Can your inspector also be your repairman? It does come up often, even though it is a complex problem.
Being an authority in stucco repair and conducting moisture assessments or inspections has always seemed to be a conflict of interest. There is a fine line between warning a homeowner about any stucco-related problems and then telling them how much it would cost to rectify the damage.
What I'd desire to show you is what recently occurred. A luxury builder, a friend, had asked a well-known general home inspector who does moisture analysis and stucco checks to evaluate a new property.
In addition to doing the inspection, this inspector is renowned for offering estimates for fixing any flaws he found. He would then decide which family member would be in charge of the endeavor. The builder/friend asked if I would be available to attend the reinspection to check if anything had changed from the first inspection since we were aware of the situation.
I started by asking a close friend to arrange for me to have an hour-long meeting with the inspector after the reinspection. At the conference, it was asked for a cost estimate for stucco repairs.
The inspector began his tests when everyone was set up for the stucco reinspection. It's unusual enough that he was testing the walls inside the home with a wet wall meter in the first place.
The testing session took place outside around July when it was rather humid. Only 72 degrees were present inside the home. The home's rooms totaled more than 7,500 square feet, and its gorgeous marble flooring could be seen throughout.
This is essential knowledge, as stucco should NEVER be examined from the inside. False positives in the moisture measurement will result from the interior humidity. For the moisture meter's prongs to reach the plywood under the stucco, as you may recall from past articles, it is required to get a moisture measurement from the outside.
Our inspector, who pointed out several areas that he thought were saturated with water, refuted this. He was getting readings that were too high every time he tested one of the more than 20 locations we provided him. Remember that this was a brand-new home. However unlikely it was, it was very unlikely that these findings were accurate.
The inspector and builder's disagreement became worse as the inspection went on, as was to be expected. It was now time to ask that important inquiry. Can you provide a detailed strategy for repairing each damage?
The inspector said "no," but I persisted in asking him for details on his next visit. The time for him to leave for that appointment, he said, was nearly up. The work for an estimate for stucco repair was announced to him right before him.
This information is important because when we opened a wall from the outside, we found dry conditions in a sample of the areas that this inspector had assessed and declared damaged. Inspector made an incorrect decision.
The logical question that follows is: Did the inspector provide reliable findings? Are these blunders he makes honest or deliberate? Did he intentionally provide false findings to get a repair contract?
Here, there is a conflict of interest. It is never appropriate for your inspector to alert you to an issue with your home before estimating the cost to rectify it.
Would you be informed of any mistakes made during the inspection? Is there a method to retaliate against the inspector, and is there a possibility that the inspection or repair will be reimbursed so that you can be sure you aren't paying for something that wasn't necessary?
It would help if you used an unbiased assessor and unbiased stucco repair expert for the benefit of your job. Nobody's honesty or integrity can be questioned. You may depend on your inspector to make sure the stucco work is completed correctly. Your stucco contractor is a reliable resource if the report missed anything or if a false positive occurred.
Interest conflicts are eliminated at Gold Star Stucco & EIFS Repair / Dayton Stucco. Never accept Gold Star Stucco & EIFS Repair / Dayton Stucco Repair's offer to inspect the stucco on your house. We have a list of top-notch inspectors that we can provide you. Stucco repairs are our area of expertise.
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