Thread: What's your best find of the Week? 10.08.2010

Here's mine. Absolutely shocking!

rick

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C'mon now Rick, that isn't for real is it?!
I've got nothing to compare to that.

5' high washing machine drain in a basement and it is connected directly to the main line!

Geeze Rick,

That's a tough one to match. I have the following submissions

1) Knob & tube wiring stapled to the framing... No, not good enough.
2) Splices... No, too common.
3) Rusted-out draft hood... Nah, too slow of a kill.
4 & 5) How about "inspector overload"?

Incredible.

Both items on the same house..........

25 ft tall galvanized vent pipe broke off in crawlspace and dropped three feet and stuck into the ground.
It still had about 7 feet above the roof sticking up to clear some windows.


95 yr house, single brick foundation wall with no perimeter pier bowing outwards and took the band joist with it. Problem is, a large beam was just end nailed to the band and is about to come loose if it moves another inch.

I found this 60 year old truck. The door handles were really worn out.

Then there was the 70 yr old crawlspace. 3 wasp nests, one beside the entrance hatch, some lovely rodent mess and some respectable piles of ant frass.

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Here's mine. Absolutely shocking!

rick

Is that one of the time saving tips from another thread? Shave while in the shower! (I won't even post mine )

Here's a few more from the house with the receptacle on the tub wall.

Check out the gas valve that is located in the return air space.

rick

Stiff competition here for sure.... here are a couple that are worthy of a look

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Here's a few more from the house with the receptacle on the tub wall.

Check out the gas valve that is located in the return air space.

rick

What am I looking for on the fireplace, is that wood inside?

You would have thought that guy has only one house. Well he has a vacation house also

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

What am I looking for on the fireplace, is that wood inside?

Yes it is wood paneling. And my buyer couldn't understand why you couldn't build a fire in it.

rick

I guess some people need more than coffee to wake them up in the mornings

Gunnar, that looks like a report from hell.

This is a great thread. I think IN should devote a category to this so we can have the finds of the week every week.

I can't match some of those this week, but here is mine.

Finding my business card from 2001 in an electrial panel at yesterday's inspection.
And the orange tape in the crawlspace on the stuff I called out then, but they didn't fix.

Jack, when you drove up, did you remember the house

NO, not really. I have inspected lots of homes on this street over the years. This was nine years ago. But I could tell that a bunch of the stuff I found was probably on my original report (it was new construction in 2001).
I haven't looked it up.

I really didn't "find" this because it was kinda obvious but this is the well water at the house I inspected yesterday. At the inspection the buyers were not concerned but today they sent me a email that indicated they realize they could have an expensive problem to fix. Reality check it seems after they read the report.

I have seen the Inspectors Business card in the panel before. Can someone give a good reason for doing that? It certainly isnt marketing??

Originally Posted by Paul Kondzich

I have seen the Inspectors Business card in the panel before. Can someone give a good reason for doing that? It certainly isnt marketing??

.
Proof You Opened The Panel.
* look for a date written on the back.
.

Originally Posted by Billy Stephens

.
Proof You Opened The Panel.
* look for a date written on the back.
.

OK if you say so...Or a pic inserted in the report that shows you opened the panel. Must just be me.

It can also alert you that you have inspected the house before. When you've done thousands, you are bound to inspect quite a few more than once.

On the subject, here is my latest find.

It has been an interesting week, here are some from todays duplex. I think I need to send them to the show Hoarders.

Oh where to start:

The obligatory marijuana stashes
The sleeping naked woman (agent opened it up)
The partial meth lab in the attic that the parents knew nothing about
The pit bull in the bathroom with the door closed that never made a sound
The $75,000 in the attic that the owner did not know about (no reward by the way)
The exotic birds given free run of the house

But what other job gives you an open door to how the rest of out world lives? And get paid to witness it!

JLMathis

The exotic birds reminds me of a couple of encounters. At one the bird kept following me around saying "What ya doin, What ya doin" About drove me nuts. On another they had an African Grey that could mimick anything. i tested the microwave and after I turned it off I kept hearing this beep, beep, beep. I went back to the micro about 3 times before I figured out it was damn bird. It sounded exactly like the microwave. He could laugh just like his owner too. The owner said he could mimic any sound he heard. I wanted to buy one after that until I found out that they live for like 70 years and I will be long gone by the time it would be half that age.

The stuff buyers really pay us to find. Missing kick out diverter flashing has rotted out about four feet of the rim joist over the last 16 years.

I'm too lazy to upload the individual pictures but here's a PDF of the six pictures on one page.

I was curious to find out the source of the leak. The drywall in the ceiling to this poorly constructed shower stall was already damaged and it would have to come down. I went ahead and pulled through the opening with a claw hammer to find a nail that someone hammered into the unprotected pipe. I exercised good judgment as I very rarely do anything considered "destructive". This REO house needed an extreme interior makeover.

Sometimes... people are.... well... just so dang CREATIVE...

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

Sometimes... people are.... well... just so dang CREATIVE...

That would be the "speed bump" trap

Dryer vent had probably blown loose 10+ years ago... oh how those carpenter ants love that warm moist air.

I wish I could say this a "great find" but it was pretty easy. Stevie Wonder could have found the ball of sawdust

I pulled on some blinds that surrounded a rea pool patio area and this fell out from above it. It was just a little sleepy and just wanted to get back in the dark

Ted,

I know you know that those will bite the hell out of you and can be rabid. Gloves would be a good idea if your going to handle them.

rick

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Ted,

I know you know that those will bite the hell out of you and can be rabid. Gloves would be a good idea if your going to handle them.

rick

I know. I was watching him intently. He was still half unconscious from falling 10 straight on his head. I put him on the bush and when he finally woke up he crawled in behind those dead leaves and hung upside down.

I have been in rooms full of them all garbed up. Covered or not, when there are hundreds flying around and at you it is pretty hair raising. I was in Stephenville a couple years ago trying to find out where a bunch of Mexican bats were hiding and how they were getting in. The whole floor was boarded up on the second floor. When I finally got to the end of the building I turned the corner and there were countless bats hanging on some ceiling mesh. When I turned to leave I knocked the flashlight out of my hands and killed it. I had to make my way out the end of the building and down the stairs in the pitch black with all of them all around me.

Originally Posted by Ted Menelly

I was in Stephenville a couple years ago trying to find out where a bunch of Mexican bats were hiding and how they were getting in.

I guess we can't keep bats from crossing the border either

Ted,

If you've never been to Austin on the Congress St. Bridge and seen the bats you should make the trip sometime. There is litterally hundreds of people who line up on the bridge and on the hillside to watch the bats leave out from under the bridge to go have their mosquito feast.

Check out those teeth.

rick

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Check out those teeth.

rick

And they tell us that bats eat mosquitoes and fruit. Yeah right, except on the nights when they're out for blood!

Matt, those are textbook ant pic. Thanks for that.

My funny find of this week - Mr Handy did all his own plumbing.
It took 3 pics to get the first one. A long bad slope to an S-trap in the wall.

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Ted,

I know you know that those will bite the hell out of you and can be rabid. Gloves would be a good idea if your going to handle them.

rick

A few years ago my daughter worked at the River Banks Zoo in Columbia SC. She was a zoo keeper in small mammals and took care of the African Bat exhibit. If anyone was bitten by a Bat, the whole colony would have to be killed. In order to be in the exhibit with the bats, all of the personnel had to be given the rabies vaccine to keep from having to destroy the colony if anyone was bitten.

I had always thought the shots were given into the stomach and were very painful. When she first told me she had to get the shots, I felt like someone had pulled my jock strap over my head. She said they were similar to getting a flu shot, just a whole lot more expensive.

From what I have heard, you can catch a lot of other diseases just from the Bat guano.

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

A few years ago my daughter worked at the River Banks Zoo in Columbia SC. She was a zoo keeper in small mammals and took care of the African Bat exhibit. If anyone was bitten by a Bat, the whole colony would have to be killed. In order to be in the exhibit with the bats, all of the personnel had to be given the rabies vaccine to keep from having to destroy the colony if anyone was bitten.

I had always thought the shots were given into the stomach and were very painful. When she first told me she had to get the shots, I felt like someone had pulled my jock strap over my head. She said they were similar to getting a flu shot, just a whole lot more expensive.

From what I have heard, you can catch a lot of other diseases just from the Bat guano.

Bats are nasty and yes, they can have rabies. I should have had gloves on but the darn thing was knocked out at first. I already had the camera in one hand. Watched him like crazy while I just barely held its fur and then placed him on the bush. It took a few minutes for him to come out of it and then hid.

I have never been to Austin but I have seen them coming out of a cave once, and buildings countless times. It was not a large colony from the cave. I do plan on going to Austin one of these days.

Well since the question wasn't limited to inspections, mine was out in Nevada. I am still trying to figure out why we came back home.

Don't stand under the tree in a lightening storm



Don't walk thru the bushes without a stick in front of you

An electrician was one of the previous owners. Looked like he brought various things home from work and installed them. There were sub panels all over the house. Never seen anything like it. There was a service disconnect in the garage. Some of the down leg panels did not have separation of grounds and neutrals. It wasn't fun to inspect.

Originally Posted by John Dirks Jr

An electrician was one of the previous owners. Looked like he brought various things home from work and installed them. There were sub panels all over the house. Never seen anything like it. There was a service disconnect in the garage. Some of the down leg panels did not have separation of grounds and neutrals. It wasn't fun to inspect.

Lucky you found a fault before your screwdriver died.
I'm sure Mr. Sparky thought he was adding value to the place.

Originally Posted by John Dirks Jr

An electrician was one of the previous owners. Looked like he brought various things home from work and installed them. There were sub panels all over the house. Never seen anything like it. There was a service disconnect in the garage. Some of the down leg panels did not have separation of grounds and neutrals. It wasn't fun to inspect.

Reminds me of the old Johnny Cash song about the auto plant worker that stole an entire car piece by piece in his lunch bucket that consisted of several different years and models of cars. That is a real beauty alright.

YouTube - johnny cash-one piece at a time

That's a real good example of the question of "where to draw the line". IMO it's just not reasonable to expect HI's to extensively inspect and document "unconventional systems or components" for the price of a normal home inspection., even assuming that (as in this case) it's "possible" for them do so.

Finds from yesterday at a Plumbers home. His wife said she was not surprised.

rick

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Finds from yesterday at a Plumbers home. His wife said she was not surprised.

rick

If I kept getting inspections like that I would think the Realtor didn't like me .

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

That's a real good example of the question of "where to draw the line". IMO it's just not reasonable to expect HI's to extensively inspect and document "unconventional systems or components" for the price of a normal home inspection., even assuming that (as in this case) it's "possible" for them do so.

Couldn't agree more... Get somebody else to sort it out... it's just way beyond what I'm being paid to do.

Wind stripped cap on EIFS clad wall, AND dumbest rooftop deck's door threshold ever... (water intrusion was present at floor at interior of door).

Electric panel in a garage storage cabinet... complete with flammable bags of blankets.

The kicker is the county permit sticker stuck to the wall next to it. Presumably, it would be on the panel cover door..... if it had one

I often wonder if my county is even aware the code book exists.... for uses other than a doorstop.

We don't need no stinkin hearth extension she said.

rick

Originally Posted by Matt Fellman

Electric panel in a garage storage cabinet... complete with flammable bags of blankets.

The kicker is the county permit sticker stuck to the wall next to it. Presumably, it would be on the panel cover door..... if it had one

I often wonder if my county is even aware the code book exists.... for uses other than a doorstop.

hey genius,
did the thought ever enter your head that another genius built the closet after the sticker was put on by the county? probably not!

Originally Posted by brian schmitt

hey genius,
did the thought ever enter your head that another genius built the closet after the sticker was put on by the county? probably not!

Sticker from the county was 2005 and for a new circuit for a furnace and a/c unit.... writing on the cabinet doors had the panel labeling on it.... also, wouldn't they have put the permit sticker on the door..... if it had one??????

Originally Posted by Matt Fellman

Sticker from the county was 2005 and for a new circuit for a furnace and a/c unit.... writing on the cabinet doors had the panel labeling on it

You got the cover off without disturbing all that crap in the cupboard - good job.

I had a condo last year, the cabinet in front of the panel had a back on it, and it was stuffed full of canned goods and canning jars. I went back a few days later, after the sellers had emptied the cabinet and pulled it out so I could check the panel. PITA for everybody and it's also wrong!

Originally Posted by Matt Fellman

Sticker from the county was 2005 and for a new circuit for a furnace and a/c unit.... writing on the cabinet doors had the panel labeling on it.... also, wouldn't they have put the permit sticker on the door..... if it had one??????

matt,
i finaled a house that had a sub-panel in a pantry closet that had all the code complying clearances. one year later i went back for a generator transfer switch install and had to look at the same sub-panel . damn if there wasn't shelves full of canned food built completely blocking the panel. they were gone before i finaled the install, but i would be an idiot if i thought they were still gone. stupid people will do what stupid people do. it isn't always the ahj that is negligent. i could slam some incompetent home inspectors but what good would that do in the scheme of things? like Rodney King said" why can't we all get along"?

Nice use of a skylight for a cricket.

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Nice use of a skylight for a cricket.

That's a chimney fire monitor .

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

That's a chimney fire monitor .

Or a trap for Santa Claus.

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Finds from yesterday at a Plumbers home. His wife said she was not surprised.

rick

Love the coffee filter system

Deck blocks the garage entry. What a deal!
Could not get a Honda Element into the garage.

Agent just happend to be on the deck when I took pic .

The American Indian thought there soul would be captured in a picture. I wonder what this means?

Originally Posted by Ted Williams

Love the coffee filter system

I had to look back at what you were talking about but I think what you are seeing are sheet metal termite/rodent shields common on older homes here. I doubt Rick's guy would go to that much trouble!

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

Agent just happend to be on the deck when I took pic .

The American Indian thought there soul would be captured in a picture. I wonder what this means?

No worries, probably has already sold his.

"The water heater? It's behind that green panel."

It was a wild day as we followed this bobcat from the backyard from behind the pool fence around to the front of the home. He was not scared a bit of us.

rick