Island Wide Home Inspections

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY...

Well, it finally happened. I was actually surprised that it took as long as it did but it finally did. It is not often that builders attend inspections or reinspections. When they do, it tends to be a little adversarial. They often want to argue their point for not completing an item properly or within international building standards. Their usual excuse is that if the code inspectors are not requiring it why should they have to complete it. To the point, I don't inspect to code, but rather the best and safest building standards. There are construction methods that are standard within a particular trade that are not covered by code. When code does conflict with itself, and it sometimes does, that is where industry or trade standards are to be referenced. Also, there is the Guam standard which has no relevance to building standards or code and is usually far inferior to both. Be advised, building to code is "just passing", the minimum required, or grade "C" work. So, when code or standards are not always enforced one has to wonder why. Perhaps greed and corruption take place. There is no way to prove that this occurs but I think it is a possibility. This brings me back to what finally happened the other day while on a reinspection of a newly built home that was attended by the builder.

While I was packing up after completing a reinspection, I was approached by the builder, indicating in broken English that the discrepancies observed on the roof should be ignored while at the same time he was trying to put something in my pocket. As I quickly repelled the advancing hand I caught a small wad of cash in his hand. I can only assume that was what he was trying to place in my pocket. Needless to say, I was taken aback, but then realized this is not the US and things are sometimes possibly done a little differently. I politely and firmly indicated that this is not how I do business.

Keep in mind that there is a distinct possibility that this happens more often than many realize. You need to have, maybe especially so with new construction, a home inspected by a reputable and honest inspector. There is no telling who else slipped some cash to look the other way. I'm sure that no official would accept such a gift, but there is one way to be certain that your investment hasn't been compromised.

Have your home inspected by me, 747-5002.

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BUYING A BRAND NEW HOME.

You have searched long and hard for a home to purchase and have finally settled on a newly built home. Naturally, you question the need for a Home Inspection. This is a new home after all and has never been lived in so why should you need a home inspection. Additionally, here on Guam, you get an 18-month warranty on your purchase. I hate to be the one to deflate your enthusiasm but the sad fact is that a newly built home can generally have as many defects as a home 5 or so years old that has not been properly attended to. How can that even be possible, you may ask? Well, a new home is put on the market as soon as possible, without the proper quality control to determine if it is really ready for you to live in it. It is only after you have moved into the home that the defects rear their ugly heads, Well how big of a deal really is this?

How big of an inconvenience is it to contact the builder, find a convenient time for both you and the builder to investigate this "problem" you have noticed, argue the validity of the claim you have regarding the issue, schedule a time for someone to come by and fix the issue, and determine the issue has, in fact, been resolved? Then, another issue has come to light and you start the whole process over again. This can become frustrating as heck in no time at all, for everyone.

With a home Inspection, most defects can generally be found before they become an inconvenience and before you are living in a new home that needs repairs. New homes will need to be serviced due to less than stellar building practices. This is a fact. Why not try and identify as many issues before they become inconvenient, or worse? Let me give you a real-life, not so unusual, example.

Just yesterday. I inspected a newly built home with far too many issues than is reasonable. Many of which would not have shown extremely detrimental consequences until later and likely, far after the home warranty had expired. If you read my post about roofing below you will recognize the importance of a good roof coating and yearly maintenance necessary to maintain that coating. This home had no coating on it at all. NONE. It had been in this condition since the roof was poured likely some six or more months ago. Problems were just starting to become evident to me, as an inspector. Unless you know what to look for, know the indications that point to a roof issue or walk your roof, this issue would not have been apparent to the homeowner till much later, after significant damage had already occurred and at a far greater cost to correct. This is easily corrected now but had the client not agreed to a home inspection... well, it would have gotten ugly. That was a big item. There were many more issues that were not as significant but would have become a serious inconvenience once the buyer moved in. Of all the outlets in the home 7 were wired improperly and with non-working GFCI protected outlets. You don't realize an outlet does not work till you plug something into it and you might not even realize it is wired improperly after you have plugged in an appliance. Something as simple as a couple outlets not working and a few failed GFCI outlets and the cost for a licensed electrician to repair, after warranty expiration, would likely exceed the cost of the home inspection, not to mention the roof repairs.

Truthfully, the best homes that I have inspected have generally been homes 2 to 5 years old that have had very conscientious homeowners who took pride in their purchase and fixed most, if not all, of the issues that arose over time. and performed regular maintenance and upkeep.

New home or well used, it is hard to go wrong with hiring a certified home inspector. Save yourself some frustration, time and money by having your brand new home inspected. Island Wide Home Inspections. 671-747-5002

This photo is of that new, never been lived in home's roof!!!

Secure that Water Heater

Here on Guam we are subject to earthquakes, often. With that in consideration is your water heater properly secured? Why would this be necessary? How should it be done? Well, the why is fairly obvious. During a seismic event the water heater is subject to tremendous lateral forces that can, relatively easily, cause the water heater to tip over. If this occurs there will be damage to the water heater itself and likely the connecting plumbing and the damage water will do from severed or cracked supply pipes. The costs, obviously, can rack up if this occurs. A new water heater will cost around $400.00 - $600.00 on average to replace and the repair of the pipes could easily be as expensive depending on the damage. This does not even consider the damage that the water shooting out of the pipes can do particularly if the water heater is located somewhere in the living space of the home or worse yet if it falls on a person.
The next concern is how to protect your investment. Install seismic strapping on your water heater. All the homes that I have inspected on Guam either have no strapping installed or improper strapping installed. I have no idea how it is acceptable on Guam to use Plumbers Tape to secure a water heater. Experts have modified the recommended procedure for strapping water heaters because many tanks broke through their strapping in both the 1989 Loma Prieta (San Francisco) and the 1994 Northridge (Los Angeles) earthquakes. Yet more than 20 years later Guam still has not caught up with the experts recommendations. The use of plumbers tape is still considered acceptable on Guam. It is not. It is of insufficient gauge and subject to breakage and pullout from the fasteners. Further, it is not designed for the stresses a water heater will exert during a seismic event. http://www.earthquakecountry.org/step1/waterheater.html
Seriously consider installing seismic strapping designed for water heaters if you want to protect your investment. They can be found at your Big Box home improvement stores for around $15.00 and can be installed by the homeowner if you are handy and have the proper tools. I will always suggest that the strapping be installed by a professional. Let them shoulder the responsibility and be liable if the install fails.
In conclusion, it baffles me why current building standards regarding protecting the water heater have not been adopted here on Guam. If we all insist that current standards be applied perhaps we will see some changes. In the interim, it is ultimately your responsibility to secure your home and water heater by installing proper approved water heater seismic strapping.

How long does it take?

The time it will take to perform a proper home inspection depends upon a number of factors. Some of these factors will include the age, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, number of levels, extent of the electrical and plumbing systems, the landscaping, fencing, slope of the grounds, etc., of the home. Additional factors may increase or decrease the time as well. No two homes are the same and therefore no specific time can be given. Generally, a thorough home inspection will take between 3-4 hours to complete. If your realtor is boasting that the home inspector they recommend will perform an inspection in about an hour or two, you might want to seriously consider another inspector. It is impossible to perform a thorough home inspection in that amount of time, period. You might also want to consider that validity of the other advice that this realtor is giving.
If you would like to be present during the inspection, be aware that the more questions that you have for the inspector while they are performing the inspection the greater amount of time it will take to complete the inspection. The best advice is to attend the inspection if you are able but hang back a little and if you have questions about something specific by all means ask but otherwise keep clear and allow the inspector to do their job. Generally if there is an issue and my client is there I will call them over to give a ‘heads up’ about a particular discrepancy, this way my client will have a clearer understanding when they read the report. It takes time to do the job well and even longer to write up the inspection report. I generally get the report to my clients within 24-48 hours of the completed inspection. It is important to keep this in mind when scheduling an inspection. Allow for ample time to schedule, perform and create an inspection and report.

Anti-Tip Device... A life saver!

I don't know why, but 100% of the homes that I inspect are lacking a very simple life saving device known as an Anti-Tip device. It is a metal bracket that is attached to the floor, wall or both and secures one leg of a free standing range preventing it from tipping over and is included with every installation kit. Why is this important you may ask? Simply opening the door and having the weight of a large food item such as a roast, Thanksgiving turkey or small child on it can be enough to cause the range to tip over. At best this may burn someone and at worst crush and severely injure or even possibly kill a child.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were 143 incidents caused by range tip-overs from 1980 to 2006. 33 of the reported incidents resulted in death and most of those victims happen to be children. A small child may stand on an open range door to gain access to the counter or investigate what is cooking on the stovetop and accidentally cause the entire unit to fall on top of them, along with hot items may have been cooking on the stovetop.
It now is hopefully obvious why this device is so important to have installed on your range. This doesn’t even touch on the liability issues if a child of one of your visiting guests or your children’s friends become injured because of the lack of this simple life saving device being installed.
Think about it. Have one installed if one is not present.

A Roof Over Your Head

What is in a roof? Here on Guam, the answer seems fairly straight forward but in reality it is far from simple. The majority of the roof systems are poured concrete flat roofs, pitched roofs or a combination of both.

Concrete is known to have very small pores and cracks also known as capillary tracts. A number of variables will affect how many of these pores there may be. These pores are the method for water pe*******on into the concrete aided by osmotic effect. Other variables including temperature induced expansion and shrinkage which will increase the number and severity of these pores or cracks. Over time, water will reach the structural reinforcing members of the roof system (REBAR) and cause it to rust and deteriorate and eventually compromise the structural integrity of the entire roof system. As we can plainly see, proper waterproofing of the entire roof system is extremely important as it is exposed to weather.

The flat roof system is, or rather should be, decidedly NOT flat. The slope or ‘fall’ of a flat roof should be a minimum of 1:80 but preferably 1:50 to effectively clear surface water to prevent damaging ponding or settling of water. Simply stated the roof should slope towards roof drains or suitable discharge points at a slope of 1 inch vertical for every 50 inches span horizontally. This is particularly important in form poured concrete roof systems due to the inherently inconsistent results from form lay-up.
Sadly, the single most common issue I find inspecting homes here on Guam is the failure to understand and incorporate these seemingly simple concepts into design, construction, maintenance and repair of roof systems. To be plain, every single roof I have inspected is suffering from, to some degree, the failure to incorporate these concepts. “It’s Guam” is not an excuse to build, repair and maintain in a manner inconsistent with standard building practices. Hire a InterNACHI Certified Home Inspector to find the severity of the discrepancies present on the home you are about to purchase. Knowledge is power. Use this knowledge to allow your Realtor to negotiate better on your behalf.
Island Wide Home Inspections 671-747-5002

I had a unique opportunity to be the guest speaker at the last Pacific Association Of Real Estate Appraisers general membership meeting at the World Café, Fiesta Resort Hotel. It was a pleasure to have met so many Real Estate professionals from the Pacific Region and Guam and to share with them what we do at Island Wide Home Inspections. Thank You to Lana and Kishin for the opportunity to speak!