some credibility if you could properly form a readable paragraph or two ... but even then I doubt it. Your mushed together post is fundamentally unreadable and will be pretty much ignored as someone who didn't make it through high school English classes. Sorry ... you lost me a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 So, who is this guy? How's everyone else feel about anonymous posters blathering out of context nonsense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Jones Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 I think it is a bunch of gibberish and should be axed as soon as it's posted. This guy or is it a girl, is just flaming the board and trying to stir crap up. Could be a plant from a different board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The poster was "tug". it changed to n/a when I locked his profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 He, she, it, is just preaching to the choir and parroting stuff that we've all read and absorbed hundreds of times. Because we as home inspectors don't choose to repeat word-for-word the same descriptions of how this stuff works, and choose instead to boil the issue down to its basics - namely that mold is, and has been, everywhere since long before man evolved on this planet, and will be long after we are gone, and we've somehow managed to make it this far despite its presence, we as inspector are either unprofessional, uneducated or ill-informed. It's the same yadda, yadda, yadda we hear every few months from one of these neurotics. It gets to be kind of tiresome and I can't help but be less-than-diplomatic when I respond to one of these folks. Sorry if it offended any of the brethren or the neurotic, but it is what it is. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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