Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) has been used since 1989. It replaces the traditional iron pipes for plumbing natural and liquid petroleum (LPG) gas throughout the house.  CSST is flexible, easier to install due to fewer connections, and cheaper for the builder to install saving the house buyer money.

As with many new products, several unintended consequences have appeared which must be taken into consideration. These include the high likelihood of damage from lightening, or damage from nails. Since the walls of CSST are easily penetrated, gas leaks can happen more easily.  Many contractors install CSST too close to the roof sheathing, which exposes the CSST to damage when the roofing material is installed or replaced.

Home inspectors need to carefully inspect this plumbing system for proper grounding and protection from damage. The image below shows a roof nail that nearly punctured the CSST.

CSST is under investigation and its installation has already been halted in Massachusettes.

I just returned from Puerto Rico where I attended the seminar they had on December 6th & 7th. It did not take one day of being there to realize what a beautiful island Puerto Rico is!  The energy was great!  I was able to meet a lot of great members and share a lot of great information.  The speakers and education they provided was outstanding as well.  Puerto Rico has a lot going on right now and has a bright future in the inspection industry.  Everyone there has a lot of desire to be the best and most informed inspector.  I was nothing less then impressed and am glad to have experienced this wonderful place with wonderful inspectors.  Can’t wait for the next event

As many of you know, we recently aquired Inspector.org.  The domain name is a perfect reflection of the way I think the inspection industry is going, and is certainly a reflection of where we see InterNACHI pushing in the future.  Nowadays, if you’re just a “home inspector” you’re not going to make it.  With ancillary inspections like Chimney, Energy Loss, Lead, Log Home, Meth, Mold, New Construction, Pools and Spas, Radon, Septic, Stucco, Thermal Imaging, Water Quality, WDO/Insects and WETT inspections, as well as Commercial Inspections,  Green Certification, and  Pre-Listing/MoveInCertified Inspections, we’re seeing the inspection industry fully outgrow the word “home.”

That’s not to say that we’re leaving home inspections behind.  Many of our members are still primarily home inspectors, and it’s likely to stay that way for a while.  But we also hope to show our members the advantages of offering many more inspection services, as well as generate many opportunities for these additional inspections in the future.

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a great holiday.  There are a few big projects going on at NACHI.TV – the first is a stucco class that we’re hosting at the NACHI.TV studios here in Boulder on December 15th and 16th that we’ll also be making into a video course for all inspectors to take.  Look for that soon on NACHI.TV.  I’m also working on a new NACHI.TV commercial using a really cool Apple program, so look for that as well.  If anyone has any ideas of something they’d like to see on NACHI.TV, let me know.  You can email me at vale…@nachi.tv.

I’m looking forward to a great new year with all our members!

Just wanted to let everyone know I have started to submit the WDO course to various states for some more state CE’s.  I have also started to submitting to the Department of Agriculture in both Washington and Oregon with many more states to follow.  If anyone ever has a recommendation for another state department to submit a  course, please email me direct at lisa@internachi.org!

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to point out that we just added an inspection classified section to the message board.  If you have anything to sell or are looking to buy a particular piece of equipment, this new section should be really helpful.

For many home inspectors that are investigating the possibility of purchasing an infrared camera the choices and features of the many cameras on the market can be daunting. Here is a spreadsheet showing some of the more ‘inspector important’ features and specifications. This is not an exhaustive collection of cameras and features but rather a place to start your own due diligence and comparisons. You can Print or Download the file here: IR Camera Comparison