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Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

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Some Rejections are Compliments

10-05-09
Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

A client from out of state called me and asked if I would give him a bid on some commercial property that he was wanting to buy near Cassville. I took a ride out to see it and found a run down looking motel with a recent coat of paint on it and inquired of the owners information about the septic system that they appeared to know very little about. I left my business card and returned to my office.

I could tell that this was going to be a lot of problems to look at, a lengthy report to write and the defensive demeanor of the sellers as I asked them questions gave me a feeling that this was not a job that I really wanted to do. Business has been good and I really didn't want to spend the amount of time that this project would require.

Yet, the client was in a pinch and I had committed to do his inspection, so I intended to see it through. I called him with a bid and he accepted.

The following Monday, he called me with the news that the sellers had told him that they would not allow me on the property. They knew of my reputation from the "newspapers" and explained to my client that they would not allow an inspection if I did it.

The client was apologetic, but after I explained to him of the unsafe conditions that I have found in other commercial establishments in this area and wrote up as a City Inspector for Cassville, and how one particular county circular wrote up my inspections as if they were something "bad", it made sense that a Barry County business with something to hide would not want me inspecting it.

I shared with him some of the perilous issues uncovered in recent inspections and the "good ol' boy network" around here that covered them up. Many of these things can be read in other articles in this blog and my other blog, so I will not elaborate here. Suffice it to say that "anything goes" where there are no building standards and no one to enforce them.

We both accepted this "rejection" from this business as a tremendous compliment to me and as a reason for him to refer me to others...as well as a humorous reflection upon the integrity of the sellers. Very few home sellers will be foolish enough to openly attempt to manipulate the outcome of an inspection of their home.

I am NOT the inspector to call if you want a "soft" or "white washed" report about the conditions of property in a county with no building codes, no licensed contractors, and no one to inspect them.

I will document what I see and fully inform the seller of the defects of the property without regard to what the sellers may or may not want to have documented.

Unlike these people, most sellers in the area are extremely honest folks and are not intending to hide anything. Most of the deficiencies I find are either unknown to them, or were not known to be incorrect at the time they were implemented.

But these particular sellers apparently had a whole lot that they did not want to have disclosed.

I owe them a big thanks for the advertisement of the integrity of my services...and for illustrating to everyone how important it is to have an independent inspection done on any property that you intend to buy.

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Why the National Flood Insurance Program Will Be Good for Barry County, Missouri

10-02-09
Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding…a condition common and familiar to many in Cassville, Monett, Aurora and many other areas in Barry County.

This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods.

Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement that will be made between Barry County andthe Federal Government that states if a community will adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risks to new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas, the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against flood losses.

The restrictions that would be placed on further development of hazardous areas are only common sense and will encourage development of areas not prone to flooding.

Vote for Barry County participation with FEMA when the opportunity comes to you in April 2010.

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Dryer Vent Safety

05-01-09
Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

Dryer Vent Safety

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by Nick Gromicko, Rob London and Kenton Shepard
Clothes dryers evaporate the water from wet clothing by blowing hot air past them while they tumble inside a spinning drum. Heat is provided by an electrical heating element or gas burner. Some heavy garment loads can contain more than a gallon of water which, during the drying process, will become airborne water vapor and leave the dryer and home through an exhaust duct (more commonly known as a dryer vent).
A vent that exhausts moist air to the home exterior has a number of requirements:
  1. It should be connected. The connection is usually behind the dryer but may be beneath it. Look carefully to make sure it’s actually connected!
  2. It should not be restricted. Dryer vents are often made from flexible plastic or metal duct, which may be easily kinked or crushed where they exit the dryer and enter the wall or floor. This is often a problem since dryers tend to be tucked away into small areas with little room to work. Vent hardware is available which is designed to turn 90° in a limited space without restricting the flow of exhaust air. Restrictions should be noted in the inspector's report. Airflow restrictions are a potential fire hazard!
  3. One of the reasons that restrictions are a potential fire hazard is that, along with water vapor evaporated out of wet clothes, the exhaust stream carries lint – highly flammable particles of clothing made of cotton and polyester. Lint can accumulate in an exhaust duct, reducing the dryer’s ability to expel heated water vapor, which then accumulates as heat energy within the machine. As the dryer overheats, mechanical failures can trigger sparks, which can cause lint trapped in the dryer vent to burst into flames. This condition can cause the whole house to burst into flames! Fires generally originate within the dryer but spread by escaping through the ventilation duct, incinerating trapped lint, and following its path into the building wall.
House fires caused by dryers are far more common than generally believed, a fact that can be appreciated upon reviewing statistics from the National Fire Protection Agency. Fires caused by dryers in 2005 were responsible for approximately 13,775 house fires, 418 injuries, 15 deaths, and $196 million in property damage. Most of these incidents occur in residences and are the result of improper lint cleanup and maintenance. Fortunately, these fires are very easy to prevent.

The recommendations outlined below reflect International Residential Code (IRC) SECTION M1502 CLOTHES DRYER EXHAUST guidelines:

M1502.5 Duct construction.
Exhaust ducts shall be constructed of minimum 0.016-inch-thick (0.4 mm) rigid metal ducts, having smooth interior surfaces, with joints running in the direction of air flow. Exhaust ducts shall not be connected with sheet-metal screws or fastening means which extend into the duct.

This means that the flexible, ribbed vents used in the past should no longer be used. They should be noted as a potential fire hazard if observed during an inspection.
M1502.6 Duct length.
The maximum length of a clothes dryer exhaust duct shall not exceed 25 feet (7,620 mm) from the dryer location to the wall or roof termination. The maximum length of the duct shall be reduced 2.5 feet (762 mm) for each 45-degree (0.8 rad) bend, and 5 feet (1,524 mm) for each 90-degree (1.6 rad) bend. The maximum length of the exhaust duct does not include the transition duct.
This means that vents should also be as straight as possible and cannot be longer than 25 feet. Any 90-degree turns in the vent reduce this 25-foot number by 5 feet, since these turns restrict airflow.

A couple of exceptions exist:
  1. The IRC will defer to the manufacturer’s instruction, so if the manufacturer’s recommendation permits a longer exhaust vent, that’s acceptable. An inspector probably won’t have the manufacturer’s recommendations, and even if they do, confirming compliance with them exceeds the scope of a General Home Inspection.
  2. The IRC will allow large radius bends to be installed to reduce restrictions at turns, but confirming compliance requires performing engineering calculation in accordance with the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, which definitely lies beyond the scope of a General Home Inspection!
M1502.2 Duct termination.
Exhaust ducts shall terminate on the outside of the building or shall be in accordance with the dryer manufacturer’s installation instructions. Exhaust ducts shall terminate not less than 3 feet (914 mm) in any direction from openings into buildings. Exhaust duct terminations shall be equipped with a backdraft damper. Screens shall not be installed at the duct termination.
Inspectors will see many dryer vents terminate in crawlspaces or attics where they deposit moisture, which can encourage the growth of mold, wood decay, or other material problems. Sometimes they will terminate just beneath attic ventilators. This is a defective installation. They must terminate at the exterior and away from a door or window! Also, screens may be present at the duct termination and can accumulate lint and should be noted as improper.
M1502.3 Duct size.
The diameter of the exhaust duct shall be as required by the clothes dryer’s listing and the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Look for the exhaust duct size on the data plate.
M1502.4 Transition ducts.
Transition ducts shall not be concealed within construction. Flexible transition ducts used to connect the dryer to the exhaust duct system shall be limited to single lengths not to exceed 8 feet (2438 mm), and shall be listed and labeled in accordance with UL 2158A.
In general, a home inspector will not know specific manufacturer’s recommendations or local applicable codes and will not be able to confirm the dryer vent's compliance to them, but will be able to point out issues that may need to be corrected.

Published with permission from the authors.
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Fiberglass Insulation - History, Hazards and Alternatives

05-01-09
Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

Fiberglass Insulation – History, Hazards, Alternatives

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by Nick Gromicko, Rob London and Kenton Shepard

Fiberglass is a type of fiber primarily composed of glass that is used in a wide variety of applications, and is predominantly employed as a residential and commercial thermal insulator. Fiberglass is also used to create products as varied as automobile bodies, boat hulls, arrows, roofing, shower curtains, and tent poles. As an insulator, it slows the spread of heat, cold and sound in structures, cars and aircraft. By trapping pockets of air, it keeps rooms warm in the winter and cool in the summer and thereby serves as a convenient method to increase energy efficiency. Fiberglass is an attractive choice for home insulation because it poses no fire hazard. According to some estimates, thermal insulation (made from fiberglass and its alternatives) conserves 12 times as much energy as is lost in its production, and it may reduce residential energy costs by up to 40%.
Glass has been woven into small amounts of coarse fibers for many centuries, even by the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians, but fiberglass did not exist in its modern form until 1932 as a result of an accident. A researcher named Dale Kleist was attempting to create a vacuum-tight seal between two glass blocks when a jet of high-pressure air turned a stream of molten glass into fine fibers. He had unintentionally discovered an effective method to produce large amounts of fiberglass particles, a method that he would refine in later years. Fiberglass was trademarked in 1938 as Fiberglas® and was subsequently used in clothing, boat hulls, fishing rods, and eventually automobile bodies in 1953 when Fiberglas® partnered with Chevrolet.
In homes, fiberglass insulation can be installed in various parts of the building envelope. It can be pink, yellow, white or green, depending on its manufacturer, and has a spongy feel. Commonly found in blanket form, called batts, it is available in bags containing standard pre-cut lengths and widths. Batts are typically stapled into place. It also comes in bags as loose fill that can be blown into attic, wall and floor cavities. Most fiberglass batts are manufactured with a paper or foil backing that faces the direction of warmth. When installed correctly, it creates a continuous membrane that retards the passage of moisture and reduces the likelihood that fibrous particles will enter the living space. It is important that the backing always faces the warm side of the structure in which the insulation is installed.
Batts are available in different thicknesses, with the thicker batts offering a higher resistance to heat flow. This resistance is known as R-value, with common R-values for walls being R11 to R19, and R30 to R38 for ceilings.

Hazards
For home inspectors, it is important to understand the health risks associated with exposure to fiberglass insulation. These risks are not, at present, fully understood or agreed upon, but it is generally accepted that, in certain situations, it has the potential to cause physical harm. Small particles that come into contact with skin can lodge in pores and cause itchiness, rashes and irritation. When inhaled, particles can cause coughing, nosebleeds, and other respiratory ailments. Very fine airborne particles are capable of becoming deeply lodged in the lungs and are believed by many to cause cancer and other serious afflictions. OSHA considers this threat to be serious enough that it requires fiberglass insulation to carry a cancer warning label.
When it is disturbed, fiberglass insulation releases particulates into the air which may be inhaled by those installing or removing it, or by property inspectors crawling through attics or crawlspaces.
If you must disturb fiberglass insulation, wear gloves, long-sleeved shirts, pants and goggles. A respirator with a particulate filter should be used to prevent inhalation of the potentially dangerous fibers.
Before removing fiberglass insulation, it is a good idea to dampen the area to prevent particles from entering the airspace. Afterwards, wash your hands with water, preferably cold water, as warm water can expand pores which have trapped particles and allow them to travel deeper into your skin.

An Alternative – Cellulose
Cellulose, a plant-based insulator, is the oldest form of home insulation and, at times, has been produced from sawdust, cotton, straw, hemp, and other plant materials with low thermal-conductivity. Today, it is produced from recycled newspapers that are later treated with chemicals that reduce its ignition potential. It became popular in the 1970s due to the oil crisis, although it suffered from competition with fiberglass insulation as a result of fire-standards lobbying by the fiberglass and mineral companies. Cellulose must be chemically treated in order to reduce its flammable properties, although it always has the potential to burn. These chemicals, usually sodium borate, boric acid, or ammonium sulfate, are generally considered safe for human contact.
This material provides a number of advantages over fiberglass – it is inexpensive, significantly reduces airflow, and is not believed to pose any serious health risks. On the other hand, it is dustier, seriously weakened when damp, and generally offers less insulation than fiberglass, although this last point is not always true. It is possible that the material can produce harmful off-gasses from the ink contained in the newspapers, but insulation is generally contained in sealed locations, so this is not likely to be a health concern. As is true with fiberglass, protect your lungs with a breathing mask when handling cellulose insulation.
Fiberglass and cellulose are both used as insulators, although they offer somewhat different advantages. Cellulose is cheap and safe, although it isn’t as flame- resistant and it should be avoided in humid climates. Fiberglass is fire-resistant and is not as affected by moisture, although it is probably more dangerous. Also, keep in mind that there are other types of thermal insulation available that are not covered in this article, such as rock wool, vermiculite, and various two-part foams.
Published with permission of authors.
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Condensation in Double-Paned Windows

05-01-09
Jim Bushart, BPI Certified Building Analyst

Condensation in Double-Paned Windows

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by Nick Gromicko, Rob London and Kenton Shepard
Condensation is the accumulation of liquid water on relatively cold surfaces.
Almost all air contains water vapor, the gas phase of water composed of tiny water droplets. The molecules in warm air are far apart from one another and allow the containment of a relatively large quantity of water vapor. As air cools, its molecules get closer together and squeeze the tiny vapor droplets closer together as well. A critical temperature, known as dew point, exists where these water droplets will be forced so close together that they merge into visible liquid in a process called condensation.
Household air is humidified from high levels of water vapor in human and animal exhalation, plant transpiration, and fixtures such as showers and dryers. This humidity can rise significantly higher than outside air because of the insulative design of a house. Cold indoor surfaces can cool the surrounding air enough to force vapor to condense. This often happens on single-pane windows because they lack the necessary thermal insulation available to better windows. Double-pane windows have a layer of gas (usually argon or air) trapped between two panes of glass and should be insulated enough to prevent the accumulation of condensation. If this type of window appears misty or foggy, it means that its seal has failed and the window needs to be replaced.
Silica Desiccant
A desiccant is an absorptive material designed to maintain dryness within its vicinity. A common type of desiccant is silica gel, a porous plastic used to prevent spoilage in various food products. A tightly packed assortment of silica pellets is contained inside the aluminum perimeter strip of a window to dehumidify incoming household air that was not stopped by the window’s seal. If not for this substance, incoming air could condense on the glass.
Silica gel has an immense surface area, approximately 800 m²/g, which allows it to absorb water vapor for years. Eventually, the silica pellets will become saturated and will no longer be able to prevent condensation from forming. A double-paned window that appears foggy has failed and needs to be repaired or replaced.
Why Double-Paned Windows Fail - Solar (Thermal) Pumping
Although double-paned windows appear to be stable, they actually experience a daily cycle of expansion and contraction caused by “thermal pumping.” Sunlight heats the airspace between the panes and causes the gas there to heat up and pressurize. Expanding gas cannot leave the chamber between the panes and causes the glass to bulge outward during the day and contract at night to accommodate the changing pressures. This motion acts like the bellows of a forge, pumping minute amounts of air in and out of the airspace between the panes. Over time, the constant pressure fluctuations caused by thermal pumping will stress the seal and challenge its ability to prevent the flow of gas in and out of the window chamber. Incoming humid air has the potential to condense on the window surface, if it is cold enough.
Can Failed Windows be Repaired?
Inspectors should be aware that there are companies that claim to be able to repair misty windows through a process known as “defogging.”
This repair method proceeds in the following order:
  1. A hole is drilled into the window, usually from the outside, and a cleaning solution is sprayed into the air chamber.
  2. The solution and any other moisture are sucked out through a vacuum.
  3. A defogger device is permanently inserted into the hole that will allow the release of moisture during thermal pumping.
Inspectors should know that there is currently a debate as to whether this process is a suitable repair for windows that have failed or if it merely removes the symptom of this failure. Condensation appears between double-paned windows when the seal is compromised and removal of this water will not fix the seal itself. A window “repaired” in this manner, although absent of condensation, might not provide any additional insulation. This method is still fairly new and opinions about its effectiveness range widely. Regardless, “defogging” certainly allows for cosmetic improvement, which is of some value to homeowners. It also removes any potential damage caused by condensation in the form of mold or rot.
Window condensation will inevitably lead to irreversible physical window damage. This damage can appear in the following two ways:
Riverbedding – Condensed vapor between the glass panes will form droplets that run down the length of the window. Water that descends in this fashion has the tendency to follow narrow paths and carve grooves into the glass surface. These grooves are formed in a process similar to canyon formation.
Silica Haze – Once the silica gel has been saturated, it will be eroded by passing air currents and accumulate as white “snowflakes” on the window surface. It is believed that if this damage is present, the window must be replaced.
Thermal Imaging as a Detection Tool
The presence of condensation in double-paned windows means that they have failed, but the absence of condensation does not mean the window is functional. This latter fact is especially true in hot, dry environments, and when the temperature inside of a house is the same as the temperature outside. A method has recently developed that uses infrared (IR, thermal) imaging to provide a better determinant of faulty windows.
Home inspectors can become trained to use thermal imaging cameras to test for heat transfer through windowpanes (and other interior locations). In InterNACHI’s thermal imaging course, John McKenna explains how an IR camera can be used to identify failed windows by imaging unusual temperature gradients. Even the slightest entry of cold, outside air into the home that would ordinarily go unnoticed will stand out as a dark blue haze in an IR image. A trained inspector can either stand outside or inside the house and watch for the escape of warm air or the entrance of cool air, respectively. A trained inspector will compare images of individual windows in a residence and look for anomalies.
In summary, condensation in double-paned windows indicates that the window has failed and needs to be replaced. Condensation, while it can damage windows, is itself a symptom of a lack of integrity of the window’s seal. A failing seal will allow air to transfer in and out of the window even if it is firmly closed. Inspectors should be aware of this process and know when to recommend that clients’ windows be replaced.

Printed with permission of author.
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