Jay Markanich

Every time I bring up deck flashing on an inspection I get called out!

I have had homeowners tell me that only roofs need flashing. One said he has seen window flashing but had never heard of deck flashing. Another called me a "$&*%%#@!" and that "you inspectors are just looking for stuff to mention on your reports whether they are true or not!"

Deck flashing is crucial to a deck installation. Without it water can seep into the house via the lag or through bolts. They are called "through bolts" because they go through the house to the interior.

Deck flashing, sometimes called "Z" flashing, fits under the siding and OVER the ledger beam, which is the beam attached to the house. It forces the water to the outside, where it has little chance of entering the house. It is made of metal.

Tonight I got an interesting email and phone call. On a recent inspection I mentioned that the deck flashing was missing. I further mentioned that the product I saw on the house was improperly placed and of an indeterminate material.

It seems the seller and listing agent know better. They told my client and client's agent that the deck was "built to code" and that "the flashing is indeed there, simply cut off at the top to make it look better."

Yes, that's the quote in the email...

Here are photos of the "flashing" in question. YOU be the judge!

That is the left and right view of the same ledger beam. It includes a very pretty hole extending into the interior. I would LOVE to see the wording of that code!

Ignorance is bliss I guess, but while there is no interior damage yet (the deck is only a year old) there likely will be and my client will inherit it. My job is the purchaser and his protection. My report doesn't speak to the code, onto to proper installation. And what sellers and listing agents say really has no bearing on my report.

But, who am I to question that job above?!

My recommendation: Don't buck the home inspector! And when people want to make fools of themselves, get out of the way. Just be sure to stand your ground...

Recovery after surgery used to mean bed rest and soft food. Lay flat, get some sleep. Catch up on your reading. Draw the blinds and drapes. No excitement. That's probably why it took so long to recuperate.

There is a different philosophy now! There are specific things to do. Lung exercises, rolling exercises, leg exercises, brain activity, certain foods and walking. Lots of walking.

Tuesday it will be two weeks since the "miracle surgery." Last week the doctor wanted her to walk 1 mile a day! She tried but couldn't. I measured off the upstairs hallway and she had to walk from one end to the other 96 times to equal a mile. We thought she could do four trips a day, with 12 laps per trip. She walked a lot, but probably not a mile in any day.

This week the doctor wants her to walk 2 miles a day! And to try to do it outside. Well, that is certainly less boring than the hallway. And there is about 1/8 mile in front of the house that is flat.

So, we pried her into her shoes and carefully down the stairs. Out she went and up and down the street four times.

She was a little scrunched and wobbly and dragged her feet a bit. I had to hold her firmly by an armpit. But she did it. Not bad for a first trip. And that was in addition to a few walks in the hallway today.

The very fact that she can do this is miraculous in and of itself.

She was a little embarrassed by her appearance - posture, walking gait and so forth. If I was her, the hat would have been more embarrassing to me! Wow, the nerve it takes to wear that hat out in public! I don't think she knows what kind of a year they had.

Ignorance is bliss...

Gotta be!

After a very difficult travel day, which began in the doctor's office at 10am and ended in bed at 8:30 last night, the miracle surgery patient got home. A very happy little girl got home about the same time. After over a week at a friend's house, although taken care of very well, she was quite happy to be back in her home with her parents and her dog. This has been a traumatic week for everyone!

We want to thank all those who expressed concern, sent messages, sent emails, made phone calls, gave flowers, sent flowers (the room is filling up), picked up our mail, are providing meals, offered prayers individually and in church, and basically gave us their love and support. Many of you we have never met!

And now the healing begins. She is told to stay in bed from 4-6 months, walk each day, blow into her respiratory therapy device, and eat protein, veggies and fiber.

There are pills with various purposes, ointments for the same, and a short walk to the bathroom. She is quite tired, quite cared for, and quite glad to eat something other than "the worst hospital food I have ever had, and I have been in a lot of hospitals!" Well, you can't have everything.

In applying ointments this morning I had opportunity to count her healing surgical holes (no stitches, super glue). Usually her surgeries leave her with 3. This time I thought there were 5. Instead she has 11, and perhaps one more! They did a lot of work! I think she looks pretty good following such an ordeal! (She did NOT want this photo taken...)

Between Dr. Liu and his primary assistant surgeon, they called on her a total of 17 times. They also called by phone or were called by the hospital another 25 times or so. Dr. Liu called again this afternoon, just to check in. These are terrific doctors and people.

So, again, thank you all for everything you have done.

We’ve been in Chattanooga TN since Sunday for my wife to have a serious surgery. It was to repair problems to a previous surgery caused by a car accident she was in three years ago. The previous surgery, in Oct 2000, a breakthrough surgery then, was performed by Drs. Harry Reich and C. Y. Liu, both pioneers in laparoscopic surgery. The car accident pulled some of those things apart and damaged others, so a fix was in order.

Two top doctors in Washington DC and one at Johns Hopkins said that what needed to be done could not possibly be done laparoscopically. One said it would be a “miracle surgery” if it was.

Well, her miracle surgery was done yesterday. She is fine, swollen, bruised and sore, but fine. Usually she only has two holes in addition to the big one in the navel. This time she has twelve. It was deemed a terrific success.

The other “miracle” is that Dr. Liu came out of semi-retirement to perform this surgery. It is said to be his last. How fortunate for my wife. Because it was using breakthrough technologies and techniques, my wife said she met a bunch doctors from all over the country who came to Chattanooga to watch it being done. We’re told that some of them are familiar with my wife from medical textbooks and JAMA articles she has appeared in. When you sign that piece of paper allowing that, you don’t know what might come of you!

My wife says Dr. Liu brings in his special equipment to do all this and that the operating room looks very sci-fi and futuristic. Much of what he uses is of his design and invention. Even the operating table is different.

He truly is the best in the world. We are grateful and thankful for his service to us.

The team and staff at Parkridge East Hospital in Chattanooga are terrific. They are competent, helpful and friendly at the same time. All in all, this is a very friendly town – I have been called “Hon,” “Darlin’”and “Sweetie” more in the last few days than in all of my life previous! I bet if I asked for a pina colada (virgin) and a foot massage, they would somehow accommodate me.

And this hospital is so proud to have Dr. Liu operate there they can hardly stand it. He puts them on the map. When he walks down the hall it is with Rock Star status! He has invited many Fellows here to study with him. One of the Fellows who participated in this procedure remembers reading about my wife in med school. That is both interesting and weird at the same time!

If you Google the Women’s Surgery Center in Chattanooga, virtually everything on the left-hand navigation was redone or repaired. Pelvic floor reconstruction is a complex surgery by any measure, especially when it is coupled by so many other procedures.

After it was done, Dr. Liu gave me my DVD of the operation, a little over 4 hours. He always gives me one. I have many others, from many other surgeries! It’s quite a collection. You might say I am one of the few spouses who can really say that he knows his wife inside and out. He won’t allow me anywhere near the surgery because he says I am “too jocular.” Can you believe that? So he makes me DVDs. Well, better than nothing I guess… I know, having a DVD of an operation sounds like a big yuck, but it is really interesting to see.

Dr. Liu is a very matter-of-fact person. He is not one to joke around. But I got a smile out of him when I thanked him for putting her in room 207 because of the good feng shui. He smiled and shot his hand upward at an angle, demonstrating that he understood. It is good feng shui to have numbers that go up and not down… don’tcha know.

Now it’s careful recovery and a hopeful return home on Monday. That will be difficult as well. That’s when the real fun begins. Wish us luck!

It took me a couple of phone calls over a week's time to put it together.

But I did.

It was a husband and wife tag team. With the same foreign accent. With the same questions about my prices. With the same suggestions about what discounts I should offer. All on an inspection they wanted to schedule in the same area of the same city.

They found my website and knew all about me. They knew my pricing backwards and forwards. They started by trying to negotiate down my inspection price. How much could I discount it? That didn't work.

Then they took a different tact - that I should do an IR scan on their whole house as a part of the inspection. It should be free. I would make more money if I offered free IR inspections because more people would call me and that I should begin on their house.

Oh, then there was the "other" inspector out there who will do an inspection cheaper than I, and throw in IR and a free termite inspection. It got comical.

Amazingly, I quoted them each the same price for what they were asking. I do discount an IR exam $100 IF it is done at the same time as the home inspection. That is on my website and beyond that I didn't budge on my pricing.

They were consistent with this negotiating technique while each calling me independently over the course of many days. I eventually put them together.

Then yesterday the wife called to say there was an inspector they called who would give her, in addition to all of the above, a free 6-month home warranty and she wanted me to offer her one too. I called her by her husband's name and she got dead silent.

"You are very clever," she said.

"Not really. I started bowling when I was 8 and I can add really well. But as you see, I don't subtract well. Not only do I not offer a home warranty, I have you sign an agreement which specifically states that I do not warrant anything in the house beyond the day of the inspection. I can't warrant that my furnace will be working 6 months from now, how could I possibly warrant yours? You probably also think the government is going to provide you better medical coverage then you have now and for free! If you are looking for a free home warranty, you are looking for the other company to do your inspection. You should call them. And good luck." (Yes, I said that...)

I hung up.

Of course I blew them off! Free IR? Free termite? Free home warranty? I know there are those home warranty programs out there and I have read the exclusions. Those companies are making a LOT of money offering "peace of mind."

My recommendation: Be who you are. Don't be who "they" are. And remember the very time tested economic principle - There is no such thing as a free lunch. Because there isn't...