Structure Talk

In this episode, the team talks about how important it is to maintain a wood-burning fireplace. This topic was brought up because Bill’s neighbor is dealing with a $20k chimney rebuild.

The show starts with Reuben explaining the structure of chimneys. He then answers some questions:

                    What involves a fireplace from the place you put the logs all the way up to where the smoke leaves the top of the chimney? 

                    What are the pieces that make it all up? Where would you often find the biggest problems with this whole system?

                    What’s the lifespan of a concrete cap?

                    How to know whether you have a mortar cap or a concrete cap?

                    Which of these masonry chimneys have the most problems?

                    What is NFPA 211 and why do we use their guidelines?

                    How much can someone expect to spend on Level 2 chimney inspection?

                    What is the level of safety we need in chimney inspections?

                    What is the challenge with the stainless steel liner that allows us to burn woods?

                    How often should you get a flue cleaned?

                    Which wood to burn inside a fireplace?

A special guest, Yvonne, joins the show to talk about her experience with failed stone veneer siding throughout a townhome development in the Twin Cities metro area. These are some real concerns that are going to cost people a lot of money

Yvonne talks about how she started suspecting that there was a problem in their townhome. A problem that started from one of the units’ conditions that might be replicated across other units. She then found out the improperly installed masonry stone veneer in their unit has been a problematic material all over the country, and most people aren’t aware of this.

She then concludes with how important it is to consider having moisture intrusion testing on products like stone veneers done by an experienced home inspector.

Reuben then talks about the industry-standard all across the country on how to do testing on walls, how water-resistant barriers work, and its proper installation.

A residential Realtor® at Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty, Michael Bartus joins the show to talk about negotiations after the inspection and how to negotiate other real estate transactions. The focus of this show was to pick up on where last week’s show left off, talking about a document that Reuben put together titled Negotiations After The Inspection.

The show starts with Michael sharing his negotiating experiences and answers some questions:

What should a home inspector say to a client, when they look at them and ask, “Is that something we should negotiate?”

How recently have you heard of schools telling Realtors® they are not to attend the inspection?

Does the industry do good in teaching agents the skills to negotiate?

Pros and cons with home warranties, as well as

What triggers an agent to ask a seller to kick in a warranty? Are warranties any good? Who orders them? What do they cost?

What’s your process for having the furnace and the cooling system inspected by a specialist at the same time as the inspection?

What do you have to say about those known conditions, like peeling paint, holes in walls, etc., which shouldn’t be negotiated as a home inspection thing but should be something that is to be addressed ahead of time?

Reuben also tells the story of a not-too-old water heater with a draining schedule affixed to it, which was ready for replacement.

Structure Talk talks about the dreaded C-Word, Code. Should home inspectors even mention code? The gang also discusses some specific questions:

          How do you feel about code as it relates to buying a house?

          Why should home inspectors be very familiar with building codes?

          ASHI says that home inspectors should report on significantly deficient stuff, how would you define that?

          Are there any negotiations made after an inspection?

          Does the inspector inspect the garage when the garage doesn’t open?

          Could that 90s’ lap siding be a negotiable item?

          What does GFCI stand for? What are its innards? Why does it work?

          How do arc-fault devices and AFCI work? Are these devices needed to meet “code”?

One of Structure Tech’s very own inspectors, Eric Houseman, joins the show to talk about the major changes the company has made since Covid-19 took effect back in March.

The show starts off doing a deep dive into where the company came from, then covers the following topics:

Process:

• Why Structure Tech started out as a be-with-us-every-minute-of-the-way inspection company.
  
• What happened in March of 2020.
  
• What changes have occurred with inspections this year.
  
• What was done to keep the inspectors, agents, and clients safe during the inspections.
  
• How the new implementation has been going.
  

Software:

• Why did Structure Tech abandon the existing home inspection report-writing software in favor of a new one?
  
• How did the new software help the company grow and become more scalable and efficient?
  
• How does everybody feel about where we're at right now?
  
• How did the software change happen?
  

To see a home inspection report written with Structure Tech’s new software, please see our sample home inspection report.

Third-generation owner of Northland Water, Brady Androff, joins the show to talk Minneapolis vs. Saint Paul water and to discuss commonly asked questions about water conditioning.

The show starts off with Brady explaining about his company and its background. He then answers some specific questions:

• Why do we use salt and other things to treat water? What does a water softener do?
  
• A water softener removes minerals present in the water, but why do you want to take those out when our body needs them to function?
  
• Why does every house built with a water softener have another unsoftened line? When you drink softened water, do you end up with a lot of sodium intake?
  
• Why does the water feel slimy when it’s really soft?
  
• What's better, pellets or crystals?
  
• Which system is better, the two-tank type, or the self-contained unit?
  
• How much can someone expect to spend on these systems? What about the labor,
  
• what does that take for labor? Do you need permits to put these systems in?
  
• Why do you need this electrical wire connecting the copper water lines going into and
  
• out of a water softener?
  
• Why is there a funky smell to shallow wells?
  
• What can you do about stinky water?
  

John Williamson, Operations Supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, joins Structure Talk to do a deep dive in electricity. The gang covers the following topics, among other things:

• Is it legal for home inspectors to remove electrical panel covers?
  
• What would be the best course of action if I opened a Federal Pacific electric panel and then I got a handful of circuit breakers fallout from the panel?
  
• Is it a bad idea for refrigerators to be plugged into GFCI-protected receptacles?
  
• What are some changes in the 2020 code?
  
• Bumped up GFCI protection up to 250volts which means electric dryers and ranges and all finished or unfinished basements are required GFCI protection
  
• Receptacle outlets for islands and peninsula countertops have gone now to square footage calculation basis
  
• Extend a neutral conductor to every switch box where there is an overhead box. The code wants a ceiling fan rated box at every location where a fan could be installed.
  
• Surge protective devices required for dwelling units with one, two, or even multi-family.
  
• Emergency Disconnects
  
• Why do we still have problems with unwanted tripping at AFCI devices and what will it take to fix it?
  

Tessa explains the basics of building science, touching on many components that overlap with home inspections. These topics include:

• Airflow and the H.A.M. sandwich (heat, airflow, and moisture)
• Occupant loads and the effect on buildings
• Blower door testing
• Old house vs. new house performance (energy vs durability)
• The importance of different trades communicating with each other
• Water management
• The myth that it's possible to build houses too tight

Building official Andy Schreder with Rum River Construction Consultants joins the show for a live Q&A session via Facebook Live. There's some great discussion of commonly asked questions, along with some very interesting insight from Andy about why building officials don't always enforce code requirements. The topics include:

• Permits required for kitchen remodels. Electrical? Plumbing?
• Dishwasher air gaps, and how they're going away (YAY!)
• Reuben's soap dispenser hack
• Fire separation between garages, and a distinction between building code setbacks and zoning setbacks
• AFCI and GFCI requirements
• The myth that bedrooms need closets and where it came from
• Why building officials don't enforce the requirement for attics to be accessible

Steve Kuhl with Kuhl's Contracting returns to the show to share some insider dirt on insurance restoration, insurance claims, which insurance companies "pay out" and which ones don't, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the world of insurance fraud. 

Steve is passionate and opinionated about all of this stuff, and it's a treat to listen to all of his insider information. We've been attending classes, conferences, schools, and all of that other fun stuff for a long time, but we never get to hear stuff presented quite the way Steve presents it. 

Special note for this episode: the views and opinions expressed by Steve (and he has a lot) do not necessarily reflect those of Bill, Tessa, Reuben, or Structure Tech.