Interesting Links and Books

Links You Might Like

Inspect Your Deck – New Video
Deck collapse is a serious problem, but can be prevented. Simpson Strong-Tie and the Home Safety Council created a short educational video about the importance of inspecting decks each year. The video may be of interest to your clients. Share it by including the link in your newsletter or on your website: www.strong-tie.com/ads/201008-ash-hsc.html.

Water-heating options and costs
Consumers can learn how to evaluate water heating and pool heating systems and determine the feasibility of more energy-efficient systems on the government’s  Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site: www1.eere.energy.gov/calculators/water_heating.html.

Find incentives for renewables & efficiency
Incentives and policies listed by state are included in the database available at www.dsireusa.org.

ASHI Updates Just a Click Away

If you’re a fan of Facebook or Twitter, you can stay current on ASHI and industry news via these sites.

Books You Might Like

May on pesky pests and more
Home inspectors and their clients may be interested in “Jeff May’s Healthy Home Tips: A Workbook for Detecting, Diagnosing & Eliminating Pesky Pests, Stinky Stenches, Musty Mold, and Other Aggravating Home Problems.” Written by Jeffrey C. May and Connie L. May, it’s published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

According to May, mold, mildew and other airborne contaminants lurk in even the cleanest houses, causing serious health problems and damaging a home.

Drawing from their expertise and previous books — “My House is Killing Me!,” “My Office is Killing Me!” and “The Mold Survival Guide” — the Mays have created a step-by-step process that can be customized to readers’ unique situations, whether they are shopping for property or trying to figure out why they sneeze every time they set foot in the basement.

Throughout, this winning team serves up advice and anecdotes with warmth and humor, in a give-and-take that only professional and personal experience can yield.

To learn about the workbook and more, visit www.mayindoorair.com.

Home Reference book from Carson Dunlop
Carson Dunlop and Associates offers “The Home Reference Book, the encyclopedia of homes” in two editions, both suitable for sharing with clients. Written at the consumer level, it describes all the major systems of a home, covers life cycles and costs of house components, and offers advice on home maintenance.

While not a how-to-inspect publication, one version includes an Appendix of home inspection report forms, one for each section of the house, plus a summary form.

To learn more about the book, visit www.carsondunlop.com/Inspectors/hrb.htm.

A Bilingual Home Repair Guide
If you’re looking for one book to share with both English- and Spanish-speaking clients, take a look at “My Home – Mi Casa, Tips to Operate Your Home in Spanish/English,” by Tom Feiza, Mr. Fix-it.

It explains home systems in Spanish and English, and some home inspectors use it during an inspection to point to explanations in both languages.

To learn more about this book and others authored by Tom Feiza, go to www.htoyh.com.

Codes for Homeowners from Bruce Barker
Codes are a fact of life for do-it-yourselfers, but getting good information on codes can be a nightmare. Anyone who has ever opened a code book (or even a code interpretation book) looking for the answer to a building, wiring or plumbing question has found the same thing: a lot of arcane, technical words and cross-referencing, pages of meaningless charts, but no information that make sense. “Codes for Homeowners” combines decades of experience by author and IRC-certified home inspector Bruce Barker with Creative Publishing’s famous studio photography, and the result is the first truly clear and easy to use codes reference book for homeowners and tradesmen alike. Current with 2009 International Residential Code (IRC). Purchase the book here.