Minneapolis Home Inspections - Reuben Saltzman

The City of Robbinsdale has implemented a new Truth in Housing program which becomes mandatory May 1^st. Robbinsdale will call this a Point of Sale program. The Robbinsdale Point of Sale program will be almost identical to the Hopkins Truth in Housing program. Below are the main points - this is a summary of the most important parts to know, but obviously does not include every detail about the program.

• When: By May 1st, all homes listed for sale are required to have a Point of Sale inspection performed. This includes one, two, and three family homes, condominiums, and townhomes.
• Exceptions: New construction homes, and sales to an owner or relative. For purposes of this exception, relatives shall be defined as a husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandson, granddaughter, grandfather or grandmother
• Who: Inspections will be done by private evaluators who are certified with the City of Robbinsdale, such as myself. If repairs are needed, a Robbinsdale city inspector (Building Official) will inspect the repaired items.
• Repairs: Items identified as potentially hazardous to occupants will be marked as "RR" - Repair / Replace. The seller is responsible for correcting these items before selling, or in some cases the buyer may accept responsibility for the repairs.

I have been in contact with the City of Robbinsdale to provide input on this program and to clarify issues that have not been clearly spelled out in the ordinance or in the evaluator guidelines. Please contact me with any questions; if I don't know the answer, I'll find out.

Included below are links with specific information.

Repair / Replace Items

Point of Sale Ordinance

Evaluator Guidelines

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Robbinsdale Point of Sale Evaluator

I had a ridiculously frustrating conversation with a building official from a local city recently (I won't say which - I'm licensed in six cities). I called Mr. Building Official to argue about a permit that he approved, but I ended up backing down after I talked to him. Here's the story.

While performing a Truth in Sale of Housing Evaluation at a property, I marked the exhaust for the high-efficiency furnace was too close to the mechanical air intake. The furnace had just been installed, and the owner hadn't had the City out yet to inspect the furnace. I showed the homeowner the installation manual for the furnace, which demonstrated exactly why it was improperly installed.

The owner called the installers and told them about the improper installation, but the installers suggested he wait until the City inspector came out to look at the furnace. The installers obviously knew something I didn't. The City inspector came out, discussed the installation with the seller, said the installation was fine, and approved the permit.

The owner was now obviously stuck in the middle - I'm telling him one thing, and the City is telling him another thing. We're always supposed to be on the same page! To get us on the same page, well, really to get Mr. Building Official on my page, I called to convince him that I was right. Unfortunately, he completely agreed with me. I had the whole conversation planned out... and it didn't matter! He told me about having the exact same conversation with his superiors a long time ago, but was told to back down on the issue. There are so many houses that have this same improper installation, he was told to just let it go.

As a Truth in Housing Evaluator, I'm acting as a sub-contractor for the city. I'm supposed to be calling out the defects that they want called out, not calling out what is right or wrong... so I let it go. Instead of rating this defect as a "B" - Below Minimum Requirements, I changed my rating to a "C" - Comment. When the home is sold, maybe the buyers will hire an inspector that doesn't like the installation either and tells them to change it. When I'm acting as a private inspector, I can recommend whatever I want.

Click here for details on the Improper Furnace Installation.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Robbinsdale Home Inspector

When I replaced my first water heater, I was excited to get something larger, more efficient, and maybe even a little sexier. As it turned out, getting a different type of water heater wasn't my best option, and now I end up telling my customers the same thing. If you're in need of a new water heater, chances are pretty good that you have a 40 - 50 gallon gas water heater, and your best option for replacement will be with the exact same type.

A standard gas water heater is a pretty simple device - there's a tank that holds water, a burner at the bottom of the tank, and a vent that takes the exhaust gas out of the house through gravity (the warm air rises). There are several other types of water heaters, and I'm going to list some pros and cons of each type.

Standard Gas - This is what makes up the bulk of water heaters in Minneapolis and Saint Paul - I would estimate 95%. They have a low cost, they're easy to replace, and they recover hot water relatively quickly. On the downside, energy is lost by keeping water heated all day. If you're replacing a standard water heater and there is a problem with the chimney or flue (which usually means it's not up to code), it can be very expensive to repair the chimney or bring it up to code.

Powervent - These are similar to standard gas water heaters, but instead of the exhaust gases rising up and out of the house, a fan forces the exhaust gases through a plastic pipe out the side of the house. The biggest advantage is that the exhaust gases don't need to rise up the house through the roof - these water heaters can be vented right through the side of the house. These are a great option if there are problems with an existing standard water heater vent. Unfortunately, they cost about twice as much as a standard water heater. I've also noticed that they are frequently installed wrong; I would guess that about 50 - 75 percent of the powervent water heaters that I inspect are incorrectly installed.

Tankless - This type of water heater definitely generates the most interest. These water heaters only heat the water that you use, so you're not wasting money by keeping 40 gallons of water hot all day. They use about 20% less energy, take up less space, and provide an endless supply of hot water. Unfortunately, they cost about three times as much as a standard water heater, and it's very expensive to convert from a standard water heater to a tankless - so much so that getting a payback in energy savings typically won't happen. Tankless water heaters also provide a limited volume of hot water; a standard tank will give you all the hot water you want until it's gone, but a tankless water heater produces a limited amount at once. There are many other reasons not to buy a tankless water heaters - click the following link for an in-depth research paper on tankless water heaters.

Electric - Electric water heaters are probably the easiest to install and easiest to replace. There is no venting required, so they can be installed in small places or in places where it would be difficult or impossible to run a vent. The biggest downside to electric water heaters is that they take a long time to recover hot water. Once you're out of hot water, you're out for a long time. I don't recommend electric water heaters if you have the choice of using gas instead.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Home Inspections

There are many common misconceptions about furnaces, water heaters, and carbon monoxide that I hear repeated on a daily basis, and I'd like to clear a few of them up.

False: Carbon Monoxide is also called CO2. Carbon Monoxide is CO. Carbon Dioxide is CO2. (Mono = 1, Di = 2)

False: Cracked heat exchangers create CO. CO is caused by incomplete combustion, period. A cracked heat exchanger does not create CO. A heat exchanger is the part of a furnace that transfers heat from the flames to the household air. A functional heat exchanger keeps the household air and the combustion gases completely separate from each other. If a furnace has a cracked heat exchanger, the combustion gases can mix with the household air. It's usually just a little bit, but this is still unacceptable, and it means the furnace or heat exchanger should be replaced. The photos below show cracks in heat exchangers (click the photos for full-sized images).

False: Cracked heat exchangers can be fixed. They can't be fixed. The heat exchanger or entire furnace needs to be replaced.

False: High CO levels = cracked heat exchanger. See above. We test the CO levels in the flue gas, which has nothing to do with a cracked heat exchanger. Heat exchangers fail when the metal rusts through or when it cracks. CO does not cause this.

False: High CO levels in the flue gas mean the furnace is leaking CO. If there is a high level of CO in the flue gas, there is a potential for the exhaust gases to mix with the household air, or ‘leak'. One way would be for the exhaust gases to backdraft, which means that instead of rising up and out of the house, they come back down the flue. The other way would be because of a cracked heat exchanger. If we find high levels of CO in the flue gas, we recommend immediate repair - it doesn't matter if the gases are mixing with the household air at the time of the inspection or not, because this condition could potentially change at any time. Higher CO levels can often be fixed.

False: Backdrafting at a furnace or water heater means CO is coming in to the home. Backdrafting means that exhaust gases are spilling back in to the home, rather than going up the flue. A properly functioning water heater or furnace will not create CO, so you can't say CO is coming in to the home unless you test the exhaust gases; we do this at every inspection. Click here for a news clip me testing a furnace. While backdrafting doesn't mean CO is coming in to the home, this is still a potentially hazardous situation that requires immediate correction. Backdrafting has the potential to allow CO in to the home, and will always contain CO2 (carbon dioxide), which can cause sickness and headaches in higher concentrations.

Wrong Term: Hot water heater. Just 'water heater'. The heated water that comes out is hot.

To summarize, high levels of CO need to be fixed, cracked heat exchangers need replacement, and backdrafting is never ok. These three things are all independent, but a combination of these conditions is especially dangerous. When using these terms, make sure you have them correct. It makes a difference.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Home Inspections

I'm a Bryn Mawr resident, and I offer a special deal to fellow Bryn Mawr residents - free Truth-in-Housing Re-Inspections! This means that if you hire me to perform your Truth-in-Housing Inspection, I can do a Pre-Inspection to let you know about any potential repair items. After you've completed the repairs, I'll come back out to do the Re-Inspection for free!

I normally don't play the price game, but for Bryn Mawr residents, this is a better deal than anyone offers, as far as I know. Us home inspectors are friendly competitors, but I still get jealous every time I see another home inspector in my neighborhood!

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Bryn Mawr Truth-in-Housing Evaluator