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We
are now full swing into the year 2000 and things are getting back
to normal here in Utah. I realized a dream on Friday. Those that
have previously, or are currently, using a Newton to document
their reports will relate with the excitement I felt as I performed
an entire Home Inspection without even turning on my Windows 98
laptop. That's right...... I successfully performed an inspection
with a 6 ounce piece of computer hardware that runs Windows CE
and has no keyboard. Of course the testing of the software is
in the Alpha/Beta stages and the excitement level is incredibly
high.... More to come later!
2000 AII™ NOMINATIONSWe want to solicit nominations for ALL board positions that are open to AII inspectors. These are:
The current holders of these positions can be elected again if they choose to be elected again. But Randy Roth has indicated he no longer wants to be Treasurer. The more people we have nominated, the better. The best way to improve this Association is by getting directly involved yourself !
If you are interested in involving yourself and want to see what you can do, then run for a position ! If you have questions about thpositions, call me at home: 530-878-8781 in the evenings.
If you have an interest in a position I would suggest contacting by phone, fax, or e-mail the Chairman, President, or Secretary. Unless you want to announce to the whole e-mail group.
We expect to move swiftly on this, so please declare your intentions as soon as is feasible.
Thanks. Scott Merritt - AII™ President 2000
3D SOFTWARE TESTIMONIAL
Michael:
We have started the new year by presenting our new 3D report format
to all of the Real Estate Agencies in the area by way of office
presentations. The respose so far has been everything from "Wow, this report is incredible!" to "I have
never seen a report where the photos are included in the body
of the report!" to "This report is so professional and easy
to read!" Deb and I feel like
we have moved our business into the new millennium in more ways
than one. Not only are we saving time, we are producing a report
that is more professional in format. In the process the other
inspectors are going crazy!!
Thank You again to you and Shelly for the time and direction you gave us on making this decision, and yes, Shelly, you were right. I did need that digital camera.
Bill and Deb Schwahn - www.montanahomeinspector.com
CADET
HEATERS REVISITEDSeasoned Inspectors will immediately remember the faulty electric wall heaters manufactured by Cadet Manufacturing. Recent information provided by Betty Buckley and Ron Cloyd on the AII™ Inspector Hotline prompted our revisiting the topic here in the MMM.
Responding to a question by Fred Corlis, Betty Buckley shared.....
Hello Fred, I use to look at the limit
switches inside the Cadet Heaters to see if
they were included in the first recall and advise my clients accordingly
with reference to the 800 number if applicable. Now, in light
of the additional recall, I just can't tell for sure. The last
clients I referred to the 800 number reported back that the number
had been disconnected. I verified this when I tried to get additional
information.
The bottom line is, Cadet Mfg. Co. is bankrupt and there is no money to offer a safe solution. I think it safest to inform my clients that many of these heaters have been determined unsafe and recommend upgrading to an approved product.
You are correct, there are tons of them around the Northwest. They were an answer to the previous, baseboard electric heater energy nightmare that people had endured for many years. The same wiring could be used to upgrade to a fan forced electric heater that would warm a room more quickly at a reduced cost. They seemed like a God-send when they first arrived on the market.
I toured the family oriented factory
in Vancouver, Wa. in 1990 and have run heat loss calculations
to sell many, many Cadet heaters to electric heat customers. The
business thrived and everyone seemed happy. Unfortunately, over
time, the product did not
hold up and the limit switches began to fail causing death and
injury. It's been downhill from there. Although, Cadet had a hearing
this week to plan a re-organization under Chapter 11, I don't
think there is enough public trust left in the company for that
to be successful which is why I suggest upgrading to another product.
Best wishes, Betty Buckley - Buckley's Home Inspections, Inc. - Oregon
Ron Cloyd added to Betty's comments......
Fred, I have stopped trying to handle
it in anyway except recommending a licensed
electrician evaluate the condition. For a while, I tried to have
my clients contact the company, but since bankruptcy was declared
they won't get any help/satisfaction, so why should I send them
in that direction?
Ron Cloyd - Klammath Falls, Oregon
After reading the responses to the Cadet heater question I couldn't remember all of the details or which heaters were affected so I went to the CPSC page to reread the initial Press Realease from 1997. I have reposted it here, but the original can easily be found at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98017.html
After reading the following CPSC Press Release, I realized that I had never read it in its entirety. It came out prior to the start-up of the MMM and before I subscribed to the CPSC Press Releases. Let's revisit it.....
NEWS from CPSC - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 23, 1997 - Release # 98-017
CPSC, Cadet Manufacturing Announce Recall of In-Wall Heaters
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Cadet Manufacturing Company of Vancouver, Wash., is recalling about 190,000 electric in-wall heaters. Limit switches within these heaters can emit sparks, presenting a fire hazard.
Cadet Manufacturing has received 44 reports of fires involving these heaters. Most of these reports resulted in fires that self-extinguished. However, Cadet has received two reports of fires causing considerable property damage. No injuries have been reported from these fires. CPSC has received a 45th report of two deaths from a fire involving a Cadet heater where a sofa was nearby. The cause of the ignition of the sofa remains under investigation.
The
heaters involved in this recall may have the Cadet or Encore brand
name on the heater's grill. The heaters involved in this recall
must have the following: 1) a model number beginning with FX,
FW, LX or ZA followed by three numbers on a label on the front
of the internal heater assembly; 2) a limit switch made of black
plastic casings on the heater assembly. These casings look like
small black discs and have wires attached. Only heaters with black
plastic limit switches are included in the recall. Some models
will have a single limit switch and others will have two limit
switches. Before checking the markings on the heater assembly,
consumers will need to remove the heater's grill and the screw
at the top of the heater assembly. Before doing this, consumers
must disconnect the power supply to the heater or fuse box.
These heaters have been install ed in homes from 1985 through 1992 in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Fewer than one percent were distributed nationwide under the name Encore through the following retailers: Menards, Home Base, Builders Square, Ace Hardware and Fred Meyer for about $100 to $200.
Consumers should stop using these heaters immediately and call Cadet at (800) 567-2613 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. PDT to arrange for a local service technician to replace the limit switch or switches free of charge.
Heaters with white ceramic switch casings are not included in this recall.
CE
HOT TIP - FLIPPER
I
know that many of you are also eagerly awaiting the day when your
inspection reports can be created on the little pen driven palm
top machines. You have read previously that I am banking on the
Casio E-100/105 Cassiopeia to be the hot machine for the year
2000. Some of you have already purchased the machine in anticipation
of the pending CE software.
Those that are currently using their machines have found a major FLAW in the software that comes with the machine. It turns out that there is no easy, built-in way to toggle or switch from program to program. Currently you have to click on the START, then SETTINGS, then SYSTEM, and then the TASK MANAGER. Once there it requires that you click on the already opened application and finally by clicking the SWITCH TO you will arrive at the program you desire...... What a royal pain.
Let me give you a
real life scenario. You are inputing the information into the
Casio (or any other CE palmtop) and you click on the speed key
for the cool electronic voice recorder. This immediately switches
the machine over to the voice recorder. Once the message is recorded
then you are stuck on the voice recorder screen. You see, they
do not provide a quick return button to get back to the previous
program (in this case it is the Home Inspection program). When
I say "they," I am referring to that great conglomerate
called Microsoft. They offer quick switching for the larger machines,
but not for the Palmtops. To get from the Voice Recorder back
to the inspection software you have to once again click on the
START, then SETTINGS, then SYSTEM, and then
the TASK MANAGER. Once there it requires that you click
on the already opened application and finally by clicking the
SWITCH TO you will arrive back at the inspection program.
Now
comes the great news. I found a very inexpensive program on the
internet called Flipper. It sounds like a pinball game, but the
program is represented by the mascot of the old dolphin TV show
starring Flipper himself. Their full program Flipper Pro 2.5 costs
$14.95 and they have a Flipper Lite that is a free limited running
program. I splurged on the full program after the delight I felt
using their Flipper Lite program. The full program gives me the
other much needed feature of a battery meter as well as some specialty
toggling features.
Here is the introduction information on the Flipper Pro and Flipper Lite from their download site at: http://www.sticky.co.uk/.......
What are the two things Palmsize PC owners want the most from their User Interface?
That's easy:
No other task control utility offers all these features in one, easy-to-use program.
This
hot CE software tip is probably premature for most of the MMM
readers, but I recommend that anybody considering a future Palmtop
conversion should go to the Flipper site and download the Flipper
Lite program. It will be of little use until you finally make
the Palmtop purchase, but the Flipper company might just change
their minds and discontinue the free Flipper Lite program. It
is only 880k and takes up very little room on your hard drive,
so I recommend downloading it now. At the very least you can refer
back to this issue of the MMM at a later date.
CALIFORNIA
BILL SB1216Fellow A.I.I. Members:
The purpose of this email is to update
you on recent developments with SB1216, the current pending legislation
before the California Senate. Sen. Hughes, http://www.sen.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_25/_home/ , the sponsor of the bill, felt that some additional
regulation should be pursued for home inspectors and introduced
a Senate Bill to that effect. The language in the bill was very
vague and its intent was
simply to be a marker to hold a place for the legislation. She
approached the Coalition of California Home Inspectors (CCHI)
and requested that we prepare the required Sunrise Study. This
study is required in order to proceed with any legislation that
requires licensing or additional regulation of businesses. It
is intended to determine the need for and/or feasibility of the
proposed regulation. We were also requested provide language proposals
for the pending legislation. There have been many attempts to
regulate California home inspectors in the past but this is the
first time, to my knowledge, home inspectors have been asked to
be the primary source of information and language for such legislation.
With licensing and regulation happening in many other states it
seems that it is simply a matter of time before
there is additional regulation in the state of California. I feel
we have a unique opportunity here to have influence over this
process that will be beneficial to both of consuming public and
home inspection industry.
The language we came up with months
ago was approved by Senator Hughes and provided to the legislative
consultant for the Senate Business & Professions Committee
(see attached Word document for the specific language). Senator
Hughes also approved the Sunrise Study the CCHI created and it
was provided to all B&P Committee members and the Department
of Consumer Affairs. Congratulations. There is now an accurate
Sunrise Study published to negate the past, poorly researched
studies. A copy of the study can be obtained from CREIA in San
Diego. It is a lengthy document (200+ pages). The study concludes
that: There is no great public outcry or discontent as a result
of poor home inspection. Licensing would not be practical or feasible
at this time.
There has been some discussion of an exemption for general contractors. There does not appear to be much support among home inspectors for exempting general contractors. Anyone who feels different and has rational please email.
The legislative consultant questioned whether we should codify the intent language (the reference to CREIA and ASHI or other recognized national hi association standards). We believe we can demonstrate that it provides strong consumer protection by doing so.
There was some concern by the legislative consultant about the grandfather clause. The legislature is not fond of grandfather clauses. The 250 inspection may have to be eliminated and all persons would have to eventually take the exam. There could be some time allowance (2, 3 years) for existing practitioners to take the approved exam. Or maybe (but doubtful) we could get them to accept having passed an acceptable exam as the "grandfather."
6) Bob Fennema and Michael Casey will
be attending the B&P Committee hearing Monday in Sacramento
as representatives of CCHI. I am hoping to be there as a
representative of A.I.I. We will keep you posted as to the outcome.
Jon Gudnason, A.I.I. representative to the CCHI
If you try the site mentioned by Jon you have to search through the index of all the pending bills. The bill is actually found at the following site.... http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1201-1250/sb_1216_bill_20000103_amended_sen.html
I praise Jon for his diligence in keeping us informed by the ongoings of the government affairs in California. Here in Utah, we follow California very closely because we usually end up following their course of action 3 to5 years later.
PEST
& DRY ROT TRAININGRon Cloyd is an AII™ Certified Pest & Dry Rot Instructor. I was one of his first students for the certification course and I was very impressed. Ron has an extremely good understanding of the topic. His materials and testing materials are first rate. Ron is putting on a Pest & Dry Rot class in Early February and I encourage all of you to attend. Learning what Ron has to offer in his course may save you from major litigation whether or not you perform Pest & Dry Rot Evaluations.
Ron will also be offering a 6 day Home Inspection Certification course following the Pest & Dry Rot training. I recommend that you visit Ron's revamped website at www.TheOregonHomeInspector.com
QUOTABLE QUOTES: "Personally
I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being
taught." --Winston Churchill[Michael Leavitt's Home Page | Back Issues of the MMM | Current Issue of the MMM]
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