It is funny to watch a cat or dog go round in circles chasing their tail. They are just playing and having fun. I bet if children had tails they would do the same.
The thing with tail chasing is it is an exercise in futility. The goal can never be accomplished. Even a dog or cat seems to understand this and gives up in a short time.
I sure looks like the person who has continually tried to seal this plumbing vent is chasing his tail. Clearly there is a copious amount of roofing tar that has been repeatedly glopped around this stack. By the color it was re-sealed fairly recently.
When checking the wood around the stack in the attic it was wet. Really no surprise.
What's that old saying about insanity; doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Sounds like just another way of saying; you're chasing your tail.
Applying roofing tar around this stack again and again will never accomplish the goal of sealing out water.
Why? Because who ever put the roof on this house never put a plumbing vent flashing around the stack. Which brings up another cliché;
A man has to know his limitations. (Clint Eastwood)
There just seems to be never a dull moment in the home inspection business, especially lately. I've seen in the last week more creative construction techniques than at a home show.
Today was the topper. The inspection never really got going due to obvious (to me) and numerous problems with this home.
The termite inspection revealed extensive damaged to the structure. This was added to by years of soil and water contact. The contractors who were clearly renovating this house to flip had "repaired" this structural deficiency.
The structural damage was so acute when walking in the kitchen the floors were perceptively sloping this way and that. No two door jambs leaned the same direction.
The crème de le crème was in the back yard. The house was built into a hill and the side yard had a retaining wall against the back yard. The Ringling Brothers Flipping Company decided to; Tear Down The Wall.
Well apparently the wall was also attached to the foundation. When the Ringling professionals tore out the wall they also remove a nice large chunk of the foundation corner. They must've thought this was not a problem because no bracing or any temporary support was any where in sight.
All this was explained to the customer when she arrived a little late. Since she was going through FHA this deal was not going to fly....EVER!
I just wanted nip this in the bud quickly and save her some money. She was actually going to pay me my entire fee!
She asked for a report describing the damage in order to get her earnest money returned. I sent her one by email and she replied with the following;
Jim,
I can only say wow and thank you for such a short yet very thorough (in my eyes) report. I like your style and sincerity. Thank you
When we hire people to do a job in our homes or really any where for that matter, we expect the job to be done right. Unfortunately there are some people or companies that seem they are not interested in providing good service. Or perhaps they may have a less than stellar employee. Whatever the reasons for low quality we have to be careful who we select to do a job.
I recently did a pre-sale inspection for a husband and wife who by their own admission can not change a light bulb. Because they are not handy they rely heavily on service providers to do work around their home.
From an inspectors stand point the home was well cared for and maintained; new roof, updated kitchen and bath and a newer furnace.
When I got to the job of inspecting the furnace is when a problem became apparent. The homeowners stated the unit had been installed in 2005 by XYZ Company. They would be coming by tomorrow to service the unit for the first time since installation.
What?
The homeowners explained since they have a pellet stove, the furnace actually gets little use.
I asked them have they ever changed the furnace filter.
No was the answer. Where is it, they asked.
I said well it's right here on top of the unit. You just take off the cover and pull out the.....filter
The filter was not coming out without some dismantling of the air intake pipe. By dismantling I mean cutting and re-gluing.
This kind of stuff makes me crazy. You know the guys who put this in knew about the pipe and yet they left it in the way of the filter. I also believe they left it wrong because they knew the homeowners, who are very honest about themselves, would quite possibly never discover their goof.
My advice to the homeowners was to have the company fix the mistake when they come to service the furnace and I would demand the service and repair is free.
During the course of every inspection you invariably come across some interesting personal items of the homeowner. I'm not snooping or being nosy, but as an inspector I poke into some out of the way places.
One item I discovered recently was an interestingly named bar of soap. I was inspecting the kitchen sink and the logo caught my eye. The lettering was not something my brain must have recognized as usual.
It wasn't Dial or Irish Spring. The name brand was Socrates. As you might have guessed it's from Greece as was the homeowner.
It seems a little strange to put the name of such a great and insightful philosopher on a bar of soap, yet there it was in an ash tray on the kitchen sink.
When I mentioned the soap the homeowner told us it was of course from Greece and she liked the scent. I asked after cleaning up do you become more philosophical.
After a momentary pause she and everyone realized I was joking. I'm thinking of ordering a crate for myself.
My two girls absolutely love stickers. They have them all over their bedroom doors. Not particularly appealing to my wife and I, but the girls seem to think they look great. Oh well, we can change the doors some day.
My love of stickers is a little different than my girls. I like to see them on things like furnaces and boilers or electrical panels. They can tell me things like when that clunky old boiler was installed or last serviced.
Since I never lived in the home I am inspecting scrounging up whatever information is available is an important part of the process. Stickers or tags can provide pieces to the puzzle that is every home inspection.
I found that green beauty on a very old but functioning boiler. It doesn't get much better than that, an inspection sticker from the city. NICE!
That big, bright orange guy was an unusual find. Old Dan the plumber left it to tell all those who come by that he did the drain repair. I like it!
The last one is not particularly special, a run of the mill service record sticker on a boiler. I like to see them to know; 1 if the unit has been regularly maintained and 2 what repairs may have been performed.
I love technology and gadgets and who doesn't. My job as a Connecticut home inspector allows me to buy cool stuff and use for my job. How great is that!
One of my favorite tools and most costly is the infrared camera. This device measures the surface temperature of anything you point it at in real time. It can actually seem like you are looking through an object, but in fact are seeing the differences in temperature due to material composition, density and other variables.
On a recent inspection I was scanning a home with a steam heating system. The rooms all had older cast iron radiators. I pointed the camera at one of these old heaters and thought the image was kind of cool.
You can actually see where the steam wafts up from the pipe on the left and distributes through the radiator. The temperature at the top near the pipe, about 190 degrees or more. VERY HOT! At the drain pipe on the right about 80 degrees.
Technology can reveal hidden information to us and help us do our jobs better for our customers. And sometimes it's just fun to use.
One qualification I make sure to mention to potential energy audit customers is my being a licensed Connecticut home inspector. Energy audits are by definition, at least in Connecticut, home inspections. The difference is what is inspected and for what purpose.
The Connecticut Statue defines a home inspection as the evaluation of two or more components in a home. Therefore anyone doing an energy audit is technically conducting a home inspection and needs to be licensed.
Unfortunately this loop hole is exploited everyday by many contractors of all different types. Sticking with energy audits, hiring a home inspector makes far more sense than using someone who has been trained to perform energy audits based on a software program.
As a home inspector I evaluate homes in depth and detail every day. I am required to take continuing education in order to maintain my license. My level of expertise and knowledge is broader than a narrowly focused specialty contractor.
To make a point look at the first picture, this was found during an energy audit. The two electric wires going into all that insulation are old knob & tube wires. Knob & tube wiring can not be covered by insulation due to an increased risk of fire.
Two things about this discovery; 1) the insulation contractor never said a word about covering these wire with insulation and 2) a utility company auditor never said a word about these wires being covered with insulation.
The second photo shows the area immediately around a water heater flue pipe which is corroded. What does this mean? That the unit is back drafting into the home and expelling CO. This was discovered during an energy audit.
Another aspect of home energy savings is the DIY trend. As a home inspector I see all too many DIY projects that are just plain wrong and in some cases dangerous. Homeowners attempting to save by doing energy improvements themselves should enlist the help of a qualified energy auditor (home inspector) before beginning major work. Sure there are simple projects that anyone can do, but real savings comes from major improvements such as insulation and changing heating & cooling systems.
An audit performed by a knowledgeable professional using energy auditing software can identify exactly what savings opportunities are available. More importantly what small DIY projects the homeowner can perform themselves safely and with good results.
As this heating season is comes upon us don't be lulled into assuming simple DIY projects or some under qualified "auditor" can help save you big money. The first step in improving your homes energy usage should be consulting with a qualified energy professional who is a home inspector.
Most everyone who is in real estate knows that solid aluminum electrical wire is a potential fire hazard. When it is found during an inspection it is called out as a problem and recommended to be repaired.
On a recent inspection in a very large condominium complex known to be wired with aluminum I found a somewhat curious repair. The unit's electric panel had been by replaced. Judging by the looks of the panel and the presence of two AFCI breakers (top left corner) I would say it was done fairly recently.
Because the electric panel had obviously been replaced I assumed the entire unit had been repaired for the presence of aluminum wire.
You know what they say about assuming.
I decided to open a few outlets and look to see if repairs had been done. The plugs and switches are where problems most often occur with aluminum wire. The wiring eventually can become loose through excessive expansion and contraction which is inherent to aluminum. A loose connection arcs or more to the point sparks and whoosh a fire happens.
When I checked the outlets no repairs were evident. AFCI breakers like the two installed in the top corner afford another layer of protection for aluminum wire, but the connections at the outlets and switches should never the less be repaired.
This electrician only did half the job. Why is anyone's guess. Another electrician will be completing the job before this buyer moves into this unit.
How many times when you were in school did some ask or the teacher told the class; "Neatness counts on this assignment."
Being neat and clean shows you care about what you do. That you take pride in yourself and more importantly the work you perform. It also has the added benefit of making it easier for someone to look over your work or even to repair it if needed.
Yes I believe neatness counts.
Yet I find almost every day a lack of neatness or pride in workmanship. What's worse often homeowners have paid for a professional to do the work and it hasn't been competently done.
Going into an attic of a new home and finding trash and ruined insulation is not the sign of a skilled tradesman. Sloppy wiring stuffed into a cavity in a remote basement corner is hardly the mark of a prideful professional.
Were these people sleeping in class? Or do they feel that getting the job done is more important than getting it done right. It is hard to really know what is some ones motivation or lack there of.
What I do know is this;
When I see neat work, especially in the details, there are almost always no problems to be discovered. I often take a moment to admire a job well done.
Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing or CSST for short is a newer type of gas pipe first used around 1988. It's a flexible pipe covered with a plastic sheathing and is very common to see in newer homes. To make the pipe flexible a continuous ridge was designed into the pipe. Which is how the "corrugated" made it's way into the name.
CSST is a great advancement in gas piping. Because it is flexible and available on large spools long continuous pipe runs are possible without the need for connections. Fewer connections mean less potential for leaks.
However a problem with the pipe began to show up some years after the first installations.
Because the pipe is metal it is electrically conductive. What was discovered after some years was that a lightning strike entering the home can disperse through the CSST resulting in holes in the pipe (see picture). The ridges are thought to create electrical arcs and at some point along the path burn a hole through the tubing.
A hole in a homes gas supply piping, as you can imagine, is not a good thing.
Because of this problem a class action suit was brought against 4 of the 6 manufactures of CSST alleging; "that CSST poses an unreasonable risk of fire due to lightning strikes."
The solution has been to electrical bond the CSST to ground. Or more accurately more thoroughly bond the system. Bonding of gas piping was in existence in the National Fuel Gas Code (NFGC) in 1988 (diagram).
The manufactures have now written electrically bonding the CSST into their design and installation manuals. Never the less I do not see CSST electrically bonded during an inspection.
The second to last picture is from a home built in 2005. The picture is of the main gas supply pipe entering the home. There should be a ground wire on this pipe. Additionally in some jurisdictions there should also be a bonding jumper wire at connections which are missing in the last photo.
There is still debate on the requirements of bonding CSST. As an inspector knowing the potential for a fire due to a lack of bonding on a CSST system there is no debate for me. When I find CSST in a home without bonding it is called out as defect with a recommendation to correct.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
The thing with tail chasing is it is an exercise in futility. The goal can never be accomplished. Even a dog or cat seems to understand this and gives up in a short time.
Today was the topper. The inspection never really got going due to obvious (to me) and numerous problems with this home.
Well apparently the wall was also attached to the foundation. When the Ringling professionals tore out the wall they also remove a nice large chunk of the foundation corner. They must've thought this was not a problem because no bracing or any temporary support was any where in sight.
I recently did a pre-sale inspection for a husband and wife who by their own admission can not change a light bulb. Because they are not handy they rely heavily on service providers to do work around their home.
One item I discovered recently was an interestingly named bar of soap. I was inspecting the kitchen sink and the logo caught my eye. The lettering was not something my brain must have recognized as usual.
My two girls absolutely love stickers. They have them all over their bedroom doors. Not particularly appealing to my wife and I, but the girls seem to think they look great. Oh well, we can change the doors some day.
One of my favorite tools and most costly is the infrared camera. This device measures the surface temperature of anything you point it at in real time. It can actually seem like you are looking through an object, but in fact are seeing the differences in temperature due to material composition, density and other variables.
The second photo shows the area immediately around a water heater flue pipe which is corroded. What does this mean? That the unit is back drafting into the home and expelling CO. This was discovered during an energy audit.
On a recent inspection in a very large condominium complex known to be wired with aluminum I found a somewhat curious repair. The unit's electric panel had been by replaced. Judging by the looks of the panel and the presence of two AFCI breakers (top left corner) I would say it was done fairly recently.
Were these people sleeping in class? Or do they feel that getting the job done is more important than getting it done right. It is hard to really know what is some ones motivation or lack there of.
A hole in a homes gas supply piping, as you can imagine, is not a good thing.
The manufactures have now written electrically bonding the CSST into their design and installation manuals. Never the less I do not see CSST electrically bonded during an inspection.
;)
;)
