Jacob Mermin

St. Pete Road Trip, "A desperate call for help"

This blog is a true story and occurred on the dates stated. I am writing this blog because this family was at the end of their rope. They had spent thousands of dollars trying to make this their dream home, only to feel like they are allergic to it. I believe that this is happening all over Florida. A lot of people do not know why they don't feel well. Hopefully it will encourage someone to make that "Desperate call for help" and start living healthy again.

This blog post will be in five parts.

Part one is an introduction to the situation I encountered.

Part two is the Chinese drywall visual inspection and the indoor air quality inspection.

Part three is the testing that was required for these homeowners.

Part four is the testing results.

Part five is the recommended remediation and conclusion

After each section I will give a tease of the next section. This blog posting will start on my Active Rain blog and continue to my blog at my website at www.mermininspections.com. All those starting at my Blog on Active Rain please follow the link to my website and click on the blog button and go to "The Inspector's Corner" From the inspector. It will be titled "A St. Pete road trip, A desperate call for help"

Part one:

The initial introduction:

I received a request from a homeowner to perform a Chinese drywall visual inspection and a HVAC and indoor air quality inspection of their home located in St. Petersburg, Fl. During the week of the 23^rd of November this homeowner called me and expressed her concerns that she may be suffering from the effects of the chemicals associated with Chinese drywall. Though the home was built prior to 2003 which is thought to be the beginning of the time period when Chinese drywall was first used, she was concerned that Chinese drywall may have been used in the recent remodeling.

Please go to my website at www.mermininspections.com/blog/ for the completion of this blog post. Stay tuned to My Active Rain blog THE INSPECTOR'S CORNER for part two, three, four and five.

I inspected as much duct work as I could get to.......

The blower wheel inside the air handler was completely impacted .......

I would like to give the HVAC contractor the benefit of the doubt...........

Jacob Mermin CHI/CMI

www.mermininspections.com

jacob@mermininspections.com

239-243-7322

FROM THE INSPECTOR,

I was recently in a development in South Ft. Myers doing a Visual Chinese drywall inspection. I was very saddened to discover that this very nice complex was suffering from the effects of the chemicals associated with Chinese drywall. I spent some time there speaking with residents of this development and found out that many of the units were being rented. I talked to one owner that recently moved his tennant out at his expense. He informed me that there were many empty units in the development.

As you can see the developement that I did the visual Chinese Drywall Inspection was Avalon Preserve. Feel free to go to my blog at my website at www.mermininspections.comand click on the blog button which will take you to the INSPECTOR'S CORNER. Look for the "From the Inspector" posts and you will find all the previous Chinese Drywall update posts. You will find pictures of the visual evidence found in the unit I inspected in Avalon Preserve. You will also see all the other corners that are made available for guests to write postings. There is a Realtor's Corner that I allow realtors to write interesting posts. Just send a post to me at jacob@mermininspections.comand I will look it over and if it fits into the whole concept of seperate corners I would be happy to post it. I am looking for current events of the real estate business that you feel would be of interest to realtors and sellers and buyers. No listing please, they will not be posted. Be looking of a Jacob Mermin Inspections monthly newsletter. It will cover all types of inspections.

I have been in the air conditioning business since 1988 and in 1994 I became an EPA Certified Type ll air conditioning technician. I did this for two reasons, one because it gave me more knowledge and two because it was a new law that required all air conditioning technicians who were going to work with Freon comply with that law.

I believe that laws governing the HVAC industry are very important. These laws protect the homeowner in Florida. It amazes me that so many air conditioning contractors do not pull permits on their air conditioning and duct work installations. What amazes me more is that the homeowner doesn't care or doesn't know that these permits need to be pulled and posted on the home in a place that can be seen from the street. This not pulling permits epidemic that has infected the air conditioning business in SW. Florida comes from the small mom and pop operation to the large corporate contractor. There are companies that sometimes pull permits and sometimes don't. When the home is off the beaten path there is a good chance that a permit is not pulled. It costs about $100.00 considering the cost of the permit and the cost to post it to do business legally.

Please go to my blog on my website at www.mermininspections.com/blog/ to read the complete posting. This is a very important issue that is not just for the air conditioning industry. As realtors and home inspectors we are responsible for our clients welfare and well being. We must protect them from the contractor who only cares about themselves. If you have any clients who require guidance in this matter my consultations are free.

Jacob Mermin CHI/CMI

www.mermininspections.com

jacob@mermininspections.com

239-243-7322

AIR CONDITIONING

As you can see in this picture the old evaporator coil with it's blackened copper tubing is in stark contrast to the new shinny copper tubing of the new evaporator coil. This is definite evidence that this home maybe suffering from the effects of the chemicals associated with Chinese Drywall.

The Chinese drywall situation is very important and as a Certified Home Inspector I am recommending to all my rea estate freinds to make sure their clients are well aware of the problems associated with the effects of the chemicals found in this imported drywall. Please go to my website blog located at www.mermininspections.comand click on the blog button at the top of the page. Here you will find many posts from The Inspector showing pictures. I also list developments where I have found examples of the Chinese drywall. I will never use a clients name or give their address in my posts. But I feel it is my responsibility to let the Real Estate industry and the general public know when I have discovered another community in SW. Florida where I have found evidence of Chinese Drywall. Lennar homes has announced that not only did they file suit against the manufacturers and distributors of Chinese drywall, but now they are also filing suit against the installing companies of Chinese Drywall. No one is safe. It is our responsibility to protect our clients. Please become a member of my blog at www.mermininspecitons.comso that you can help keep your clients updated. Let your customer know not ot ever buy a home without a home inspeciton. REMEMBER ALL MY INSPECTIONS INCLUDE THE CERTIFIED HOME INSPECTION, MOLD INSPECTION, AIR CONDITIONING INSPECTION, AIR QUALITY INSPECTION, AND NOW CHINESE DRY WALL INSPECTION

Jacob Mermin CMI/CMI

www.mermininspections.com

jacob@mermininspections.com

239-243-7322

I would like to invite everyone to go to my blog at www.mermininspections.com/blog. I have been running a series of blogs on Chinese drywall. I have been doing a lot of visual inspections all over Lee County. Unfortunately I have found several developments and communities that are showing the effects of Chinese drywall.

I am advising all of my Realtor freinds to not let their clients purchase a home that was built in the years 2004 through 2007 without first having a visual inspection done by a Certified Home Inspector. If you go to my website at www.mermininspecitons.comyou will see on the first page a special I am running for a visual inspeciton for the effects of Chinese drywall. I am also including this visual inspection with my Certified Home Inspection at no additional cost. This free visual Chinese Drywall inspection is Free only when it is done at the same time as the Certified Inspection. The price for this Visual Chinese Drywall inspeciton is so low that any coupons or discounts cannot be applied to the price.

I take this Chinese Drywall situation very seriously. I have many out of town investors using my visual inspection prior to making offers on investment properties. With all the great homes and their prices it doesn't make any sense to take the chance a home your client may be interested in is suffering from the effects of Chinese Drywall. No client of mine has been upset that I did not find the visual effects of Chinese drywall after they have paid for this inspeciton. They will be very upset with someone if it is found after they close.

Together the Professional Realtor and the Certified Home Inspector, we can protect our joint clients from Chinese Drywall. At this time I would like to thank the many Realtors that have called me to work with their clients in this matter. It is also our jobs to protect out clients from those who would take advantage of them. With your help I will do what ever it takes to do that.

Thank you,

Jacob Mermin CHI/CMI

www.mermininspecitons.com

jacob@mermininspecions.com

239-243-7322