inspection: Building Codes? Which one?
- 05/08/12 01:26 AM
Last week I did an inspection for a client who was in the process of having a new home built. Rather than a typical home inspection, it was focusing on specific code issues that he was worried about. He was right that there were issues and, as I wrote the report over the weekend, I documented them with both the manufacturer specifications and with the International Residential Code (IRC). That is where some confusion entered the system. I was using the 2009 IRC – new codes are developed on a three year cycle – and he was expecting me to use … (3 comments)
inspection: Organizing the Major Defects
- 10/20/09 03:21 AM
Sometimes, all it takes is one quick pass through the house and you know you've got a doozy on your hands. In this house, I made it to the closet in the converted garage. It a bad picture but it was a cramped space. I ended up writing a book just on the stuff in this closet.
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inspection: Thinking About Building a Custom Home?
- 02/14/09 01:18 AM
My friend, Lori Cofer, just posted an article on her blog about custom home building and the advantages of including a Realtor in the process. I got me to thinking (which is preferable to cleaning the garage which is what I am supposed to do this morning - thank goodness I'm working this afternoon!) about my experiences on custom homes. Unfortunately, my experience has come as an expert witness in litigation against builders. As a home inspector that also has code experience and credentials, combined with a small community, there are a limited number of readily available experts. My first experience … (5 comments)
inspection: FPE Panels seen on Infrared
- 02/13/09 11:01 AM
FPE can't hide from Infrared! Following up on my discussion of FPE panels earlier, here are some infrared pictures from a home I did on Wednesday. It was a big house, built in 1980 with 5000sf on three levels and FOUR (4!) Federal Pacific Electric panels installed. Four in a week is a bad week for panels. Four in one house.... To look at them, not much was happening - there were some double-taps but that's not exclusively a problem to FPE. Here's the picture of one of the panels. The double-taps are in the lower righthand corner. The sheathing isn't … (11 comments)
inspection: Living Off the Grid with Batteries
- 02/01/09 05:27 PM
I did a home inspection not long ago on a home that was completely off the electrical grid. It was one of the more fascinating homes I've done. In addition to the solar panels, wind turbine and assorted other advanced renewable energy technologies, it had a bank of industrial batteries. Now these are not part of your everyday home inspection. Since I was a certified Home Performance Specialist for the state of Idaho, I have a fair amount of experience with alternative energy and energy efficient housing, so I got the job. That's one of the advantages of being the … (12 comments)
inspection: It’s 7:30PM. Do You Know if Your Furnace Working?
- 01/13/09 08:38 AM
I had a client in Lewiston ID recently who closed on a house over by Lewis-Clark State College. Eric, the dad, was active duty military and had only had a few minutes to spare when we did the inspection. His wife was also busy plus they had three kids under the age of four. These were busy, busy parents. The night that they closed on the house, I got a phone call from Eric. The gas furnace was dead, no good, muerto. 7:30 pm on a Friday night and my clients have no heat with the temperatures supposed to drop to … (2 comments)
inspection: Extra Purrks for the New Homeowner
- 01/13/09 06:20 AM
Inspections often go awry within the first few minutes. Agents sometimes throw a curve, clients frequently do and the house is always unpredictable. Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing an older Cape Cod that was listed as vacant. The weather that we have had out here has been challenging (a couple feet of snow still on the ground in a couple of spots where I post-holed through and had to lunge my way out). My client wasn't attending - he - or rather his wife - was off having a baby, so I was on my own. I walked into … (2 comments)
Last week I did an inspection for a client who was in the process of having a new home built. Rather than a typical home inspection, it was focusing on specific code issues that he was worried about. He was right that there were issues and, as I wrote the report over the weekend, I documented them with both the manufacturer specifications and with the International Residential Code (IRC).
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