Psycho Tubology

Sometimes the mundane gets more interesting from time to time. I was doing an inspection the other day, and as part of the routine, I filled the jetted tub and turned on the jets. This tub uses an air switch - the kind that you push in and the tub turns on. Hit it again, it turns off. Fairly simple.

That Jet Don't Fly

So this time, I press the button and the jets sputter but don't come on. I press it again, and the jets fail and the button stays in. It didn't pop back out. That sucks, but it's just another part of a home inspection where something doesn't work. I wrote it up and went on.

Then I get a call from a psycho woman who wants to yell at me and have me fix it immediately. You know the scene: pissed off woman yelling at someone. You can't reason, you can't talk, you can't tie your shoes. Nothing you say is what they want to hear, unless it's something that sounds like "yes dear".

Everyone Makes Me Happy - Some Do It By Leaving

After she was mostly done with the rant, I found the opportunity to create some value. It seems I really had screwed up. I left the lights on in her home and she felt offended because I hadn't respected her home, and by extension, I hadn't respected her.

Now, I could be grateful that I wasn't married to her. That may be true. More importantly though, I recharged a key principle of doing home inspections: respect the home. Respect the owners. They do qualify as customers, and leaving the lights on is not a sign of professionalism. I'll make more of an effort to take care of that in the future.

Respect Always - Or Have Your Fingernails Pulled Out

As for the tub switch? It wore out. Seems to me that because I left the lights on, it falls to me now to replace the worn out switch. So be it. It's all part of learning - sometimes the hard way.

Garth Haslem

www.crossroadsengineers.com

When Good FHA Inspectors Go Bad

I was called out to an inspection in Provo today. It was cool because this little development was originally built by Geneva Steel as a company town. I've grown up in Utah County, and my dad worked for all of my childhood at Geneva steel, but I never knew that this little area existed, or that it was a Geneva Steel town. All the homes were identical and small, but were fairly well maintained as viewed from the street.

Quaint

So I was paid to go take a look at a structural question. It seems the foundation had moved in this old house, resulting in a crack. The foundation wasn't bowed out. There were no water issues, just an old foundation doing what old concrete foundations do: they crack a bit and move around somewhat.

There's Two Kinds of Concrete: What's Cracked, and What's Gonna Crack

It was sad charging this guy for the inspection. Here's a thought that may take some money out of my pocket, but so be it: Foundations support a vertical load. Concrete cracks. If the concrete cracks are vertical, it usually has more to do with the concrete than with structural stresses. The structure is fine - usually - when the cracks are vertical. This foundation was still more than capable of bearing the structural load. I passed it.

Now, there's a big red flag going up in my head. Please don't assume from reading this that any and all foundation cracks are meaningless. I can look quickly and determine what's happening, but that's because I'm a structural engineer and a very experienced home inspector (being in the biz since 1993 gives a guy some background, but it also makes you an old dude).

 Moral of the Story

Foundation cracks are like dog donations on your lawn. It happens. The trick is to prevent the cracks from resulting in indirect but related problems, like water entry, termites, rot and mold. Keep the water out and you'll be in much better shape.

 www.crossroadsengineers.com