Jason Aldrich Sequim, WA Home Inspector

ASHI, through its education subsidiary ASHI Education Inc. (AEI), is pleased to offer this specialized 3-day training opportunity which is being offered in conjunction with the ASHI Western Washington Chapter. Commercial inspections offer an excellent diversification path for home inspectors.

When and Where?
This 3-day course will be offered December 6-7-8, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. each day. Each day's session will conclude at 5:00 p.m. Course completion will be recognized with a certificate.

The course will be held at the Shoreline Community Center in the Aurora Room. The address is 18560 1st Ave. NE, Shoreline, WA 98155. Cost of the course is $1,395 for WW Chapter members, $1,495 for other ASHI members, and $1,695 for non-ASHI members. To register for this course:

• Click here to register and pay by credit card

• Click here to register and pay by check

Click here for Commercial Building Inspection Course Information.

Who is Carson Dunlop Weldon?
Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Ltd. (CDW) is a consulting engineering firm that specializes in commercial building inspections and training. They are an affiliate company of Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd. They perform approximately 500 to 600 commercial building inspections annually. They currently offer their 3-day commercial inspection training program several times per year at locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their website is www.CDWengineering.com.

Why Commercial Inspection?
The 3-day commercial inspection training program has been prepared specifically with home inspectors in mind. The course has been delivered for over 10 years and is intended to teach home inspectors how to diversify into the discipline of commercial inspections. The program is approved for 24 ASHI CE Credits (and 24 NAHI CEUs if offered at a joint training opportunity).

Following the scope set out in the ASTM Standard E2018, the course takes the attendees through all major building systems to provide them with an understanding of how commercial systems operate and how they are different than residential systems. While the course is weighted more on technical topics, various business issues, including who the clients are, why they want the service and the different commercial related services available, are also covered.

One of the most praised aspects of the course is the field exercises. CDW arranges to take the attendees through commercial buildings (typically at the hotel or venue where the course is held) and give them hands-on experience with commercial structures and systems.

Included with the course is a textbook prepared specifically for this purpose. The textbook includes illustrations, sample proposals and reports.

The primary instructor is Richard Weldon, P.Eng., LEED AP. Richard has over 20 years of experience with commercial inspections. Richard has also made presentations about commercial buildings and inspections to various real estate organizations throughout North America.

I personally experienced something not too long ago that reminded me just how precious life is and also how short it can be-I fell from a roof and broke my back on April 8^th. Immediately after I fell, as I was trying to sit still so I wouldn't do anymore damage, I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought of the past (growing up with my two brothers, my parents 25^th wedding anniversary, meeting my wife, our wedding), the present (I might be paralyzed) and of the future (possibly not being able to pick up my children, work or do any of the things I really enjoy). If you haven't had such an experience, you should consider yourself very fortunate.

Luckily I wasn't paralyzed and will make a full recovery in the coming months, but the experience was life changing. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the ladder slipping out from under me and how much worse it could have been. I think about what I did wrong, how it happened so fast that I had no time to react, and what I can do to try and prevent it from happening again. But, I also know that things happen in life that we don't plan on.

Just a few days ago I received a letter from a local electrician that I regularly refer work to notifying me that his son (12 years old) had been killed while on vacation and that he was taking a leave of absence to grieve. As the article in the local paper explained, the boy was struck by a semitrailer as he was trying to retrieve a storage bin lid that had blown off the family vehicle. When I read both the letter and the article I was deeply saddened. I can't even begin to imagine the pain the family is feeling. I take some comfort in the knowledge that they have family and friends in the area to help them through this terrible time. And it again reminded me how precious life is and how we should appreciate every day we have.

As this Independence Day approaches, I sincerely hope that you take the time to appreciate this great country we live in, to be with the ones you love, and to live life to the fullest.

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." - Ashley Smith

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a safe and fun filled holiday weekend.

Randy West with The Daily Courier, in his article Billing through escrow is a conflict of interest for home inspectors, does a wonderful job of explaining the reasoning behind why most home inspectors do not or cannot allow payment at the closing of escrow.

Randy points out that from the position of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), billing escrow is a conflict of interest and would represent a violation of the ASHI Code of Ethics. He goes on to say "it is imperative that home inspectors are totally objective about the homes they inspect. A home inspector should not care whether his client buys the home or not; he should simply report the good, bad and ugly to allow the client to make an informed decision.

What is less obvious is that billing escrow does give the home inspector a financial interest in the home. Billing escrow means the home inspector will get paid by the title company when the home closes. If a home does not close, the home inspector may never be able to collect his fee. He will have to track down the buyer. The buyer did not purchase the home, so even if the home inspector finds the buyer they may not be eager to pay for an inspection on a home they didn't buy. So if a home inspector bills escrow, it is in his best interest for the home to close. If a home inspector gets paid up front for his inspection, no one can accuse him of not being objective in order to get paid."

To be fair, there are other professional home inspector associations that do allow their members to bill through escrow. For me, as a proud associate member of the oldest and largest home inspector professional organization-that is, ASHI-I follow and support ASHI's position and do not allow payment at the closing of escrow.

I recently had a discussion with a local electrician about AFCI breakers and whether or not it makes sense for them to be added as a safety upgrade to older houses. The electrician's opinion was that adding AFCI breakers to houses built prior to 2002 most often causes "nuisance tripping" of the breakers due to how the structure was originally wired. This got me thinking: if that's the case, then should home inspectors even bother to report upon missing AFCIs in older houses?

After doing a bit of research, it is now clear to me that Washington State home inspectors are required to report on inoperative or missing AFCIs regardless of how old the house is. Interesting, no?

Below is some background information about AFCIs and the research that lead me to this conclusion.

What is an AFCI?
AFCI stands for Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter. And without going into too much detail, AFCI breakers cut power to the circuit when electricity arcing from damaged wires is detected. This condition might occur when wires or cords overheat or become damaged from furniture pinching them, nail punctures, fraying with age, or damage from rodents.

For more information about AFCIs, please see: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/afcifac8.pdf

When did AFCIs start to be required?
Homes built after 2002 are required to have AFCI breakers for receptacle outlets in bedrooms. However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that AFCI breakers be added on other circuits and for older homes as well. Some safety officials recommend they be installed on every home as a safety upgrade.

Washington State Standards of Practice
It appears that the creators of the Washington State Home Inspector Standards of Practice (SOP) agree with the CPSC. WAC 308-408C-110 (the electrical portion of the SOP) states the following:

• The inspector will verify ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection and arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) protection where required.
• The inspector will report the location of any inoperative or missing GFCI and/or AFCI devices when they are recommended by industry standards.

After reviewing the above WAC again for myself, I had a few clarification questions I felt needed to be answered. So, I contacted the Washington State Department of Licensing's Home Inspector Program. My questions and their responses are below.

1. Q: Can you tell me what "industry standards" the WAC is referring to? Or does "industry standards" really mean "code?"
   
   A: Industry standards refers to current rules/standards in the area of electrical devices. Current standards does NOT refer to codes.
   
   
2. Q: If home inspectors are supposed to use the code to determine where GFCI and AFCI protection is required, are we supposed to use the code that was current at the time the structure was built or current code?
   
   A: Current recommended rules apply.
   
   
3. Q: If the structure was built prior to GFCI and AFCI protection being required, are home inspectors still required to report that they are missing?
   
   A: You are required to report these protections [if they] are not up to industry standards, and recommend they be brought up to current standards. You are not required to recommend fixing or replacing or adding.

Conclusion
While the Home Inspector Program's answers to my questions might not be very clear, the overall intent of the SOP and their answers are-that is, all Washington State home inspectors are required to report on inoperative or missing AFCIs regardless of how old the house is. Whether or not they recommend installing AFCI breakers as a safety upgrade is up to each individual inspector.

Like many home inspectors in Washington State, I am required to follow three separate Standards of Practices (SOPs): (1) as a state licensed Home Inspector (HI), (2) as a Structural Pest Inspector (SPI), and (3) as an associate member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). These three SOPs dictate what I must inspect and report upon with every inspection. And they cover about 90% of what I typically inspect.

The remaining 10% or so are made up of what I'll refer to as "industry standards." These are things that may not be required by the SOPs but that the majority of home inspectors in the industry look for anyway as a course of doing business. For me personally, the definition of what's "industry standard" is set by my knowledge, training, and what my HI colleagues throughout the state are reporting on.

Some Realtors insist (and some inspectors agree) that home inspectors should NOT inspect beyond what's required-in other words, don't report upon items outside the SOPs. But I imagine those same Realtors would be upset if an inspector skipped any of the following typically inspected items; none of these are currently part of the SOPs:

• Estimated age or remaining life expectancy of a roof, water heater, furnace, etc.
• Using a moisture meter to determine the presence of hidden moisture.
• Reporting on the evidence of rodent activity.
• Testing the dishwasher and oven/range.
• Reporting on the presence or absence of:
  • Carbon monoxide detectors
  • Water heater seismic strapping and/or drip pan
  • Safety type glass or the integrity of thermal window seals

The fact of the matter is that the SOPs are simply minimum standards and many home inspectors choose to go above and beyond them. Good home inspectors are continually learning, integrating what they've picked up from colleague, seminars, and training courses into their own inspection philosophy.

My personal inspection philosophy is to provide my clients with the most information I can about a house so that they can make the best, most informed decision they can on what is probably the largest purchase of their life. Sometimes that means reporting on issues that are above and beyond the SOPs. While this philosophy might put some additional strain on the purchase process by identifying more items that need to be repaired, I strongly feel it is the right thing to do for all parties involved.

Referenced Sources:

• Washington State Home Inspector Standards of Practice:
  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-408C
• Washington State Structural Pest Inspector Standards of Practice:
  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-228-2005
• American Society of Home Inspectors Standards of Practice:
  http://www.homeinspector.org/standards/default.aspx