Replies

1. 
   rjw | Sep 25, 2003 04:03am | #1

   What for?  To try to do one yourself?  To monitor what the HI you've hired is doing?

   Without experience and context, both are limited and can be misleading.

   I've looked at several available on the internet and in various publications.

   For someone writing a "list" it's relatively easy to come up with something pretty exhaustive.  Without perspective (is this very serious or very common?  Very expensive to fix or inexpensive?  Very dangerous or not that big a deal?) the list doesn't do you much good.

   If you're thinking of monitoring your HI, keep in mind that you paid (or will be paying) for a limited amount of your HI's time - your HI will of necessity not be able to cover everything in the published lists, and unless you're willing to pay for the time it would take, you can't expect too much.  (I could probably spend up to 8 hours in a "normal" house inspecting it - the economics in my area are such that no one will pay for that amount of my time; local economics (which are pretty much in line with the rest of the country) is that people will pay for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours of my time, so I'll focus my inspection accordingly.

   Also, keep in mind that building practices and performance vary from region to region.  (I went to a roofing seminar a few years ago where the speaker was from the LA area -he said that the life expectancy of "standard 3 tab shingles" varies in his area from 10 - 20 years depending on exactly where he is.)  A list can't give you that info.

   If you want a good idea of what a home inspection should cover and what it won't necessarily cover, check out the Standards of Practice at the American Society of Home Inspectors site: at http://www.ashi.org/customers/standards.htm

   _______________________

   Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?

   Because it scares the bejabbers out of the dog

   Your mileage may vary ....

2. 
   Piffin | Sep 25, 2003 04:05am | #2

   Promise not to ask if I have a relationship with Lowes?

   http://www.hometechonline.com/bar-maint/index.htm

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   dlb | Sep 25, 2003 03:12pm | #3

   only if you don't publish it!

2. 
   ANDYSZ2 | Sep 27, 2003 04:22pm | #4

   Piffen another good website, thanks!

      ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.