Noah Adams
10-20-2009, 05:41 PM
I'm really just posting this to get rid of the "Our records indicate that you have never posted on InspectionNews!" message.
I'm not a HI, and have no real intentions of becoming one. However, I do a lot of my own work on the house (it's an old house, and I don't have money for a contractor), so the threads are very useful to me. I see a lot of mistakes that I've made in the past, which, although not likely to be dangerous, should be resolved to be code-worthy. I live in a rural area where permits and inspections don't mean much.
I did have my house inspected before I bought it... was a total waste of money, because I hired a contractor who did inspections in the "off season" to make money. I think he was a roofing/siding contractor who didn't like being in the cold. Anyway, I didn't know what I was doing when I hired him... he charged me $50, and told me what "looked wrong". Never tested outlets except to see that there was voltage, never pulled the panel, didn't write up a leaking lead drain pipe (very visible!), and was a complete waste of money, as I ended up going back through after I bought the place and finding tons of dangerous and costly repairs to make.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I was 20, buying my first house, and had no idea what I was doing. I'm 23 and much wiser now, and doing my best to make this house into the house I wanted to buy in the first place...
Thanks to all you guys for your informative threads and detailed pictures and descriptions of problems. I really appreciate it!
I'm not a HI, and have no real intentions of becoming one. However, I do a lot of my own work on the house (it's an old house, and I don't have money for a contractor), so the threads are very useful to me. I see a lot of mistakes that I've made in the past, which, although not likely to be dangerous, should be resolved to be code-worthy. I live in a rural area where permits and inspections don't mean much.
I did have my house inspected before I bought it... was a total waste of money, because I hired a contractor who did inspections in the "off season" to make money. I think he was a roofing/siding contractor who didn't like being in the cold. Anyway, I didn't know what I was doing when I hired him... he charged me $50, and told me what "looked wrong". Never tested outlets except to see that there was voltage, never pulled the panel, didn't write up a leaking lead drain pipe (very visible!), and was a complete waste of money, as I ended up going back through after I bought the place and finding tons of dangerous and costly repairs to make.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I was 20, buying my first house, and had no idea what I was doing. I'm 23 and much wiser now, and doing my best to make this house into the house I wanted to buy in the first place...
Thanks to all you guys for your informative threads and detailed pictures and descriptions of problems. I really appreciate it!