It is a great day here in Orem, Utah. I was able to regain my composure and re-settle into the normal work flow again. All of that traveling and teaching and the pressures of inspecting the huge number of homes that were suddenly needing inspections was overwhelming. Many of you expressed concern for my health and welfare while we visited in Portland. I was very frank with those that inquired of me that I was burning my candle with a blow torch. The past few weeks have forced me to mentally slow down and systematically accomplish the work placed before me. I seem to try to tackle too much..... all of the time.
Shelly and I have been making plans for the future that include a Family Reunion at the beach north of Malibu, a scheduled cruise in September to the Eastern Caribbean with Brent and Mary Foster, and we are trying to figure out when and where to take advantage of our 1 week family timeshare. My brother Jimi is a great vacation planner. Both he and his wife, Madelon, are scheduled to arrive at our place in a few weeks. He planned this months ago, unlike myself who waits until the last minute to plan out 3 day weekends. Other vacations for the future include our acceptance of Bill Schwahn's invitation to go snowmobiling in Montana for Valentine's Day 2001. I am a firm believer that scheduling time-outs for the future helped to give Shelly and I the strength to press forward.
I shared with you last week that upon arriving home from Atlanta that "Hop on Pop" was to be the game of the evening. I was not wrong in that assumption. It was really great to come home to a loving family. In my two weeks away I interacted with lots of Home Inspectors with differing family values. I found them to be in 3 familial categories..... Some had no kids or firm personal attachments. Some had families, kids and lots of their time was devoted to family happiness. The third group boggled my mind..... There are many fellow Inspectors out there who arrange their schedules and their time around their pets. Now this is not a bad thing, but it really caught me off guard. Their devotion to animals seemed to be equal to that of my devotion to my kids. Some of them already have made it through the child-rearing years and they have filled the semi-void with wonderful, loving cats and dogs in between visits of their grandchildren. The ones that amazed me most were those that opted for pets instead of children. That is what makes this a great profession..... We are all so very different, yet we are all engaged in the learning process to be the very best Home Inspectors in our individual marketplaces.
Hi Everyone! I remember when I first became a member of AII™. The first big event was the Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada. I remember I was a little hesitant in going as I did not know anyone and nobody knew me. I was broke and I wasn't even traveling with another member because I was the only one in the Northwest... I live north of Seattle near the Canadian border -sort of at the end of the food chain.
When I arrived at that conference, I think the "being alone" part and the "no one knew me" part lasted about 10 to 15 seconds after I got to the registration desk. Betty and Bill Ball were there, Michael Leavitt was there, Jon Gudnason was there and everyone who was AII™ came up and introduced themselves. I remember Betty Ball just began the introductions and off it went. Soon I was talking shop like I'd been a part of the group for a long time.
The seminar training, presenters and information were outstanding. I was glad I stretched my budget and attended. It is so good to get our AII™ Conference back and in stellar style, too! The same atmosphere and friendliness prevailed and the same high quality meetings and classes were present. Brent Foster, Scott Merritt, Michael Leavitt, Ron Cloyd, Jon Gudnason, and many others did an outstanding job in organization, physical facilities, location and content. The information flow was nonstop. The discussions between everyone were continuous and so informative. Introductions were continuous. New friends were made, former acquaintances were renewed, great food was consumed.
After the Board meeting on Saturday, there were nearly 30 people at dinner that was put together within minutes. We took over one dining room. The restaurant had a new idea of what "quick response to customers" meant. Great time! Thank you to everyone who attended. You capped the whole event and made it all work. I did not talk with one person who was not very impressed with the whole event. The support shown by spouses was also great. Without their support, the inspectors would have a difficult time, don't you think?
I hope each of you will contact others in the inspection business and spread the word about our Fall gathering that will provide superior continuing education opportunities and a great time. I know I will be looking forward to attending. Thank you AII™ Leadership, participators, helpers and supporting spouses. It is good to get back in the swing again. Your efforts deserve the "Gold Ring of Achievement." Thank you. Regards, Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Mark Daughtry also shared.........
Hi all: I just wanted to add my thanks to Brent Foster and Scott Merritt for a job well done. As far as I'm concerned, the Northwest Conference was a HUGE success. I thought the presenters (especially our own) were top notch and I learned a lot from each one.
I'm already looking forward to the next time we all meet again.
So, to everyone that helped to put together the Portland NW Conference, a BIG THANK YOU!
Mark S. Daughtry, in rainy Redmond - Redmond,WA
I am stumped as to why there was not more feedback on last week's Photo Challenge. You must all be swamped with business. I get the feeling that most of the readership are either crawl space or basement specialist as opposed to slab-on-grade specialist. In other words, we are not well-versed in what to look for when evaluating slab-on-grade homes.
Mark Daughtry gave it a shot with.....
I'm not familiar with all the different critters in Georgia, but I wouldn't be too surprised if this condition was either furry or scaly. Just close your eyes and stick your hand in there till you feel something....or is that pipe in that hole?? If it is, better call the plumber or animal control. Mark Daughtry - WA
I think that I was pressuring the group too much for the following information...... 1) What is wrong in this photo 2) What do you do on your inspections to verify the presence of this construction flaw 3) What exactly would you include in your report. Mr. Noel McShane is a dedicated, New Home Inspector from Georgia (not to be confused with a new inspector--he is a veteran). He has an incredible working knowledge base of the "Building Codes" in his area and he uses them thoroughly on his "New Home" evaluations and 1 year "Warranty Inspections."
Noel has captured the "New Home" market in his area because he performs a completely different inspection and reporting style than he would for a re-sale inspection. Noel has learned that performing a "New Home" inspection to the Standards of Practice of any current Inspection Associations is completely inadequate for the consumer. Noel has expressed many times that a "New Home" inspection performed to industry SOPs leaves the consumer unprotected. He feels that the consumer actually needs an independent "Code" watchdog. This disposition upsets nearly every other Home Inspector throughout the nation, but one must understand his marketplace before hanging the Scarlet Letter on him.
While in Atlanta a week ago ,I learned the How's and Whys that Noel has founded his "New Home" Inspection business on. In Georgia, the Builders are required to build the homes to "Code." There are no local variances. This law, in theory, eliminates the ability for Builders to lessen the standards when they are building out in the sticks. Members of the Georgia Association of Home Inspectors must also be "Code Certified" to be members of GAHI. This does not mean that they must quote "Code" in their inspections and reports, but they must be familiar with the "Codes."
One of Noel's pet peeves is the lack of thoroughness by the majority of Home Inspectors in his area. The Photo Challenge photo shows a "Construction Defect" that is not even looked for by Noel's competitors. Noel shares.... Note the brick veneer resting right on dirt with 2" of mortar bed for foundation. This is to present a view of brick going below grade and for the Home Inspectors who don't probe (takes only a few minutes guys) I do find brick without footings regularly, even on resales...... check those footings, ESPECIALLY when there are cracks.
It turns out that this photo occurred on a resale inspection and the home had been inspected by another Inspector when the home was first purchased. So what was originally reported??? The Home Inspector reported that there were typical cracks in the brickwork, but he never took the time to verify if there was adequate support underneath the brickwork.
Let's look closely at the photo again. This is at the corner of the house. Look at the termination of the brickwork in relation to the grade...... That is Reportable Condition #1. The brick is porous and the surface water will surely migrate through the wall. Now look at the thickness of the slab..... Wow!!! The brickwork is resting on 2" of slab. Is it any wonder that there is cracking and settling? That is reportable Condition #2.
I am in agreement with Noel that probing portions of the slab/foundation is not technically exhaustive. This photo also brings to light the regional differences with our profession. In Utah there would need to be at least a 32" footing around the perimeter of the home for the freeze/thaw cycle. I am not sure what is required in Georgia, but I am sure that it is much more substantial than a 2" slab. What is the depth in your area? What is the construction technique required in your area for slab-on-grade houses? Please don't think that there aren't any slab-on-grade homes in your areas. Even here in Utah we have them where the water table is excessively close to the surface.
The bottom line is that we need to be a continuous student of construction techniques in our individual areas. We need to know where and how Builders cut corners so that we can protect our Clients. In Noel McShane's part of the world, this would include the perimeter poking of the foundation on slab-on-grade houses. What are some of the "unique to your area" inspection techniques? Let me share with you one that I have adopted.....
About a year ago, Jon Gudnason shared with the readership the addition to his Inspection Protocol --the use of a water pressure gauge. Jon shared that he was finding many of the homes had excessive water pressure. The AII™ SOP's say that the testing of Water Pressure is beyond the scope of what we do. Knowing this, Jon tests the pressure at the front hose bib and states in his report that this reading was at this hose bib at this time of the day only and that a complete test of the pressure at each fixture is beyond the scope of his evaluations.
Before reading Jon's experiences, I never had tested Water Pressure. I have since made it a part of every inspection. After reading Jon's post I chewed on the information shared and thought hard about my county. We have lots of new housing developments being built in the midst of existing homes. This means that the municipalities are in constant upgrade to provide adequate pressure to the new homes. I then thought about the fact that most older homes did not have pressure regulators installed. It suddenly dawned on me that Water Pressure may just be a huge issue with the increasing main line pressures and the lack of older home pressure regulators.
When I finally made this realization I had to look around to see if their was a big STUPID sign posted on my back. It seemed so obvious, but like a little sheep I had been going along for years strictly following the Standards of Practice without giving enough thought to the bigger picture. The Standards are there to protect us from issues that are clearly beyond our scope of inspection. We were warned (and still are) that we should not use the word "Pressure" when discussing water flow in our reports. Why??? Because we do not want to give the impression that we are accurately testing the water "Pressure" at each and every fixture throughout the house. If we give that impression, then we open up a whole can of new liabilities for which we are not responsible. Instead, we are encouraged to use the words "Water Flow." We are equipped with the tools and knowledge to report on "Water Flow." I follow this guideline to the letter except for the description of the "Water Pressure" test performed at the hose bib on the home.
So what are my findings since I have started testing for excessive pressure? I deserved to have the big STUPID sign on my back for the first few years. Since I started testing the front hose bib "Water Pressure" I now find 3-4 out of 10 homes have excessive readings. It was so bad in the beginning that I went out and got a second gauge because I thought the first one must be faulty because of the numerous high readings. I have been working on the wording of this condition in my reporting and I would appreciate your feedback..... Don't leave me bloody with your comments, but constructive guidance is readily appreciated.
I have a special subheading line in my 3D reports that says "WATER PRESSURE:". If I opt to report that it was tested then it prints out. If I don't, then there is no mention of the topic. I then type in the reading and follow it up with 1 or more of the following statements.......
This week's AII™ Photo Challenge should be much more obvious than last weeks..... That is...... If you are familiar with jetted tubs. I'm interested on your feedback to this photo, but I am also interested in what you report on with jetted tubs. I know the AII™ Standards of Practice do not require the testing of jetted tub systems. I have found that I do look at every aspect of their installations and report accordingly. Do you see anything out of sync in this photo?... 1) What is wrong in this photo? 2) How would you report on this condition? 3) What else do you report on for jetted tubs?
"What do ya think?"
Your Name:
For more information E-MAIL Us