They would only be chocolate if I get what I want.  Otherwise I will have to go out and squeeze the rabbit....... again......   

Fresh made cookies.  Thick, buttery, sure to make Charlie's knees weak......  most likely from diabetic coma.

That should move it up the list.  Make it 2 hours of sleep per night.  No Fantasy Sports.  Plenty of time for an accomplished code writer.

Next week?

Nope, not interested.

Cmon Dom.  Time to get busy.

I want to be able to print out a list of reports broken down by Agents name.  We should be able to print out information like:


Rpt Date         Purchaser          address                     Buyer's Agent            Agent's email                  Agent's number

12/12/12         Bob Jones          1234 Main Street        Sally Smith                Sally@realestate.com       (253) 555-2345


Don't make me ban you from Fantasy Sports Leagues.  Use your time wisely.  3 hours sleep is enough.   

I wouldn't call it harassing.  He was correct.  Many inspectors call NM conductors Romex and are usually incorrect.  Romex brand is more expensive than the stuff that Home Depot and Lowes sells.   If you want to make a statement, make sure it is correct.  If you state Romex, make sure it is, otherwise use the generic NM cable.  If you state it is a Jacuzzi tub, make sure it is.  If you have ever priced the difference between a spa tub and a Jacuzzi spa tub, you will understand.  The same goes for using Formica in place of laminate.  Be precise and the issues disappear.

Romex does make a  UF-B Direct Burial conductor.  Marked as such.   

Romex is a brand name, not just a type of wiring.  And no, normal NM cable cannot be buried.

When I first started I had a 20+ year background in remodeling and various trades.  I took an 11 day class from the top school at the time.  That was 2005.  Out of 16 in my class, only 1 other besides myself is still inspecting.  The others did not make it through the crash of 2008-2010, heck some didn't make it through the boom of 2006-2007.

This is not an easy business.  Plan on spending $10k off the top for school, additional training, tools and basic business items like business cards, software, computers, printers, business licenses, and marketing materials.  Don't forget your financial set up as well.  It may mean incorporation or another type of business entity.  Only your attorney and accountant can give you information that is specific to your state and your business.  Sure you can rely on generic contracts and word of mouth advise from a variety of message boards, but in the end, if you want to be a professional and set up your business correctly, you should have an attorney and CPA to help you the first couple years.

You also need to research your specific service area.  How many inspectors are in your service area?  What is the average inspection price in your traveling range?  Some states are $350, some states are $250.  Some states have weather issues during times of the year that do not allow for multiple inspections per day, some do not.  If you are in an area where the normal price is $250, how many inspections do you need to live on?  I would venture to say that the average inspector might get to 100 inspections their first year.  If your area real estate market is still slow or on the small size, it may take 2 years to reach that amount, or longer.  That would be $25k gross in two years.  Take off the gas, taxes, insurance, supplies, marketing and other various costs and how much will that leave you?  Enough to live on?

Sure there are inspectors that do very well due to their previous contacts or perhaps they bought an existing business.  Don't fall for the, "Make $75k working part-time and set your own hours" bullshit that some schools have in their advertising.  The odds of doing that are in the very slim range.  Since you don't have any construction or trade background, I highly suggest you find a school that has hands on training as part of their curriculum.  If you have never seen the inside of a furnace, electrical panel or the structure of a home, you have a LOT to learn.  And regardless of what online schools or trainers tell you, until you have seen something in person and been able to touch some of those items, a picture, powerpoint or diagram just won't prepare you for real world work.

Good luck.

Oh Michael.  You have that absolutely backwards.  NOW is the time while you are slow so you can set up your templates, transfer or write your comments and get your report exactly the way you want it.  Don't wait until it gets busy.  Then you won't have time or won't want to take time off to get it done right.

Dom will help with a payment structure.  Don't delay, jump today.

Same requirements in the IPC (207.4)  and UPC (601.3) .  Hot on the left.

Big time defect and a safety issue if it is on the right.

If I was a flipper or owner, I would not spend $1000 or more to have the supply pipes or drain moved by a licensed plumber.  Not worth the money / profit to satisfy someone's opinion of right, wrong, or aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

If I was doing the rehab, and if I could find the matching tile, I would probably change the risers to PEX and make sure the pipes and wall cavity are insulated and redo the height of the valves but install a new single that would have the balancing valve. 

Now if the pipes are readily available under the bathroom and there is access to the drain side wall, one could abandon the old plumbing and install a few tiles on that wall to take the place of the faucets, tub spout and shower pipe.  What was on the opposite side of the drain side wall?

Surprise, the home wasn't dewinterized.  Lol.  Time for a revisit and additional fee.

Same challenge to David.  Go to your bathtub and sit on the drain.  Now ask yourself, "is this the position I would be sitting it if I were taking a bath."  Really now.  You are going to sit with your back straight up against the wall of the tub?  Really?  The drain is the deepest part of the tub due to the installed slope.  You can relax in deeper water by keeping your head at that end.  Oh wait, you sit straight up when you take a bath.

IF they were still galvanized pipes I am surprised they still had any flow.  Out here they would have been down to a drip after 80+ years.  Not something anyone could pick out of the picture since the age info wasn't available as posted.  Was the home on a crawl space or basement?  Were the supply pipes visible underneath the bath.  Were they insulated or tucked in the subfloor insulation or between floors?  Did you look at the risers or assume they were original?  If the drain wasn't moved that either means the pipes were moved and may not be the original galvanized, or they were installed at that wall originally.  Did you call out the improper hot / cold shut off valves or was there a mixing valve installed at a remote location?

So someone does a rehab.  Drain is already in one position and since that is the hardest piece of the puzzle to move, they leave it there.  Based on age, the original tub would most likely have been a clawfoot tub that was replaced once or even twice prior to the rehab.

I inspected two rehabs in the last week.  Both were gorgeous on the face.  The client walked on the first one, bought the second one.  You can only put so much lipstick on a pig.  And yes, I have used that phrase verbally with clients but never in written form. 

Interesting comment on the sealed grout.  You are most likely correct but how do you know?  A good seal job is nearly invisible to the naked eye.  There are epoxy based grouts that do not need to be sealed but they are spendy and messy, and surely not used by flippers.

Keep the discussion going.  Don't take anything personal and no need to get snippy.  These types of discussions are good for the industry.

I don't care where the tub drain is located.  They make them with center drains, left side drains and right side drains.  The drain has nothing to do with the supply lines that nowadays can come from the center, ends and even the ceiling.  What if there are double head showerheads?  Do you have to have drains at both sides?  Now if that was the type of drain that required a control handle on the overflow cover, I would call it a defect since you could not lean back at either end.  But to say it is a defect just because it is not directly below the fill valve is incorrect.

Yeah, crappy quality install for the faucets.  Being on an outside wall is not a defect by itself.  Most kitchen faucets and supply pipes are on an outside wall.

Any other issues with the tile?

Identify the issues you can verify and inform the client.  The faucets are installed higher than normal and can be an inconvenience when using the bathtub. 

To call something a defect based on supposition can come back to haunt you.  It is part of the education process you should have with your client.  Some inspectors spend the time to educate their clients, some do not.  Each to their own.  In this case I would have had a good conversation covering these issues, but the written report would not be calling them a defect without verifiable proof.

Well first I wouldn't be sitting straight up against the wall of the tub so I wouldn't be sitting on the drain.  Try it.  Run into your bathroom now and sit in the tub.  Is your butt anywhere near the first 3 or 4 inches of the wall of the tub?  Not even your skinny buttocks would do that.

So I guess that tubs that fill from the ceiling in multi million dollar homes are incorrect as well?  Some tub drains are in the middle, along one side of the tub.  Some are at one end.  It doesn't matter.   With pop up stoppers, the old toggle style control valve is no longer an issue.

There is no defect.  Unconventional yes, defective no.

Why?  Explain.  Tub manufacturers don't care where the faucets are located.  Faucet manufacturers don't care where the drain is located.  Pop up drains don't require a toggle handle at the overflow.  Some high end bathtubs fill from the ceiling.

I am in sort of an argumentative mood tonight so I am going to play devil's advocate on all the threads.

Yep, they look homemade.  But that in an of itself is not a defect.  4 nails on the other hand isn't sufficient.  Metal plate gussets would be allowed if they meet an engineers specs.  Normally 20 ga galvanized steel, 1 1/2 inch 11ga nails in a specific pattern.

Early trusses were done with plywood gussets and nails.  Ask any firefighter what they would like as a connector in a burning building.  9 out of 10 will take a plywood gusset and nails or a metal plate and nails over those damn factory installed metal gussets that penetrate maybe 1/4 inch.  Everyday and twice on Sunday. 

Looks hokey to me.

So lets start the discussion.

1.  Are the supply lines insulated?  Can't tell.
2.  Is the exterior wall insulated?  Can't tell.
3.  Would insulated supply lines in an exterior wall be any different than insulated supply lines in a crawl space?  No.
4.  Is there a requirement for the drain to be at the same end of the tub as the faucet?  No.

So other than being a non-conventional installation, what "defects" are there?

Ive had the LED Lenzer M7R for about a year.  Will never carry another light.  Never had it go out.  Stays tight on my hip, easy pop out of holder, I use the beam / wide one hand motion ALL THE TIME.  Got mine from a cop shop.  Could have gotten it cheaper online.  You can't go wrong.  Had it on for 7 hours straight one time.  Never went out and since it is an LED, doesn't go dim. Charges pretty quick as well.

Edit Template - Highlight Menus at the top  -  Add name of new section in blank at bottom and click Add.
This give you the new tab across the top of your report.

If you want to include Grounds into a tab that already exists:
Edit Template - Highlight the tab/folder where you want it to go, Add name in blank and click Add.

Looks like a modular home setup.  The center peak portion is installed onsite once the two pieces are joined together after transport.  Clues can be in the crawlspace where there is a center beam for joining purposes.  There can also be a center chord in the attic but those are usually buried with insulation.

Tell me more about the retaining wall.  Sloped crawl space? or portions dug out and the wall was installed for containment?  Tell me more.