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It's is a great day here in Orem, Utah. The health situation is a little better, but who has time to stop and worry about it??? The weeks are flying by and there are only a couple of time slots still available for this work week. I made the mistake of not switching to "3 a day" mode and the schedule is pretty full. Here in Utah they recently modified the standard Real Estate Purchase Contract to require a firm write-in date in which the Inspections must be performed. Little thought has been given to the fact that most deals waste several days in the haggle zone and by the time the offer is agreed upon and accepted the Inspection time frame is down to zippo.
The Utah Agents have not become accustomed to lengthening the Inspection window up front and many clients are disappointed that we can't fit them into the schedule. I feel for them to a point, but my patience for their lack of planning is running short. I received a message on my phone today (Sunday) that let me know that they were referred by a friend and that they really needed an inspection performed by noon on Monday..... Yes, Monday of this week. I'll have to call him and let him know that maybe Monday of next week might be a possibility, but I'm certain that his schedule won't wait...... Oh well..... There goes another $300.=:}
Mark Daughtry.... This is for you!!!...... There is an internet special running through April 14, 2000 (Friday) where you can purchase both Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Publisher for just $145. The website is http://www.alamode.com/ and it is geared towards the Appraisal industry. This is a great deal for those of you who haven't already invested the regular $229 sales price for the Adobe Acrobat alone. I couldn't believe the deal when I heard about it and I was very upset because I spent about $450 to buy the Adobe Acrobat for both my Macintosh and PC and never did get the Adobe Publisher program. I encourage those that are considering the e-mailing of inspection reports to invest in the $145 offer. After Friday the deal is over.
For all of you Mobile Home Inspectors out there I found this interesting fact sheet at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/safety/safehome.htm. It shares some interesting tips to keep your manufactured home from burning to the ground. If any Agents give you any flack for sharing this information with your future clients, just remind them that the Federal Government (via FEMA) has urged us to get these warnings out to those who may ultimately be affected.
Fires in manufactured homes claim the lives of 500 Americans each year and injure 1,000 more. Many of these fires are caused by heating and electrical system malfunctions and improper storage of combustibles.
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) would like consumers to know that there are simple steps you can take to prevent the loss of life and property in home fires.
During a typical year, manufactured homes account for 22,000 fires, hundreds of deaths and $200 million in property losses. An estimated 11 million Americans live in manufactured homes, where fire deaths occur at twice the rate of fire deaths in other types of homes.
Young children account for more than one-fifth of all fire deaths in manufactured homes. A recent study of rural fires showed that smoke alarms were less likely to be present or operating in manufactured homes.
Electrical system malfunctions and heating fires are the leading causes of fire in manufactured homes. Together, they account for one-third of manufactured housing fires. Electrical distribution fires occur nearly twice as often in manufactured homes as in one- and two-family dwellings.
For More Information Contact:
Or visit the USFA website: www.usfa.fema.gov
Now that we have read the guidelines, I am left to wonder why FEMA wasn't more stringent on their recommendations. For example, why didn't they recommend a smoke detector inside each sleeping room??? I was also left to wonder why there are so many more electrical fires in manufactured homes? Are the panels, wiring, and receptacles a more inferior grade??? I can't believe that manufactured home owners modify the electrical any worse than the traditional home owners. The key advice of "If there is a fire - get out immediately..." seemed a little condescending. Can I draw from that sentiment that manufactured home occupants are less than intelligent?
I found some other Manufactured Home electrical guidelines in another government document......
Every year nearly 4,000 Americans die in home fires and more than 25,000 are injured. Electrical fires are one of the leading types of home fires, especially in manufactured homes. By following some simple rules on electrical safety you can reduce the likelihood of an electrical fire in your home.
Studies of electrical fires in homes show that many problems are associated with improper installation of electrical devices by do-it-yourselfers. Common errors that can lead to fires include the use of improperly rated devices such as switches or receptacles and loose connections at these devices. Both can lead to overheating and arcing that can start fires. Fires are still caused by people using the wrong size fuse or even putting a penny behind a fuse when they don't have a spare. These practices are very dangerous. The fuse is a safety device designed to limit the electricity carried by the circuit to a safe level. Electricity and water are a bad combination.
All electrical devices installed outdoors should be specially designed for outdoor use. Outdoor receptacles as well as those in kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere else near water should be the ground fault circuit interrupting type (GFCI).
Light bulbs, especially the newer halogen types, get very hot and can ignite combustible materials that get too close. Clothing or towels should never be placed atop a lampshade and table lamps should not be used without a shade where they might fall over onto a bed or sofa. Most light fixtures are labeled to show the brightest bulb that can be safely used in that fixture; too high a wattage bulb can cause the fixture to overheat and start a fire. Extension cords are a common cause of electrical fires. You must be careful to use only extension cords that are rated for the power used by the device they are powering. Extension cords should never be used as a long term solution to the need for another receptacle. Extension cords must never be run inside walls or under rugs or furniture. Extension cords can get warm in use and must be able to dissipate this heat or they can start a fire.
The insulation on electrical cords can become damaged by wear, flexing, or age. Do not use any cord that is stiff or cracked. Some clues that you may have an electrical problem are :
This Fact Sheet was jointly produced by the U.S. Fire Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building and Fire Research Laboratory. It is in the public domain and can be freely reproduced and distributed.
Last week's Photo Challenge #7 was a pair of interesting photos. No clear obvious condition came to any of the forum except for those Washington State guys. Each one of them harped on about the lack of rain gutters. Don't tell them the truth when you see them in Portland at the end of the month that it doesn't rain everyday in other parts of the world........ Shhhhh..... Keep it a secret!
The "unknown Inspector" (he forgot to sign his name) responded.....
What do I think? I think Ken needs a camera with a zoom feature.
A possibility I see is that maybe the little box thing to the left of the flue pipe is an exhaust vent, and that maybe the proximity of the two is the issue because it can disrupt the proper exhausting of the flue for the appliance.
Or maybe it's the slope of the roof being less than 3:12 so the shingles are not recommended as the roof surface.
Or maybe, ah yes, it is the absence of plumbing vent pipes coming through the roof. That must be it! There are no vent pipes to be seen.
(Caution to Michael: Ken comes up with some obscure conditions. I remember years ago he opened a discussion at a Chapter meeting over the "reportable condition" that the bathtub in a house he looked at was not really a "serviceable" tub because it did not have a stopper, and until the seller got a rubber stopper He, (Ken), could not call the deep-sided water receiving unit a bathtub. I guess it was a deep showerpan. Nathan Buckley from Oregon shared.....
The roof pitch appears to be less than 3:12 recommended for 3-tab compostion shingles. Metal flue pipes are less than 2' above any obstruction in a 10' circumference. The HVAC unit on the roof appears to be designed for commercial applications and may be oversized. Nathan Buckley - OR
Steve Jordan from the wonderful Oregon Coast shared...
I think the composition shingles will get blown off in a good windstorm, as the pitch appears to be less tham 3:12. I also think Ken Ives would not have sent us a second picture if the issue is just shingles--- Steve Jordan - OR
Steve then couldn't resist the second observation...
Michael, I don't think that is a cooling unit on the roof. I must be some kind of a state-of-the-art Oregon rain gauge. Steve Jordan - OR
Jim Corbin also responded with......
Hi Michael, I see lack of gutters and downspouts (needed in my area, anyway); high windows; appears like a boxed in back yard with no gate; Roof A/C I would assume is adequately anchored; roof seems at or less than 3:12, which, for composition roofing is too low (I had one recently and it was a leaker)should be 4:12 minimum; overhanging branches at the roof. Regards, Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Mark Daughtry from Oregon had the confidence to share.....
Hi Michael: I'm not exactly sure what Ken is showing us, but it could be:
Well, Ken succeeded in stumping the forum. There is no consistent overall answer for whatever it is Mr. Ives is trying to show us. So what is the answer Ken??? I hope that his response comes through before this edition of the MMM makes it to all of you.
YEAH!!! Ken did get the response to me in time to make this edition. Ken shared the following.....
Michael: Well, there were some responses that did pick out the reportable items that I was intending to be found. I know that the pictures were a little difficult to view and one response wished that they had been 'zoomed". The zooming wouldn't have been given the perspective necessary.
Mark Daughtry, Nathan Buckley, Steve Jordan and Jim Corbin all chimed in with the response that the roof's pitch appears to be to shallow of a slope for the type of material in use. This house used to have a tar and gravel covering, with about a 2:12 pitch. As we remember in our certification classes, The minimum for this style of material is a 4:12, unless there is some added felt installed, but we as visual inspectors would never see this. Mark also mentioned the lack of gutters. This is mostly important out the side sliding glass door, where gutters are most important, needed at all exterior exit doors.
Clay Higgins came up with the one that I thought most would miss. The two rooms at the far right (or nearest corner) of the house are bedrooms. The older design style in the home put the windows higher that 44 inches, and a few inspectors mentioned this. But Clay also noticed that if the occupants did need to get out of the window and could, they would hit a barrier of lattice screening, limiting their ease of access in an emergency. Good call, Clay!!
This is like filling in your Final Four NCAA bracket sheet the weekend of the final 2 games. It is quite simple and obvious once Ken pointed out the answers. I have to admit that I was stumped as to exactly where Ken was directing us..... It makes it difficult when the answer could be any of 50 different components of the home in a photo...... That is what makes our jobs so difficult. Keep it up Ken!
Mark Daughtry sent along news that affects Pest and Dry Rot Inspectors in Washington state......
New law for WA State pest control operators and Structural Consultants.
This older newstory was shared with me by a client who enjoyed their visit so much to my website that they dug through their news story archives to find me the following account from the Provo Daily Herald Newspaper back in 1995.
18 Wedding Guest Hurt When Balcony Collapses August 27, 1995
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah -- Eighteen wedding reception guests were injured, two of them critically, when a wooden balcony collapsed Saturday Night.
The people were gathered on a backyard deck on a home at 3609 E. Escalade Ave (8730 South) about 9 P.M. when it collapsed, sending people into the oak brushNeighbor Troy Vigil was standing outside the home when he heard a series of pops that sounded like "timber falling."
"I ran out onto the deck after I realized what was happening and people just started screaming," Vigil said.
Six people were taken to area hospitals. Two of them - an elderly woman with a broken femur and a man with internal injuries - were in critical condition.
Twelve others were being treated at the scene for minor injuries.
An investigation is pending, but Morris said there was "possibly a little too much load on the balcony."
The owners of the home declined comment and kept reporters and photographers off the property.
Morris describes the accident as a "lean-to collapse," adding he was uncertain about the age of the balcony.
"It's a real shock, you never something like this to happen," said one neighbor who asked not to be identified. "I entertain on my redwood deck all of the time, but this gives me a whole new worry."
This week's AII™ Photo Challenge comes from my library of interesting photos. When you are inspecting a vacant, 94-year-old house and you find a modified (added) closet like this photo portrays.......
Are you:
It was also nice that the Seller was leaving the new Buyers a vacuum cleaner that matched the closet's carpet. "What do ya think?"
Your Name:
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.... Go to the AII™ website for details.
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