older homes with Mario Kyriacou,

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by Raymond E. Wand

Mario

Aren't you glad I asked?

Ray,

I was told this many times, including from our friend Roy. I have a lab report from a sample and for the life of me I can't find it. I will post it here when I do.

[aerb]

Originally Posted by rcooke

Yes it is here is the link . http://www.thestar.com/living/article/348068

Glad that I found it .
I try to post all I find that are interesting or by NACHI members .
...Cookie

Great job as usual in posting this fine article, Roy.
Thanks for all you do.

[Canadian Inspector]

Originally Posted by aerb

Great job as usual in posting this fine article, Roy.
Thanks for all you do.

I find it amazing that both you and Roy failed to mention Mario in your praise.

All Roy did was to ride the coat tails of a fine inspector and to bask in his glory!

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/348068

Take a careful look at older homes TheStar.com - living - Take a careful look at older homes
Faulty wiring and insufficient insulation common problems

March 22, 2008
Heather Greenwood Davis
Special to The Star
If you're a first-time home buyer considering the purchase of an older home you'll want to have some extra money at your disposal before signing on the dotted line.
At the very least, you should be prepared to fork out a few hundred dollars for a home inspection. At the worst, you may need to budget thousands for unexpected upgrades and repairs.
So says Mario Kyriacou, the 2007 recipient of the NACHI (National Association of Certified Home Inspectors) award for Inspector of the Year. The Toronto inspector (360degreeshomeinspections.com) says that while he recommends inspections for newly built homes as well, the potential hazards in an older home make it a necessity.
Kyriacou says he routinely runs into faulty wiring, insufficient insulation and poor renovations when inspecting homes that clients were just about to purchase.
"It makes them aware of the condition," says Kyriacou. "They can budget for upgrading the services or decide not to purchase that home altogether. My job is to inform my clients to make the correct decision in purchasing their home. They have a budget and they're burdened if they have to unexpectedly upgrade the furnace."
And not all of the things he finds are simply financial hazards. Older home builders often used materials that would make any homeowner wary. (Asbestos anyone?)
Here are some of the main culprits that you'll want to ask about before falling in love with that cute vintage down the street:
1. Knob and tube wiring
How you'll know: "Typically a knob-and-tube home would be built in the 1950s or before with 60-amp service. It's something that you can usually see in the furnace room," says Kyriacou. But watch out for the "bait and switch" he warns, where the previous homeowner has simply updated what you can see: essentially putting a shiny cover on an old system.
"I recently did a home inspection where it was a 60-amp service but they had installed a new breaker panel in the basement and labelled it as 100 amps," he says. "All the wiring in the electrical panel was all updated, but when I went into the furnace room and dug around some more I saw that the knob-and-tube circuits were still active."
If you take it: Be prepared to pay. "It's not enough power for today's homes," says Kyriacou who points out that newer homes typically have between 125 and 200 amps.
You may also have trouble getting home insurance: " Most carriers do not want to underwrite a policy with any knob and tube in the home," he says. "A few carriers will carry you if you have less than 5 per cent knob and tube. They'll underwrite the policy at a premium."
2. Aluminum wiring
How you'll know: "It consists of black fabric covered wiring and is typically found in homes built in the 1970s," says Kyriacou.
If you take it: There's an increased risk of an electrical fire, particularly in homes where some of the wiring, but not all, has been updated or replaced. "It's something that most homeowners don't realize," he explains. "When they go to Home Depot or Loews to purchase wiring now it's all copper and they mix and match copper and aluminum. This is not good: Aluminum corrodes when in contact with some other metals and copper is one of them." Changing the wiring will cost several thousand dollars depending on the size of your home.
3. Missing insulation in attic
How you'll know: The house seems drafty and energy bills are high.
If you take it: Be prepared to spend the money required to upgrade it so you're comfortable. Though the missing insulation may not be a building code violation it can add significant amounts to your heating and cooling costs.
4. Hazardous material
How you'll know: Chances are you won't. It will take a trained eye and some tests to be sure, but older homes are more susceptible, says Kyriacou. "In the older days asbestos was used widely in wrapping supply ducts in a home," he explains. "A lot of the homes used hydronic heating – radiators – and those pipes are wrapped in asbestos wrap and that can be potentially dangerous if disturbed."
Vermiculate insulation can also be problematic if tampered with. And then there's the arsenic.
"In older homes in the plaster they used horse hair to bond the plaster together and horse hair was treated with arsenic," says Kyriacou. "I see this all the time, people taking saws to cut door openings or remove walls entirely in the home without taking precautions to wear respirators or masks."
If you take it: You'll want to factor in the cost of having professionals handle any renovations you have planned.
"The average homeowner doesn't know how to handle this stuff and protect the rest of the home from contamination," says Kyriacou.
5. Oil-to-gas furnace conversions
How you'll know: The telltale sign is two holes into the foundation wall of the home or a pipe sticking out of the ground in the backyard. "Often the connecting tubing has been removed but the tank itself is still underground," says Kyriacou.
If you take it: " It can be really costly to remove an oil tank that is leaking into the backyard," he warns. "Often times, the current owner didn't even know it was there."
Reach Heather at heathergreenwooddavis@yahoo.com.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Thank You Mr. Canadian Home Inspector for being observant, I bet you are a great Home Inspector!

[Canadian Inspector]

Originally Posted by mkyriacou

Thank You Mr. Canadian Home Inspector for being observant, I bet you are a great Home Inspector!

Mario,
Thank you for your kind words but Roy Cooke "Riding your coat tails" should have been clear to even a "Rookie Inspector."

Look how he tried to take credit and steal an award for something that he did not invent.

He even went so far as to request that his "Fellow Committee members" recommend him for the "Inventions & Innovations" that he clearly was trying to steal!

ROY COOKE IS AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE CANADIAN HOME INSPECTION INDUSTRY!

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by Canadian Inspector

Mario,
Thank you for your kind words but Roy Cooke "Riding your coat tails" should have been clear to even a "Rookie Inspector."

Look how he tried to take credit and steal an award for something that he did not invent.

He even went so far as to request that his "Fellow Committee members" recommend him for the "Inventions & Innovations" that he clearly was trying to steal!

ROY COOKE IS AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE CANADIAN HOME INSPECTION INDUSTRY!

For all the respect I give to all of my Canadian Inspectors, you sir are demising the credability of what is trying to keep the relationship of all.
On a similar token, your statements are in grave erroneous state of all.

Please use your own name and stop demoralizing my Canadian Friends.

If you can not speak the truth nor say anything nice, please refrain from saying anything.

Thank you sir.

Marcel

[klott]

This is like what's going on at my house right now. We have a House Cat and a Yard Cat, both of them are growling and hissing at each other thru the glass, and it really pisses them off, that they can't get to each other! The other day, they managed to break a glass in the bedroom. If they break my Picture Window, I am going to tie their tails together and hang them on the clothes line! But it will be too late then, hunh! Where are those Coyotes when you need them?

[George A. H. Luck]

Marcel you hit the nail on the head:
No Name = No Respect

Unsigned opinions are like unsigned cheques - worthless.

[Canadian Inspector]

Originally Posted by mcyr

For all the respect I give to all of my Canadian Inspectors, you sir are demising the credability of what is trying to keep the relationship of all.
Marcel,
You make no sense at all!


On a similar token, your statements are in grave erroneous state of all.
Marcel,
You make no sense at all!


Please use your own name and stop demoralizing my Canadian Friends.
Marcel,
YOUR two friends Ray Wand & Roy Cooke have done more to "demoralize" us in the last 4-months than I have seen in the last 4-years!



If you can not speak the truth nor say anything nice, please refrain from saying anything. You make no sense at all!

Thank you sir.

Marcel

Marcel,
You should be ashamed of yourself!

YOU and Roy Cooke have done great damage to NACHI!

It is obvious that YOU and ROY COOKE only process nominations of people that you like and YOUR friends!

• You should be embarrassed and YOU should resign from the TAINTED "Awards" committee!

[George A. H. Luck]

Marcel you hit the nail on the head:
No Name = No Respect

Unsigned opinions are like unsigned cheques - worthless.

[Canadian Inspector]

ESOP's decision supported by mathematical analysis.

Recently ESOP expelled 2 Canadian members. I was personally opposed to the decisions to have them removed from InterNACHI. One of the 2 is a close personal friend of mine who has helped InterNACHI and me many times for many years. I'd go as far as saying there wouldn't be an InterNACHI presence in Canada without him. He is a good friend and I love him. But before everyone (including me) starts thinking poorly of ESOP, I wanted to state for the record that the chances of this decision having little to do with the 2 ex-members is almost zero. Clearly the two ex-members played a role in their fate.

For many years, leaders and members of other Canadian associations have sent me email after email after email (hundreds in all) complaining about these very 2 members. I ignored all of them for years, until today. Today I decided to calculate what the odds were of this being pure coincidence.

There are about 3,000 inspectors in Canada of which my inbox for years is packed with complaints from 2 other Canadian associations regarding only 2 inspectors. I won't go into all their charges and complaints. Anyway, ESOP recently removed the very same 2 inspectors from InterNACHI. InterNACHI almost never expelles anyone,s so the results of our analysis should end up dramatic.

Let's see what the odds of this being pure coincidence (the ex-members being innocent victims of ESOP and having played no role this situation) are. The odds of one of the 2 members ESOP expelled, also being one of the 2 very other inspectors that the other associations had trouble with, is 1 in 1,500 (there is a 1 in 1500 chance of drawing 1 of 2 inspectors from a pool of 3,000). Then, the odds of the exact other inspector being expelled by ESOP is 1 in 3,000 (there is a 1 in 2,999 chance of drawing 1 inspector from a pool 2,999).

Now here is where it gets interesting. The odds of them expelling those exact 2 members coincidentally (meaning that the ex-members themselves had NO ROLE in any of this and are purely innocent victims of ESOP) is (1 divided by 1,500) times (1 divided by 2,999) or 1 in 4,498,500. Or in other words... impossible.

I waited until after ESOPs decision today to make this post.

One of the 2 ex-members is my dear friend and always will be. I love him. But basic probability and statistics support several of ESOPs contentions. --
Nick Gromicko, CMI
Founder


QUOTE: Nick Gromicko
There are about 3,000 inspectors in Canada of which my inbox for years is packed with complaints from 2 other Canadian associations regarding only 2 inspectors. I won't go into all their charges and complaints.
The complaints were for .... get ready for a shocker.... Code of Ethics Violations!

Anyway, ESOP recently removed the very same 2 inspectors from InterNACHI.
End Quote:

Raymond Wand and Roy Cooke have been and continue to be an EMBARRASSMENT and a DISGRACE to the ENTIRE Canadian Home Inspector's Industry!

The numerous complaints over the last few years do not lie!

Nick is a smart man..... We are ALL glad to see him finally come to his senses!

[eullah]

Originally Posted by rcooke

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/348068

Take a careful look at older homes TheStar.com - living - Take a careful look at older homes
Faulty wiring and insufficient insulation common problems

March 22, 2008
Heather Greenwood Davis
Special to The Star
If you're a first-time home buyer considering the purchase of an older home you'll want to have some extra money at your disposal before signing on the dotted line.
At the very least, you should be prepared to fork out a few hundred dollars for a home inspection. At the worst, you may need to budget thousands for unexpected upgrades and repairs.
So says Mario Kyriacou, the 2007 recipient of the NACHI (National Association of Certified Home Inspectors) award for Inspector of the Year. The Toronto inspector (360degreeshomeinspections.com) says that while he recommends inspections for newly built homes as well, the potential hazards in an older home make it a necessity.
Kyriacou says he routinely runs into faulty wiring, insufficient insulation and poor renovations when inspecting homes that clients were just about to purchase.
"It makes them aware of the condition," says Kyriacou. "They can budget for upgrading the services or decide not to purchase that home altogether. My job is to inform my clients to make the correct decision in purchasing their home. They have a budget and they're burdened if they have to unexpectedly upgrade the furnace."
And not all of the things he finds are simply financial hazards. Older home builders often used materials that would make any homeowner wary. (Asbestos anyone?)
Here are some of the main culprits that you'll want to ask about before falling in love with that cute vintage down the street:
1. Knob and tube wiring
How you'll know: "Typically a knob-and-tube home would be built in the 1950s or before with 60-amp service. It's something that you can usually see in the furnace room," says Kyriacou. But watch out for the "bait and switch" he warns, where the previous homeowner has simply updated what you can see: essentially putting a shiny cover on an old system.
"I recently did a home inspection where it was a 60-amp service but they had installed a new breaker panel in the basement and labelled it as 100 amps," he says. "All the wiring in the electrical panel was all updated, but when I went into the furnace room and dug around some more I saw that the knob-and-tube circuits were still active."
If you take it: Be prepared to pay. "It's not enough power for today's homes," says Kyriacou who points out that newer homes typically have between 125 and 200 amps.
You may also have trouble getting home insurance: " Most carriers do not want to underwrite a policy with any knob and tube in the home," he says. "A few carriers will carry you if you have less than 5 per cent knob and tube. They'll underwrite the policy at a premium."
2. Aluminum wiring
How you'll know: "It consists of black fabric covered wiring and is typically found in homes built in the 1970s," says Kyriacou.
If you take it: There's an increased risk of an electrical fire, particularly in homes where some of the wiring, but not all, has been updated or replaced. "It's something that most homeowners don't realize," he explains. "When they go to Home Depot or Loews to purchase wiring now it's all copper and they mix and match copper and aluminum. This is not good: Aluminum corrodes when in contact with some other metals and copper is one of them." Changing the wiring will cost several thousand dollars depending on the size of your home.
3. Missing insulation in attic
How you'll know: The house seems drafty and energy bills are high.
If you take it: Be prepared to spend the money required to upgrade it so you're comfortable. Though the missing insulation may not be a building code violation it can add significant amounts to your heating and cooling costs.
4. Hazardous material
How you'll know: Chances are you won't. It will take a trained eye and some tests to be sure, but older homes are more susceptible, says Kyriacou. "In the older days asbestos was used widely in wrapping supply ducts in a home," he explains. "A lot of the homes used hydronic heating – radiators – and those pipes are wrapped in asbestos wrap and that can be potentially dangerous if disturbed."
Vermiculate insulation can also be problematic if tampered with. And then there's the arsenic.
"In older homes in the plaster they used horse hair to bond the plaster together and horse hair was treated with arsenic," says Kyriacou. "I see this all the time, people taking saws to cut door openings or remove walls entirely in the home without taking precautions to wear respirators or masks."
If you take it: You'll want to factor in the cost of having professionals handle any renovations you have planned.
"The average homeowner doesn't know how to handle this stuff and protect the rest of the home from contamination," says Kyriacou.
5. Oil-to-gas furnace conversions
How you'll know: The telltale sign is two holes into the foundation wall of the home or a pipe sticking out of the ground in the backyard. "Often the connecting tubing has been removed but the tank itself is still underground," says Kyriacou.
If you take it: " It can be really costly to remove an oil tank that is leaking into the backyard," he warns. "Often times, the current owner didn't even know it was there."
Reach Heather at heathergreenwooddavis@yahoo.com.

...Cookie

Thanks for very informative article.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Glad you like it Ehsan!!!

[Darren St.jacques]

Originally Posted by Raymond E. Wand

Never ever have seen black sheathed Alu. wiring. Only green or silver sheathing.

As to arsenic in horse hair insulation, never heard of that either, and cannot find any reference to confirm. Where is that info about horse hair and arsenic from?

Cheers,

Come on Raymond, don't piss on peoples parades!
If you want to question someones information, do it privately, yes?

[Steven R. Butts]

Originally Posted by dstjacques

Come on Raymond, don't piss on peoples parades!
If you want to question someones information, do it privately, yes?

Hey Darren, I wouldn't even worry about what he writes in here. Mario never even said anything about arsenic in horsehair insulation....he mentioned arsenic in horsehair used to bond plaster so it seems Ray still can't get anything straight.