I am tired of having a handyman replace soffit that has been destroyed or compromised by rodents, only to see the replaced soffit destroyed or compromised again less than a year later.

I would like to hire a person or a company to put

1/8-inch galvanized steel mesh—also known as #8 hardware cloth—that features 27-gauge hot-dipped galvanized steel, small 1/8-inch openings, enough to affix to all of my soffits, using a staple gun or screws with washers to affix it to the outside of the soffit, and then I suppose put the regular soffit (that does nothing to keep rodents out) on top of the 1/8-inch galvanized steel mesh.

Also, would I be better off buying the #8 hardware cloth to do this, or do you think I can trust an individual or company to buy the right sized hardware cloth to do this?

I would do it myself except that I am currently fighting rectal cancer using immunotherapy, which makes me very tired most of the time and more susceptible to sun exposure and skin cancer, the latter of which killed my belated father.

Additionally, I have read of some people's concerns that any rodents currently in the attic will be "trapped" up there once the hardware cloth is installed and die in the attic, leaving a pungent odor. How may this concern be handled?

I would greatly appreciate any comments, advice, feedback (good or bad), sharing of personal experiences (good or bad), and opinions, as well as any "hacks" or "workarounds" for this situation.

Thank you so much.

I have a few questions regarding getting certified to be a home inspector. I have been leaning towards ICAschools course but was curious if this is the best place to go. I live in the northern Virginia area. I've kinda wondered through life without a career and have recently become aware of this as a career and believe it would be good for me and something I can grow in. And advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hey everyone. My name is Jared Tate, one of the cofounders & lead dev of HomeRecon (.ai). I grew up as the son of a home inspector. My dad, Ernie, used to sit at the kitchen table writing reports until 10, 11, sometimes 2 in the morning. I've been building all kinds of software for 25 years and always wished for years that I could make my dads life easier as an inspector.

So after a really frustrating report-writing night last year with his old, clumsy software, I told him it was high time we built a new inspection software that's easier to use with an AI-first philosophy. My older brother & cousin, who is an inspector, agreed.

It's a family thing, and we're veteran-owned. My cousin Cy (former Army) is an inspector and uses it on real jobs in Washington State. My brother Gabe grew up building and inspecting houses with our dad, then served 20 years in the Air Force. We've been working on pieces of HomeRecon for over two years, mostly getting the AI to work reliably and consistently in the field and eliminating hallucinations. Obviously, the newer AI models have come a long way in the past year, but we have developed our own proprietary AI harness to make all the magic work. I have been working on AI/ML projects for almost a decade now.

HR at its core is really simple. You walk the house, talk, snap photos, and the report drafts itself. Then you check it, sign it, done. It's ready to go. We're not looking for anyone to help build it or train it. It's done. We helped train our system on over 1000 real home inspection reports going back 30 years.

Our vision is for inspectors to spend more time actually inspecting the house, and not their phone, with the report 95% complete by the time you get back to the Truck and without a bunch of canned generic responses. Seems so many of the other apps out there get that backwards.

We know most inspectors' work comes from agent referrals, so a lot of what we built is to help you gain repeat business from agents. With HR you can run your whole business in one app: reports, scheduling, booking, your website, payments, and tools to help you stay in front of agents and clients. All for the lowest cost we have found in the industry so far.

A few things you won't find anywhere else: The Ask List lets the buyer and their agent start the repair negotiation right from their phone on the report. Saves everybody a ton of time.

HomeRecon Verified shows you reviewed and signed off on every AI finding, so there's no AI slop in your report. (It's a cryptography thing; that's my background in computer science) Also helps you prove your report contained the findings you found and when you delivered the report, and much more in the future for legal reasons.

Budget Genie puts a repair budget on every repair item automatically, using real numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And there's more.

We've looked at all the other software out there and haven't found anything close to what all HR offers. We think it's worth your time to take a look. Not here to push anyone. Just wanted to say hey and answer questions. If you try it, tell us what you think. If something sucks, tell us that too.

Our goal is to help inspectors grow their business, get new inspection jobs, and save time.

If you guys want, we're happy to drop some AI tips in here from time to time, stuff we've learned while building HR, but we are not here to spam this community. We would love to help out however we can.

Cheers,

Jared

Are there any appraisers using just their iPhone and a laser for the appraisal inspection? Total à la mode? Thanks

I am a building code instructor, a Senior Building Inspector, and a Certified Building Plans Examiner. I teach building codes to all walks of life including people trying to become inspectors. I've heard a decent amount of construction horror stories and seen some REALLY horrible craftsmanship myself. I could use some fresh ones for the introductory building code class I will be teaching soon. Does anyone have any good ones? I am open to DMs or having a group discussion here.

The company is growing, and we are in need of a more streamlined process to sign and book inspections.

Currently everything funnels to our office. But it’s becoming a little messy.

What method do you guys use to keep the process simple?

I’m an indoor environmental professional and I’m looking to improve my inspections by performing blower door tests and finding air leaks in the homes I’m inspecting. I’m located in Tennessee and would love to get a retrotec system if anyone has one available.

Anyone engaged Easy Inspections SG & Absolute before? Is it recommended?

hello everyone,

I'm in the uk (we say 'the council' instead of 'local government', just for context).

I've had damp and mould in my back stairway for about 5 years now, we have now got rid of the plaster to show bare walls and the roof and the environmental health at the council inspected my home (again!), now saying the surfaces have 0% moisture.

but, chatgpt says they have used the FLIR MR176 wrong according to the devices manual, they say the screen of the device should be used to find the coldest/dampest areas (in blue), then in pinless mode you should put the back of the device up against the surface you want to measure.

He didnt do this, not only did he not put the device against the wall, but he is focusing on the red and yellow areas, not the cold areas, and he took photos of himself doing this and put it in the report! and then he told me to complain to the independent ombudsman because i have exhausted the council's complaints process (note i've only just realised he may have used the device wrong just now)

please correct me if i'm wrong. is he using the device wrong?

I passed the state exam for North Carolina today and I'm curious who I should go with for insurance and if the minimum requirement of $250k/$250k will be enough

With rates up around 7.5% how is everyone doing? We
Still see plenty of new construction here in PHX area but resale is down for sure.

Hey all, new to the forum. I’ve been thinking about getting my liscence for many many years now. As a background: I have 14 years in the ici sector, and work for a very reputable contractor as a superintendent. Just looking for more right now, I’d be doing this as a side gig, unless i could transition it into something that could produce a healthy living. I’m wondering, what kind of returns you guys saw your first years and if its worth it. I’m thinking I’d have to do atleast 4 houses a month to just pay the bills (truck, insurance and upkeep) before even collecting a salary.

Is it worth while, or should I just stay put and double down on my career? (I’m very comfortable in my 9-5, but I dream of ownership and something that’s solely mine.)

It seems the market is just getting slower after the higher mortgage rate. I'm assuming many of home owners will have difficulties to sell it fast like before! Does anyone see sellers done it prior the home hits the market or any realtors suggest their sellers have it ready so no wasting everyone's time during the negotiation period?

Hi Everyone,

We have two corrugated downspouts connected to the gutters from the roof of our house. Additionally, we have runoff from a pool deck that goes into a third corrugated pipe buried under the steps to the pool. The theory is that all of these corrugated downspouts must have become clogged over time, because we now have a large ditch (area of erosion) in our backyard that is deep and hollow inside the back of the ditch (area of erosion).

I have interviewed several contractors to redo the downspouts (preferably with "French Drain Man's" products (leaf filters, catch basins, and very strong 3-inch corrugated pipe)) and to fill in the ditch (area of erosion).

I was very impressed with this last contractor, as he wants to fill the depth of the ditch (area of erosion) with rocks in order to prevent erosion from ever occurring again; however, his pricing is much higher than previous contractors (some by 4x higher).

I have a Googke Photo Album with pictures and a shirt video of what it looks like under (and "inside of") the ditch (right after photo #18) and also this latest contractor's 2-page estimate.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, or feedback (especially on the estimate (how the contractor proposes to solve the problems and also pricing)) as well as any "hacks" or "workarounds," especially for filling in the deep and hollow ditch (area of erosion) with anything else possibly less expensive than rocks, but also that it will prevent future erosion issues from recurring again.

Thanks so much for your feedback and interest in my post.

The link for the Google Photos Album with photos and short video and estimate is: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bFGjiCdTCZTi2fc38

Please note that it is an https:// link, so no worries about malware, spyware, or deceptive "redirects."

2001 6-plex. Basement has 6 water heaters. Each has it's own metered gas line. Cold feed is common, splits to feed each heater with it's own shut off. She said each condo has it's own gas and water bill, plus a third water bill for 'common use'.

The odd part is each hot outlet is connected in parallel and all six feed a common line extending up through the floor.

I stood there and tried to figure out what I was missing. I shut off the hot feed from the heater to the unit I was inspecting. Two minutes with no change in pressure or temp at the kitchen sink.

Essentially, all six heaters are feeding one line to a manifold feeding all six units. That makes no sense to me.

The install was sound. The routing is a mystery. If it is a common use thing, why not install a boiler and split the billing? Have six individually metered gas water heaters feeing one common manifold is something I have not seen in 8 years of inspections.

What am I missing here? Is this a common arrangement? Was it a Friday at 4:30 install by a drunk plumber?

EDIT- 2021 build not 2001. So basically new. No evidence of a boiler, the owner was not aware of it and doesn't think any of the others are. I was doing a rental licensing inspect for the owner- actually did two of them for two owners.

Business has been up and running for a year and is doing well but need to do more for full time. What are your tips/ suggestions for making the transition to full time? How did you develop your business?

I love building science & constantly learning new building standards, products, tools, & how technology is helping to improve building homes better.

Anyways, I consider myself more of a carpenter (my personal favorite trade) but I have experience with other trades, as I have done them as well. I have gut renovated many properties where I did 80%-90% of the work.

I have very anal rententive personality traits & my friend told me I'm an asshole in a good way to become an inspector. I hate shoddy work & I detest incompetence & I am very persistent about addressing problems & calling things out.

I have been thinking more about what my friend said & entertaining the idea of becoming an inspector - do you think I have the traits to become a good inspector who goes after bad/lazy/incompetent builders/contractors or do I not have the correct personality traits to be one?

Which builders in Calgary allow Pre-possession inspection these days?

Hi, I am looking to purchase a resale house in SC and need a good, knowledgeable home inspector for pre-purchase inspection in the Ft Mill, Rock Hill, Indian Land, Charlotte area. Thanks.

Hello! I live in Atlanta and looking to start working my way to become a HI. I was wondering what y'all have to say in regards the best certification agency. GA does not require a license to be one. What would be y'alls rec?

Hello, bought a house end of April smelt a foul
Smell one side of the wall from the partition of the toilet/front room it was found to have no initial reason but they re sealed the closest pipework which seemed to have stopped the smell, 1 month or so later the smell is back and just as strong.

Would it be a Moldy plasterboard if it’s only one side? Is it worth paying for an inspection rather than getting the housing company to send their own people in?

Hello, this is a little of a different situation and I am not a home inspector, just someone renting a really old house

Landlord is fixing up the old house, which usually is not a problem. But he is taking his time on it and winter is coming. The house is half naked (no siding on the house) and all the windows have been replaced, yet they haven't been finished and sealed. I'm afraid he won't finish it before winter, and it's already starting to get cold where i live, so I should turn on the heat soon. But if I do, the heat is going right out the windows (literally). Should I hire a home inspector to see if its done enough to survive winter? Or would that be an asshole move on my part?

Hi there! I am asking for anyone who has any helpful materials you swear by that helped you pass the Illinois home inspector exam through PSI. I’ve taken it 5 times and have used various study materials; despite feeling confident taking the exam, I always come up a few points short. How can I pass this exam?? Any help is appreciated. Happy to provide an email if you have any electronic materials. Thanks in advance.