What's A House Permit Jacket? 10/21/2010
 I have learned quite a bit about homes and home construction during the six months of our remediation. I have also learned about building permits and other documentation about homes that reside within your local township/city/municipality. Information that I believe each of us should have in our possession. Most permits required by townships/cities/municipalities reside in a folder titled “House Permit Jacket.” Before our remediation began, we acquired a copy of the contents of our House Permit Jacket. I called up the township office and gave them my address. The woman who answered told me that she would have a copy ready for me in a few days. Because there were fewer than fifteen pages in total, there was no charge for these copies. When I picked up the copies and looked through them, here’s what I found: · The Application for Plan Examination and Building Permit. · Building Permit and Building Permit Number. (This document included the Inspection Record which listed all the inspections that were made of our house, the dates that the inspections were made; the progress, corrections and remarks for each of these inspections; and the signature of the inspector who conducted each of these inspections.) · Building Permit Calculation Sheet – This determined how much the building permit would cost. · Application for Permit – This was needed to construct the driveway. · Certification that the plumbing contractor installed fixtures and faucets to conform to the Municipality’s Ordinance Number. · Water Quality Management Permit – Sewage. · Health Department Potability Standards – Water coming into the home was tested for “Total Plate Count” and “Coliform” levels. The E.P.A. MCL Suggested Limit in 1999 was 500/l ml for Total Plate count and Absent for Coliform. · Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage Information – This document was notarized. · Notice of Intent to Construct and Comply – The builder signed this form warranting that the building referenced was constructed in accordance with the provisions of the Building Energy Conservation Act of 1980 (in our cas) and its current regulations. · Map showing our home and the surrounding area. In order for someone to live in a newly-constructed home, the city or township needs to issue a Certificate of Occupancy. The Certificate of Occupancy was the last inspection that the Code Enforcement Official make on the Inspection Record before the new owners could move in. When this was issued, it stated that all the necessary inspections were performed to ensure that our home was built to the minimum code standards for health and safety. At least, this was the way it was in 1999 in Pennsylvania. But what the Certificate of Occupancy doesn’t tell you is how well the home was built. But, that’s another Blog! For more information on Pennsylvania’s Building Codes visit: http://www.generalcode.com/options/pabuildingcode.html Add Comment Let My Blogs Come To You! 10/09/2010
Dear Readers: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being such faithful readers of http://www.buildhomesright.com/kathys-blog.html. It is because of you that this Web site has grown exponentially since February 2010. As those of you who are faithful followers know, I am committed to bringing you information regarding residential home remediation that is both informational, educational, and useful. As a result, I am constantly researching this and many other home-related topics. Realizing how precious your time is, you now can be instantly notified when I have published a new blog to my Web site by registering to my RSS Feed. RSS is the acronym for Really Simple Syndication and is a format for delivering regularly changing web content to those who want to know when content has been added to such Web sites as the one you are currently reading :). How do you do this? It’s simple . . . 1. Go to Kathy’s Blog Page 2. Scroll down the page until you see the RSS Feed “icon” 3. Click the RSS Feed “icon” 4. Click Subscribe to this Feed 5. Type a name for the Feed and select the folder to create the feed in 6. Click Subscribe RSS enables you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in and not have to visit each site individually to see if any new information has been published. Look for the RSS Feed when you visit other sites. This way, you can save valuable time and still be kept informed. Wikipedia defines RSS as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Really_Simple_Syndication. Till the next BLOG! Protecting Homeowners in 2010! 09/20/2010
Because of the extensive and expensive remediation that my husband and I had to do on our under ten-year-old home, I have been researching what is available to protect homeowners from residential construction defects and stumbled upon Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1467 [HB 1467]. On May 2, 2005, HB 1467 (Session of 2005, Printer’s No. 3588 – Prior Printer’s Nos. 1785, 2559, 3261, 3558, and 3577) was introduced into the General Assembly of Pennsylvania by T. Stevenson, Dally, Argall, Baldwinn, Barrar, Boyd, Bunt, Caltagirone, Cappelli, Clymer, Creighton, Denlinger, Fairchild, Gergely, Gillespie, Gingrich, Gress, Hanna, Herman, Hutchinson, Killion, Kotik, LaGrotta, Leh, Lescovitz, Levdansky, Mackereth, Mann, Micozzie, R. Miller, Mustio, Nailor, Payne, Petronee, Phillips, Reed, Roberts, Ross, Rubley, Saylor, Schroder, Semmel, B. Smith, Solobay, Sonney, R. Stevenson, E.Z. Taylor, Tigue, True, Turzai, Walko, Wilt, Geist, McGill, Frankel, Buxton, Reichley, Pyle, and Allen. HB 1467 was an Act “Providing for dispute resolution procedures relating to residential construction defects between contractors and homeowners or members of associations.” Click this link to read the bill: http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2005/0/HB1467P3588.pdf. Jeff Gelles, who covered consumer news for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1996 to 2006, and who wrote the Consumer Watch Column from 2001 to 2006, had this to say about House Bill No. 1467 http://www.phillyfuture.org/node/2822. He stated in his column dated Monday, March 6, 2006, “If nothing else, HB 1467 deserves much more scrutiny – and opportunity for the public to comment – than it has gotten.” This bill was vetoed by Governor Edward G. Rendell on March 17, 2006, which set up some very interesting comments by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (in favor of Gov. Rendell’s veto) and the Pennsylvania Builders’ Association (against Gov. Rendell’s veto of this bill). The Pennsylvania Bar Association issued this press release from Harrisburg, PA on March 17, 2006: “The President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association today lauded Governor Ed Rendell’s veto of House Bill No. 1467, which would have created new provisions of law to favor home builders and contractors involved in disputes with consumers over construction defects. “This legislation clearly would have tipped the scales in favor of builders, at the expense of consumers who may have valid claims for construction defects,” said PBA President William P. Carlucci. Click the following link to read the rest of the press release. http://www.pabar.org/public/news%20releases/pr031706.asp, The Pennsylvania Builders Association issued their own press release from Lemoyne, PA also on March 17, 2006: “Brad Elliott, the 2006 President of the Pennsylvania Builders Association, today issued the following statement about Gov. Edward G. Rendell’s veto of House Bill 1467: The Pennsylvania Builders Association and its 11,000-member-companies who keep our state economy strong and strive to provide affordable housing for Pennsylvania family are extremely disappointed by Governor Rendell’s veto of the Residential Construction Dispute Resolution Act [HB 1467]. This decision hurts not just homebuilders across the state, but also new homeowners who have lost a helpful alternative to costly and time-consuming lawsuits when a construction defect occurs.” Click link to read the rest of the press release: http://www.pabuilders.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=372 To the best of my research, no one has introduced another bill of this kind into the Pennsylvania State Legislature. If any of you know differently, please email me at kathy@buildhomesright.com. Why I Started This Web Site and Blog! 09/17/2010
Homes are not being built RIGHT. I’m Kathy Barto, and I should know. We discovered our home wasn't built right in November 2008, directly after an External Invasive Home Inspection revealed we needed to have the stucco and natural stone torn down; the windows and doors replaced with new construction windows and doors; and mold remediation done to a home that was only nine years old. We bought our home when it was six and one-half years old and the inspector, to whom we paid $825, said our house was "in GREAT shape." Even the Seller’s Disclosure Statement noted that there had been no moisture intrusion. To our dismay, we discovered differently. This GREAT shape translated just two years later into a full home remediation that cost us $200,000 of our own money. None of this was covered by homeowners’ insurance, because insurance companies don’t insure against “poorly constructed homes.” I began this Web site in February 2010 because what my family and I (and countless other neighbors in our over 300-home community) have experienced is inexcusable. And if all this wasn’t bad enough, what we’ve come to discover is that no one person nor entity appears to be accountable: not the township; not the township inspector who issued our home’s Certificate of Occupancy; not the builder; not the home inspector; and not even our state’s Attorney General’s Office as we were advised by our representative to hire an attorney. Our homes were built in 1999 during a good economy and there were significant corners cut. I believe that in today’s economic environment, these same corners and perhaps even more will be cut: extremely important corners such as not adhering to state and/or local Residential Building Codes and Builders' Best Practices. BuildHomesRight.com demonstrates how extensive a home remediation can be. Visit Kathy's Blog to read our remediation story - from a homeowner's point of view. And I'd like to hear from you - other homeowners. Perhaps, together, we can get legislators to enact legislation that better protects homebuyers – especially when it comes to the largest investment they will probably make in their lifetimes. God bless you. Why Do You Need a "Waiver of Liens?" 09/08/2010
I’m old enough to remember the days when a handshake between two business professionals “sealed the deal.” Everyone was happy. It was a real WIN-WIN situation. Well, not only is a handshake not good enough anymore, even a signed contract between a homeowner and a general contractor can bring potential financial woes. That is, unless proper steps are first taken such as having your contractor file a "Waiver of Liens" on your behalf. Consider this scenario: You hire a contractor to install replacement windows in your home. You pay him one-third of the total dollars owed when you sign the agreement (contract), the second third when the windows get delivered and the final payment when the windows are installed and the job is done. You are a satisfied customer and give yourself a pat on the back. Two months go by and you are very happy with your windows. In fact, you are so happy that you have been telling your friends and neighbors. Now that’s a real satisfied customer. That is until you learn that your contractor never paid the window supplier for the total amount of the windows and now that same contractor isn’t returning your calls. What happens next is that the window supplier, who wants to get paid for the windows asks you for the money. You told him that you already paid the contractor for the windows and it isn't your problem if he didn't pay the window supplier. Oh, but unfortunately, it is and the window supplier, in order to get paid something, files a lien against your home. Now, when it’s time to sell your house, after the mortgage company gets its money, the window supplier is next in line to be paid before you get the balance – if there is one! A good contractor pays its subcontractors and suppliers on time. That is one of the ways to tell if you are dealing with a reputable business. A good contractor will also tell you about and file a Waiver of Liens on fr you in county court. Don't become a victim! Before you hire a contractor, make certain that you understand steps that you need to take to protect yourself. Visit the following Web site: http://www.free-legal-document.com/lien-waiver.html for more information regarding this important topic. Visit http://thomaskorte.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/contractors-final-release-and-waiver-of-lien.pdf to view a Waiver of Liens Form. New Construction Versus Replacement Windows 05/16/2010
 Dry rot on bottom of outside door  Mold on the Bottom of the Windows I interviewed quite a few window manufacturers before deciding upon Andersen 400 Series Woodwright Windows and Doors. Andersen Windows has a 20-year warranty on their products. I really liked this feature. To me, this means that Andersen believes their window/doors will last at least two decades and when this time has passed, the homeowner should be able to replace these windows with replacement windows and not have to go through the cost and labor of having new construction windows installed. But what is the best choice for your remediation project: new construction windows or replacement windows? Once you see what the main differences are between the two, I’m certain that you will hands down choose new construction windows. We chose new construction windows because our existing windows were in such bad shape due to severe water intrusion, that it made the windows, their frames, etc. unusable. I wasn’t even able to give the windows away. (See photo). Let’s look at what the key differences are between new construction windows and replacement windows. 1) New construction windows are installed in new homes. Replacement windows are typically installed after the original windows reach 20-25 years old. 2) New construction windows have a nailing fin around all four sides of the window. This fin makes it possible to nail the windows into the wood studs that frame the house. Replacement windows do not have this nailing fin. 3) New construction windows cost significantly more than replacement windows because of the amount of additional work involved. This increase can be as much as 50 to 100 percent more than the cost of replacement windows. 4) If the structures around the windows or the window frames themselves need to be replaced due to water damage or for some other reason, new construction windows are your best choice. If the structure around the windows and the existing frames are in good shape, then replacement windows are the ones to go with. When your home is being remediated, it is because it has been infiltrated with water. Water typically enters through openings such as windows and doors. In my humble opinion, a home that is being remediated should use new construction windows and doors. The cost of these is typically included in the quotation that your general contractor gives you. Make certain that the contract states that new construction windows and doors will be installed. Using new construction windows and doors, plus correctly installing the stucco, brick, stone, siding, and/or wood exterior, helps ensure that you won’t have to repeat the remediation process because of moisture problems. Why Do I Get Water Stains in the WINTER? 05/07/2010
 Rapid Ridge is the material our roofers used to construct new ridge vents on our home. Many people have emailed me with concerns regarding leaking through their roofs and attics and onto the ceilings of their bedrooms, hallways, bathrooms, etc. It’s not during heavy rains, mind you, it’s during the winter season and generally happens a few days after a snowstorm that had high, gusting winds. Why does this occur and why does it only happen during the winter? Well, first let’s look at how roofs on homes are now constructed. Builders are installing ridge vents at every roof peak in new homes. A ridge vent runs the entire length of the roof peak, blending into the roofline for a more attractive look. Years of research prove that a ridge vent with external baffles and an internal weather filter, combined with under eave venting (soffits), is the most efficient air circulation system you can install. Ridge vents are more aesthetic than attic fans which were used to circulate air through attics in older homes. Why do I know this? Well, it happened to us, of course, and it was during two separate snow storms where the snow, during a blizzard, blew horizontally and snuck under the ridge vents (which it’s not supposed to be able to do). Once the snow got under the ridge vent, it accumulated in the attic and then when the snow started to melt, it soaked through the insulation and onto the ceiling (drywall), thus creating a horrible ceiling water stain in one of the bedrooms. So, of course, we had to have each ridge vent replaced, figuring that if one was incorrectly installed, they all were. NOTE: This generally occurs if the ridge vents are old or haven’t been installed properly. In addition, ridge vents should have screening or material that looks like loosely woven steel wool at every opening. This prevents bugs and seeds, etc. from entering. If you have noticed ceiling water stains a few days after a snow storm and have ridge vents, you should contact a roofer. While he/she’s up on your roof, have him/her check the integrity of the ridge vents and the roof itself. To find a roofer, check Angie’s List. NOTE: If you decide to join, there is a membership fee. Pets and Home Remediations Don't Mix Well! 05/01/2010
 Meet Maxi! We adopted him from Forgotten Cats in November 8, 2009. The reason I'm writing about him is because if you have a pet, you really need to understand the level of noise, dust, and unfamiliar people who will be invading the furry member of your family’s home should you decide to have your home remediated. Our cat of eleven years, Tigger, had a hard time with the remediation, so we loaned him to our in-laws after we saw the effects on him. He became extremely anxious. The reason we got Maxi was because Tigger developed kidney cancer, and the veterinarian strongly recommended that we put him down. All this happened within the span of a couple of months. Tigger had a thorough check up and blood work done in August 2009 and everything was fine until he suddenly stopped eating in October. I don't know if the amount of stress of the remediation was a factor or just a coincidence, but I want all of you who have pets to take these points into consideration if you are beginning any type of remediation, remodeling, or renovation of your home: 1. If you are bothered by the dust, noise, workers, etc. So is your pet. 2. Even if there is a safe haven for your animal in the house, he/she will hear the constant banging of hammers, the noise of the cement mixer and electric saws, the voices of unfamiliar people, etc. 3. If you’re replacing your windows and the workers have just taken out the old windows on the first floor living room and then gone on a lunch break, your pet might become curious and jump out the window. NOTE: This happened to Tigger one night. He’s was an indoor cat. We found him the next day on top of scaffolding and under a tarmac. He was very scared. 4. There are potentially dangerous conditions right outside the house such as nails and staples and workers operating heavy machinery or dropping items from the scaffolding. 5. The family members might be away from the house more often than usual and the animals feeding, etc. schedule will be thrown off. Try to get an idea from your contractor regarding the duration of your home project. Remember to keep your pet(s) in mind when planning for this important event. You might even want to talk with your veterinarian to get his/her input.  Temporary markings of underground utilities! Have you ever seen different colored lines spray painted on someone’s lawn with a little bit “spilling” over on the asphalt road? Well, these are very important paint lines and each color represents a different utility. In order to provide conveniences to your home such as water, electricity, gas, telecommunications and, of course, a pipeline to get rid of sewage from the house, lines of wire or pipes have to be laid in the ground going from the street to your house. NOTE: If you have a septic tank, you can rule out the sewer line, but you definitely should know where on your property this tank is located and what maintenance needs to be done. If you want to switch from Comcast to Verizon for your Internet/Phone/TV service, or need to have a tree stump ground down, or have new shrubs or trees that you’d like to plant in your yard, or yes, even have your home remediated, your contractor needs to know where these pipes and wires are. Digging into an electric wire, could be deadly and costly. It is your contractor’s responsibility to call the proper authorities and have someone come out and with different colored-paint spray cans, mark where the wires leading from the road to your home. It is your responsibility to make sure that the markings are there when your contractor arrives to do the contracted work. No lines? No work! The American Public Works Association Uniform Color Codes for temporary marking of underground utilities are listed below: Red - Electric power lines, cables, conduit, and lighting cables Orange – Telecommunications, alarm or signal lines, cables, or conduit Yellow – Natural gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other gaseous or flammable material Green – Sewers and drain lines Blue – Drinking water Violet – Reclaimed water, irrigation, and slurry lines Pink – Temporary survey markings, unknown/unidentified facilities White – Proposed excavation limits or route And don’t worry about these colors sticking around (except maybe on the asphalt road). Just a few grass cuttings and the lines are gone on your lawn! Mold Spores and HEPA Air Scrubbers 04/10/2010
 (Pictured at left is a HEPA Air Scrubber.) Mold is all around us. It can be found wherever there is moisture, oxygen, warmth and something to feed on. It’s in our gardens and in our yards and plays an important role in nature. It should not, however, be thriving and growing in our homes. In order to reproduce, mold needs moist, warm areas where there are wet cellulose materials they can feed on such as wood, ceiling tiles, and/or drywall. When water is left to sit, for even 24 hours, common molds can begin to grow. If water continues to sit and areas become completely saturated, a more lethal mold, Stachybotrys, can begin to grow. As mold grows, part of its reproduction system is to release spores into the air which float around until they come into contact with other surfaces. If the surface is right, spores germinate into new mold growth which in turn produces more spores. The two primary dangers linked with mold are destruction of materials (such as the sheathing of your home, insulation and drywall) and allergic reactions. Mold lives off of the surface it grows on, and if mold infects wood or fabric for long enough it will destroy parts of that material. A large amount of mold will also release countless spores into the air, which can cause allergic reactions in susceptible people. If you have mold within the walls of your home, it is imperative that you have it PROFESSIONALLY REMOVED because of the millions of invisible mold spores that are disturbed and released into the air when the wall is removed or replaced. We had Hardy Environmental provide our mold remediation. Since we were occupying our home when the remediation was occurring, we usually had two-to-three HEPA Air Scrubbers going at the same time – many ran through the night. HEPA filters are the only type of filter recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control as effective for capturing these microscopic spores. HEPA filtered Portable Air Scrubbers (pictured above) are designed to capture a wide range of particles, (mold spores, etc.) and certified to remove 99.97% that are 0.3 microns and larger from the air. NOTE: Read “Mold – A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home” (http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.html) Molds come in at least a thousand different varieties, but only a few are the offenders that invade our homes. (See Kathy’s Blog dated March 22, 2010). The most dangerous mold strain is stachybotrys (pronounced Stack-ee-BOT-ris). This black fungus releases toxic, microscopic spores that cause the worst symptoms many of which are usually irreversible. NOTE: This eHow article shows how professionals approach mold remediation. http://www.ehow.com/how_2059114_remove-mold-drywall.html |  Kathryn M. Barto AuthorHi! ArchivesOctober 2010 Categories |
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