It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! This promises to be a very strange week. Anytime a major holiday falls upon a Wednesday things are going to be weird. No three day weekends. No extra time for relaxation. In fact, if we are not careful with our scheduling it may just become another day. The Leavitt family will spend the day in full red, white and blue splendor. We will sport matching flag adorned attire and watch the hot air balloons, picnic, and then prepare for an evening of fireworks, watermelon and fun.
Shelly and i had the opportunity to sneak out and watch the three hour long Pearl Harbor movie this past week. Talk about a wonderful history lesson. We were both amazed at how little we knew about some key aspects of the battle in the Pacific Ocean. I left that movie with another reminder of just how thankful I should be. Others have given their lives to protect my freedom, yet I have really had to sacrifice very little to protect my children's freedom. The heroism displayed by the young men made me re-evaluate my own courage and caused me to ask myself whether or not I would have responded so valiantly. In church today I went up to an elder friend who served in WWII and said thank you for your service for our country. This caught him by surprise, yet his soul was also touched....... Have a wonderful 4th of July!
I have had pit bulls, small dogs, large German Shepherds, Rotweilers (sp), etc. I carry a box of dog munchies in my truck when I know a dog is present (Brent Foster suggestion!). I instruct the client or Realtor that the dog must be contained...even if it is a "very tame and nice" dog. I always request a MLS listing sheet which usually will have a note concerning dogs on the property and the sheet usually gives me some additional information on the property. One Rotweiler(sp) was a particularly large one and about 120#. Talk about the heart rate increase! The Realtor was present and was surprised to the max! She did some rapid phone calls to the owner. I never had a problem with dogs from her after that incident. I, also, have a tool belt and clip board to use. I have learned to inquire and look and listen. Good luck. Have a good day! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
I once pulled up the crawl space trap door, stuck my head down to take a look and was face to face with a momma possum with six babies. I never realized JUST how long those teeth are!! She was nesting on the floor insulation that was drooping down, but well secured. She let me know right away that I was not welcome in her domain, and near her babies. Amazing how fast one can back out of that hatch! I told the homeowner to call me when the possum and litter were gone and I'd come back to do the crawl space inspection. Then went home to change my drawers!! Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
THEY TELL ME THAT THIS IS WHAT THE POSSUM LOOKED LIKE AFTER REGGIE WAS THROUGH WITH IT..... YA DON'T MESS AROUND WITH REGGIE!!! Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah
I was inspecting an occupied house where the owner had three cats. They were mostly just laying around on the beds or sofa during my inspection, so I didn't pay much attention to them. I inspected the crawl space last, and the access was in the floor of the hall closet. Part way through the crawl, I noticed a pair of eyes reflecting back in the light of my flashlight. One of the cats had followed me into the crawl space. I finished the inspection, but had to get the cat out of the crawl space before I left (the seller wasn't home). Calling "here kitty, kitty" did nothing, so I went into the kitchen and found a can of tuna. As soon as I opened it, the other 2 cats got very interested, so I shut one into a bedroom and used the hall closet door and some pillows to keep the other one away from the crawl space access. I put a plate with some tuna on it on the ground below the access opening. After a few minutes, the cat in the crawl space came over to ! eat, but he got away when I tried to grab him. Now what????? I couldn't leave the house with the access open or the other cat might go down there too, so I decided to put the plate of tuna in the doorway of the closet near the access and wait it out. It took about 10 or 15 minutes, but the smell of the tuna finally enticed the cat out of the crawl space. Gary Holzbauer - Junction City, Oregon City
I remember doing an initial stroll-through, to get the layout of a house I was about to inspect. The master bedroom had an outside balcony/deck, about 12 feet above grade. I walked out on it and a sudden breeze slammed the door shut behind me. THE DOOR HAD LOCKED ITSELF!! To high to jump, no ladder with me, no downspout to slide down like they do in the movie comedies. While I was surveying the situation with NO ideas what to do, the listing Realtor drove up. She had a house key and went inside, up to the Master Bedroom, and opened the balcony door to let me in. WHEW!! Steve Jordan, Retired on the great green Oregon Coast. No more steep roofs, no more crawl spaces. Steve Jordan - Lincoln City, OR
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Crawl spaces with standing water. I hate! Dan McLeary - Ashland, OR
I love it when I have a full basement instead of a crawl space. I love it when the crawl space is 4 feet high or stand-up. I even love it when the crawl space is able to be done on hands and knees. The most frequent crawls are belly and nose all the way...that's on the don't like list. Don't like Realtors who are late and have lame excuses. I like clients who attend, make notes, ask only short questions until the walk-through. Happy inspecting. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Dislikes..Insulated floors. Wet crawlspaces, no any crawlspace. Homeowners who want to help with the inspection. Clients who don't read the report. Rich doctors wives who buy an old farm here in Oregon and then realize it is not like the mansion they had in San Fancisco, then blame everyone for their decision to buy it. Realtors that give a song and dance about how their client is broke and needing a discount. Did I mention cat crap in the crawlspace? Likes: THE MONEY OF COURSE!!! And the thank you notes from satisfied customers. Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
Many of the agents are do not appear internet savvy...at least the subject has never come up between them and me. Many have e-mail, a large percentage has "free" e-mail. I have never been asked about a web page, only if I had an e-mail address. I attempted to get a web page and found that it was a ongoing rip off of dollars and not responsive. It took awhile to get removed from their listing. I learned a valuable lesson on that one. Since I have never been asked, web pages are not on my list of priorities, yet. All of my business is referral from agents and clients. I agree with the article that it is dominated by women who drive flash cars and SUV's and all have computers. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
As Inspectors we often find ourselves having to explain misinstallations via the written word to people who just can't visualize what we are describing. This is where a picture really is worth a thousand words. Tony Devine commissioned the following drawing to be created to accurately show a commonly overlooked flashing detail. The brick veneer to siding horizontal flashing detail is often overlooked here in Utah too.
The idea of an angled brick cap with a metal cap flashing to take the water that runs down the siding and direct it safely to the exterior of the brickwork is a concept that totally boggles the minds of many Utah installers. Afterall, water runs downhill do why would you need this type of flashing? And what about the 1" gap between the building paper or housewrap and the brickwork? And what do you mean building paper? Isn't oriented strand board good enough for a moisture barrier, they ask? And let's not even go through the need for weep holes in the bottom row of bricks..... That is a continuing battle that is far from over in my back yard.
Thanks again to Tony Devine for sharing this graphic.
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