It's a great day here in Orem! Last week was a strange mad house. We celebrated Adam's 7th birthday by inviting over to the house eight of his friends from school. They called that day a day off, but it would have been much less stressful to just go out and do two inspections. Adam received some great presents that included flying airplanes and a radio controlled race car. We had a neighbor move and I even broke my long running streak of refusing Saturday inspections. Shelly called me on Friday and said that there was a client who really needed my services, but she was only going to be in town through Saturday before returning home to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I tried shying away, but then Shelly said "You can just carry your ladder to the inspection. That's right, just 3 houses away was the home that needed my services..... I still hesitated until Shelly told me that the family also had 4 kids under age 10...... This is my wife's prayer answered. The families with small children have been scarce in the past year and we were hoping that a family like ours with possible young playmates would move in..... The moment I heard that this was the family I said okay to the job..... Afterall, they are to become my new neighbors.
In the most recent March 2001 issue of the Journal of Light Construction magazine there is an interesting "Offcut" on page 18. It says.....
The nation's Relators could be in for a major headache if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office accepts a petition filed by a San Francisco attorney. The petition seeks to strip the term "Realtor" of its status as a trademark, putting them in the same category as thermos, escalator, aspirin, and other former trademarks that were later declared to be generic. The National Association of Realtors, which owns the trademark, is expected to mount a vigorous defense.
I believe that a snowball has a better chance of staying intact entering the fires of the Sun than this attorney has in getting this trademark removed. I still think it is interesting and will sit back and watch with great interest as the process unfolds. I personally do not see how the National Association of Realtors is going to keep the real estate sales market to themselves with the advent of sales on the internet. The agentless type of transaction is quickly changing their industry and we will continue to watch their profession try to adapt.
I am also amazed at how the atmosphere of the real estate offices has changed in the last two years. The busy buyer's agents rarely spend time in the offices anymore. Instead, they have their laptops, wireless internet connections to the multiple listing service and a mobile office in their cars..... No longer do they spend time lounging around the offices. Some do not even go into the office anymore. As a result, the offices are downsizing their space due to the large number of agents working out of their homes and cars. It will be interesting to see if the NAR can keep this market to themselves. They are losing marketshare to internet sites, lenders, and for sale by owner type companies. More and more transactions are occurring without the involvement of any agents....... What will the NAR do to adapt??? Only time will tell.
Kudos to the JLC for sharing this tidbit with its readers.... If you do not subscribe to their magazine, it should be first on your list of things to do..... www.jlconline.com
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Last week I shared Jon Larsen's plight with a Buyer who modified his report summary and then passed along the doctored summary to get out of the deal. Here are some good responses.......
We all have the what if I did this or did that. Monday Morning quarterbacking. Jon can and should have a meeting with the agent and the agent's broker and settle the dust. Tonight I have just sent my first "PDF" report generated file to a How High Agent and Client. Everything went smooth and they were impressed. Better than a FAX. No delivering the report. Now tomorrow while inspecting the brains of this outfit is going to contact the Escrow offices on their policy on receiving e-mail for invoices submitted for payment for those times when the payment must be handled through "close of escrow". Should these escrow companies accept electronic e-mail invoicing it will save a tremendous amount of time and printing. Hope others see the light and see what Adobe can do for you. Steve Bradley - Medford, OR
I would have written a letter to the agents' Broker with a cc to the ethics committee of the local Association of Realtors, along with a cease and desist order of making any copies and or revisions to my report(my reports are copyrighted) and I don't do summaries. Everyone gets a copy of my report within one hour of my job completion, or the next morning if it's late in the day when I finish. Robert Fischbach - CA
Sounds like Jon did the right thing in reviewing the "actual" with the "modified" with the Agent and clarifying the incompatibilities and errors. It also sounds like Jon confronted the Buyers. If he never hears from the buyers, all the better. It appears these are not clients of character. That they know Jon is aware of the issue and that potential legal issues are present against the buyer is enough. Further headache's are not a desired end. Good job Jon...hope you and others know the value of .pdf files. Good inspecting! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Hello Inspectors, It's March already, only one month from the Spring Conference. All of the brochures have been mailed out now. If you haven't received yours please email me at aii@cdsnet.net so I can check your postal mail address. For those of you who may be wondering why we have chosen Portland, Oregon again; Besides being a central location for many of our members, Oregon is one of the few states who have mandated Certification laws for Home Inspectors. The American Institute of Inspectors is an approved provider of continuing education credit in the state of Oregon. We hope to be approved in all states if/when they make this transition. The time has come when many of the Oregon Certified Home Inspectors need to meet their Continuing Education requirements.
Having our seminar in Oregon has allowed us to invite these inspectors to check out our association, and by doing so, attract some new members. Non-members pay a higher seminar fee than our members. Although many of you have expressed your desire to see the seminars stay in Portland, we are planning to move to another state for the Annual Meeting in November. I hope you are impressed with the line-up for this conference. We are privileged to have some nationally recognized speakers. The seminar classes are intended to offer something for everyone whether you are a new inspector or a seasoned inspector. You will be guaranteed the best camaraderie in an inspection association you can find. No matter where the conference is held, the American Institute of Inspectors offers a fantastic opportunity to further your inspection and inspection business education. The travel is well worth it!
Just a reminder that you should get your room reserved by March 23rd for the best room rate of $69.00.
Call me for additional information or just to chat, I always love to hear from you all, 800-877-4770. And I'm so happy to tell you the new phone and answering machine are up and running. Thanks for your understanding and patience when the answering machine went gunny bags last week. Sincerely, Betty Buckley - Executive Director
I have seen purlins installed this way more often than "on edge" in our area-(mostly in older homes though), and have never recognized it/reported on it. Unless the framing/roof system had other challenges such as sagging rafters or ridge etc, I'm not sure how I would report on it, especially if the system appeared serviceable. Randy Whitlock - Grass Valley, CA
I find mid span supports of roof rafters lacking proper support in newly built homes quite often. It is mostly regarding the bearing of the 2X beneath the rafter. It is usually, what I describe as, a single point bearing and not the minimum 1.5 inch bearing required for proper support. I have discussed this with various Building Officials in our area and they usually agree with my findings and so it stays in the report. I let the contractor figure out how to correct it, although I can help him with ideas like "Do it right in the first place". Tom Burnham - Ashland, OR
So how do they accept your idea Tom????
Generally I find correct installations. At the other end, sometimes I find none on a 2x6 roof with 14'-16' spans. I recommend installation. In one case, the "Harvey Homeowner" removed the purlin for ease of access to the storage floor he installed. The roof looked funny and appeared to be slightly out of line. Upon looking at the exterior wall at the soffit, the roof had rotated to the outside and moved about 4" leaving a 2" gap at the soffit. I looked again at the attic and the other side purlins were visibly under compressive stress. The exterior ridge line had a dip along that area. The previous years wet snow load of some 24" did the job while it was there. Yes, proper installations are important. Thanks for the photo and information. Have a good day! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
I will be interested to hear the opinions on those questions. I have had only one damage inspection and it just happened to be a full inspection with a Pest inspection. So, I can't address any special service agreement, I just had my usual SA. As it turned out, the foundation had 12 cracks, vertical, all from the sill plate to the base of the stem wall, 4 had the crack extend all the way through the footing. The crack width varied from hairline to about 1/2" with one going into vertical shear with one side dropping about 1-1/4" leaving a gap between the sill plate and the concrete. The horizontal spacing varied from about 2' to 8' along the East, South and West stem walls. I wrote it up that a licensed structural engineer is recommended to evaluate. You should have heard the the strong concern expressed by the two agents, wanting to know if they were really there (??), were they "old", do I really think further evaluation is necessary, etc. None expressed a positive comment that they were relieved the situation was noted. Oh well, the dollar has a mighty voice, I guess. I will be interested in the comments of others. I would also like to see some earthquake training sessions at our Winter Conference. It is an area for all of us. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Did you take any pictures of those cracks Jim??? All of you Seattle area Inspectors, please send some real life damage shots as you take them.
Would that be the night light recalled by CPSC? Mark Daughtry Redmond, WA
Good try Mark, but you are going way to deep........
Looks like something fell in behind the night light (nail file, coin?) and shorted out the light. Jim Oler, Sandy, UT
Hi Mike, This looks to me as though something has crossed over the plug. This is where the the metal has been melted. Like maybe a penny was inserted while the plug was most of the way installed. Lou Jerome - Smithfield, Utah
It looks as though a butter knife, or something similar, was put between the wall and the nightlight while it was plugged in. (Kids will do the darndest things). Peter Barten - Bay City, OR
Having 4 children, I would guess that a butter knife or some other thin metal object was slipped or dropped behind the light and made contact with both blades on the plug while the light was plugged in. Will Baley - Northwest Home Inspections, Tulelake, Ca.
It appears Michael was playing with a piece of wire and layed it across the legs of the nite light to see if it arced and sparked the light into an in home rocket. Normally these lights are in baths and a loose connection with the lugs not inserted completely into the receptacle a damp wash cloth or even toothpaste would cause this arcing assuming no GFCI is installed. All speculation. In a hallway a pet may have contributed to this. I just hope the children were not experimenting to see a flash. Steve Bradley - OR
It looks like someone tried to pry it out of the outlet with a screw driver or other metal object and crossed the prongs. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Hi Michael, Re photo challenge. That night light was not plugged in all the way , when something shorted across both prongs of the plug. Mike White - Sonoma Ca.
Thanks for all of the feedback on the rather obvious charring of this nightlight. The unit still works and serves as a steady reminder of what active kids can do as they use this nightlight as a piggy bank. A nickel fits behind the unit very nicely and provides a brilliant flash of bloe/yellow light. If you are not careful it will also make your hair stand on end. If I had young kids to do all over again I would install a receptacle about 5' off the ground and use that as our night light plug-in. For the life of me I can't figure out why builders do not implement this into kid's bedroom design. The light 12" off the ground is just too attractive of a feature to withstand the Curious George types, of which Shelly and I have four.
I have an inspection next week that is listed as having a geothermal heat pump. My experience with this type system is Zero. My limited understanding of the system is that the pipes are looped through the earth for heat gain/loss. I'd love to hear a more complete explanation, but what I also NEED to know when I inspect this house is:
When this Buyer called to book the inspection she told me the house had a geothermal heat pump and asked if I knew anything about them. I was tempted to say, "Oh sure, of course I do, and we'll go over all that at the time of the inspection."
What I actually said was, "I have a basic idea, but I know I can find out more before we meet. You see, I've got this friend who knows all about this stuff and I can reach him on our association internet forum . . ."
Anything else anyone has to add in the way of questions or answers would be much appreciated. Scott Merritt - Grass Valley, CA
The following is a wonderful explanation of the geothermal system by John Rebenstorff....
It is important at this point that you remember that an air conditioner or heat pump moves heat from one place to another.
Geo Thermal utilizes this principle by absorbing heat from the earth or dissipating heat to the earth. Everything contains heat energy. (A little physics for those science types). Also remember, by utilizing a reversing valve a heat pump can either move heat to the outside (cooling cycle) or to the inside (heating cycle). We will use the heating cycle for this discussion.
There are three major subsystems to a geo thermal heat pump: The duct work, a heat pump system to transfer heat from building space to the refrigerant and from the refrigerant to the earth, and the earth connection.
The Heat Exchanger coil with geo thermal type heat pump will be manufactured in one of two ways One method is to run one coil inside the other. The other method would be for both coils to run next to each other with as much common surface area as possible for maximum heat transfer.
Piping is run into the earth. Depth and piping designs will vary. Some have trenches dug 3-6 feet below the ground. Then a series of plastic pipe is laid parallel. A typical horizontal loop will have 400-600 feet of pipe per ton of heat/cool capacity. Vertical loops are preferred where space and soil disturbance is a concern. Vertical holes are bored 150-450 feet deep. Each hole contains a single loop of pipe with a U-bend at the bottom. The hole may be grouted to increase thermal conductivity. Each vertical pipe is then connected to a horizontal pipe underground to and from the heat pump. Slinky loops reduce the heat exchange per foot trench requirements but require more pipes per ton of capacity. The pipe is coiled like a slinky, overlapped and laid in a trench. These systems may require 200-300 more feet of pipe per ton of heat capacity.
Most pipes used in these systems are high-density polyethylene with a fifty-year warranty. Tests show life span to be 200 years (who knows?). Thermal fusion and stab fittings are the only acceptable method used to connect pipe sections. Thermal fusion connections are either socket or butt fused together to form a joint stronger than the original pipe. Stab fittings are new but are proving reliable. Using barbed fittings, clamps and glued joints are unacceptable and will eventually cause the loop to leak and fail.
The earth pipes contain one of two types of anti freeze solutions: propylene glycol and methyl alcohol. These solutions are mixed with water for specific climate conditions.
When inspecting these systems other than checking for pipe leaks it is the same as any heat pump.
The discharge air temperature with a Geo Thermal heat Pump is around 100 degrees (F). Like standard heat pumps auxiliary heat strips can be used.
In addition to using the ground as a thermal source, swimming pools and ponds may also be used.
Most Geo Thermal heat pumps are mounted indoors.
These type of heat pumps can be 75% more efficient than electric heating devices and 50% more than air source heat pumps. Cooling efficiency runs about 25-50% more efficient. Heating is about 48% more than gas and 75% more than oil.
Hot water for domestic use (showers, dishes, etc.) can be taken from these systems also with the addition of a desuperheater. Temperatures as high as 120 degrees (F) can be maintained.
There are thermal heating systems that utilize geo-thermal heating as in hot water or earth when located close to thermal geysers or Hot Springs. If you would like information on these systems let me know.
I've seen applications of the above system principles that used only a transfer coil and not the heat pump.
Name, City & State: Please include your name or else I don't know who it is from.
Also found in the latest edition of the Journal of Light Construction was a good explanation to the age old question as to why some of the shingles do not seal..........
Q. Two years ago, in the middle of the summer, I re-roofed a house here in Montana with three-tab asphalt shingles. The south-facing slope came out perfect, but the north-facing slope would not seal. I know the temperature was hot enough and the installation was done correctly Why aren't these shingles sealing?
A. Architect and roofing consultant Harrison McCampbell responds: There are several factors that may have affected the sealing of your shingles. One factor is climate: Many parts of Montana do not experience stifling heat during the summer months. The second factor is the slope of the roof. The sun's rays will strike the roof at different angles, depending on the roof slope. If the roof has a low slope -between 4/12 and 6/12 - then the effect of the sun on the north and south sides will be similar. But with the steeper roof slopes typical on newer houses - from 10/12 to 18/12 - the north roof might stay in the shade, no matter what time of day or year. If the north roof slope with the unsealed shingles is parallel to the sun's rays, then the sun never had a chance to soften the asphalt. Conversely, the south side sealed well because the slope probably put the shingles nearly perpendicular to the sun's rays during the hottest time of day, thereby sealing the shingles well to each other. The slope of the roof can affect shingle sealing in another way as well: On steeper roofs, the weight of each shingle does not bear as heavily on the course below. The flatter a roof gets, the more the weight of the shingle can contribute to effecting a seal. One solution to the problem of unsealed shingles is to install a dab of roofing cement or an asphalt-based caulk below each shingle. Otherwise, it is a moot point unless you have high wind conditions that cause a blowup of some shingles or blow off a section.
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California Inspector Rick DeBoard passed along this great photo of the upper portion of a forced air heating and cooling system. What strikes you as off???
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