Healing Waters of Florida

[Julie Moriarty]

We had a home inspector out to give us his professional opinion of the home we are considering buying. After he was done he walked us through the house to explain what he found. He didn't mention the leaks I found in the bathroom faucets (they sprayed from the handle) or the hose bib in the garage (a constant leak). When I pointed these out to him he said, each time, "It will self-heal."

Okay. I'm not a plumber. And in the Chicago area there is no such thing as self-healing plumbing fixtures. You can hope calcium deposits will build up and eventually stop the leak but that requires the leak area to be untouched.

Then I realized we are close to where Ponce De Leon was looking for the the Fountain of Youth. And it dawned on me that there isn't a fountain of youth but the waters here do heal leaking plumbing. Oh, if only Ponce were alive today!

[Tony Zona]

I wouldn't believe one word of his inspection report, and probably would decline to read it or accept it.

Most likely I would explain why I would not be paying him.

Then I would explain this to the group who certified him.

[Mel Fulks]

Sounds like he believes in "the power of positive sprinkling"

[Kent A Bathurst]

Sounds dumb, but......

Has the house been unoccupied for a while? Might the washers have dried out a bit, and will refresh with use?

Or - lotta minerals in the water, which will clog the pipes and the leaks?

Or - just a typical bozo, masquerading as knowledgeable.........

[Jerry Thompson]

My pipes have leaked and never self healed and I too live close to The Fountain of Youth.

[Julie Moriarty]

My pipes have leaked and never self healed and I too live close to The Fountain of Youth.

Well, obviously your water doesn't come from the Fountain of Youth like mine does.

But really... The idea a construction professional would suggest that a homeowner allow a leak to "self heal" is ridiculous. As he was walking us through the house to point out his findings, I asked him if he noted the leaks on the bathroom faucets. He said, "What leaks?" I then turned on one of the faucets and water began gushing out from under the handle. He said, "Don't hold it like that." His comment reminded me of the old joke - A guy goes to his doctor and says, "Every time I raise my arm, it hurts." The doctor says, "Don't raise your arm."

Now, I know I will be chastised for my stupidity but I'm going to confess anyway - the realtor recommended the inspector. It was a weak moment. I was tired and burned out from this months-long selling and buying of a house and I succumbed. Shame on me.

[Jerome Stanek]

let the realtor pay his fee. I would never use a inspector that a realtor recommends. I ran into this one other time when my daughter was looking for her first home. Realtor recommended an inspector and he gave the house a very good rating. He only missed the Black mold in the finished basement, it needed a new roof and there was no steps out the back door that had a 3 ft drop. My son had a pretty good one that kept him from buying 2 different houses but never pointed out that there was 2 dead trees that needed to be removed when we pointed it out to my son he asked the inspector and his reply was just leave them or have a party and have your friends help remove them. They were close to the next house and about 50 ft tall.

[Karl Andersson]

Only one out of six home inspectors I've dealt with could be called a "construction professional" - the rest got their certificates from some company advertising in the back of a comic book (they apparently couldn't draw the pirate well enough to get into the art school advertising next to the home inspection school). Except for the good one, they all had maybe one area they knew about (roofing, electrical codes, plumbing) but were pretty spotty on the other areas. The good one was golden, but retired before I needed him again. I think he moved to Florida...
Karl

[Wade Lippman]

I had a pipe self heal. A bad solder joint dripped about once every 20 seconds. I tied a rag around it to let it evaporate and tried to forget about it.
A year later I put a pressure reducing valve on to reduce my water pressure from 80psi to 55psi. The leak stopped. It was healed!

When I bought this house the inspector missed that the furnace and water heater were both installed improperly. He DID pick up that a retaining wall might be failing. It would cost $10,000 to fix, and since it might be failing (people I had look at it said 50:50), I wanted $5,000 off the price. Seller refused to give it to me, but the realtor took it out of his commission. (and the HVAC contractor fixed the faulty installation after 6 years, so that turned out okay.)

So while my experience is that they don't know much, this one helped. Oh, the retaining was has deteriorated a bit in 4 years, but I am hopeful repairs won't be necessary.

[Mike Ontko]

Sounds like your inspector needs to look for a more satisfying career. In the grand scheme of things, leaky faucets and fixture connections are not a big deal. It could be the "self" healing properties he was referring to are of the DIY type. It's another thing entirely though if the plumbing pipe connections themselves are corroded or leaking, if multiple sinks and tubs don't drain well, or if there are rust stains in the tubs, sinks, and toilets.

p.s., it would seem that some (most?) inspectors work more with or for the real estate agents and banks than they do for the buyer.

[Tony Zona]

A civil engineer friend told me that if you look at a wall and it is leaning, but not fallen, the wall has already failed.

He taught me that failure is not falling down in a pile. Failure is when it leans.

We need to have a Sawmill Creek Building Inspector Posse.

[Julie Moriarty]

I happened upon a forum for home inspectors when searching for wind mitigation resolutions. This particular thread was initially about double tapping in a panel and showed a picture of wires wire-nutted together in a panel. Well, it evolved and a few HIs took the others to task calling them "realtor's inspectors" and slamming them for selling out for easy business. The thread went on for over 25 pages. It was then I realized that there are home inspectors who have a conscience. That was refreshing.

[Chris Padilla]

How about the Healing Waters of California? Yeah, I know we don't have any water but bear with me here a sec:

I installed a new shower head for my daughter's bathroom. It wasn't over pricey nor cheap and we like a couple of the settings on it but it turned out to be mostly chrome-coated plastic. So I got out my favorite, never let me down pipe dope and installed it but I could tighten as much as I would've like due to the plastic.

So it dripped every so slightly at the connection point when showering. Not a big deal since it fell into the tub but it still bugged me. Fast forward 6 months and low and behold, it no longer drips! Thank you deposit-filled California water for stopping up that leak!!

[Wade Lippman]

A civil engineer friend told me that if you look at a wall and it is leaning, but not fallen, the wall has already failed.

He taught me that failure is not falling down in a pile. Failure is when it leans.

We need to have a Sawmill Creek Building Inspector Posse.

The wall was built at 9* 6 years ago. One corner had opened up and that area had shifted to 7.5*. The people I called in to look at it said that if it shifted the first year it was okay, but if it shifted the 5th year it was failing. Since no one knew when it shifted, I was willing to split the repair costs on the theory it may or may not need a repair. In the last 4 years since I bought it, it has shifted a half a degree. The block are designed to be used at 4.5* or 9*, so 7* is not so serious if it stays there. So I am optimistic, but not out of the woods.

[William C Rogers]

Julie, not much of an inspector. Since you mentioned water, if on a well get it tested. And get a comprehensive test. I built my house and knew getting a well would be difficult. When drilled the driller said it was "soda water" and could be treated with RO. So I put in the well. Moved in and RO ran constantly for about 3 days with little water in the small tank. This soda water turned out to be sodium chloride (brine). It couldn't be done with simple RO. Three of us share a lake and that was their source. So I installed $12,000 worth of filtration/treatment and every so often I get smelly water. I use to take water for granted, but no more. I should have tested the well water before going down that road. So if any house you look at has a well, get a good water test. Hopefully this is not something you need to deal with and have city water.