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It's is a great day here in Orem, Utah. I am currently doing my best to shake an influenza bug. The cold is deep in the chest, in the head, and my whole body aches. Composing the words for this week's MMM is difficult, at best. If my thoughts presented in this issue are scattered, please forgive me. The fact that I am feeling under the weather does not mean that I don't have any exciting information to share.
The greatest Leavitt family news this past week is that my Mother finally returned back to our home after almost four months of visiting my sister Becky in Tennessee. Grandma brings a special spirit into our home that our 4 children have greatly missed while she was away. Grandma could barely remain standing as our four little ones attacked her with clinging tears of joy as she came off the airplane Monday night.
The second bit of great Leavitt family news is that Jessica just showed me her current school report card. Jessica scored straight "A's" with the lowest score being a 97%. Jessica has taken the best of both Shelly and I into her character and she is really excelling in academics. Amidst all of the turmoil and trials that go along with raising a family, Jessica's report card is a dividend payoff for her parents.
All in all, the Leavitt family is not currently a picture of health ...... We'll work on it!=:} We hope you and your family are doing MUCH better than ours!
Leakage is a wonderful word. Used as a noun, Mr. Webster's Dictionary says that LEAKAGE is: 1) an act or instance of leaking 2) something that leaks in or out 3) the amount that leaks in or out. I recently spoke with an AII™ Inspector who questioned my use of the word in an inspection report and I had to rethink my stance for using this word. This past week I found myself driving to Evanston, Wyoming to perform an EIFS Moisture Intrusion Evaluation and I found that using the word "Leakage" was far superior to "Leak", "Leaking" or "Water is currently running out of."
You will recall that in last week's MMM I shared an experience with a local EIFS Installer, EIFS Distributor, and EIFS Manufacturer. Coming fresh out of that experience, I felt fully empowered as I headed to Evanston to perform what I think was the very first EIFS evaluation in the western half of Wyoming. I was called in by the largest Real Estate Broker in Evanston because a Relocation Company's policy is that any home possibly containing EIFS must be evaluated before they will let one of their Clients buy it.
I was assured by the Broker that it was EIFS and that the Builder had confirmed the fact that water intrusion in homes in Wyoming is not an issue. After checking the internet, all of the parties involved knew that "Leakage" was not an issue anywhere other than in the humid climates of other states. All of them felt that the large fee that I was being paid was wasted money.... Yet they all had been sleeping restlessly awaiting for the day I was to arrive.
Think back for a moment to the most apprehensive Seller that you have encountered on a traditional Home inspection. You know the apprehensivness of the Seller... They have no clue what you are going to be doing in their home for the next few hours. What will you be looking for?.... What will your findings do to their sale? Now take that same Seller and multiply their preoccupation by tenfold. Not only was I to be visually looking at their home, but I also had the joy of probing their perfect 5-year-old home like a pin cushion.
The Sellers of this Evanston home were in their late 60's and were preparing themselves to sell their home and go on an LDS Church mission. All of the dominoes were set up for a successful transaction with the exception of Michael Leavitt's professional opinion. With a few keystrokes in my computer I could either allow the transaction to flow smoothly, or I could blow the transaction out of the water...... The pressure was quickly applied as I drove up to the property and met the Listing Agent, his Sellers and the Buyer's Agent. The tension was very thick as I spent the first 20 minutes educating the interested parties about the EIFS product, its strengths and weaknesses, and what my inspection procedure would be.
It was strange because the actual party that I was doing the evaluation for was not even present. They were still out of state and being represented only by their Agent. I have found that a big portion of the EIFS evaluation is spent in the education process for everybody involved. That is a big difference between EIFS and traditional Home Inspections. It goes with the job and it is extremely important to gain the confidence of all interested parties. The confidence part is necessary because within 2 hours of the introduction will come the harsh summarization of the findings. Without a doubt there will be harsh observations of the blatant disreguard for the Manufacturer's installation specs. Realizing this, I am always patient with the Sellers. Each Seller I have encountered thus far with EIFS is not wanting me to lie and say that everything is wonderful. Instead, each is concerned with the truth about their EIFS installation. Each wishes that I had been there to point out the installation flaws at the time of the home's construction. Each finding I share turns on the light bulb that says.... "That is so blatantly obvious...... How could they have not done that in the first place?"
My EIFS Moisture Intrusion Evaluation shattered the myths and falsehoods being spread by Wyoming General Contractors and EIFS Applicators. They have been assuring Buyers for years that moisture intrusion is not an issue in Wyoming. This has now been proven to be a lie.
Let's consider for a moment the factors involved......
Those of you familiar with EIFS evaluations know that this spells "WATER INTRUSION" if given enough time. Of course the EIFS Applicator says.... "That is the way we have always done it here and there has never been any reports of moisture in the walls."
This picture shows a deck with the ledger board mounted directly to an EIFS clad wall (That's right.... The ledger board was installed directly on top of the EIFS). I noticed a saturated ledger board from the melting drifted snow, but I found no obvious moisture damage just by looking at the wall. It wasn't until I looked down on the foundation 8'' below the deck that I knew we had an issue. The foundation was wet in a 3' wide section and the moisture was coming out from behind the EIFS...... INSPECTOR'S NOTE: Always look for wet foundations with dry EIFS surfaces immediately above.... This is a sure sign of water entry into the system.
The second area of concern was the lack of divertor flashing on the roof. In the photo you will notice that the roof and gutter but up to a vertical EIFS clad wall. The wind driven rain wants to flow around the end cap on the gutter and can saturate the wall below. Stains were visible on the 4" window detailing immediately below the gutter, yet the wall surrounding the window was dry. Then I took a closer look at the lower right corner of the window detailing. The corner has a hairline crack on the outer corner of the detailing. Running down the wall were frozen finger trails of water. The sun had warmed the wall well enough that there was a little stream of misty water coming out of the hairline crack.
Half of the same window sat over a bay window set-up where the second story overhung the main floor by about 16". The underside of this bay extension was clad with aluminum siding. The siding/EIFS joint was also wet. It looked like the water was entering the EIFS along the flat horizontal lip on the window trim. The water was running through the wall around the window and looking for escape below...... Once again, the scary part for the Home Inspector is if they were not able to identify this as EIFS cladding they would have said that the Stucco was in Good overall condition. This would have been accurate on the surface only..... The exterior surface looked to be in almost perfect condition. Once again...... If you don't know how to identify EIFS, I strongly recommend that you attend the EIFS presentation at the Portland AII™ Conference. If you can't make that one, then you should find one somewhere....... Don't misidentify this product or it will come back to get you.
If I were performing a traditional Home Inspection the report would have said something like this..... "This home is clad with what appears to be a modern Exterior Insulation Finishing System (EIFS). These systems have been identified to be prone to leakage. Evaluating this system for moisture intrusion is beyond the scope of this inspection. It is strongly recommended that you have the exterior cladding of this home further evaluated by an EIFS Moisture Intrusion specialist to identify correct installation details and any water entry/damage to the home. I observed a lack of divertor flashing, flat horizontal EIFS surfaces, no sealant at doors/windows, and a lack of flashing at the ledger boards of all 3 decks. Moisture LEAKAGE was observed running out from behind the EIFS cladding and onto the foundation under the rear upper deck. Moisture was also spraying out of the corner of the south living room bay widow trim. This indicates water entry into the system and immediate evaluation/repair is recommended. The full extent of the damage is unknown."
The news of this EIFS Moisture Intrusion Evaluation in Evanston, Wyoming is now running quickly through the State. It is sad news for EIFS Applicators, but maybe this will help to bring about a change of attitude from the Agents, Sellers and Buyers. The truth of the status of EIFS cladding in arid climates is that moisture gets inside the walls with low relative humidity the same way it gets inside in extremely humid climates. I think that the quickness of wall rot is less in arid climates, but the formula Time + Moisture = Damage still holds true.
Hi Michael, Several of the Washington AII™ members got together in the Seattle area. We talked about starting a Washington Chapter. Members attending from left to right are: James Corbin of Certified Home Inspection Service, Roy Brown of Puget Basin Home Inspectors, Frederick Corlis of Twin Rivers Inspection, LTD., Chuck and Anne Fair of Fair Home Inspection, and Mark Daughtry of Cascade West Home Inspections. Picture compliments of my new digital camera. Chuck Fair - Fair Home Inspection
Congratulations on your new digital camera purchase, Chuck. The Inspectors in the photo are great men. The woman in the photo is Anne Fair. Anne is the main support of Fair Home Inspections (No offense Chuck).
Last week's Photo Challenge #5 drew several responses. The clarity of the photo was not that great and it left some of you confused as to what you were actually looking at.
Our Photo Challenge originator, Ken Ives responded.....
Michael, Even when clicking on the photo to enlarge, it is a little difficult, but it appears that this is an electric fireplace.
No real wood burning here. If the electrical outlet was wired properly, then there doesn't appear to be a reportable condition. Ken Ives - Sacramento, Ca
When Ken couldn't figure it out I knew that the rest of you were probably struggling with it, too. Clay Higgins restored my faith in the group with.....
Michael: What is this ? It appears to be some sort of homemade heater in a "fireplace" in a converted attic. I heard of strange things from parts of Utah, but this ! As you said, Harvey Homeowner! Clay Higgins - CA
Jim Corbin caught the true vision with.....
Looks like a gas log; installed by by "less than professional" methods. It is surrounded by combustible material, inadequate clearance from surrounding enclosure, no ventilation of heat and (I would guess) less than adequate chimney. Recommend evaluation by professional technician before use. I have not seen this type of installation. I have seen inadequate clearances but not this. I would also mention that the homeowner insurance coverage is at risk with this type of installation. A certificate of inspection would, no doubt, be required. I had to send in photos of my installation along with a certificate before the homeowners insurance would be granted. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Steve Bradley was also on the right track with....
Very creative home owner. It appears to be a gas log type fireplace without a hearth, utilizing a wood draft diverter and sheild. Unable to tell in the picture if there is a valve and flex pipe, either old or new style. This is "Hazard" in its present state. Wonder if their Ins. Co. knowes of the installation? By the way Michael are there building standards in this area? The doors appear to prevent backdrafting when the unit is not in use. Steve Bradley - Oregon
I wish that I had taken more shots of the installation of this gas log set. The homeowner clearly built the brick box all by himself with plain old exterior brick. He unsafely modified gas to the area. Just inside the wood that you see above the logs was a crudely fabricated sheet metal box that directed the exhaust fumes out an exterior dryer type vent. I could have written a 14 page report on this installation alone, but I kept it simple...... "This gas log fireplace installation is a FIRE HAZARD and should be aborted and removed for safety."
I promised those of you visionary Inspectors out there who are computerizing that there would be many great changes within the handheld computers here in the first year of the new Millenium. The latest news is the soon to be released new Palm sized computer Operating System (OS) from Microsoft. Firstly, they are changing the name of the smallest Palm-sized computers to Pocket PC's. Hardware improvements have yet to be announced, but the OS has been pre-released for review by many private parties.
I was most impressed with the review from the "WIREDGUY.COM" regarding the new OS named Rapier. Microsoft has successfully sped up many of the aspects of the OS and added many features that are currently missing from the current OS. They even gave some thought to the needed layout changes once you start holding the small unit in your hand and use your hand and stylus to input the information. The current OS works, but leads to many unnecessary glitches. The newer OS appears to be well thought out and will increase the respect for this newer computer platform.
The WIREDGUY.COM review can be found at: http://www.wiredguy.com/reviews/sr/pocketpc/ in its entirety. I will share some excerpts here to whet your appetite.
Pocket PC OS (Rapier) - By Richard Kettner - Staff Writer, WiredGuy.com March 23, 2000
Everybody has been talking about the next Windows CE operating system. Some Palm users think that Windows CE is just too complicated for the average mobile user, while others think that it's just too slow for today's market. Well, Microsoft has been working on this new OS (code named Rapier) for a while, and I can assure you it is a beauty.
First of all, Microsoft cleaned up the OS. They took out all 3D effects (buttons, icons, etc.). They made this change to provide the user with more screen space, and faster loading time........
.......The start menu is no longer in the bottom left corner, however it isn't gone entirely. The start menu is now located in the upper left corner. It is hidden while you are in most applications. For example, look at the screen shots below. The word "Start" is replaced with the name of the application you are currently using (right image). With one tap it will revert back to the word "Start" and open the menu.
One reason Microsoft may have done this is to better notify the user as to what application they are using. In the previous OS (Wyvern), there was no title bar letting you know what application you were in. This has been added, but takes up no additional space as the Start menu is integrated into it..........
........The menus no longer have the space consuming 3D effects, and are now along the bottom bar (where the Start Menu used to be). The location of the new menu bars has a more thought put into it then you might think. When I first saw it I thought it was odd, why swap the start menu with the application menus? Well, Microsoft did this to allow you to view your work while selecting a menu. When you go to tap a menu, you don't want your hand covering the screen. You want to be able to see what you are doing, and thus the application menus are now at the bottom. The Start menu was moved to the top of the screen because Microsoft found that people read most naturally from top to bottom, left to right. Another possible reason is because you do not need to view your work while taping the start menu.
Ok, so you have read through the Introduction to the new OS, and understand that Microsoft has remove 3D effects, and simplified the menu layouts. Well, what about speed? Have they made the OS perform better? The short answer is yes, they have sped up the OS significantly.
You want stats? How about the stats below. The first column is the current Palm-size PCs (Wyvern), and the second column is the new Pocket PCs (Rapier).
...that's right, Microsoft has sped up the all key parts of the OS significantly. This means more convenience and efficiency for you. You can get to the application you need much quicker. Not only have they made the OS perform better, they have simplified the start menu to allow you to access your last 6 applications faster. Take a look at the screen shot below, taken on a grayscale Pocket PC device. You will notice 6 icons along the top of the start menu. This are the icons of the last 6 applications you have used. Tap on one, and you are right back into it.
Overall, I think Microsoft has made a vast improvement since their Palm-size PC (Wyvern) Operating System. They have simplified many of the features, and sped up the software significantly. Unfortunately until we can take a look at the hardware, we don't really know exactly how each manufacturer's units will compare to their competition in size, speed, or memory. I think that as long as Microsoft's partners (Compaq, Casio, Symbol, and Hewlet Packard) have a similar level of improvement to that of the Operating System, the Pocket PCs will be the PDA to own.
What does this mean for Palm? Will the new Pocket PCs capture a larger portion of the market share? No one knows for certain, but this is a step in the right direction. Obviously nothing is going to happen overnight. I'm sure Palm has their own surprises for us, but this step is a win for the PDA team at Microsoft.......
I have developwed a great deal of respect for the folks at www.WIREDGUY.com in recent months and have found their reviews to be very accurate. I encourage you to visit their site and read their review firsthand. They have just added over 50 more pictures of Rapier screen shots. The big question is will Rapier function well on machines that are currently in use. I have found no opinions that lead me to believe that Rapier will not easily load onto the current Palmtop machines on the market. The intriguing promise is that the machines are going to get even smaller, faster and lighter.
This week's AII™ Photo Challenge comes from my own digital camera on the same Nightmare Inspection as last week's MMM gas log fireplace in Mapleton, Utah. With that caliber of Harvey Homeowner in mind, see how many things that you can identify out of whack with this electrical subpanel.
If it makes any difference, the picture was snapped outside of the old kitchen pantry that was converted to a service closet. The room was big enough for an avocado green forced air heating system and one of 3 electrical subpanels.
"What do ya think?"
Your Name:
Next week's MMM will include a Road Test Review of the Compaq Aero 1530. This is the LED screened palmtop machine that boast easy outdoor screen vision, 14 hour battery life, more onboard software, and half the thickness of the color screened Casio unit that I have currently been using. My first out of the box thoughts of the machine are....
DATES: APRIL 28-30, 2000
PLACE: AIRPORT HOLIDAY INN - PORTLAND, OREGON
SPOUSES: We also encourage you to bring your spouse. We have a policy that spouses may attend at no additional fee - just let us know when you register if your spouse is going to join you.
GET YOUR CREDITS ! - Attendance at the presentations qualifies for Continuing Education Credits with the State of Oregon, A.I.I.™, and other home inspection associations.
SCHEDULE: Go to the AII™ website for details and schedule.
REGISTRATION: Don't delay.... The early bird registration expires at the end of this week. Go to the AII™ website for details.
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