Clearwater Tampa St. Petersburg Home Inspection

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Long Time Home Inspector Honored by ASHI

Anniversary Media Release

News Release	Contact (Mark Cramer)
	(727-595-4211)

Tampa Bay Area Inspector Honored by the American Society of Home Inspectors^® for Long-Time Service

Tampa, FL: Mark Cramer of Mark Cramer Inspection Services Inc., a local firm based in Tampa that conducts inspections of new and existing homes, was honored recently by the American Society of Home Inspectors for 20 of membership. Mark Cramer has been an ASHI Certified Inspector since 1991.

The American Society of Home Inspectors, founded in 1976, is the oldest, largest and most respected international professional organization of independent home inspectors in North America. Its Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics is the benchmark for professional performance in the field.

To become an ASHI Certified Inspector, a member must meet rigorous professional and technical requirements, including the successful completion of two comprehensive exams. In addition, he or she must perform at least 250 fee-paid home inspections that meet or exceed the ASHI Standards of Practice.

Mark Cramer conducts existing and new construction, pre-purchase, pre-listing and expert consulting inspections in the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater, Tampa. Wesley Chapel and St. Petersburg.

Further information about Mark Cramer’s home inspections is available by calling 727-595-4211 or by visiting the inspector’s Web site at www.BestTampaInspector.com

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Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Sunday, October 16, 2011

DBPR HR-7020 Balcony Inspection

Balcony Inspections

We provide DBPR HR-7020 Balcony Inspections. This is a required inspection of all balconies, platforms, stairways, railings and railways.

If a hotel or apartment building has 3 or more stories, the Florida Administrative Code for lodging establishments requires the operator to submit a Certificate of Balcony Inspection every 3 years.

The DBPR mandates the use of form HR-7020, filled out by the property operator. We provide the inspection and photographs of the subject balconies, stairways and railings.

Call today if you need a DBPR HR-7020 Division of Hotels and Restaurants Certificate of Balcony Inspection.

http://www.besttampainspector.com/DBPR-HR-7020-Balcony-Inspection

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211

Advice for consumers on choosing a home inspector in Tampa, St. Petersburg or Cleawater

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A Fire Safe Home

A Fire Safe Home: CPSC and NFPA Urge Consumers to Install Smoke Alarms,
Practice a Family Escape Plan Fire Prevention Week is October 9-15

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and
the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) urge consumers to take time
during Fire Prevention Week to check their homes for fire risks and to
develop and practice a family escape plan. CPSC estimates an annual average of more than 386,000 unintentional
residential fires, nearly 2,400 deaths and more the 12,500 injuries each
year from 2006 through 2008. "Build layers of fire safety in your home," said CPSC Chairman Inez
Tenenbaum. "Install smoke alarms on every floor and in every bedroom. If you
already have smoke alarms, make sure they are working. Smoke alarms provide
early warning of a potentially deadly fire and can reduce the risk of dying
from fire in your home by almost half." "Planning a home fire escape is an essential part of being prepared to act
and get out quickly if a fire occurs," said NFPA President James M. Shannon.
"Develop a fire escape plan that identifies two ways out of every room and a
family meeting place outside. Practice your plan at least twice a year."

Safe practices, such as the following, are the first line of defense in
preventing a fire in your home:

1. Install smoke alarms - A smoke alarm should be installed on every level
of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside bedrooms. When it comes to
surviving a fire, a smoke alarm is critical for early detection of a fire
and can mean the difference between life and death. About two-thirds of fire
deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that don't work.

Install both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms. Alarms
should have battery backup. Consider installing interconnected smoke alarms
because when one sounds, they all sound throughout the home.

2. Have a family escape plan - Develop and practice a family escape plan.
Make sure everyone knows how to escape when the smoke alarm sounds, whether
awake or asleep at the time. The best plans have two ways to get out of each
room. Designate a meeting place outside. Once out, stay out! To help make a
family escape plan, see this NFPA publication. 3. Cook safely - Stay in the kitchen and keep a watchful eye while you are
cooking. Unattended cooking is the number one cause of cooking fires.
Cooking equipment accounted for the largest percentage of home fires from
2006 through 2008 that were reported by fire departments. For this time
period, CPSC estimates an annual average of nearly 150,000 cooking fires
which is nearly 40 percent of unintentional residential fires. These fires
resulted in an average of 150 deaths each year.

4. Fireplace safety - Have fireplace flues and chimneys inspected for
leakage and blockage from creosote or debris every year. Store fireplace
ashes in a fire-resistant container, and cover the container with a lid.
Keep the container outdoors and away from combustibles. Dispose of ashes
carefully, keeping them away from dry leaves, trash or other combustible
materials. Heating and cooling equipment accounted for the second-largest
percentage of home fires from 2006 through 2008. CPSC estimates an annual
average of nearly 57,000 fires and 220 deaths during that time period.
Fireplaces and chimneys represented the majority of those fires with an
annual average of nearly 27,000 from 2006 through 2008.

5. Electrical safety - CPSC estimates there was an annual average of 150
deaths from 2006 through 2008 attributable to electrical components.

Check the ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) in your home to
make sure they're working. GFCIs can prevent electrocution. CPSC recommends
installing GFCIs in the kitchen, bathrooms and other areas where the risk of
electric shock is higher. Install arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs). AFCIs are designed
to protect against fires caused by arcing faults in a home's electrical
wiring.

For more information, see CPSC's "Home Electrical Safety Checklist."

6. Avoid mattress fires - Don't allow children to play with candles,
lighters or smoking materials. Extinguish candles before you leave the room.
Buy a mattress that meets the federal flammability standards. The open flame
standard limits the intensity of mattress fires and provides more escape
time for consumers. 7. Use caution when smoking - Smoking materials caused the most deaths in
residential fires, an average of 600 deaths each year from 2006 through
2008. Don't smoke in bed.

8. Don't use gel fuel in firepots - CPSC has recalled millions of bottles of
gel fuel due to burn and flash-fire hazards. The pourable gel fuel can
ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is
poured into a firepot that is still burning. Contact the manufacturer to
return the product for a full refund. There have been deaths associated with
gel fuel.

To see this release on CPSC's web site, including links to various documents
mentioned, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12009.html

Mark Cramer
Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.
492 20th Ave. Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
727-595-4211

Tampa Bay Area Home Inspector
http://www.BestTampaInspector.com
Clearwater Home Inspector
St. Petersburg Home Inspector
Advice for consumers on choosing a home inspector in Tampa, St. Petersburg
or Cleawater

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Not Dirty Old Men in Raincoats

Flashing matters. And I'm not talking about raincoats and dirty old men. As a home inspector in Tampa, I often see the results of failure to pay attention to details. Little details that matter.

The omission of flashing above windows and doors in wood frame walls often causes serious damage. Damage that’s usually concealed. Flashing is a piece of metal that extends under the siding and laps over the top of a window or door, preventing water from leaking in.

Metal head flashing

Some contractors think that windows are “self-flashing” or that caulk is a substitute for flashing. Doesn’t work. Not in the long run.

This past week I inspected a wood frame home in Tampa that had no flashing above the windows. Inside the home, I could see obvious signs of water entry at many of the windows.

Stains on the interior at the top of window

Another place you want flashing is under a door in a wood frame wall. Here we use a pan flashing to collect the water that invariable leaks in and divert it to the exterior.

This same home had no pan flashing under the door. The wood floor was rotting. Ignored, this kind of leakage leads to extensive damage that’s expensive to repair.

Rotting sub-floor below door

There are no shortcuts. It’s tough to install windows and doors and keep the water out. You don’t have a chance without proper flashings.

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Thursday, August 25, 2011

How to Save $500.00+ Per Year

If you haven't had a Wind Mitigation inspection, you are throwing money away! The FL statutes require insurers to give you a discount on wind insurance if you home has certain features related to resiting hurricane force winds. Almost every house has at least one of these features. If you've put a new roof on your house in the last 8-9 years, you are eligible for a big discount.

The discounts vary, depending on what features your house has. They might range from $500.00 to $2,500.00 or more per year. The only way to obtain the discounts is to have a Wind Mitigation Inspection performed. For less than 100 bucks, you can save thousands, even tens of thousands over the years you own your home.

Call me today for more information.

These hurricane clips saved a homeowner $500.00 per year! Almost any home built since the late 50's has these.

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Friday, March 18, 2011

CPSC and HUD Issue Updated Remediation Protocol for Homes with Problem Drywall

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are issuing an updated remediation protocol for homes with problem drywall. A study conducted on behalf of CPSC by Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, finds no evidence of a safety hazard to home electrical systems. Sandia simulated long-term exposure of wiring and other electrical components to hydrogen sulfide gas, which is associated with problem drywall.

Based on this study, CPSC and HUD staff, representing the Interagency Task Force on Problem Drywall, are no longer recommending the removal of all electrical wiring in homes with problem drywall. This change in the government's protocol may reduce the cost of remediation for many homes.

After simulating more than 40 years of corrosive conditions that could exist in problem drywall homes, Sandia staff did not observe any acute or long-term electrical safety events, such as smoking or fire. Corrosion and blackening of the exposed electrical components did occur and was observed to be consistent with the characteristic corrosion reported to CPSC by thousands of consumers. Based on this study, it is the belief of the staffs of CPSC, HUD and Sandia that long-term exposure of wiring and other electrical components to hydrogen sulfide gases does not indicate a safety hazard to a home's electrical systems.

With these changes, the remediation guidance for homes with problem drywall calls for the replacement of all:

* problem drywall;

* fire safety alarm devices, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms;

* electrical distribution components, including receptacles, switches and circuit breakers; and

* gas service piping and fire suppression sprinkler systems.

CPSC and HUD staffs are also issuing an updated identification guidance, which broadens the range of installation years of affected homes to include homes where drywall was installed as late as 2009. Importantly, the drywall installed in 2009 had been previously imported during the years 2006-2007 and does not represent any new importation of problem drywall.

The staffs of CPSC and HUD believe that following the updated identification and remediation protocols will enable homeowners to correctly identify homes containing problem drywall and comprehensively remediate those homes to address any potential health and safety issues associated with the problem drywall.

CPSC is in the final stages of completing its scientific investigation into problem drywall. For additional findings from the Interagency Drywall Task Force's investigation, visit www.DrywallResponse.gov

To see this press release on CPSC's web site, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11176.html

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211

Advice for consumers on choosing a home inspector in Tampa, St. Petersburg or Cleawater

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Citizens Insurance approves much cheaper fix for aluminum wiring

Homeowners dodge total rewire as Citizens Insurance approves much cheaper fix for aluminum wiring

12:00 AM, Mar. 15, 2011 |

Written by

Jamie Page

Citizens Property Insurance Co. has approved two acceptable alternative methods for ensuring aluminum branch wiring is not a fire hazard and is insurable.

-- AlumiConn: An aluminum-to-copper plug that's connected to existing aluminum wiring at each receptacle, making aluminum wiring run cooler with a safer connection, according to King Innovation, manufacturer of the connector.

-- Copalum: This connector is considered an acceptable repair method by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commisison. Copalum permanently connects old technology aluminum wire to a short length of copper wire. The copper wire is then terminated to outlets, fixtures and appliances.

Citizens is still researching the potential for CO/ALR connectors to be considered as a third insurable alternative method:

-- CO/ALR: The name means copper-aluminum revised. The device has screw terminals designed to grip the wire tightly and act as a similar metal to aluminium. It helps eliminate the likelihood of electrical arcing that can cause a fire.

Florida homeowners with aluminum-wired homes got a break Monday.

The state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Monday approved two alternative methods to make aluminum branch wiring safe and insurable.

Since last summer, Citizens and all other private insurers in Florida had said they would no longer write new insurance policies on homes with aluminum wiring because it's considered a fire hazard.

As a result, homeowners wanting to sell their residences, or shop other insurers, would have had to spend $5,000 to $20,000 to rewire their homes with copper wiring to make then insurable.

But, now, Citizens has approved two types of electrical wire connectors — known as AlumiConn and Copalum — as acceptable methods to avoid rewiring, Citizens spokeswoman Christine Ashburn said.

"This is big, big news for the Panhandle. The total rewire has been terrifying to many of our constituents," said state Rep. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze. "We don't understand why this issue is unique to the Panhandle, but we want to make sure people are not spending $8,000 to $10,000 on a total rewire when there is going to now be a fix that is much less expensive."

Aluminum wiring was used in many homes constructed between 1965 and 1973, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported. During those years, 14,159 homes were built in Escambia County and 2,808 in Santa Rosa , according to county records.

Broxson has been meeting with Citizens representatives weekly for the past six weeks on the matter of researching alternative methods to rewiring aluminum.

"Now we have an option and, hopefully, this will encourage the other homeowner insurance markets to do the same," he said.

The cost of having a certified electrician install AlumiConn connectors has been estimated at between $900 and $2,000.

Mike McCombs, president of McCombs Electrical Co. in Milton , has been working to persuade the state to address the insurance issue with aluminum wiring.

After a News Journal story on Monday about the issue, he was flooded with calls from customers wanting to get their homes rewired to avoid being dropped by their private insurers.

(Page 2 of 2)

But McCombs advised them to "hold off a little while" until Citizens determined whether it was going to accept the alternative methods.

"My phone has done nothing but ring off the hook. Everybody has been asking 'What do we do?' " McCombs said. "They are going to be very excited to hear that they have an alternative.

"I think there are a bunch of other methods out there that I hope they will look at, as well. Now what are we going to do about the rest of these insurance companies?"

McCombs hopes that private insurers will follow suit and honor the alternative methods as they followed suit when Citizens announced last summer it would no longer write policies on aluminum-wired homes.

"If these other insurance companies will not insure people with aluminum wiring, then people just need to leave and take all their business with them elsewhere — auto insurance, everything," McCombs said.

Linda Helland, 63, was one of the people who called McCombs about her home's aluminum wiring.

"I think it's wonderful," she said. "It's about time that something happened that would be on the side of the common person. Paying up to $2,000 is at least doable for a lot of people. But if I had to pay as much as $20,000 to rewire, I would have not had my house insured because I couldn't afford it. So, I am very happy something has been done."

Helland plans to call Citizens today to see if she can switch insurers. Her insurer, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance, has put her on notice that it plans to drop her coverage May 5.

Citizens will send detailed information to insurers this week so that policy holders can be clear on what methods are acceptable, Ashburn said.

The information also will explain what retrofit method Citizens is looking for from electrical contractors, and why it believes these methods are safe, she said.

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Monday, January 31, 2011

No Link Between Chinese Drywall and Deaths

NEW ORLEANS - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has found no link between tainted Chinese drywall and the deaths of 11 people living in homes with the defective drywall in Florida, Louisiana and Virginia.

The CDC said in a report Monday that the people died without exception due to "pre-existing chronic health conditions unrelated to imported drywall exposure." The findings by the Atlanta-based CDC back up previous findings by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The five cases reviewed in Florida were for three males and two females, ages 60 to 86 at time of death, according to the commission. Four of the persons were diagnosed with cancers (two lung, one bladder, one laryngeal), and two of these also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The fifth person had a primary diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with other chronic illnesses.

Large quantities of defective Chinese-made drywall were imported during a past housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes five years ago. The drywall has been linked to corrosion in thousands of homes, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211