IR: Giving it away for free... DUMB

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Will

The problem with Carpenters is they remove the safety features on the nail gun[for speed]. IMO the increase in accidents is not with Carpenters it's with the "Weekend Warriors".

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Wow, this is a long thread. I'm getting into this thread a bit late, and I have not read every post, but did mamage to skim through most.

I will say that education is very important for IR use, but not mandatory. I have taken two "one day" training classes from FLIR. One on the basics of the BCAM and one on Basic Building Science. Both were very informative, but nothing taught was very compicated.

My next class will be the FLIR Building Science Certification. I don't think any HI should be offering ITI as part of a general inspection. The use of this tool, wheather we like it or not, goes well beyond the SOP. Therefore, if you are going to offer ITI work, I would strongly suggest offering it as an add-on service and under a seperate contract.

I offer a general ITI Scan, but it is still under a seperate contract. I do Radon Testing, and require all my clients to agree to and sign a Radon Measurement Screening Authorization Agreement. IR work should be no different.

Kevin

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Originally Posted by bkelly1

Electricians are bad about this, tying into the older wiring.. .

Watch your mouth fella.......The electricians who are bad about that are not electricians.....its called being a Wanna Be Electrician with a license they probably never TESTED for....Grandfathered Gifts!

[bzimbelman]

Originally Posted by krichardson

I don't think any HI should be offering ITI as part of a general inspection. The use of this tool, wheather we like it or not, goes well beyond the SOP. Therefore, if you are going to offer ITI work, I would strongly suggest offering it as an add-on service and under a seperate contract.

I offer a general ITI Scan, but it is still under a seperate contract.

Kevin & Others offering ITI work -

Care to share you seperate contracts with us?

-- bz

[ldapkus]

Kevin,
What do you charge hourly for an IR scan?

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

Kevin,
What do you charge hourly for an IR scan?

I don't charge by the hour. All are flat fees.

ITI General Scan = 79.00
ITI Electrical Survey = 99.00
ITI Moisture Survey = 99.00
ITI Energy Survey = 129.00

Premium Home Energy Tune-uP with ITI = 428.00

I've tried to make the fees for ITI affordable, yet worth the extra time anf effort of doing the scan/surveys.

Kevin

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by bzimbelman

Kevin & Others offering ITI work -

Care to share you seperate contracts with us?

-- bz

Brian, I've talked to some that are using IR and they don't use a separate agreement. They said "it's just another tool in my bag".

[Nick Gromicko]

Kevin, your fee schedule looks similar to what Steven Ramos recommends, yes?

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Kevin, your fee schedule looks similar to what Steven Ramos recommends, yes?

Yes, I believe he charges 99.00 each for a Moisture Survey, Electrical Survey, and Insulation Survey.

However, this is just for a property under 2000 sq feet. He charges an additional .05 cents per square foot over 2000.

I personlly think that his sceme is too complicated. It's a lot easier to sell the client on the services with a flat fee. Besides, if I'm already at the property conducting an inspection, it doesn't take but an additional 15 to 20 minutes to scan the home.

Most people that I have talked to have no clue what your talking about when explaining ITI over the phone. However, once on site I do a short demo. The camera sells itself in a minutes. The most popular ITI service I offer is the ITI General Scan, and the ITI Energy Survey would be a close second.

If i'm on-site trying to convince the client on the advantages of using these services, it has to be affordable in my opinion. If you went to your inspection knowing that the fee will be 400 bucks and I try to sell you on a survey that is another 200 bucks, what are you most likely to say. Nah, I don't need that, but thank you!

When I say the general scan is only 79.00 more and they see the camera in action, that is affordable and of value to the client. I always get....Yes, sure, it's only 70 bucks more. Let's do it!

It's working for me, at least

Kevin

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by krichardson

Yes, I believe he charges 99.00 each for a Moisture Survey, Electrical Survey, and Insulation Survey.

However, this is just for a property under 2000 sq feet. He charges an additional .05 cents per square foot over 2000.

I personlly think that his sceme is too complicated. It's a lot easier to sell the client on the services with a flat fee. Besides, if I'm already at the property conducting an inspection, it doesn't take but an additional 15 to 20 minutes to scan the home.

Most people that I have talked to have no clue what your talking about when explaining ITI over the phone. However, once on site I do a short demo. The camera sells itself in a minutes. The most popular ITI service I offer is the ITI General Scan, and the ITI Energy Survey would be a close second.

If i'm on-site trying to convince the client on the advantages of using these services, it has to be affordable in my opinion. If you went to your inspection knowing that the fee will be 400 bucks and I try to sell you on a survey that is another 200 bucks, what are you most likely to say. Nah, I don't need that, but thank you!

When I say the general scan is only 79.00 more and they see the camera in action, that is affordable and of value to the client. I always get....Yes, sure, it's only 70 bucks more. Let's do it!

It's working for me, at least

Kevin

My fee is $125/ hour with a 1 hr. minimum charge. I have never exceeded 1 hour on moisture intrusion or insulation scans. For HI's it is an additional $79. I have based the hourly fee on info provided by The Building Science Institute. They go as high as $175/hr. during complex investigations.

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

My fee is $125/ hour with a 1 hr. minimum charge. I have never exceeded 1 hour on moisture intrusion or insulation scans. For HI's it is an additional $79. I have based the hourly fee on info provided by The Building Science Institute. They go as high as $175/hr. during complex investigations.

That's great, Linas

How many are you doing per month?

Kevin

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by krichardson

That's great, Linas

How many are you doing per month?

Kevin

I've done 9 so far this month. Most are for new construction moisture intrusions where builder is not sure where moisture is entering the home or they just don't care to take the time to find it. They prefer to add caulk and call it fixed until it rains again.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

on a side note......I don't see House Detectives in the HGTV line up from 9AM to 12 PM ( midnight )...is it on anymore?

[Kevin A. Richardson]

Originally Posted by pabernathy

on a side note......I don't see House Detectives in the HGTV line up from 9AM to 12 PM ( midnight )...is it on anymore?

Dirty, Rotten Deck 10/27/2007 8:00 AM HDT-1312 Plumbing Problems 11/03/2007 8:00 AM HDT-1313 Subfloors and Siding 11/10/2007 8:00 AM HDT-1212

[Paul W. Abernathy]

AHHH....figured it had to be on before 9 AM......my TV guide only shows 9AM on.....