I performed a home inspection on a Tempe home with a wood shingle or shake roof that was way beyond its useful life. I find these about once a month in Scottsdale but most of them in Tempe have been replaced

I honestly could not believe how bad this roof was. As a home inspector I do not normally walk on wood shake roofs as I do not want to damage them. This roof was way beyond any damage I could do.

I started bringing my video camera on home inspections with me so others could see some of the strange or interesting things I find so sit back for a moment, turn up the volume and watch this 99 second video about this roof.

If you are looking to buy a home here are some tips. Find a good home Inspector, make sure you know what are the common issues found on inspections

Work with a professional Real Estate Agent
buy within your means, You don’t want to buy a home and not have enough money for expenses.

Home Inspections in Scottsdale reveal strange things.

As a home inspector that serves Scottsdale, I find many strange things, that invite questions. For example why bother painting the home if you are going to cover it with plants anyway?

People do strange things like install speakers on the walls of decks above interior rooms, then when it rains, water enters the speaker opening and leaks on to the ceiling of the room below.

I was told by the agent that the deck had been waterproofed to repair the leak. I removed the speaker cover and showed him where the water was entering the wall.

Sometimes during a home inspection, I find light fixtures designed to be installed over tables actually installed over showers. They look great as long as water does not splash up and hit a bulb or as long as you do not slip and grab the fixture on the way down.

I see some beautiful Scottsdale homes, then I look at the roof and see where the trees have removed tile, or where the landscaper has changed the grade and the roof water hits the ground and drains to the footings instead of away from the house.

Some if the most expensive homes I see in Scottsdale, have some of the least expensive modifications. I have lost count of the number of tile shower enclosures I have seen with no backing behind the tile, (A leak waiting to happen) or barbecues resting on plywood covered with tile, ( a fire waiting to happen).

Some areas have expansive soil, most areas have termite issues, the water pressure varies depending on where the house is located and the remodeling projects are like playing a live version of Holmes on Homes.

The bottom line is if you are buying a home anywhere from Scottsdale to Chandler, or from Phoenix to Queen Creek, you want to hire a home inspector that has been in the east valley for over 35 years. How about a home inspector that has years of construction experience, and is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) as well as state certified, licensed, Insured, and gets 20 – 80 hours of continuing education every year.

Where do you find this inspector? Call ACSI American Construction Specialists & Investigations, The owner Scott Warga has over 12 years of experience in just inspecting as well as years of experience in construction before that.

Go to our website to book a Scottsdale Home Inspection

I performed a Phoenix Home Inspection on the money pit.

I don’t make that comment lightly. I’ve been performing Home Inspections in Arizona for over 12 years and this is quite possible the worst home I have seen.

This home was in a rural area not far from Scottsdale and had a detached workshop, 4 horse stalls, a walker, a pool and someone had built a garage on the side with a workshop added later.

Every location I just mentioned has an electrical sub-panel and every sub-panel was wired wrong. The garage was a rats nest of improper wiring. After taking photos of about 10 different splices, I just quit counting.

I did find a panel that had been removed from a wall and peeked behind it to find a fireplace with a fan and more bad wiring.

This is the first time I have ever recommended having the entire electrical system reviewed and have repairs performed as needed as part of a home inspection.

That is not all that was wrong with this north phoenix home.

The home had no air conditioning, however it had two old swamp coolers, however neither one of them was functional.

The home was U shaped with the entry in the middle and three bedroom to the left, These bedrooms were connected to a electric furnace however the evap cooler on that side of the home was tied into the same duct work and there was no damper installed to prevent the heat from blowing right out through the cooler on the roof.

The other side of the home was heated by 2 wood burning fireplaces and a small electric heater in the master bathroom. (it was wired wrong too.)

Home Inspector Finds Bad Foundation

As part of the home inspection we look at the foundation. This is the first home I have inspected where it was easier to see the foundation from inside the home rather than outside. This home has a concrete block foundation with a concrete slab on grade poured inside of the block. However about 4 inches of the block were inside the walls and the concrete was placed below the block from 1-3 inches depending on where I checked. When the flooring was installed they went right over the block giving the floor a bowl effect.

If that was not enough, the concrete slab was not finished, or troweled flat/level, it had separated away from the block foundation (likely because there was too much water in the concrete mix)  and it had heaved in the middle of the room. This made walking through the home kind of like walking through an old carnival fun house.

There were two areas of the workshop, attached to the garage, (I am guessing without a permit) where the wood sheathing was totally rotted floor to roof.

The roof and patio cover had been covered with foam and elastomeric paint however they stopped short of the edges of the patio cover so it was rotted out.

One of the skylights was held together with caulk, the lens was broken in at least 4 different places.

One of the ledgers that supported the front patio cover was severely termite damaged. (As reported by the pest inspector who also said this was the worst home he has seen)

Some of the other issues were:

• There was no head flashing over the exterior doors so water had rotted the frames at the top and the bottom,
• Missing tiles from the roof.
• Ponding at the foam roof
• Cracked tiles in several areas of the home,
• Cracks between the walls and at the joints between the walls and ceilings
• PVC used as plumbing for hot water
• Flexible drain connections under the sinks
• Loose and leaking toilet
• reversed polarity at several outlets
• Posts buried in the dirt
• Stucco below grade and rusted out weep screed

I can not possibly tell you everything that was wrong with this home but I can tell you this:

I did not kill the deal as the home inspector

See when I finished the home inspection of this Phoenix home, I called the client. It is normal for the client to meet me at the inspection and this client had not arrived yet so I called.

I was surprised when he told me he had canceled my inspection as he had called a different inspector that was able to get to the property a day before me so he hired him instead.

I asked the buyer what the other home inspector found and he told me ” there were some electrical issues and some foundation settlement but it didn’t look bad.

I hope I do not get called to be an expert witness on that case.

See there are always common defects found on Home Inspections but this went way beyond that.

Will your Smoke Alarm sound off with smoke alone?

Currently, ionization-type smoke detectors are banned in three states: Massachusetts, Iowa, and Vermont as well as at least two cities in California. However, elsewhere, including in Arizona, they are the dominant type of smoke detector, due to their low price. REALLY? I checked at Home Depot and Lowes and the difference in price between two similar models was about $2.00. (There I go again, thinking like a home inspector)

Now, what many people are unaware of is that there is a very serious problem with ionization-type smoke detectors: they are very poor at detecting slow smoldering fires. Ionization-type smoke detectors can take 15 to 30 minutes longer to sound than a photoelectric-type smoke detector, and sometimes won’t even sound at all. Slow smoldering fires account for more deaths than fast flaming fires annually, most of which occur during the overnight hours.

“I estimate that at least 10,000-15,000 people have died unnecessarily in smoldering house fires since 1990 because they relied on ionization detectors.”

Jay Fleming, Deputy Fire Chief , Boston, MA.

FEMA states: America’s fire death rate is one of the highest per capita in the industrialized world. Fire kills approximately 3,000 and injures approximately 20,000 people each year.

The majority of deaths are in homes without a working smoke alarm. A smoke alarm greatly reduces your chances of dying in a fire.

Firefighters pay a high price for this terrible fire record as well; approximately 100 firefighters die in the line of duty each year. Direct property losses due to fire reach almost $11 billion a year. Most of these deaths and losses can be prevented!

Ionization type smoke detectors account for well over 90% of the smoke alarms installed in residential construction in the US. I would guess that number is higher in the Phoenix area based on what I see during home inspections. On average, ionization units respond about 30 seconds faster to an open-flame fire than photoelectric type alarms. However, in a smoldering fire, ionization units respond on average 30 to 60 minutes slower than a photoelectric unit. In some cases, they may not respond at all. Most residential fire fatalities occur at night and are result of smoke inhalation. The flash-over point in a fire is basically the point where the fire goes critical. Twenty to thirty years ago, the flash-over point in a fire occurred in as little as 12-14 minutes.  Due primarily to the increased use of synthetic and engineered materials, flash-over now often occurs in as little as 2-4 minutes. This leaves the occupants significantly less time to safely exit their home in a fire.

“Kidde recommends for maximum protection that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed. Ionization technology is faster at detecting fast flaming fires that give off little smoke. Photoelectric technology is faster at responding to slow smoldering, smoky fires.”

Since Kiddie is one of the largest manufactures of both types of alarms, maybe they have a point, or maybe they want to sell more units.

Of course, there also exists dual sensor smoke detectors, which contain both a photoelectric and an ionization sensor,  I will have more on that in a minute.

The issue with ionization alarms is more than just the inferior response times. A recent Alaskan study shows that ionization units are up to 8 times more likely to be non-functional in the first year after installation. Because ionization units are very prone to nuisance tripping from cooking, etc., people become frustrated and intentionally disable the units – i.e. they remove the battery, etc. This leaves the home unprotected. Homes with non-functional smoke alarms account for around 2/3′s of all fire deaths. Statistically, ionization alarms are the most likely to be disabled. Most of the other 1/3 of fire deaths occur in homes where a functional alarm is installed. However, in far too many cases, the alarm sounds too late to alert the occupants.

Don’t just take my word for it, watch the video below.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this is that it is not new information. There is significant research going back to the mid-1970′s showing that ionization “may not operate in time to alert occupants early enough to escape from smoldering fires.” (source AFAC)

“We put 50 million smoke detectors in buildings in America in a two year period and our fire loss and death rate goes up. We’re having a little trouble explaining these things.”

Gordon Vickery, former head of the US. Fire Administration

Source: Fire engineering magazine, September 1980

Fire Fighters Don’t Like them

August 2008: The 292,000 member, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), has changed their position on smoke alarms to formally endorse photoelectric smoke detectors. IAFF members protect over 85% of the population in the US and Canada.

The IAFF’s Official Position is to:

a) ONLY Recommend Photoelectric Smoke Detectors/Alarms
“RESOLVED, That the IAFF propose and support the mandate of only photoelectric smoke detectors in United States and Canadian federal law, in all state, provincial and local legislation, and in all standard development organizations’ building fire and life safety codes and standards . . .”

b) NOT Recommend Combination Alarms
“WHEREAS, dual alarms, also called combination alarms, that contain both technologies are available but the benefit over photoelectric in the response to fires is marginal. They are more costly, and they will experience the same nuisance problem as ionization smoke alarms . . .”

How do you know which smoke alarm you have?

It’s not always possible to know. In general, if the unit has a Hush feature, it is an ionization unit. If the label says anything about radioactive materials, Americium-241 or the model number ends in an “I” – then it is an ionization unit. When there is any doubt, there is better than a 90% chance it is an ionization unit. To be safe, simply replace all unknown units with photoelectric units.

There are also combination photoelectric/carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. These combination units are more expensive. The NFPA recommends, smoke alarms be replaced every 8 years. Most carbon monoxide detectors should be replaced every 5 years. So your either replacing the smoke alarm portion more often than needed or relying on a CO detector that is past its replacement date. Separate units simply make more sense.

As a Home Inspector serving the Phoenix and Scottsdale area, I am require by the State of Arizona to report on the presence of, and test smoke alarms. However home inspectors are not required to test them with smoke. Think about it, do you want some stranger walking around the home with a cigar? No, we are required to test them with the test buttons only.

Remember pushing the test button only checks the horn function, not the units ability to detect smoke and most units recommend that they be tested weekly.

Click here to see AZ current laws regulating Smoke Alarms (as of the time of this post. Different city’s may adopt different regulations at different times)

Please take this information and pass it on to others, feel free to post comments or contact me (480-636-7400)
Scott Warga, is the Qualifying party for ACSI American Construction Specialists and Investigations LLC,(ROC216772) a dual licensed residential and small commercial contractor. He is also a qualified Phoenix home inspector certified by the Arizona Board of Technical Registration (#38062) and was appointed to the Arizona Board of Technical Registration’s Enforcement Advisory Committee. He has 9 years construction experience and has performed residential and commercial property inspections for over 8 years. He has specialized in forensic inspections, investigating failed, damaged and defective construction for over 4 years. He is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors, (#205826) and currently sits on their board of directors. He has been an instructor of home inspection at Mesa Community College, for Inspection Training Associates, a Kaplan Professional School and Arizona Sun-Tech Home Inspection School. He has served as District Chairman & Vice President for the Arizona chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors and an approved instructor for both them and the Arizona Department of Real Estate. If you need an Arizona Home Inspector, he is your guy.

Did You Plan Time For Your Home Inspection

In the last week I have had 4 different people call me to schedule Home inspections that all wanted the inspection the next day.

I felt bad when they told me they only have a 5 day inspection period instead of the standard 10 days, or when they told me they were already on day 8 of their 10 day inspection period.

I want to help these people, but I can’t, I am booked.

The average home inspection takes about 3 hours, add in the travel time, report writing time, (not to mention marketing, accounting, scheduling, re-inspections, etc) and two inspections a day add up to about 12 hours of work each day.

In the current market there are several Phoenix area homes being sold every day, if the inspector you want has 4 inspections booked, you will likely have to wait 3 days for your home inspection.

Do not wait to book your home inspection

The Real Estate Market Is Rebounding. I have been running non-stop since December. People are getting multiple offers on homes and frequently getting over the asking price.

Because of this, it is now normal for the quality home inspectors in the Phoenix area to be booked 3 days out. That means you need to call and schedule the home inspection as soon as you know your offer is accepted. If the appraiser can get out there in a day or two, that is great but you still need the home inspection as soon as possible.

Here is one of the issues that many people do not understand, Home Inspectors are generalists. Most home inspectors, when they find something even questionable, will tell you to call a licensed contractor or engineer. If that happens during your inspection, you will need to have that professional/specialist come out within your 10 day inspection period as well.

This is very difficult to do when the home inspection occurs on day 8 or 9 of your 10 day inspection period.

Some inspections take more time

If you want a mold test you can expect the  results to take 24-72 hours depending on the day and time the tests are taken.

Do you want a radon test, these take a minimum of 48 hours and you will likely need to wait another 24 for the results.

Do you need an engineer to look at damaged trusses in the attic? It will likely take a day or two for the engineer to get to the property and another day or two for them to draft the repair.

What Can a Home Buyer Do?

Here are a few helpful tips:

• When drafting the contract ask your agent to extend the inspection period to 15 days
• Find a qualified home inspector as soon as the offer is accepted. (To learn how to select a home inspector click here)
• Get the appraisal as soon as possible. (There may not be a reason to inspect the home if it isn’t going to appraise for the purchase price.)
• Verify the utilities are ALL ON for the home inspection. You do not want to be 5 days into your inspection period and find out the gas and/or power has been turned off. (This has delayed several home inspections in the last two months)
• Be present at the home inspection. This allows the inspector to explain what the issues are and how they should be addressed
• Be prepared for the inspector to find some things wrong. (For a list of common issues found on home inspections click here)

These few simple steps can relive a lot of stress if you follow them.

If you are looking for a Phoenix area home Inspector, Please consider ASCI. We take a little longer on our inspections and since we are licensed contractors we can perform some of the further evaluation during the inspection, thereby saving you time.

To contact ACSI American Construction Specialists & Investigations LLC call 480-636-7400 or visit us at http://www.acsillc.com/

GFCI Info from your Scottsdale Home Inspector

GFCIs  or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters have been around for years. and as a Scottsdale home Inspector, I test them.

Most people do not pay attention to them until there is no power at an outlet, however these units fail on a regular basis, that is why they have test buttons.

Here is a short video about GFCIs but be sure to look below for more information.

People are always asking me when these were required in their home. It is not a simple answer. The codes are written ever 3 years, however the local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) like the city or county may not addopt the codes when they come out. Some times they will wait 6-9 years or change sections of the code when they adopt it.

Here is a chart that shows some of the changes in the codes for GFCIs over the years.

Required Locations History

The time when a certain location first required GFCI protection may in some ways be irrelevant, since inspectors routinely recommend these important safety devices wherever they are lacking. Table 6.3 really only tells us whether the lack of a GFCI is an original defect or if recommending the GFCI would be an upgrade. Even with that information, the actual time when a local jurisdic­tion adopted a particular code edition varies widely from one location to another.

Chandler Inspector shows suns reflected heat.

I performed a home inspection on this Chandler AZ  home January 17th at 9 AM. It is 50 degrees outside but one portion of the garage door is over 130 degrees.

Watching the video you see the light reflected from the window next door.

Why should a chandler home inspector mention this?

As building materials heat up they expand, If they are expanding faster than the materials around them damage can occur. Stucco cracks, vinyl siding warps, doors buckle or bind.

This is a simple issue to address of the neighbor will let you. simply install a shade screen over the window. Light will still pas through but the reflection will be diffused to the point it will no longer cause an issue.

If you are looking for a home inspector that tends to educate more than alarm.

If you want a real Professional Home Inspection in Chandler, Scottsdale or anywhere in the east valley, please give us a call.

Home Inspectors in Phoenix are talking about Inspection World

ASHI (The American Society of Home Inspectors) Held their annual conference in Phoenix AZ at the Arizona Biltmore last week.

It was a huge success. The weather was perfect and everyone that worked on it did a fantastic job.

ASHI offered 45 different training classes for Home Inspectors from several different countries.

I could go on and on about the conference but I decided to do something a little different. About half way through the last day, I started interviewing Home Inspectors about what they thought.

A few of the videos are here.
Larry Ubell, Brooklyn NY

Larry Stamp Alaska

Kevin Jones, Alaska

To see all of the videos go to my You Tube Page http://www.youtube.com/user/ScottWarga

Arizona Home Inspector elected ASHI Officer

On a more personal note I just completed my third year as an ASHI Board member and was elected to be the ASHI Secretary for 2012.

I would like to thank all the home inspectors that supported me.

It has been my Honor to serve 2 years as Speaker of the Council of Representatives, 3 years on the Board and I hope to continue to serve the inspection profession in the years to come

Home Inspection Expo provides Tools

I really benefited from the expo hall this year, Not only did I get to see my Insurance agent and my Fluke Sales rep, But I learned about software I already have that I was not using to its fullest potential. My clients will reap the benefits of this conference immediately. I also purchased a new scheduling system I hope to have up and running by the end of the week.

Thanks again to the ASHI Staff, their families and volunteers, You all put on a home inspection event that will be hard to beat.

Phx. Home Inspector, Scott Warga has been recognized by his peers. 

Scott Warga has been asked to teach two different classes at ASHI’s Inspection World in January of 2012, he’s spoken at 3 previous conferences as well.

Scott Was also elected as an officer for The American Society Of Home Inspectors (ASHI) the nations oldest and most respected home inspector organization. Scott will be serving as Secretary as he has just completed his third year on the ASHI Board of Directors.

If you need a Home Inspection in the Phoenix area, Please feel free to contact us at 480-636-7400 to schedule or simply go to our site www.acsillc.com and click “Request an Inspection.