How far above SOP do you go?
posted on July 18, 2008 09:08:34 am
Hello, I'm currently attending HI school and would like some input from experienced Home Inspectors. I've been taught that the SOPs are a minimal standard and its up to me how far above these I should go. What I would like to know is how far do you go when inspecting a home? I'm talking about things like moving a ceiling tile to check on a leak or removing a cover plate to see the wiring behind it. I would like to offer a litter more than the bare minimal in my inspections. For an example,this week we are learning about the electrical system so I brought in a newly purchased clamp meter so my instructor could show me how to use it. He looked at it and said he never uses it and didn't know anything about them. This was from a guy with over 15 years experience in home inspecting. Did I waste my money on it? Any input or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Wye
posted on July 18, 2008 12:24:38 am
The vent for the gas-fired water heater (located in a closet on the main level) connects to the B-Vent for the furnace (located in the crawlspace). Instead of installing a Wye the installer simply cut a hole into the B-Vent for the vent connector. (He did a reasonably good job of it too.) Obviously, the B-Vent has been compromised by cutting it. And the connection is subject to leakage. The owner (my client) did not know when or why this was done. (The water heater was installed before she moved in.) I can only guess that maybe the original water heater was electric and did not need a vent. When a gas-fired water heater was eventually installed (and needed to be vented) the installer took the easiest - and most direct route - by cutting into the existing B-Vent. No, the water heater was not installed with a permit.

Counter flashing at chimney
posted on July 17, 2008 07:13:54 pm
I would like a second opinion on the short counter flashing. It seems to me that counter flashing should be longer and extend out over the top course or shingles.

Got thrown out of a house yesterday
posted on July 17, 2008 06:07:28 pm
Pretty nice house overall. Seller and client were there and followed me around. I found some stuff like a leaking drain on a water heater, a GFCI that didn't work, and some damaged shingles. Seller was all over taking care of it, no problem. I then found a gas water heater and gas furnace in a closet inside the laundry room. Solid doors, no combustion air except that might be in the 6x12 room. I explained to my client that an easy fix would be to put the two ducts into the attic to bring combustion air in. Not a big deal. An hour or so later, I am in the kitchen putting the photos into the report and finishing it up. The seller says something about he isn't sure combustion air was required when this house was built (1999). I tell him it was. He then goes a little further saying that every house in his sub division is like this, so it had to be right, and the County already passed it. I tell him that I really didn't care about the other houses, I was only inspecting this one, and I was hired by my client to tell him what was wrong. I really didn't care if he fixed it or not, it wasn't up to me. He the pushed a little harder, and how come the county inspector didn't say anything. I told him that the county inspector didn't say anything because: they didn't know what was right, they were paid off by the builder, they didn't bother looking, or who knows, there are hundreds of reasons why they didn't mention it. I then noticed he had a compnany shirt from a major manufacturing company. I said, "What about when someone buys a part from AJAX Co. and it's bad. How did that happen? It was inspected I'm sure, probably has a stamp that says it was inspected by #24 - yet there is a bad part." At that point he walk by me and said it was time for me to go. My client and I just looked at each other. Then I left. WOW

Not performing as designed
posted on July 17, 2008 05:16:36 pm
I'd like to hear your comments on this: at what point do you say a foundation is not performing as designed? 1) Any cracks at all in the masonry, 2) masonry and sheetrock cracks, 3) cracks in both, plus out of square doors, 4) all of the above in a major way plus sloping floors?

Exhaust fan is shower
posted on July 17, 2008 04:03:21 pm
Are powered exhaust fans permitted in ceilings of showers. This one was not even GFI protected. Rich

Question Re Dryer Vent / Exhaust Requirement
posted on July 17, 2008 04:03:15 pm
The first question is simply, is it required that a washer and dryer and connection have a vent / exhaust hookup for a W/D room located in the house? I have someone telling me that it's not mandatory. All I've been able to find via searching is requirements for them but not if they are required to start with. Thanks!

Vent under deck
posted on July 17, 2008 03:34:27 pm
This is a 17 year old Janitrol 80% gas heating unit vent under a composite deck. I cannot find any info stating this is acceptable. This install was approved by the building official. Rich

Copper to aluminum connector
posted on July 17, 2008 03:27:42 pm
Is there a specific color connector used when pigtailing copper to aluminum. Over the past week I have seen purple and red. Rich

Jerry Breaks 6000!
posted on July 17, 2008 03:02:58 pm
Jerry Congratulations on breaking the 6,000 post mark. You're a great help to us all.

3 way switch at stairways.
posted on July 17, 2008 01:28:18 pm
Can anyone quote me the NEC code regarding 3 way switch at the top and bottom of stairs. Is there any limitation on that, such as 3 or more risers, etc?

Lights and receptacles on same circuit
posted on July 17, 2008 12:35:11 pm
Second floor was just finished off this year on a 1996 built home. It was an unfinished second floor when built. The receptacles and the lights are on the same circuit. I thought lighting and wall receptacles where on the there own dedicated circuits. Is it required? Thanks

Ceiling height
posted on July 17, 2008 12:28:04 pm
Home had the 2nd floor finished off recently which was not when the home was constructed. When you enter through the door into a finished bonus room above the garage it dog legs around to the room. At the entrance the ceiling slopes off which when you enter you have to walk along the wall to after you pass the valley rafter. Is there amount of space that is required at the entrance to the room? By the photo's does it look right to you? Thanks

Water Heater sizing
posted on July 17, 2008 12:14:24 pm
This may have been a subject before but I could not find anything. Three bedroom house with 2 full baths. Had a gas direct vent water heater size unknown because it was replaced with a 40 Gal electric water heater when the upstairs was finished off. They added another bedroom and bathroom upstairs. So the home is now 4 bedroom and 3 full baths. One bath has garden tub. A 40 gal. WH is undersized is it not? By what means do they calculate the size of a water heater for a home. Is there anything written? Thanks

Need help, client here. Was I wronged?
posted on July 17, 2008 11:46:15 am
Hi everyone, I haven't seen too many posts from clients so if i'm out of line coming here and asking this question, then let me know and i'll delete it or have the mods remove it. I just wanted some opinions from other inspectors as to whether my inspector acted negligent. This will be lenghty, so I apologize in advance. We bought our house in July of last year. One of my reservations about this house was the slope of the front yard from the road to the house. The front yard is probably 30 feet deep..approximately. As far as the slope, if you are standing on our front porch, the road level is probably equal to your knee or just below. When i'm checking my mail, its obvious that you walk uphill to get it. There was a small 12x12 drain just off the corner of the front porch. It had a pipe that ran north (the house faced east) and then west and emptied into the back yard. The slope of the yard was so that it sloped steadily towards the house until about 1 feet or so from the house where it was relatively level. By the way, we have no curb, just pavement onto the grass. My realtor asked if I had an inspector in mind, and I said I didn't know any. So he said he could call one and get one started soon. I agreed and he set up a time for the inspection. I met the inspector at the house and followed him through the whole inspection. He made notes on a notepad and found a few small things (exhaust fan not working, etc.). Out front, I specifically asked him about the slope and drainage. He looked casually at it, looked at the catch basin and said, "If you keep this drain clear you should be fine. Just make sure no leaves build up on it and that the inside is clear." That was all that was said about it, and I could tell he wasn't even going to address it at all because I had to bring it up. Fast forward a month or two later, we had a big thunderstorm with a heavy downfall, within 10 minutes our front porch was underwater and our welcome mat was floating. The drain quickly clogged, so I took off socks/shoes and waded out to clear it. The water receded as the thunderstorm passed and it was alright, except lots of dirt on the front porch. This happened numerous times throughout the next few months. About 2-3 times the water got so deep it was touching the metal threshold of the front door. It never came in, but one storm this April, it was just 4 "notches" on the threshold from coming in. This was with the drain free and clear, as I was obsessed and stood at the door during every thunderstorm. Since it didn't come in the front door, we thought we were okay. However, 2 days later we smelled mildew. Apparently the water was ponding against the side of the house that was lower than the drain and seeped through and got the carpet wet in two rooms (I looked outside the next morning and the water line was at least 1 and 1/2 bricks above the slab). We pulled up the carpet and took several pictures. We contacted a landscape professional, and he could tell immediately that I had a drainage issue and that it would only get worse. Without me disclosing that water had infiltrated the house, he said "Pretty soon after a big rain you'll get water seep through the bricks and into these two rooms". So he knew just by looking at it in less than 3 minutes that there was a potential problem. He quoted me $4,000 to lower the existing drain, add 2 new drains, dig down away from the foundation, put in a retaining wall, french drain, tie in 2 gutters (the gutters emptied uphill, which the water turned around right towards the house), and run it out back to the creek behind the backyard. Then we contacted a lawyer. He wrote a letter to the inspector (as well as the real estate company and the previous owners) demanding compensation to pay for the damages and costs to prevent it from happening again. He got a call from my inspector who left a message, who he then tried to call back and left a message but never heard from the inspector again. Now, after the inspection...we stood around in my kitchen and he briefly went over the things he found and said, "Alright, well i'll type up a report and get it over to the title company. I'll send them the bill and they'll just collect the fee at closing. Sound good? Thanks". So, I never saw a report at all, not even at closing because I didn't have to sign it (I didn't even have a copy in all of my paperwork afterwards). I just looked over and read the things that were put in front of me to sign. The only time I saw the report was after all of this happened and I called my real estate agent who faxed me over a copy. Thats when I saw his "limitation" on the front that said something to the effect of, "This is not a warranty or gaurantee of any kind. My limit of liability equals to that of the amount paid for my service, and acceptance of this report and payment for service constitutes acceptance of this limitation." I can't see how that is enforceable. Otherwise, what is the point of hiring an inspector if he/she is only liable for the $175 that I paid for the service. Another thing, he is sponsored and even listed as a real estate agent for the real estate company that I used as my agent AND the selling agent. To prevent further damage, we went ahead and had the landscape professional do the needed work to prevent it from happening again. We have since had some good rains and the front porch hasn't even so much as gotten moist. It all works perfectly. The 30 days that he had to pay to come to a settlement have passed and now we are preparing a lawsuit for small claims court. Was he negligent? Am I in the wrong? Any help, ideas, would be greatly appreciated.