Choice of Inspector Hinges on Research
Question: My agent gave me a list of local home inspectors but expressed no preference for any particular one. When I asked her to choose an inspector for me, she declined for reasons of liability. Apparently, some Realtors have been advised not to select inspectors for their clients. Being from out of town, I have no idea which inspector to choose and wish my agent would give some direction. What do you suggest?
Answer: Legal liability has become a dominant force in nearly every field of business, and exposure runs especially high for Realtors. Even when agents would prefer to specify a top-quality home inspector, liability anxieties are there to complicate and cloud the picture.
Agents can be blamed for errors made by inspectors they recommend. Therefore, Realtors hoping to provide qualified inspectors for their clients are faced with a perplexing dilemma. Consequently, buyers are forced to make critical purchase decisions without adequate advice. Fortunately, the problem has a practical solution.
One approach is for agents to provide buyers with information prepared by the inspectors themselves. To initiate this process, agents could request a resume or flier from each available inspector. A packet of fliers listing pertinent qualifications could then be presented to every home buyer. Fliers would contain details of the inspectors’ credentials and level of experience. Buyers would have a means of comparing qualifications and could call inspectors for additional information.
When choosing a home inspector, a shot in the dark is not a wise approach. By equipping buyers with adequate information, materials furnished by the inspectors themselves, agents can meet the disclosure needs of their clients without recommending anyone, without incurring needless liability.
Above all, before you hire a home inspector, interview all prospects to compare their relative qualifications and experience.
Firewood Storage Box Is a Serious Hazard
Q: We purchased our home about 10 years ago, and one of the features we liked was the firewood storage cabinet next to the living room fireplace. Now that we’re selling the property, the buyer hired a home inspector, and he found a problem that has gone unnoticed since the house was built. It seems that the interior of the firewood cabinet provides open access to the metal casing behind the fireplace unit, and firewood and other kindling materials are in direct contact with this metal surface. How could this condition have been allowed at the time of construction?
A: In the course of constructing a home, there are always a few defects that escape detection. In most instances, shortcomings are limited to cosmetic flaws or items of inconvenience. Sometimes, however, they involve elements of critical safety, as was discovered behind your fireplace. It is also possible that the firewood cabinet was not part of the original construction but was added later.
Regardless of when the error was made, this is a significant fire hazard and should be corrected immediately.
A manufactured fireplace consists of a sheet metal box lined with special ceramic tiles, known as refractory plates. The purpose of the plates is to prevent overheating of the metal box. But when large fires are maintained for prolonged periods, the metal surfaces can still become quite hot. Direct contact with firewood or other combustible materials can cause a fire to ignite within the walls.
Although direct access behind such fireplaces is prohibited, this kind of construction defect can be found in a number of homes. In some instances, utility closets or storage areas provide such exposure, and homeowners may unwittingly store flammable objects such as magazines and brooms against firebox surfaces.
Anyone with open access behind a metal fireplace unit should hire a licensed general contractor to construct an approved fire separation around the fixture.
Popping of Tile Roof May Be Unavoidable
Q: Our home is about 20 years old and has a Spanish tile roof. Often, we hear popping sounds in the attic, mainly when the roof heats up during the day and when it cools during the night. These noises seem to come from the ceiling joists. We’re getting our house ready for sale. Could this be a major structural problem, and can we eliminate it?
A: Intermittent popping in attics is not a common condition, but it does occur with some clay tile roofs. In most cases, this is caused by thermal expansion of the wood framing and hardware as daily temperatures rise and fall. Typically, this is more of a nuisance problem than a serious construction defect. However, substandard workmanship or faulty roof design are possibilities that should not be ruled out until you’ve obtained an engineer’s evaluation of the attic framing.
If, in fact, the problem is structural, cracks in walls and misalignment of doors would be a likely symptom. Whether structural or not, elimination of the popping noises may or may not be possible. Minimizing them may be the most you can reasonably expect. An effective step in this process is to reduce heat buildup in the attic by means of increased ventilation. A few turbine vents along the ridges can lower attic temperatures on warm days 30 degrees or even more during the summer, and this can significantly reduce expansion of the structural components of your roof.
Spark Arrester Is Required for Fireplaces
Q: I’m selling my house, and the home inspector who checked my house recommended a spark arrester for the chimney. Since the fireplace is set up with gas logs and does not burn wood, is a spark arrester truly necessary?
A: In practical terms, the lack of a spark arrester is not likely to be a safety problem if you are only burning gas. However, from a legal standpoint, a spark arrester is mandated for all fireplace chimneys, whether wood is being burned or not.
This requirement guards against possible mishaps in case the fireplace is converted for wood burning at some future date. If conversion to wood use should ever take place, the installation of a spark arrester could be inadvertently overlooked at that time. Therefore, adding a spark arrester now will ensure against unforeseen eventualities.
Fortunately, the addition of a spark arrester is neither complicated nor expensive. All that is needed is a piece of half-inch hardware cloth (wire screen) and a qualified chimney sweep to install it properly.
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Got a question about any aspect of the home inspection? Send it to Barry Stone, Los Angeles Times, 540 Atascadero Road, Morro Bay, CA 93442. Or visit Stone’s Web site: https://www.housedetective.com. Questions cannot be answered individually.
