Conducted an Inspection approx. 90 days ago, house was 52 years of age,occupied, moderate amount of personal belongings, stored items etc… the client just contacted us via USPS stating that the bathroom vents were not vented to the exterior. This was recently discovered when they were installing cable in the attic. They are seeking compensation to have them vented to the exterior in the amount of $480. We perform very thorough inspection and come to find out the vents were covered by insulation (batting). I am going to reply to our client but would like to do so as not to leave a bad taste in their mouth about their finding. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Saturday I had 2 bathrooms in a basement of the duplex but only found one exit tie in.
My report stated the exhaust termination was not found or observed.
Should have used Home Gauge and you would have been covered.
I hope that you pointed out on the report you could not confirm the exhaust venting did go outside. Just seeing the hood outside is not good enough.
I’d have a nice, quit conversation. Listen first. Say nothing. Let them finish. Then ask them with all of the insulation, how were you to find the vents? Show them in your contract that you do a “visible” inspection. Explain that even when exhaust ducts are not visible, they are sometimes installed properly. I’d work real hard to not pay this.
In the end, I might try to work out a deal where I install it and they buy the parts. I think $480 is a ridiculous amount and I’m not sure that you missed anything. Parts are less than $100. At the end of the day, I’m not going to pay $480 for someone else to do what is a $150 job.
Chris, your pic example is, IMO, not a very good option. I see it all the time, and have done it that way before, to keep from making a hole in the roof.
The moisture laden air that terminates at a vented soffit area will tend to be “sucked” back into the attic. The air enters the attic at that point, and is carried through to the ridge vent or roof vents, pulling that moist bathroom air with it. You can usually see the blackened insulation at the soffit as a result of this.
It may be better than just letting it vent to the attic, but even though it won’t look as good, I think it would be better to attach the vent at the ridge.
You don’t! But it is something that does get missed on reports. Not easy to do with Home Gauge.
Again each reporting software you do use should have this in the report so you can show what your Client missed when reading the report in a circumstance like this one.
Never have I paid to have this work done and I never would unless I did not report it.
I’m terminating a bath vent that terminates in the attic for a friend who is getting ready to put his house on the market. I’m charging $100, including materials. Even if it wasn’t a friend, $200 would be a lot.
I was unable to determine where the bathroom exhaust venting terminated. Bathroom exhaust vents are required to terminate and vent to the exterior of the home. There were no exhaust vent terminations found at the exterior of the home. I recommend corrective repairs by a qualified contractor.
We noted bathroom exhaust vents terminating in the attic. Although this is commonly seen, current building standards recommend extending these to the exterior of the building for reasons such as helping lower humidity, and preventing condensation build up which contributes to mold growth. Reconfiguration of the exhaust venting to terminate to the exterior of the home is recommended.
The bathroom exhaust fans terminate in the attic in the vicinity of the roof vents. These exhaust vents should have their own terminations at the exterior of the home. I recommend reconfiguration of the exhaust fan vents to terminate at the exterior of the home.
All good stuff, Linas, thanks. Very similar to what I have in my comment library. I usually throw in a “mold disclaimer/mold inspection not performed” as well.
mauger
(Mike Auger, CMI - RI 43685, RMC-142, RMB-096)
15
You likely should have commented as stated, to CYA. For those quoting its a $150 job, not the case though. The vent, blades, ductwork, misc. hardware will be inexpensive, maybe $40. The job on a one floor house with relatively easy attic and roof access will take an hour if your fast, if its 2 story and hard to get in the attic you could triple it. Then add travel time and material purchase time. $500 isn’t unreasonable under many circumstances. If its 4 hours at $65 per hour you’re at least in the $250 range for one guy anyway. Going to a high roof, could require added manpower and time too.
That being said, If he’ll take $150 (or even half the quoted amount at $240) and give you a signature on your release, take it.