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Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. |
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MONDAY MORNING MESSENGER |
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Message prepared especially for Members of the American Institute of Inspectors® as well as Home Inspectors abroad |
It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! We traveled to Idaho for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I was once again reacquainted with miles and miles of nothingness except for barbed wire fences and single wide mobile homes. That is an oversimplification, but when my sister-in-law pointed out the dire need for somebody like me in these parts, I just gave her a smile. You know the type of smile that comes as you think, "You wouldn't catch me dead relocating to this part of the country to perform home inspections."
That sounds pompous as I type out my real thoughts, and yet I don't mean for it to be so. I know that lots of you are inspecting in similar environments to what I was seeing here in Idaho. Inspecting here would mean so much more work in the process of cranking out a couple inspections a day five days a week. Thoughts of long drives in a state that believe that 55 miles an hour on a state highway that goes straight for a hundred miles with no obstructions. Combine this with the fact that the only car on the horizon is a state trooper with a laser machine looking to ticket anybody pushing the speedometer past 58 miles per hour.
Thoughts of driving a hundred miles to crawl under a mobile home is not my idea of a good time. I am not trying to offend those of you that do this on a regular basis. Instead, I am thankful that I live in an area that support my service with newer housing stock. A long drive for me is 45 minutes, yet a majority of my inspections are within 15 minutes of the house. Having a concentrated market area really is a blessing. I think of all of those crawl spaces I used to do as I scrapped for any inspection. My fees were much lower then and I even discounted mobile homes. I was too busy trying to inspect the entire market place instead of specializing in a certain caliber home. The crawl spaces are fewer today thanks to the added crawl space fee and the fact that the majority of the homes in my area are full basements.
I do not envy those of you that crawl daily. Reflecting on my inspecting area I have very few dream crawl spaces. Just the fact that there is a crawlspace usually is a red flag that this home will be more work. In river bottom and lake bed areas with crawls it means that there will probably be differential settling, fractured foundations or water issues. Nothing excites me more than crawling through moist ick in an attempt to be somehow responsible for everything that one set of eyes and one flashlight can find in a reasonable amount of time. The comments start to become very general after a while regarding mold, lack of ventilation, deterioration under plumbing fixtures and spaghetti electrical wiring. The only bright spot for enduring the aches and pains of a nightmare crawl space is the occasional photo that we get to see in the MMM. The thought of hoarding all of those memories in just my little hard drive between my ears seems like a disservice to humanity. Now, taking the great photo and sharing it with others only seems like the right thing to do.
Mobile home crawls have got to be some of the worst that I have ever had to endure. The clearances are low, the items that you hit are hard, and in our area it seems like every spider in Utah is drawn to a mobile home crawl space. I think back to some of those that I broke a pathway through the spider webs as I inched along only to find that the old Ford Pinto oil pan weighted with a cinder block was no longer securing the sewer discharge line and that the moisture I was feeling seeping through my jump suit was waste water......... Yuck!!!
Those of you enduring crawl space lifestyles need to give yourself huge pats on the back of praise. You are truly the dedicated pros of this profession. In fact, I think that AII should have a new annual award for those that crawl at least 100 crawl spaces in a year. It should be the "Master Crawler" award and those that are so deserving could dangle the tag on their name badge at the next annual meeting. Those full time inspectors that do less than fifty a year like myself should have to wear the lowly "Fair Weather Crawler" badge.
I think that the lifespan of a home inspector in mainly crawlspace areas is less than that of those in basement and slab areas. I think of those inspectors who have had to leave the profession due to wear and tear from crawl spaces. People think that this job is easy when compared to building a house. In fact, this is the main reason that a lot of ex-contractors make the leap into this business. The fact is, this is not an easy profession. This is a profession where you must wear a lot of different hats. When the new home inspector wannabee calls you on the phone asking for advice about enterring the profession what do you tell them???
3D PHOTO COVER PAGE RESPONSESIt is always fun to share tips about using 3D Inspection software. It is sometimes difficult for me to know what users are doing and what features they are clueless about. I am much too close to the software to know what the regular folks are doing. The more that I learn and implement, the further away from the new user level I become. I am always brought back to reality when I discuss using the software with a newer user. It seems that most inspectors figure out how to crank out a report and that is all the further their learning takes them. Modifying and exploring unused features is considered almost taboo by many inspectors. The thought of experimenting with the software is prohibited because it may screw up the inspector's ability to crank out another report.
I would like to put those fears to rest right now. I encourage all of the 3D users to download the most recent 3D Help Desk from the www.3Dinspection.com website and open up the getting started guides. The what's new document is also a good read for a quick explanation of newer software features. Then open the actual user guides and read a section here and there. Try experimenting with some of the features and don't try to learn it all in a day. Just going back and reviewing the helper guides will enlighten you to features that you are not currently using. Whether it is using summary features or importing pictures, you should dedicate a few minutes a week to increase your user knowledge. NOTE: I am surprised how many users out there have never gone back into the manuals after their first month of using the software. Often times this leads to wasting time doing things the hard way that may be already automated in the system. Wasted time = lost hours = lost revenue.
Last week's discussion on 3D cover page photos elicited several varied responses. The first humorous response caught me totally off guard.......
Michael, I was nice enough to previously explain to you what a crawlspace is, now I need for you to explain this thing you call "Blue Sky." Thanks in advance for the info and blessings from the "Gray Sky" capital of the world. Rick Stewart - Corvallis,Oregon
Richard Grisham checked in on the topic from Las Vegas...
Very nice Michael. I have to admit that my cover page is a lot like the one on the left and I've frequently wished that I had some control over the excessive blue sky. Sometimes I get lucky and there is some attractive cloud formations to enhance the cover photo. I believe that I've sent you some samples of my reporting program. It will also change the title of the report to whatever you want: "Lead Risk Assessment," "Review & Follow Up," "Picture Review & Bonus Material." Anyway, you get the idea. All of these report generators produce well above average illustrations of your inspection talents, but it's the old story of the better they are and the more they do, the harder they are to learn (and becoming proficient in one of them takes years). Richard Grisham - Las Vegas, NV
Mike, thanks for answering my question concerning cover page( or 1st page ) in the report format, but my question was concerning doing this in the word processor format . I will guess that the info needed is in the manual that I output a while back. The only way I've figured out is to use Adobe Photo Shop or Illustrator to create a full image, including border line, matting and embedded text, formatting a high resolution jpeg( no such thing) and importing the entire image. I know I must be doing this the hard way, so I'll just have to keep trying to figure out how to do these things in 3-D/WP. My goal is to output a individualized cover sheet that will be printed to lead and be separate from the body of the report. This will be output on my letterhead, followed by a Summary, also on letterhead and then the report. Dean Daviscourt - Medford, OR
I called Dean after reading this e-mail and we had a great half hour training discussion on the 3D system. I needed the phone time to discern what the real issue was that Dean was facing. It turned out that Dean was really struggling with the production of a summary while using the 3D system. He was cutting and pasting lines from the report into a separate document in order to satisfy the wishes of one single agent. Changing our inspection report method for one agent is a topic of discussion all unto itself, but we can tackle that issue later. The fact was that Dean needed a summary and he was using all of the normal logic to accomplish the task. As long as this agent was going to send along business, then he was willing to go to the effort. We also discussed the drawbacks of providing summary reports. It turns out that they might just stop reading your full report and later question your not including an item in the summary.
Dean was extremely relived to learn of a feature of 3D Inspection software known as Summary. While working in the Report Writer you can click on the SUMMARY AREA tab along the top and mark the line of the report to a Summary 1, 2, 3, or 4. If you click on the SUMMARY AREA and then Properties you can even change the names of the 1, 2, 3, and 4 to titles like Major, Deferred, Maintenance, and Health & Safety. This allows you to classify the nature of the comment and merge the information into a summary document by category. This means that the summary can be divided in 4 different categories in a very easy manner. You can also go through your boilerplate and pre-classify each reportable condition comment as a summary item. This can be a great time saver for summary lovers. If you would like, I can post a sample summary format in another edition of the MMM.......
I think the cover page is a great idea and I have been doing that from the start. In fact I go one step further. The binders I use for my report have a clear plastic cover on the face and back to insert a page. In the front binder cover, I insert a color photo of the front of the house with the address printed on glossy paper. I do the same on the back binder cover with a picture of the back of the house. About 95% of both my clients and the realtors comment about how they are impressed before I even open the binder.
I recently purchased HP's new 450 mobile printer to print my reports. It operates on rechargeable lithium batteries and is perfect for the job, printing great photos at impressive speeds. Don Daley - Brampton, Ontario
This is a great tip Don. I went to the HP website and they list this printer at $349.00, which means that it is probably available on the street for less. For those of you set on producing on site reports this looks like a very viable option. I would love to hear your feedback on how the printer performs. How long does it take to crank out 20 pages with 15 pictures? How long does the battery stay charged up? How much are the print cartridges? Your idea to include the back of the home on the last page is also a great idea. I had never heard of that one before. Can you send along a sample for use to view here on the MMM?
What on site printing solutions have you come up with? Many of us use e-mail and PDF files exclusively, but this has a lot more to do with convenience and cost effectiveness marketed as cutting edge. The thought of walking through with the client at the end of the inspection with the report in hand has always appealed to me, but the stress and extra hardships along with the client wanting the electronic version as well always made the extra effort of printing on site a bad idea.
CRAWLSPACE ATTIRE
Knee and shin comfort is of utmost importance when spelunking the crawl spaces. What padding do you use for your knees?
I spent 12 years in the chemical industry and when I left, I took with me the Nomex suits I wore during those years. I wore tyvek suits for many years with all the openings duct taped shut, I personally could sweat to death in one of those in a half hour crawling around on my belly, although they do offer superior protection, the nomex does the job for me. They are oil resistant, stain resistant, plus they won't light on fire untill I reach 1000 degrees, lets hope that doesn't happen while I'm under the floors... James Straley: - Bend, OR
I have used the gel type knee pads but the gel pack broke so now i'm back to the closed cell foam pads with the hard rubber outside that stay on with velcro. Jim Maass - Columbia, SC
Proline Knee Pads model# 50903 ( buckle system ). Flex Industrial elbow pad with velcro straps model #5310. I buy them from Alta Industries PO Box 2764 Santa Rosa, CA 95405. I get the distributor price because I have delt with them for ten years and I buy at least five sets at a time. Knee pads=$10.13 list=$22.00. Elbow pads=$13.73 list=$30.50. These are the best. They have a hard plastic shell, padded well, and stay in place. Sorry, no picture. Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
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Knee Pads
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Elbow pads
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I found some images of these products on the web at a great Washington state supplier http://www.westernsafety.com/alta1.html
Although Reggie highly endorses these, I find that it is my shins that are the most affected when I am crawling. The plastic capped pads never stay in position on my knees and I could not find a good product, so I made my own. I used high density foam and the are naugahyde covered and go half way down my lower leg. I wear them underneath my coveralls and they protect me against all but the sharpest rocks. After using them a couple of years I went one step further. I went to the camping store and bought an $8.00 closed cell foam ground pad. I then sewed large panels in the front half of my Dickey coveralls. I insert large rectangular shaped foam pieces into the 18" x 10" added pockets. To keep the leg in place I have sewn elastic bands to the bottom of the legs that loop under the bottom of my crawl shoes. This makes it easy to just step into the oversized jumpsuit and crawl to my hearts content. I have used these coveralls on several 6 hour jaunts through our local Nutty Putty crawling caves and they work great.
OUTLET TESTING CONTINUED
Pretend you have an older home and there are only two wires. Hook up the wiring with reverse polarity and DON'T connect the ground. What did your 3-light tester tell you?I have not tried your scenario yet but I can tell you that if Harvey Homeowner knows that he can replace an old 2 prong outlet with a new 3 prong outlet, and then proceed to pigtail from the white neutral wire to the ground screw on the new receptacle, he will. What this does is show a correctly wired plug when it is not properly grounded. This is one that an inspector cannot see without pulling the outlet out of the enclosure. For what it's worth. James Straley - Bend, OR
James, you are partially correct. The part about Harvey Homeowner is right on target. The part about not being able to identify a false ground without pulling the outlet is not exactly correct. Mark Connely shared......
I don't trust the little three light tester I use a SureTest which tells you if it is falsely grounded. If it is a GFCI it uses a true test and it puts a load on the outlet telling you about the wiring between the outlet and panel. Using the SureTest I found a false ground to a pipe 6 foot from the outlet. I really don't think you are giving an honest inspection without the more expensive device. Mark S. Connely -Freeport, IL
Mark is right about the SureTest's ability to identify a false ground. While Dean Daviscourt talked with me on the phone last week he questioned, "If an outlet has reverse polarity and a false ground, will the SureTest still tell you it is a false ground?" This is a great question because the jumper for the false ground is now jumping the hot wire and not the neutral. I explained to him on the phone that I did not know. Logic told me that I was now energizing the ground prong and this is hazardous, but what would the tester tell me. The moment that I hung up the phone I went and got out my testing board to try out the scenario. I must admit that I did not know what it was going to tell me.......
Reverse polarity with a jumper ground from the neutral side of the outlet that was now hot..... That is a scary thought. As I set up the scenario on the board I was fearful to even turn on the power. Afterall, I had a $320.00 tester on the line and I have not yet learned what it takes to fry one (I hope that I never learn that one). I plugged it into the outlet and the three light tester told me that all was well.... WHAT?!?!?!... It has reverse polarity and it has an false ground. This means that the neutral side of the outlet was hot. The grounding prong was hot. The hot side of the outlet was connected to the neutral. What more could be wrong??? Yet the three light tester tells us that all is well. This is where the SureTest shines. Even though the three light portion of the cheap 3 light tester and the on board SureTest 3 light tester are wrong, the digital readout on the SureTest still shows a False Ground. While in this scenario it is not reading the neutral side of the circuit, it is actually testing the hot side of the circuit on this miswired outlet. So even though the outlet has a correct polarity reading the FG would be reason enough for further evaluation that would ultimately reveal the unsafe outlet condition. In the meantime, one should pray that there is not a fault that would energize the metal case of the appliance plugged into this hazardous outlet, while at the same time thanking the heavens that you are no longer relying upon the $3.00 three light tester alone. Afterall, it would have left you reporting nothing, and exposing your omission portion of your errors & omissions policy.
ANSWER: I almost forgot to give you the answer to the scenario at the top of this section. If the outlet has an open ground, then it does not matter to the 3 light tester if the polarity is correct or reversed. It still gives you the reading of open ground. So while you tell you client that this is a 3 prong outlet used on a 2 wire system, the 3 light tester offers you no information regarding the polarity of the outlet. Add to this the comment heard out of my mouth too many times "Yeah, they just installed a 3 prong outlet on a two wired circuit. It is not grounded, but most of the items in your home don't know the difference anyway." After mastering that ignorant phrase you should then also ensure that E&O policy premium paid up to date because the unsafe polarity issue has not been dealt with.
PHOTO CHALLENGE #131 RESPONSES |
Imminent danger!!!!! Combustable products inside a house!!!!!!!! Even if the tank is empty it is even more danger. Since there is a stove in the background it wouldn't take much. Mark S. Connely - Freeport, IL
The living room has become the garage. This is a fire hazard, most certainly. The baseboard heaters are obstructed, with items too close. Flammables are being stored in living spaces (gas tank on motorcycle). Access is blocked for testing electrical outlets. I would recommend removal of any flammables and debris from living room, assuming that what this room used to be. James Straley - Bend, Oregon
At first glance, one would be inclined to figure out how to CYA because all the, "stuff", prevented visual access. The antifreeze jug scares the heck out of me, especially with all the other stuff around, and I would start making a very cursory look for things like cold tablets, (Pseudoephredine), propane tanks, matches, etc... This looks like a possible Meth lab or Meth house to me and if I found anything else to substantiate my fears, color me gone. I would follow this with a prompt and direct phone call to the Realtor to explain why I stopped inspecting. This is one serious health risk for us all, whether my assessment of this condition is right or not. I've had the training and also got the bumpersticker on this one. If you don't know what to look for, best start learning now. Larry Stamp - Olympia, WA
Viewing blocked by excessive personal belongings,an additional fee will be reqired to return to the site to complete this inspection. Rick Stewart - Corvallis,Oregon
And finally comes this humorous correct statement........
Occupied storage facility! Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
PHOTO CHALLENGE #132 |
QUOTABLE QUOTE: "We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." Jesse Owens |
HAVE A GREAT WEEK! Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. The Most Qualified Inspector in Northern Utah! |
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