Click-Click-Click and Click again!

[Vern Heiler]

So yesterday morning I was out garage saleing (not sailing with the wife, when "the call" comes! Ya, Vern; you did a home inspection for me two years ago and I have an issue! (turns out it was a little over three years ago, but anyway...) Ya, I'm selling the house and the buyers inspector says there is about 300 feet of insulation missing in the crawlspace, and I'm not happy!

Well there was a moisture issue in the crawlspace, did they remove some of the insulation?

NObody has done anything about moisture in the crawlspace since I have lived here! I have a contractor here and he says the job is too big for him to take care of today. I'll let you digest this over the rest of the weekend and you can tell me what you are going to do about it.

So after I get home I dig up the old photos of the inspection. I only have six pic's of the crawlspace and none are directly of the area he says is missing insulation. One is of the water pressure regulator that might be close, so I call and tell him I will be there with in an hour. He said "today?"

When I arrived the contractor was writing up the estimate and I asked to go in the crawlspace and have a look.

Sure enough, about 300sf of insulation is missing, but there is black plastic hanging from the floor joists like a tent around the area. Small pieces of insulation are all over the vapor barrier and a couple of pieces of fiber glass are stuck to the floor joists. When I get to the pressure regulator and at the angle of my picture, I have proof there was insulation installed at the time of my inspection.

When I told the customer what I had found and that I had proof in a picture, he said "Well I did have some water trouble with the powder room taken care of last September, but I didn't see them take any insulation out.

Two things to be learned from this: 1) Take care of the situation ASAP, if I had waited til Monday the insulation would have been replaced. 2) Take lots of pictures for it is the picture of nothing wrong that is going to save your a$$. click-click-click and click again.

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[Harry Janssen]

Vern,your actions are bang on,if all inspectors acted the way you did,there would be a lot less law suits.

[John Kogel]

Hey Vern. As usual you were guilty until proven innocent. Too bad you had to crawl under the stinking house again to prove a point. You did not miss a problem. It did not even exist at the time, 3 years ago.

Now about that leak. Are you sure you didn't bump the pipe and cause a weak spot? The pipe didn't leak before. About 2 years after your inspection, the pipe starts leaking. I think they may have a case, after all.

[wayne soper]

And so now sir, that you have realized that you can not throw me under the bus. My fee for this inspection is $150.00 plus $100.00 to enter a crawlspace. Make the check out to cash and K.M.A

[Raymond Wand]

More importantly did the homeowner apologize for calling it wrong?

[Vern Heiler]

More importantly did the homeowner apologize for calling it wrong?

Yes he apologized. Payment wasn't quite as much as Wayne had suggested, we had a Sam Adams and called it good.

[Lon Henderson]

You should have predicted the leak and the insulation removal when you did your inspection. Luckily, the owner didn't bring that up, but for future inspections, you'll know to call out future defects and problems. I'll give you an example:

"Madam, you weigh north of 340. This toilet base, flange and bolts are not engineered for those loads as you grunt and heave on the seat. The seal under the toilet will eventually break with the stresses you are subjecting it to and will leak water into the subfloor space which can lead to mold and wood rot and extensive repairs. If the the subfloor is insulated, then you'll have to replace the water soaked and moldy insulation."

That's how you do predictive and informational CYA.

You're welcome. I'm here to spread the wealth of wisdom that I've accumulated over the years of being in this business.

[Vern Heiler]

You should have predicted the leak and the insulation removal when you did your inspection. Luckily, the owner didn't bring that up, but for future inspections, you'll know to call out future defects and problems. I'll give you an example:

"Madam, you weigh north of 340. This toilet base, flange and bolts are not engineered for those loads as you grunt and heave on the seat. The seal under the toilet will eventually break with the stresses you are subjecting it to and will leak water into the subfloor space which can lead to mold and wood rot and extensive repairs. If the the subfloor is insulated, then you'll have to replace the water soaked and moldy insulation."

That's how you do predictive and informational CYA.

You're welcome. I'm here to spread the wealth of wisdom that I've accumulated over the years of being in this business.

Don't emergency room visits become cost prohibitive?

[CHARLIE VAN FLEET]

Don't emergency room visits become cost prohibitive?

i always take lots of pictures to cover my ass--gas stove working-electric stove as well--attic insultaion--crawl insulation-i don,t use them all but i have them just in case..as Rod Stewart wrote EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORYCVF

[Ted Menelly]

"NO body has done anything about moisture in the crawlspace since I have lived here! I have a contractor here and he says the job is too big for him to take care of today. I'll let you digest this over the rest of the weekend and you can tell me what you are going to do about it."

Lying sac of what makes the grass grow green.

I would not have taken the beer and had any conversation. I would have stood in front of him with a pad in hand with an invoice on it and handed him a bill. He new he had water concerns taken care of and lied outright to you. This mentality runs rampid today and there needs to be a correction. Threaten someone and get what ever you want just does not cut it.

I would have paid for the issue for a mechanics lean as he new what your fees were back a few years ago and more now rightfully so. If he had already had it repaired and sent you a bill he would have been totally out of luck anyway as you have to have the first opportunity to make it right. You did. He did not. He owes you

The schmuck.

Sorry. These kind of people just PMO.

Let you digest it and see what "YOU" want to do about it. Right.

[Ted Menelly]

"NO body has done anything about moisture in the crawlspace since I have lived here! I have a contractor here and he says the job is too big for him to take care of today. I'll let you digest this over the rest of the weekend and you can tell me what you are going to do about it."

Lying sac of what makes the grass grow green.

I would not have taken the beer and had any conversation. I would have stood in front of him with a pad in hand with an invoice on it and handed him a bill. He new he had water concerns taken care of and lied outright to you. This mentality runs rampid today and there needs to be a correction. Threaten someone and get what ever you want just does not cut it.

I would have paid for the issue for a mechanics lean as he new what your fees were back a few years ago and more now rightfully so. If he had already had it repaired and sent you a bill he would have been totally out of luck anyway as you have to have the first opportunity to make it right. You did. He did not. He owes you

The schmuck.

Sorry. These kind of people just PMO. Luckily they are hundreds and hundreds to one. If not a whole lot more.

Let you digest it and see what "YOU" want to do about it. Right.

[Nick Ostrowski]

..........I would not have taken the beer and had any conversation...........

Agreed.

- - - Updated - - -

..........I would not have taken the beer and had any conversation...........

Agreed.