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It's a great morning here in Northern Utah. It looks like this next week might just shape up to be the first normal work week of the Year 2000. I wondered what might happen if there was ever a sudden hike in interest rates, or if there was a huge National calamity. Well, now I know...... The phone stops ringing and the checking account evaporates. I hope that you are not experiencing the same slowdown that we have been enduring in Utah.
The free time has allowed for me to make great improvements in my computerized form sets as well as the special Windows CE version sets. There are several topics to be addressed in today's MMM, so let's get busy.=:-}
CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES NEW REPAIR OPTION FOR HORIZONTAL FURNACE HEAT EXCHANGERS AND DEMONSTRATION VIDEO
Lafayette, Indiana, July 2, 1997 -- Consolidated Industries has developed a special kit which can be used to seal a crack in the burner box expansion joint nearest the gas valve of its horizontal furnaces, instead of needlessly replacing the heat exchanger assembly.
From years of experience as the dominant manufacturer of dedicated horizontal furnaces, Consolidated knows that a very high percentage of heat exchanger assembly replacements in the field are due to cracks in the expansion joint nearest the gas valve, and not in the heat exchanger cells. This condition is caused chiefly by two things: overfiring the furnace, and/or too little airflow across the heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger is actually an assembly, made up of three parts. The bottom part contains the slide-in burner tray and is called the burner box. This burner box contains expansion joints, designed to relieve stress on the heat exchanger cells by expanding and contracting during heat-up and cool-down. The heat exchanger cells themselves are put on top of the burner box and welded to the expansion joints. The vent collector box is then welded to the top of the cells, completing the heat exchanger assembly.
Knowing that most cracks occur in the burner box expansion joint and not in the heat exchanger cells,Consolidated developed the Burner Box Expansion Joint Seal Kit which can be installed in 15 minutes or less, saving both the homeowner and the dealer time and money. International Approval Services (formerly the American Gas Association Laboratories) has tested the kit and issued a Field Safety Report attesting to its safety and durability. Using the kit does not affect the original manufacturer's warranty. Once the kit is installed, the original furnace warranty remains in effect, and the manufacturer provides the Seal Kit for the same time period it provides warranty heat exchangers.
Consolidated now has available a 10-minute video tape which demonstrates very clearly why the Seal Kit works, how to identify when it can and should be used, and how to install the Seal Kit. To request a copy, phone 800.944.HVAC(4822).
NOTE: Please see their website for all of the different makes and models. I also can't wait to see the video.
Roy Cooke, Sr. from Canada passed along the following.......
Check out the following message sent to me from a friend.... I thought that you might find it a bit funny. I found out that I could have become an Inspector a lot easier by visiting the following website instead of taking all the training that I have. "Hello fun-seekers! Take a peek at this return I just got from a site search for "home inspection" at http://www.canadaone.com When I first looked at it, I thought it must be a typo for "Stoney Mountain" ... but no, it's Stone Mountain - and it's not in Ontario - but it did pop up second on the list."
The ad reads:
Why not click on the link to learn how easy it is to become a home inspector! Start cashing in right after class!
American Inspectors Society
3 day class gets you into Professional Certified Home Inspection Business, make $250 $350 hr good profession for women/men http://homeinspectortraining.com
I especially enjoyed the part where it states that 45% of all homes bought and sold in the US get inspected, and that real estate experts project a 400% increase over the next five years. But really... personally, I think I'd grow weary of looking at every house 2 1/2 times, wouldn't you?
Roy, thanks for sharing the interesting website. This site appears to be run by the now famous Mr. Lamar Bagwell. His name and reputation have been discussed many times on several Home Inspector forums. Most of the feedback has questioned whether or not Mr. Bagwell is a real entity or just a comical parody of everything a Home Inspector should NOT be. By the looks of his web site, he is real and that makes me re-evalaute words that I had previously thought were a hoax. Visiting Mr. Bagwell's site makes me realize that his hyper-inflated myths about the immediate success possibilities in the Home Inspection business gives our profession a Black Eye. I am not in favor of Inspector Training firms preying upon people who think they will make a quick easy buck as an Inspector. Firms making those types of claims are usually out to inflate their own bank accounts. Becoming successful in the Home Inspection business is not as easy as Mr. Bagwell's site portrays it to be....as you all know.
I have been reading tons of Home Inspector posts on the topic of FHA Inspections and the possibility of teaming up with Appraisers to create a team approach. The idea bothers me if it includes losing your ability to report the conditions accurately. Consider this post from a Home Inspector in Georgia........
I am already a Certified Appraiser (inactive) and there is no way I will get back into the appraisal business. However, if you do not mind being under the control of Mortgage Brokers that will insist that every now and then you doctor your appraisal to meet "their" needs to close the deal, then by all means go at it. ..... An appraiser has to live in denial in order to convince themselves that they do not compromise themselves.
You may say that I will not compromise myself for Mortgage Brokers, I say if you do not, you will not EAT.
All of the above and more is why I quit the Appraisal business.
This is an aspect of Lender driven inspections that I have never liked. Running around to perform the inspection for a client who is not onsite or whom I have never met, satisfying the needs of the Lender, and reporting on items that I would normally not report on in a full home inspection. It is tough to keep the report accurate when everybody in the Lender-driven transaction just wants the loan to go through. Most of the time, not even the Buyer wants items discovered because they just want to move into the home....... Lender-driven inspections are a beast all unto themselves.
What Types of Lender Inspections have you performed?
Have You ever been asked to modify your Report by a Lender?
A few weeks back we discussed the types of responses that an informational web site will elicit. This past week was an emotional payback for the effort of placing the Deck Failure information on my web site. The testimonial e-mail that was sent to me was tragic, but getting the word out to the house buying consumers about unsafe decks is so important. Mr. Charles N. Pegelow from Houston, Texas, shared the following.......
Dear Michael Leavitt: c/o Michael Leavitt Home Inspectors ('98 President of American Institute of Inspectors);
Enjoyed your web site http://thehomeinspector.com/Clients/WoodDecks.html. In response to your article on deck failures let me submit the following:
I own several rental houses in the Houston area and on one of these I had a deck failure on a two-story house last year. The deck is 6 ft x 16 ft in size, built of Redwood, and is supported by a 16 ft. ledger board at the house wall and by 3-4x4 columns at the other side. On April 24,1999, the deck failed by shearing off the ledger board at the house and the deck acted like a trap door. The failure was sudden and there was no warning to the occupants (deflections, swaying, lack of stiffness, etc). This deck failure resulted in two of the five people having severe injuries (broken backs). This is a 23 year old tract home built by a national home builder, Ryland Group (Pecos Model). All decks I have seen built by this builder between 1973 to 1984 on two-story homes are virtually identical and most did have lag bolts installed, but this one didn't. Needless to say, I have learned a great deal about deck construction over the last several months.
Please see pictures at http://www.orbitworld.net/johncoby/decks.htm. This web site is run by Mr. John R. Cobarruvias and is dedicated to public information about quality problems with defective workmanship and materials found on Ryland homes in the greater Houston area.
My insurance company hired a very competent structural engineer and his findings were that the builder had only attached the deck to the second story rim board with 11-16d x 3.5 inch nails; however, UBC design codes requires 8-0.75 OD x 4.5 inch long lag bolts (to support minimum design live load of 40psf, same as inside floors). There were other gross construction defects present as well: the ledger board was installed on top of the siding (the 3.5 inch nails only had 0.75 inch grip into rim board because of gap where siding was), no flashing between ledger and rim board, no flashing under siding and over top of ledger board, no bolts attaching outside double header board to the 3 columns, no nails in metal joist hanger to joist (hangers were nailed to header/ledger though), and no anchor bolts at bottom of columns to concrete slab. There was some weathering and minor deterioration evident in the wood (primarily ends of boards) but not sufficient enough to cause any failure.
I have learned about 2 other deck failures on the same model homes built by the same builder in the Houston area. One in 6/8/1991 which resulted in 10 injuries, and one in 1985 (still trying to get info). One construction/remodeler person told me he has heard of many other failures (same builder) and that this builder was well aware of the problem during the late 70's/early 80's but chose to do nothing about it. He said that he heard that this decision came from the highest levels in the corporation. Unfortunately, his information is based on talking to other construction men over the last 15 years. This is hearsay evidence and nothing you could go to court with. Do you have any information or leads in this regard about this builder? (Call me at 713-869-7928).
The Texas statute of repose Ref: 16.009, says a suit for damages cannot be brought against a builders after 10 years, even if gross negligence resulting in injuries or death. There are two exclusions to 16.009: "willful misconduct" or "fraudulent concealment"; next to impossible to prove. Obviously, Texas home builders have an extremely effective lobbying and I'm sure the same is true in other states.
Last week I talked to a Home Inspector and I was quite surprised at one statement he made. He said that almost half his business was inspecting new homes (leads from area Realtors®). Then he related a long list of problems (roofing, foundations, A/C, etc.) and some financial costs incurred by new homeowners later on. It got me to thinking "If you buy a new home you better have it inspected". To put this in perspective, I got my wife a new Toyota last year and I never once thought I should get a mechanic to look at it before I bought it. Since you are past president of AII™ then maybe your organization should be looking into the area of inspections for new homes and get the word out (say thru Realtors®, etc)!!
I have come to another conclusion: with 10 year laws as they are and companies going out of business or bankrupt, builders (new homes/repairs) should be mandated by state law to fund long term liability policies, say, into an independent state fund. This would be so that homeowners and injured people could have at least some financial subsistence 10+ years later for builder's gross negligence. This would be analogous to what car manufacturers assume for warranty work and the insurance cost is just added to the new car cost.
Thank you for your time in reading this. I would like any comments and please copy John. Remember, like John said, "If you buy a new home costing $150+K you certainly don't expect for that house to try and kill you 15 years later.
Thanks again; Charles N. Pegelow - 713-869-7928 - Houston, TX
Mr. Pegelow has shared with us some great wisdom as well as great marketing ideas. The Buyers, Sellers, and Agents need to know how important deck safety is and we are the perfect vehicle to convey this message.
Ken Ives has threatened to start off a new regular section of the MMM to be known as the AII™ Photo Challenge. Many of the MMM readership have digital cameras. He is proposing that we all take the time to snap pictures of the "interesting" items that we encounter while we are inspecting. Often times these are pictures that are not included in our reports, but they are classic conditions of what an Inspector encounters--usually involving Harvey Homeowner repairs. I'm calling Ken's bluff and will volunteer for the first Photo Challenge.
The following photos were taken on the same 1996 home.
The main house ground is provided via a rod ground at the exterior main panel. The interior subpanel is connected to the main exterior Main panel with the standard supplies, neutral and grounding conductor. No other bonding or grounding jumpers were identified.
According to your Eagle Eye is this an adequate installation of the jetted tub bonding??? I look forward to your responses and to any other observations that you might have.
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