Building Inspection

Posted on by Tim Carter

A building inspection is typically a service provided by a government agency. The reasoning is twofold. First and foremost, the government uses this power to help protect the health and welfare of the citizens. Building inspections point out defects in the construction that could cause collapse, fires or conditions that might cause rapid deterioration of the structure.

Building inspections create more tax revenue. Although often denied by elected and appointed officials, monitoring building inspections allows the government to keep track of real estate improvements. Most towns and cities get tax revenue based upon the value of improvements on the property. When you apply for a building permit, which is the first step in getting a building inspection, the tax auditor's office is notified that something is happening on a parcel of land in the community. Typically, the real estate is worth more money after the project which means the government can collect more taxes.

The actual building inspection service is almost always performed by a government employee, or a subcontractor working for the government. Hopefully, this inspector has been properly trained. Often building inspectors are former building contractors who have decided they still want to be involved in building, but in a capacity with much less liability.

A series of hurricanes over the past twenty years has put Florida building inspection in the harsh spotlight. But it was Hurricane Andrew in 1992 that blasted ashore and proceeded to expose concrete slabs as well as poor construction practices, and sub-standard building inspection standards. The building codes since Andrew have been strengthened considerably to the credit of the building inspection profession in south Florida.

Commercial building inspection is not much different than residential inspection. There is a separate commercial building code that must be followed, and in many ways it's far more stringent and complicated. Commercial buildings almost always have more people in them and fire hazards and evacuations from these structures are more problematic. Tough commercial building inspections are a good thing as they also are concerned with the welfare of the general public as well as people that work in the buildings.

When I was still building everyday, I would order my county building inspection over the phone. It's now possible in many areas to do this online. The same is true for a city building inspection. Each government is different and some are more progressive than others. No matter what, you'll have to set different appointments at different stages of construction for the building inspector to come to your job site.

Keep in mind that there are many things to inspect, but the inspector can't view all things. They typically inspect the soil conditions as you never want to build a building on bad soil that won't support the weight of the structure. A seasoned inspector can often tell just looking at the soil that all is well.

The framing of the structure, all mechanical systems, the insulation as well as many of the safety items like stairs, handrails and alarm systems are checked during the different inspections. It's common to have different inspectors look at the different systems.

A home building inspection doesn't normally take long to complete. The inspector may be on site for five to fifteen minutes. It depends on his workload and what needs to be inspected. The building inspection department can almost always be found in your local town or county offices. Just contact your local town office to see who is the building inspector. I lived for twenty years in a small village in Ohio. The village didn't need a full-time inspector so they contracted all inspections to the county. It was convenient and the county appreciated the business.

You don't need a building inspection checklist, but it would be a good idea to see if the building inspector would share a copy with you. This way you know what things he'll be looking at when he arrives at the job site. Some of these checklists can be very complex, so don't expect to understand some of the terminology on the forms if you can get copies.

New-building inspection is perhaps the cleanest form of inspecting as you're not working inside an old building that was erected using an ancient code. Be sure you keep in mind that some laws require you to upgrade old buildings to the current code if you do a large renovation. It's mission critical that you investigate this before you buy an old building. You want to make sure that you budget enough money for the project. Many a homeowner has been shocked when they learn thousand of extra dollars have to be spent to finish a job they thought was going to be within budget and on time.

Screened In Porch

Posted on by Tim Carter

The first screened-in porch I owned was built as an addition onto a grand older home in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. This house was on the border between Kennedy Heights and Pleasant Ridge, and was only several hundred feet from the historic McFarland's Station, constructed in 1795. This station was an historic fortified pioneer outpost settled just a year or so after the first settler's landed at Yeatman's Cove on the Ohio River bank. No doubt these early settlers needed screened in porches as much as my wife Kathy and I did. The summers in Cincinnati, Ohio, are fraught with mosquitoes, flies and other annoying insects.

A screened in porch offers fantastic relief from the insects on a warm summer night. You get all the benefits of being outdoors, but none of the hassles. Perhaps some of the best times on a spacious screened porch can be had when a gentle summer rain shower is tickling the leaves in the trees next to the porch and splashing on the ground. The sounds can put you to sleep in minutes.

This screened-in porch needs a paint job, but its design is perfect. The owner still compliments me 20 years after I built it. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This screened-in porch needs a paint job, but its design is perfect. The owner still compliments me 20 years after I built it. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

I used to build a screened in porch or two for past clients. This experience gave me a unique perspective as to what works and what doesn't when it comes to screened in porch designs. For a screened in porch to really work well, it must be the right size. All too often I see smaller, cramped porches where people struggle to move about. The screened in porch on my Pleasant Ridge home was nearly perfect. It measured 14 feet by 17 feet.

If you're looking at different screened in porch plans, try to find one that measures 15 feet by 20 feet. You'll discover that size will accommodate lots of chairs, small tables and couches, or a 4-foot circular table with no problems.

Building a screened in porch is not as easy at it seems. You're really building a standard room addition, but without solid walls. You need a foundation, posts, beams and a roof for starters. To end up with a gorgeous porch, you better have some sweet carpentry skills as you'll discover quite quickly that installing the screened panels, the doors and trimming all these elements is not as easy as it appears.

A good place to discover how to build a screened porch would be a conversation with a lead carpenter that works for a remodeling company. This person will be able to talk to you about many of the challenges that present themselves each day as you move forward. Keep in mind that these porches are just another room on a house, but with one special consideration. When it rains, water almost always gets into the room unless you have developed some magical system where covers drop down blocking the blowing rain from entering the space. This water creates special challenges with respect to furnishings and the flooring.

Good screened in porch designs take this water issue and other things into consideration. Generous roof overhangs can stop much of the water infiltration in all but the most vicious rainstorms. Simply put, you need to think about how you'll deal with water that gets in making sure the materials used to build the screened in porch floor are waterproof. I would always recommend building a screened in porch deck using treated lumber so if the porch floor gets wet repeatedly, it will not rot the subflooring nor the floor joists.

If your screened in porch is built on a concrete slab, you don't have to be worried about rot, but you need to be concerned about the slope of the concrete. You want any water to flow outwards to the edges of the screened porch.

In my new house, the screened in porch ideas we're considering come from our past experience as well as many of my past jobs. For starters, the porch will absolutely have a vaulted ceiling. Not only do these ceilings create a more spacious feeling, they help make your porch more comfortable if you live in a humid location. You want to be sure you have one or more high-quality paddle fans on the ceiling, in case you sit on the porch on days with calm winds. The fans will create silent breezes that will cool you.

Plan for gentle indirect lighting. It's best to bounce light off the ceiling that washes the porch with just a touch of light when you're relaxing at night. Indirect light allows you to preserve your night vision in case you want to gaze out to what you see beyond the screened in porch panels. You can have sleek pinpoint reading lamps if you want to sit on the porch and read at night.

Be sure to chose your screened in porch furniture early in your planning process. If you know exactly what furniture you're going to use, you can ensure your porch will be the right size. Simply use regular graph paper, and make scale cutouts of your furniture. Arrange them on the paper as you imagine your floor plan will be. Make sure you have enough space between the furniture to walk around it. Use the dimensions in an existing room of your house to help confirm what is the minimum space needed around things. Doing this simple exercise will guarantee your screened in porch will be perfectly sized!

Column QA

Sandstone

Posted on by Tim Carter

Sandstone is a very fascinating rock that I first met when I was 18. Being born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, I was only familiar with the coarse limestone and shale that made up the bedrock around town. My family didn't travel much, so I was fairly sheltered. But all that changed in the summer of 1971 when I went on a planned three-week driving tour of the Southwest. Sandstone rock out there is as plentiful and exposed as biceps and buttocks on a sunny Florida beach during spring break. My favorite Arizona sandstone was the Coconino sandstone. You can see its gleaming vertical faces in the Grand Canyon.

When it comes to naming something, sandstone really describes what it is. My college degree is in geology, so I can vouch that there are rock names that simply don't make sense. Sandstone is not one of those. Imagine taking billions of pieces of sand and packing them tightly together. That's what sandstone is in its most basic configuration.

The hardness, density and durability of sandstone are directly related to the type of sand that makes up the matrix of material in the rock. Realize that sand is simply small rock particles, and that there are many different types of rock!

If you want to be amazed one day, take a quarter teaspoon of sand and hold it in your hand. There's a great chance you'll see tiny red, white, black, gray, and maybe green grains of sand. They may be different sizes as well. It's best to do this with sand from a gravel pit or on a beach near a sizable river. If you do this on some ocean beaches, the sand there may be just ground up shells.

Sandstone comes in different colors. At Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks, you can see a wide variety of colors from red sandstone to buff and even white sandstone. Black sandstone, as well as brown sandstone, is common. Some of the colors come from chemical interactions as the sand is transformed into rock. This happens over millions of years, and can be influenced by high pressures, temperatures and mineralized waters that saturate the sand as it's cooking under thousands of feet of sediments.

Limestone sandstone is a misleading description. It's sometimes common to see limestone and sandstone as nearby rock formations. In fact, a geologic rock formation of limestone can transition into a sandstone formation! To see that happening in real time, all you have to do is visit a clear ocean environment where a coral reef is adjacent to a clear-water river that's depositing sand as it flows into the ocean. You've got limestone being created by the reef, while a mile or so away the mouth of the river is creating sandstone. Geology is so cool when you stop and think about it.

Sandstone rocks can be very hard and durable. Imagine sandstone where the sand grains are nearly all quartz. Quartz is a very hard rock and is a primary component of granite. You surely know that granite is a hard rock, so imagine a rock made up of nearly 100 percent quartz! There are sandstones out there like this. A sandstone building in your city or town may be made from this material.

As with many other rocks, sandstone can be cut into large blocks in a quarry. After a single sandstone block is raised from the quarry, it can then be cut into many sandstone materials ranging from small sandstone coasters all the way to large sandstone tiles. Building stone sizes can range from brick size to massive blocks that measure feet wide and tall and many inches thick. It all depends upon the scale of the building and what the architect is trying to accomplish with his design.

The next time you have some building project that involves natural stone, stop by a stone center that has all types of rock. Take a look at the different sandstones. They make great retaining wall blocks, stepping stones in a garden path and a formal fireplace for that matter. You'll be amazed at all the different types of natural sandstone that you'll see. Try to purchase one that has high quartz content if you want the stone to last nearly forever!

Column QA

Cement Siding

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: The cement siding on parts of my house is disintegrating. When my builder sold me on this fiber-cement siding, he claimed it would last forever. Is my cement board siding defective, did the builder make a mistake or is it a combination of these two? What are the best practices that should be followed when cement-siding installation is part of a new construction or remodeling project? Brent W., Meredith, NH

DEAR BRENT: Based on your photos, it's my professional opinion that your fiber cement siding installation was doomed from the start. Because the crumbling cement siding is in just a few areas, and the other siding on the rest of the house in is perfect condition, the problem is a workmanship error. Cement house siding is a fantastic product when installed correctly.

Cement siding looks just like wood lap siding. While it doesn't rot like wood, it isn't immune from damage. PHOTO CREDIT: Brent W.

Cement siding looks just like wood lap siding. While it doesn't rot like wood, it isn't immune from damage. PHOTO CREDIT: Brent W.

Installing fiber-cement siding is not really that hard to do, but there are published best practices that the major cement-siding manufacturers make available. Follow these instructions and your fiber-cement siding can last for well over 100 years. I can show you houses in the Midwest and other cities east of the Mississippi River that are covered with cement siding that was installed before World War I, and it looks as good as the day it was installed, and some of it has never been painted. Cement siding's pedigree reminds me of a Triple-Crown winner.

Your cement siding failed at three locations: your front porch, rear deck and along one roof edge. The reason for the disintegration of your fiber-cement board siding is simple. The siding was installed too close to these surfaces. The best-practices installation guide shows that a 2-inch gap should exist between the bottom of the siding and each of these horizontal, sloped or vertical surfaces.

The crumbling is most pronounced at your porch and deck because the cement board siding is in direct contact with the porch and decking. Water that accumulates on these flat surfaces readily soaks into the siding. In cold weather, this water-soaked siding freezes. Since water expands approximately 9 percent when it turns into ice, this expansion blasts the siding apart. Creating the 2-inch gap prevents the siding from sitting in water, and it promotes rapid drying after the storm has passed.

Cut or sheared edges of cement siding, while inherently durable, can have extra protection added if the carpenters have finish paint on hand while installing the product. If they apply a heavy coat of urethane acrylic exterior paint to the cut edges, it prevents any splashed water from soaking into the siding. It's extremely hard to paint these edges after the cement lap siding is installed, especially the angled cuts where the siding abuts a sloping roof. It takes just a minute to paint each cut edge, but this practice can add decades of life to the tender edges.

Before you, or a contractor, attempt to install fiber-cement siding, you must read the written instructions. Some manufacturers have different instructions for different regions of the USA. Be sure you have the correct set of written guidelines for your fiber-cement house siding. These can be obtained for free online in a matter of seconds. You can't assume the carpenter, builder or subcontractor is going to do the job right. It's your responsibility to know how the job should be done, and it should be in your contract that the written instructions are going to be followed to the letter.

The best-practices guidelines cover many aspects and details you'll encounter when you or your contractor starts to work with your fiber-cement exterior siding. Cutting methods, flashing details, nailing suggestions, use of water barriers, etc. are all discussed. These practices are not difficult to implement, nor do they require expensive tools or techniques.

Note that the building code can be in conflict with the best practices for installing cement siding. The code may actually have more stringent requirements. For example, instead of the 2-inch gap called for by the siding manufacturer at a horizontal grade application, the building code may call for a gap of 4 or 6 inches. Be sure you have a full grasp of the building code as well as the best practices so you don't have to correct a mistake.

Cement home siding used to be made with asbestos as the aggregate that was mixed with the cement paste. For all intents and purposes, this process created thin sheets of solid rock. This is why many older cities and towns have cement siding houses that are still in service. All many of them need is a good washing to make them look like new.

Because asbestos has been linked to lung cancer, its use in building materials has been halted. Wood fibers were substituted in fiber-cement siding. If it's made at the time you're ready to build, try to locate a fiber-cement siding whose wood fibers have been treated to prevent wood rot. Untreated wood fibers are susceptible to rot if water somehow gets into the siding.

One of the best characteristics of cement board siding is its ability to hold paint. Cement siding is not hygroscopic, so it doesn't expand and contract like regular wood siding should it get wet. This means paint sticks to cement siding like it sticks to metal. If you apply a urethane-acrylic exterior paint to clean cement siding, you may not paint again for 15 or 20 years.

Column 766

February 16, 2009 Special Insurance Alert

Posted on by Tim Carter

What’s in This Issue?

INSURANCE ALERT
INSURANCE 101
CLAIMS
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME
WHY I WAS CANCELLED
GOING FISHIN’
WHAT? EXCUSE ME?

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

INSURANCE ALERT

If you're a new subscriber in the past eight days, I want to warn you now this is not a normal newsletter. This is one of the rare times I need to vent. Something has happened to me recently that could easily happen to you. If it does, there will be some bad jujumagumbo in your life as there is in mine right now. If what a licensed insurance agent told me four hours ago is true, there is a great chance you're going to be as shocked as I am now. You must read this newsletter if you have a house insurance policy.

Let me set the stage. If you own a home and some cars, then you probably have insurance on them. This is especially true if you live in the United States. I've been told USA citizens buy more insurance for more things than anyone else in the world.

If you're a licensed insurance agent, work for an insurance company as an executive and/or an underwriter, I need you to really hang in with me in this newsletter. I need your sage advice, help and counseling.

INSURANCE 101

Let’s talk first about insurance. A few years ago, someone described to me the real business model of the insurance industry. This is very basic, so don't freak out if you're an industry expert. All I'm trying to do is explain the dynamic of the business.

If you've ever played any game of chance with a wager, large or small, this should make sense to you. Insurance is simply legalized gambling, but on a massive scale. Billions and billions of dollars change hand each month/year in the USA for insurance premium payments and claims paid by companies for all sorts of policies: life, house, car, commercial, marine, etc. It's got to be the world's largest game of blackjack out there.

Why do I say this? It's simple: When you buy an insurance policy, you're making a bet. You're saying to the insurance company, "Ms. Insurance, I'm betting that this year my house will either burn down, be blown apart by a tornado or hurricane, devastated by a flood, or someone may get hurt while at my house. I'll bet you $2,500 that's going to happen."

Well, if the insurance company writes the policy for that year, they're accepting the bet. Their mathematical actuarial tables and algorithms give them the confidence the bad things are not going to happen to you. In reality, they know a certain number of claims will come in, and what the average payout will be. Since they know all this math based on historical records, they'll possibly take your bet knowing that your premium payments will help pay the real claims of those who experience misfortune, the insurance company's other costs to do business and hopefully fund some of their profit for the upcoming year.

CLAIMS

There are, in my opinion, three different types of claims:

  • Ones where you're directly responsible 
  • Ones where you're partially responsible 
  • Ones where you were in the wrong place at the wrong time

An example of a claim where you're to blame would be a fire at your home caused by you using gasoline in a basement or garage near anything with a pilot light or open flame. You hear a big BOOM and proceed to set fire to your home.

You're partially responsible if you have a dog and it bites someone. After all, no one held a gun to your head when you bought the dog or brought it home from the pound. Don't have a dog, and you don't have a liability.

Imagine lightning strikes your home or a wicked tornado drops from the sky to transform your home and life into tens of thousands of shattered pieces of building materials and memories, there's nothing you can do to avoid that. Well, I guess you could have moved into a cave or an underground house, but that's not the point. Natural disasters are fairly random and are thought of that way to a very large degree.

But if what I'm about to tell you is true, none of that makes a difference to many insurance companies, and your current policy may be with one in this group.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME

For decades, I've paid premiums to two different insurance companies and rarely, if ever, had a claim. If I did, it was a minor claim. What has become crystal clear recently is that doesn't really make a difference. Your past record, when it's in your favor, doesn't matter to the insurance company. Keep in mind that you make yearly bets. You typically buy house and auto insurance for a year. So once the year ends and you have no claims, the dealer (insurance company) pulls the cards and your chips (your money in the form of premiums) off the table and asks you to ante up and if you want new cards (new policy or a renewal of the one you had).

I kept throwing in my chips with new bets each year just like you did. Now my insurance company has said they don't want to play cards any longer. They've cancelled my policy.

WHY I WAS CANCELLED

Last year I had three claims. Two were the #2 type and the third was a #3.

  • My dog bit a neighbor. The neighbor is now fine, but sadly the dog died two months later. The insurance company doesn't care the dog is dead.
  • A tiny rock was thrown by my lawn mower and shattered a car window.
  • Hurricane Ike ruined a freezer's worth of food and damaged numerous trees in my yard.

GOING FISHIN'

So today, I started my painstaking search for a new company. Actually, I started it last Friday by filling out a quotation form online that was provided by a major insurance company. This morning an agent called me to go over details as answers on the online form triggered a non-automatic response for a quote.

If you're an insurance company employee, executive, agent, etc. bear with me here. What I'm about to tell you is what the agent told me. What I want to discover is if it's true, or if parts of it are true.

The agent started asking me routine questions and that was no issue. Then he asked, "Have you had any claims in the past three years?"

Heck yes I did, what's the big deal? I told him the above.

His response - and this is what needs to be verified - was, "Oh, you've got a problem. Since you had THREE claims WITHIN THREE YEARS, no tier-one insurance company will write a policy for your business. I can get you insured with no problems, but it's going to be with other carriers that work with high-risk people. Your new policy is going to be much more expensive."

WHAT? EXCUSE ME? DO YOU REALIZE HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU IF THIS IS TRUE?

Let's assume this is true. If so and IF MY AGENT HAD TOLD ME THIS EACH YEAR WITH FRIENDLY REMINDERS, I would NOT have made a claim for the hurricane and the broken window. I'd have paid those out of pocket.

So this is where we're at. It's time to belly up to the high-priced $10,000 blackjack table at the Bellagio. Oh, you haven't been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas? Well, let me tell you they have a $10,000 blackjack table. I've walked past it shaking my head looking at the players seated who either have ice water or a water / ethanol blend in their veins.

Are you in the insurance industry on a day-to-day basis? Can you email me and give me some guidance here? I want to confirm the points made by the agent I just talked with, and further explore this topic so I can help each subscriber to this newsletter. I don't want them to get into a pickle like I'm in.

I also want to discover what my options are so I can get a great policy at the lowest possible price.

Time is of the essence.

Look for a typical newsletter next week. By then I'll be totally cured from my week-long cage fight with the flu.

Click here to read past copies of my newsletters.

Tim Carter
Founder - AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over.

February 9, 2009 AsktheBuilder News and Tips

Posted on by Tim Carter

What’s in This Issue?

MARY JANE
TREATED LUMBER ALERT
POCKET DOORS
BOGUS PRODUCT REVIEWS
BOGUS DRYWALL - SIGH!
LATEST COLUMNS AND VIDEOS

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

MARY JANE

If you're a new subscriber in the past two weeks, you're unaware that I've not published recently because we had to send my amazing and wonderful mother-in-law back to Heaven on very short notice. I'm still collecting my thoughts about the 39 years I was fortunate to know Mary Jane. What I can tell you at this point is that I was very lucky. Many people complain about their in-laws. Not me, as Mary Jane was as great a mother-in-law you could ask for, and her husband, Dan, who is still with us, is a fantastic father-in-law. I hope to have my blog post about Mary Jane finished this week. When it's complete, I'll share the link so you can discover the boundless energy, optimism and endless love she had for her family and me.

You may be one of the thousands of subscribers that sent warm thoughts to Kathy and me. It's impossible for me to repay that debt of gratitude. It was truly overwhelming. Thousands and thousands of emails and real cards were sent to us. As you know, it's impossible to reply to all of those, so please accept our humble thanks. Kathy told me to tell you that you're very thoughtful, and the sentiments meant very much to her.

TREATED LUMBER ALERT

As you might expect, I get press releases sent to me about all sorts of home-improvement topics. The vast majority are about new products. Every now and then I get one that's about an important news alert. I just got one overnight that meets this criterion.

Let me preface this piece by telling you a story. About 20 years ago, I built a treated-lumber play set for my kids. At the time, I used traditional CCA treated lumber. The chemicals in the CCA treatment were primarily copper, chromium and arsenic. That treatment method was outlawed for residential use after December 31, 2003, as the chromium and arsenic in the treatment chemicals were deemed a significant health risk. Copper is an excellent biocide, as evidenced in my roof-moss video.

New treated-lumber chemicals that contained micronized copper were developed to replace the more toxic ones containing chromium and arsenic. A new study that was just released, shows that some of these treatments may not be very good at all.

This is really troubling. Why? Three years ago, I took apart the play set to build a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian Garden Shed in its place. Several of the buried 4x4s of the playset had significant termite damage. Check out this column that has a photo of one of the posts.

These posts, when originally purchased, were guaranteed against termite decay for life, and this was CCA, the hallmark preservative! I clearly remember at the time of the CCA ban that many felt the newer chemicals would not be as robust as the CCA. The bottom line is that tens of thousands of outdoor structures could be in trouble as some of the newer micronized copper treatment chemicals are now suspect.

Here is one snippet of the  press release I just got stated:

"Micronized copper-treated wood products were first introduced to the marketplace in 2006. The manufacturers of micronized copper preservatives, Osmose®, Arch® Wood Protection and PhibroWood®, have not submitted any of these products to the AWPA for review or standardization. Micronized copper wood preservatives are sold to U.S. builders and consumers through more than 5,000 lumberyards and some leading national home center chains.   Viance remains committed to providing its customers with high quality, industry standardized preservatives, such as Preserve® ACQ® and Ecolife® Stabilized, Weather-Resistant Wood, and ongoing information, testing and investigations regarding the performance of micronized copper -treated products."

This report and study was produced and funded by Viance LLC. The last paragraph of the press release states:

"Viance LLC provides an extensive range of advanced wood treatment technologies and services to the global wood treatment industry. With an expertise in wood biocides and wood protection chemicals, Viance provides high-level product support to its customers to provide innovative, advanced solutions that improve the performance and durability of wood and wood products. Viance is a joint venture between Rohm and Haas Company and Chemical Specialties, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, Inc."

Go here tto read the report and see photos.

POCKET DOORS

This past Friday night I was invited to a friend's house up here in New Hampshire for darts and pizza. It was great to get out, and I violated a social skill by winning at darts. Shame on me, and I sure hope this couple forgives me and invites me back. I love darts and have these 30-year-old cherished titanium darts that weigh 21 grams. Oh do they fly straight and true.

One of the features in this comfortable, cozy newer house was an often overlooked item. A simple pocket door. The first-floor powder room had a space-saving pocket door. I have installed many over the years, and the frame, track and suspension hardware are mission critical if you don't want hassles down the road. I don't know what brand was used in the home I was at, but I've used this one for years on my jobs and my own home:

BOGUS PRODUCT REVIEWS

Have you ever bought things online, including home-improvement products, and used the positive reviews to assist your decision? Well, unfortunately you can't believe them all of the time. Here's an article that will probably make you a little upset. My advice in the future is to do what I try to do. Always do negative searches. I do Google searches looking for bad reviews:  cordless drill nightmares  or  cordless drill complaints, etc. Of course it helps to insert in your search string the actual name of the product you're thinking of buying. Granted, companies can hire people to write bogus negative reviews as well as positive ones. Take the time to read this column about bogus positive reviews:

BOGUS DRYWALL - SIGH!

Sorry about all the depressing news, but I'll share a ton of positive columns and a video in just a moment. Dave, a long-time subscriber from Largo, Florida, sent me news about bad drywall. This is pretty distressing, and something you should be aware of if you own a newer home. Note that this problem is being reported in Florida, but MAY BE happening in other parts of the USA and you could have this in your home:

LATEST COLUMNS AND VIDEOS

I want to give you a heads up. Each week you're going to see many new columns. I've decided to write about topics that I've overlooked and ones that people are requesting. These winter days up here in New Hampshire are perfect for writing, so I'm taking advantage of the situation. Here's a video we taped and some recent columns:

Snow Blower Video

 

 

New Window Buying Tips

Click here to read past copies of my newsletters.

AsktheBuilder.com

Camera Inspection

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I need to do a camera inspection of a concealed space in my home. Is there a micro inspection camera that will allow me to see behind walls, in ceilings and other places with minimal disruption? I know doctors use tiny inspection cameras to see inside a body as they do certain surgeries, and that's what I'm looking for. Are there inspection cameras made for homeowners? Can I use one to inspect my sewer pipe that clogs periodically? Lori L., Tampa, FL

DEAR LORI: Have I got great news for you. You can do a camera inspection with at least one of the several digital inspection cameras that are on the market. The technology has been around for several years, as the plumbing industry will frequently make use of a pipe-inspection camera that tells them the condition of sewer pipes. You can imagine how useful pipe-inspection cameras can be as they save the tremendous expense of having to dig up and expose a sewer line.

A sewer-inspection camera is a really handy tool. I doubt you would want to buy one, as they are so specialized. A camera for pipe inspection typically is equipped so that it can take a video of the entire journey through the sewer pipe. What's more, many are equipped with measuring devices that allow you to pinpoint where damaged pipes are, their location indoors or outdoors and often the depth to the broken or damaged pipe. It's best just to hire a plumber that has this equipment.

This micro inspection camera can identify problems quickly with little mess. You just need to insert the camera in a small hole. PHOTO CREDIT: Brent Walter

This micro inspection camera can identify problems quickly with little mess. You just need to insert the camera in a small hole. PHOTO CREDIT: Brent Walter

However, you can now do your own digital-camera inspection with a handy tool that is equipped with a small camera head and a flexible 3-foot cable. This camera inspection system is hand held, and it sports a full color display. Not only can it take digital photos of what the camera is looking at, but it can also take videos. I can't tell you the number of times a tool like this would have saved me enormous amounts of time when I was still building each day.

This tool works great as a wall-inspection camera. All you have to do is drill a small three-quarter-inch hole in the wall for the camera head, and the tool slips into the dark cavity. The camera head is equipped with small LED lights to illuminate dark spaces so you can clearly see on the bright color screen what the camera is looking at.

This micro-inspection camera has a 3X zoom, and the picture on the screen is self-leveling. The lithium-ion rechargeable battery produces four hours of run time. That's more than enough to allow you to do whatever tasks you have.

The 3.5-inch color LCD screen produces 320 x 240 pixel resolution. The digital photos you snap or videos you shoot while the camera is in the concealed space are recorded on a common SD card. Once you're finished with the tool, you then can download these images to your computer to save, view and share them with contractors or anyone else who needs to see what's behind the wall, in the ceiling, in a duct or hidden in some other dark space you can't get to.

This tool is a great remote inspection camera. The flexible shaft gives you all sorts of options when trying to inspect something you just can't reach. The best part, in my opinion, is the imaging aspect. You can make copies of everything you see. You don't have to describe it verbally, as the photos and videos tell the tale.

While this camera inspection tool is somewhat expensive, if you have family that wants to share it, it might make sense to have several people contribute to purchase it. You won't use this micro-inspection camera each week, but when you need it, there simply is no substitute. I guarantee that you'll be impressed with the quality and versatility of this great tool.

Electronic tools like this need some tender loving care. You don't toss them around like a hammer, or leave them lying around in the open on a jobsite. This is why you should always store it immediately in the rugged carrying case. It only takes a few minutes to store, so there are no excuses as to why the tool should ever be out of the case other than it being in use.

Using this tool is easy. There is virtually no learning curve. You can even use it underwater! The manufacturer says it's waterproof down to 10 feet. Being able to see underwater to do some sort of inspection, and record it was something I thought would only be possible with professional equipment. To have that power in the hands of the average homeowner is indeed an amazing technological advancement.

Column 765

Snow Roof

Posted on by Tim Carter
The snow is deep across the entire roof. As winter progresses, the snow compacts and gets heavier. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

The snow is deep across the entire roof. As winter progresses, the snow compacts and gets heavier. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I have a snow roof problem. There is, in my opinion, tons of snow on my roof. How can one calculate when the snow is reaching dangerous levels, and have to call in someone to clean it off? I use a snow roof rake, but am only able to get the lower end of my slanted roof. This roof snow removal is top on my list as I'm really worried about collapse. Many people had damage from last year's record snows. Elaine Jackson, Chicopee, MA

DEAR ELAINE: Snow on roofs is indeed a major issue. Snow is just frozen water, and liquid water weighs 62.42 pounds per cubic foot. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service published a great paper about snow loads in March of 2006. Dr. Jarl VonDevender and Doug Petty discussed in this white paper exactly what you are interested in knowing. They said:

"The water content of snow may range from 3% for very dry snow to 33% for a wet, heavy snow, to nearly 100% for ice. An inch of water depth weighs 5.2 lbs. per square foot. Thus, a roof designed to carry a snow load of 20 lbs. per horizontal square foot is expected to support nearly 12 inches of wet, heavy snow."

In all likelihood, your roof is probably designed for a snow load of 20 lbs. per horizontal square foot. But keep in mind that poor materials and poor building construction methods can contribute to a lower rating. Ice is the real danger as it weighs nearly the same as liquid water. A cubic foot of solid ice weighs 92% of what a cubic foot of liquid water. This means that your roof can only support a few inches of ice.

The snow on the roof needs to be removed immediately if you want to protect your home. Since you don't know if your builders and carpenters were building the best roof for snow, you have to assume they didn't. Without being an engineer or hiring one, you simply can't look and determine what roofs for snow look like. There are many variables not the least of which is the type of lumber and its grade that was used to frame the roof. Different lumber has vastly different strengths.

Depending upon the style of house you have, getting the snow from the roof might be difficult. Two story houses with low-slope roofs are the hardest. I've seen workers scale up these roofs wearing ice cleats and just shovel the snow to the ground. Steep pitched roofs tend to be the easiest to deal with as often these can be cleaned from the ground using snow roof rakes. I've used these tools to get lots of snow off my roof in a short amount of time.

The ice at the edge of this roof is nearly 6-inches thick. Just in this small section, there is hundreds of pounds of weight. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

The ice at the edge of this roof is nearly 6-inches thick. Just in this small section, there is hundreds of pounds of weight. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Metal roofs and snow pose a different problem. Because the metal is slippery, snow can launch off these roofs without warning and cause serious injury or death to people who get buried by the avalanche. These roofs can be equipped with special accessories that break up the snow and ice into smaller pieces as it starts to slide, but the weight of the metal-roofing snow is still the same.

If you're unable to use a snow roof rake yourself, then hire an individual to do the job for you. Make sure this individual has Workman's Compensation insurance as well as general liability insurance. If he gets hurt while working, or the snow falls and damages something, you want to be sure you don't have to pay for these extra costs.

It was lost in the 2014 Treasure Hunt, but this column was mentioned in the February 23, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.

Column QA

Vinyl Siding

Posted on by Tim Carter

Vinyl siding is a fascinating building material. I was fortunate enough to be working full time in the construction industry when this product made its debut and blossomed into a major building-product category. As happens with many other building products, vinyl siding pushed and bullied aluminum siding out of the spotlight. I clearly remember my childhood home getting aluminum siding on it. The cost, in 1958, was $400 for labor and material. My Mom and Dad fretted about that decision for hours at the kitchen table.

If you've seen how fast vinyl siding can be installed, you may be easily tempted to read a vinyl-siding how-to booklet or guide. If you've been hypnotized by a home-improvement television show that tempts you into thinking you can tackle installing vinyl siding yourself, wake up. It's not as easy as it appears. It takes considerable skill to get professional results. What's more, you need help in most cases as well as an assortment of ladders and hand tools.

Vinyl-siding colors usually are muted, lighter tones. There's a reason for that. Deep colors absorb and retain the sun's heat. Vinyl siding reacts violently to heat, and expands significantly. If you don't install vinyl siding correctly, it can buckle, warp and distort from the sun's rays. Deep colors would simply make the situation worse. Some paints can be applied to this siding to create different vinyl-siding colors, but beware painting vinyl siding a dark color.

When you obtain a vinyl-siding cost estimate, don't panic. Rest assured that there is a significant cost for the material, especially for all of the trim pieces that are necessary when the siding abuts windows and doors as well as inside and outside corners. Vinyl siding is a product made primarily from crude oil. If the price of oil is high, vinyl-siding material costs will also go up accordingly.

Then there is the labor involved. Don't underestimate the amount of time and effort required for a typical vinyl-siding installation. There is a considerable amount of time spent in setup, trimming, dealing with utility penetrations in walls and even fighting insects. Dealing with wasp and bee nests is common, especially in warmer months. If you watch siding installers, you'll quickly discover that they spend little time installing the siding. The trim work, caulking and fitting take up a majority of time on the average job.

Because people really like the look of real wood, the vinyl-siding manufacturers discovered long ago that if they took the time to mimic wood, it would make the plastic product more appealing. This is why you see cedar vinyl siding. The patterns of horizontal cedar as well as cedar shingles have been copied for years, and are quite popular products.

Vinyl house siding is appealing to many homeowners. Many of my past clients wanted it installed because of its no-maintenance characteristics. If you live in an urban environment, all you have to do is periodically wash it just like your car to make it look like new. The color in vinyl siding is the same throughout each piece, so even if it gets scratched, you can't tell from a distance. It's fairly immune to denting in warm weather, but hail and other objects can shatter it if the conditions are favorable.

When you start to decide on a vinyl-siding color, take your time. If your house has wood siding on it now, the best way to select a color is to get small cans of paint mixed that match the vinyl siding and it's trim. Remember, you can do a two-tone mixture for your vinyl siding by using complimentary colors for the siding and various trim pieces.

Go ahead and apply the paints you like to smaller areas of your existing house siding, allow it to dry and then step back 50 feet to look at the colors. Look at the colors at different times of day to get the full range of color. Using this inexpensive method, you can make sure you get the perfect color. Who cares that your house looks funny for a few days? After all, the new siding will cover the paint.

If you're thinking of applying home vinyl siding to an existing house, you may want to consider taking existing siding off. Adding vinyl siding on top of wood siding can create issues at doors and windows where they tend to get slightly buried. Taking off the existing siding also allows you to add thicker foam insulation. There are distinct benefits to removing existing siding.

Column QA

Home Inspector – He Can Save Your Bacon

Posted on by Tim Carter
inselbric insulbrick inselbrick

Home Inspector | This giant apartment building in Newport, NH is covered with Inselbric panels. It's possible they were installed before 1940. This wall faces south and the sun has damaged some of the surface. But the other three sides of the building look brand new! What will a home inspector say should happen? Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

Home Inspector - Get the RIGHT One or Beware

Months ago I had the pleasure of working with a home inspector in New Hampshire. I was buying an existing house. If you are building a new house you'll need a certificate of occupancy nh from a building inspector.

It was an unusual event for me as the last three houses I lived in for the past 33 years had either been completely renovated by me or built from scratch. Even though I was an experienced builder, this six-year-old New Hampshire home needed an independent set of eyeballs so I wouldn't make a mistake. Over the years, I have done lots of research about home inspectors, so I knew how to find one that would do an excellent job.

How Do You Become A Home Inspector?

If you want to become a home inspector, it's not hard. The trouble is, there's lots of competition. Home-inspector training is not really taught in schools, so it's somewhat of a challenge to become an expert at identifying all sorts of problems with homes. Imagine the broad experience you need to be able to intelligently discuss with a buyer topics ranging from the house's foundation all the way up to the roof shingle caps as well as every other thing in between. Many home inspectors that I know of have had extensive home building or remodeling experience. It's not necessary, but it's helpful.

What is the Current Trend for Home Inpsectors?

The current trend in the marketplace is to be a certified home inspector. You can achieve this by aligning yourself with a home-inspectors association. There are quite a few of these, and the requirements to get certified range from silly to stringent. You can fool some home buyers with a fancy title, but rest assured that many buyers are taking the time to discover what associations really police their members, have strict guidelines and require continuing education. That's, in my opinion, the association I would want to be part of if I was a home inspector.

Is New Home Inspection Easier?

If you plan to choose to become a new-home inspector, then your job is slightly easier. There are many issues in older homes that won't come up in a new-home inspection. But in today's marketplace, the workmanship standards seem to be falling, so as an inspector, you have to really look closely at many things to ensure the house is in great shape. Remember, just because the new house got a Certificate of Occupancy from the building inspector, that doesn't mean the house is in great shape. The building codes are minimum standards. A house that passes the building code can still have issues.

What is the Best Home Inspection Association?

The association of home inspectors I prefer is the American Society of Home Inspectors.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from LOCAL  home inspectors.

The individual I used for my New Hampshire home had this certification. This association currently has the toughest entry standards and requires continuing education that keeps their members in the zone with new issues, products and developments in the industry. I also like the code of ethics to which they subscribe.

Do You Need a License?

You may need a license in your state. But you should also wonder if you need a home-inspector license to do business. I can't answer that accurately as the laws change constantly. All I can tell you to do is to contact the Secretary of State of whatever state you want to work in. This government office usually handles this licensing. Sometimes, it may be the Department of Commerce.

How Can I Determine If I Need a License?

The best way is to visit your state's website and use its search engine. This is a great place to explore all the legal aspects of how to become a home inspector in that state. Because the real estate transactions are so large that involve the inspections, you can see why it's necessary to abide by the law, and investigate at the beginning everything you need to do to legally transact business as a home inspector.

How Much Knowledge Does a Home Inspector Have?

Don't underestimate the level of knowledge that new-home inspectors possess. Some of them are walking, breathing encyclopedias of home-building information. You want to become, if possible, a home inspector that has done hundreds of inspections. Buyers tend to look for an individual who has been in the business for some time. These same buyers often do all the necessary due diligence to ensure the inspector is still certified by whatever association he says he works under. Some certifications expire and don't get renewed.

I urge you to become a licensed home inspector. If my audience is an indicator, licensed home inspectors get more initial credibility as well as business. What's more, you may discover it's a mandatory requirement in your state.

I did home inspections many years ago before it spouted into the industry it is today. The inspections were fun, as I took them as a challenge. You are in a position where you're looking for clues and trying to discover places where a deceptive homeowner has tried to disguise or hide a defect. Those are indeed the most satisfying things to uncover in a home inspection!

Author's Note:

Bill Barnes, of Seagate Inspections Inc., offers the following comments regarding home inspectors.

"Tim, As a home inspector with over 2,500 inspections in my experience bank, I could not agree more with your advice to buyers that they should look for certified inspectors. Furthermore, and beyond just being certified is the important fact that the inspector carry E & O insurance (Errors & Omissions insurance) It's expensive but anyone in the business who does not carry it is only a disconnected phone line away from becoming untouchable.

As a company, we have performed over 25,000 inspections and can tell you that our 7 inspectors learn something new each and every inspection. It's been a long time philosophy of ours, taken from the bible, that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Multi-inspector firms or inspectors who have a large network of peers in the industry will always be your best choice when it comes to getting the value of experience, knowledge and service you deserve as a home buyer. The cost of a home inspection is such a small percentage of the total price of the home, that it is by far the best value a home owner will receive regarding services related to a home purchase.

We are all looking for a turn around in the market in the coming year and recommend to anyone considering a home purchase that strongly considering a home inspection should be your first move. Selling a home? A pre-marketing inspection should be considered also so you'll know what it is that your buyers inspector might uncover. You can then choose whether to repair an issue (at a much lower cost typically) or to disclose the issue and adjust your price accordingly. Why not take away the surprises and renegotiation points a buyer may request after you were prepared for a smooth sale?"

Column QA