MICHAEL'S NEWSFLASHES & MEMORIES!!!

Fellow Porto Alegre, Brasil LDS Missionary (86-88), Mike Barry passed along the other laws that Murphy wrote, but kept to himself. Several of these I have learned to be true... The hard way! The others just made me giggle. Make it a great day! Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah - www.TheHomeInspector.com MURPHY'S OTHER FIFTEEN LAWS 1. Light travels faster than sound.This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 2. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. 3. He who laughs last thinks slowest. 4. A day without sunshine is like, well... um... night. 5. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. 6. Those that live by the sword get shot by those who don't. 7. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently u...

Fellow Home Inspector Scott Neimann from Bay City, Oregon shared a great photo and asked, “Is this an acceptable method of installing the service conductors? IF not... what are the potential issues?” As Home Inspectors, the issues found behind the electrical panel covers are usually some of the most important finds during our inspections. Many of the agents and sellers complain about the findings, but we all have to understand that electrical issues cause fires and electrocutions; neither of which is desirable for new home buyers and their loved ones. CASTING JUDGEMENT - There is no way to avoid seeing the craftsmanship, or lack thereof, of the installer once we remove the cover of the main panel and subpanels. Electrical panel workmanship ...

With just 8 seconds to go, we witnessed the popcorn pop in the fire building contest. The record was reported to be about 2 minutes and 50 seconds. We may not have beat that record, but we did succeed at the task. Alex led the way and he started stacking the wood and placing the kindling. The technique was questionable as they took the first match when the log cabin was just about 2 inches tall when the limit was about 12 inches tall. this mean that if the fire took, then the flames would have to rise up at least a foot before it had any effect on the pie tin placed above. The match lit the tender and after about 10 seconds it went out.... There went the bonus award for getting it going with just one match. A second match produced the same ...

In a true Survivor way, Drake cast the final vote and shoved Aaron to his fate as the rest of the Survivors thrust him off the island. Klondike 2013 was a thriving success. The 8-legged race was not so much. “C’mon Team, repeat after me, right, left, fall.... right, left fall.... right, left, fall! The winning time may have been 2:52, but we were impressed with Team/Troop 173 breaking the 13 minute barrier. Go Eagles!!!

Coming at the end of February is the stage play Suessical at Canyon View Junior High here in Orem, Utah. We will get to see Aaron in the role as the Mayor of Whosville. Haily’s giraffe will be unveiled once again, and I was called upon to create the water buffalo head piece. So how do you make a water buffalo head piece? That’s what I thought when I received the phone call. I immediately thought of building off a bicycle helmet. So without any specific guidelines I went to the internet and found the image that I think people think of when they think water buffalo. The horns seem to be the key, but how to do it with a Seussical twist. Let’s start with the helmet and some coat hangars... Next came the Styrofoam cups and black electrical tape....

My good inspector friend, Jeff Herboldshimer, from the Yuba City, California area shared with me a great video that makes me think about the way many inspectors treat their home inspection reports and clients. Instead of speaking simply and directly, there seems to be a widespread use of inspectorspeak attempting to “Baffle ‘em With Brilliance.” You know, look smart by using phrases that nobody understands. Check out this video that describes the function of a Turbo Entabulator... You may recognize the item as a transmission. Here is the verbiage that helps to explain the video and how it came about... Many years ago Rockwell International decided to get into the heavy duty automatic transmission business. They were getting ready to tape th...

Tamper Resistant Receptacle outlets are now the norm on new construction in Utah, but most homeowners have no clue about these new receptacles. You would think that in the baby birthing capitol of America that there would be more awareness, but I guess it is up to us Home Inspectors to help spread the awareness. TAMPER RESISTANT RECEPTACLES - These outlets are designed so that if a child attempts to stick a screwdriver, fork, or other sharp metal item into just one side of an outlet, that entry is prevented and electrocution is avoided. Mothers should be the most aware of these new outlets since they are the most safety conscious in the household and worried Mothers have been the primary purchasers of plastic caps and shuttered safety wall ...

Photo Courtesy of Ken Salvo - ASHI -  New Jersey   There was a big courtroom battle between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) that has resulted in the backing off of a requirement that was set to greatly impact the majority of American homeowners regarding residential heating furnaces. Starting in May 2013 all installed residential furnaces in the northern states were going to have to be 90% or higher models. But now that mandate has gone by the wayside, we get to keep the lesser 80% or greater mandate in place. Let me repeat, you will NOT be forced to upgrade to a 90% efficient furnace when you lesser model fails. The affected states are: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, ...

Totally consuming! With an incredible smile on her face, Shelly was surrounded by the oracle spheres of power from another realm as I approached her in her bed. Little glowing globes of red and white were protecting her personal space. The pain which often overpowers her was being kept at bay. Is it a good book? It must be to have this effect. Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody, hmmm... Never heard of it. Adam must be the one to blame for introducing her to yet another book series. Wait a minute, with that kind of smile there is no blame to dole out. Instead, Adam gets all the credit. Thank you Son. So the book apparently gets high marks and the inside cover testimonial should read... “Totally Consuming!!! Shelly Leavitt” Michael Leavitt - Orem...

The following is the 2011 National Electrical Code section relating to grounding receptacles, and retrofitting GFCI’s on a 2 wire circuit. I am posting this due to a question from a fellow inspector. I will add comments below the code citation after some further discussion... Enjoy the read! Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah - www.TheHomeInspector.com  

It’s a great (frigid) day here in Orem, Utah! I have a long-time inspector friend, Ken Ives, from Sacramento, California, that has always given me a hard time when I referred to a water heater as a hot water heater. Kind of like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard, this has always been Ken’s pet peeve. For years I regularly made him squint when he read my messages referring to hot water heaters. and he pounced on me every time I did until I finally purged “hot water heater” from my vocabulary. Well I have a similar pet peeve, and it deals with home inspectors referring to the walls in residential garages as “Firewalls”. Is the wall in a home’s garage really a firewall? As home inspectors we need to write with exactness and be able to back ...

They say that to copy somebody is the greatest form of flattery, but to steal intellectual property and claim it as one’s own is wrong, wrong, wrong. I understand accidents and overlooked crediting of information, but I find it hard to be kind to a fellow home inspector who literally copied and pasted one of my specialty information webpages and has been using it as his own, without my permission, for probably over a decade. OFFENDER - Tom Horning - Uniontown, Ohio - ASHI Member - http://www.detectivehomes.us - or his web designer. The buck stops with Tom Horning since his name is on the site. DISCOVERED - I performed a simple Google search this morning, 1/15/2013, for “Michael Leavitt FHA” and I was very surprised to see the following retu...

Homeowners, Inspectors, Real Estate Professionals, Friends & Family:

I need to alert you to take immediate action if you are living in Northern Utah. I came into the kitchen of our Orem, Utah home about an hour ago and the water was off at the kitchen sink. Did I pay my bill? I checked the meter and it was on. I then went to my neighbor Marvin’s house and his front hose faucet turned on so I knew it wasn’t a widespread outage. I then returned home and all of my faucets and fixtures inside the house were off. The front hose bib would not turn so I knew we had issues.

Let’s face it, it’s cold here in Northern Utah and our pipes are prone to freezing. The thermometer said minus 1 this morning and I think it has warmed up to about 8 degrees now and we might make it to 10-15 degrees later this afternoon. The point is, no matter how new or old your home, please go open one faucet and allow it to drip slowly until we warm up to near freezing again.

I couldn't believe it when I heard the news of a 30 foot snowman somewhere in Orem, Utah. Thanks for the head’s up from Mike Campbell in Bozeman, Montana when he emailed and said he read about it in his local newspaper. We just had to go see if it was true. Bigger than Big Foot and yet smaller than King Kong, this over-sized BYU fan snowman was quite impressive. Deemed the 849th wonder of the world, we were truly awed by the site, creativity, and amazement at how they got the second and third layers up into position. Michael Leavitt - www.TheHomeInspector.com What is your greatest snowman memory? PLEASE LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEEBACK BELOW

Have you ever turned on your microwave and sparks started to fly? It is then that you realize that there was some type of foil in whatever you were trying to cook. So you remove the foil portion of the item and voila, everything is normal. So what happens when you check the item and there is no foil or metallic item? That is what happened to fellow home inspector, Victor Sparks (Yes, that really is his name), from Sacramento, California.

Victor shared,

“Shortly after turning the microwave on today at my inspection I noticed a small electrical storm going on inside.

A neighbor knocked and then handed me a photo from more than a decade back. In it was Haily and Aaron sitting on our back porch swing with the snow falling in the background. The memories came flooding back of a more innocent time when the first snowfall found us immediately out in the yard trying to capture falling white flakes in our mouths. I remember their smiles and their winter clothes like it was yesterday. This was obviously still fall as half the leaves are still hanging on their branches. The swing set was used daily and flips were plentiful on the trampoline. Haily was always the Tomboy being situated two years younger than Adam and two years older than Aaron. Most days she was as as happy and dirty faced as both of our boys. I t...

I took the time to format some electrical bonding information here on my blogging website and then I invited some fellow inspectors to visit the page and click the “Thumbs Up” like button at the bottom and share it on their social networks if they did indeed found the information beneficial. I received back the following response... Michael, Don't get your feelings hurt if some of us don't want to spend every waking moment on the Social network sites. Everyone has their own idea about how to handle these things, and there are other resources' out there - NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY I then took the time to write my thoughts. At first I had to deal with what could have been veiled sentiments by the home inspector, but then I took the time to sha...

To bond or not to bond, that is the question? I must tell you that I become foggy on the issue every few years and I have to go back and refresh my memory banks. I was glad when Geoff Stewart from Lincoln City, Oregon shared the image above with the green wire and then asked his fellow inspector friends at the American Institute of Inspectors, “I found a #10 stranded wire from the electrical panel grounding bus bar to the incoming propane tank pipe. The main house ground was a good UFER so why would this be done?  The panel itself was wired by a Master Electrician. In fact, it was really gorgeous, so it makes me wonder if this is wrong or right?” As usual, Geoff has asked an important question that troubles most home inspectors at...

As a home inspector I have become quite aware of deck failures over the years and look at their inspection as a high priority when they are attached to the homes I inspect. The International Residential Code seems to be very clear that the attaching point to the home requires 1/2” bolts or lag bolts with washers. Anything less is supposed to be unacceptable, this includes the use of just nails only. This is to help prevent injuries and death from collapse. On the surface this seems like a very simple item to look for. About 2.5 years ago I started to see a new kind of bolt that was smaller and was being used with no washer at alland I started running around like Chicken Little until my phone call to the engineers at the manufacturer was ret...

It is always fun to open up my email and receive a message from our youngest grandchild Tommy. “Thanks for the ceterpillar!” Tommy shared. He is very short in his messages, but the attached pictures always speak a thousand words. Cute? Yep, he is adorable! Proud? Yep, he coordinates his outfits perfectly and he will never be accused of his Mommy dressing him funny! Sad? Yes, I wish I was closer and could give him a big hug and kisses. It was fun rocking him to sleep as he fought it every step of the way, during our short visit to Cape Cod early in December. Tommy would scream and scream and scream, and then he would just go silent like somebody turned off a light switch. So thanks again Tommy for keeping me up to date with the highlights in...

The Leavitt family tradition of bringing in the new year continues with another successful late night sledding. Instead of midnight, we delayed it until 1 AM to accommodate Aaron and Haily’s big dance that ended just after midnight. Then we changed clothes and headed for the big sledding hill. And when I say big, it seemed much bigger to them when they were all under 10, but we had fun all the same while trying not to wake up the nearby neighbors.   Haily was the newest 17 year old to attack the sledding mountain.   Aaron caught incredible air   Adam just always has a blast doing whatever we are doing.   And yes, I was glad to survive the experience. HAPPY NEW YEAR!   How did you bring in the new year?

Testing electrical outlets is very important. The selection of testing tools is vital to making accurate assessments. Knowing what your testing device is telling you is also critical as you convey your findings to your clients. So what tester should you use. What if somebody was purchasing a tester for you, which one would you choose? Longtime inspector from Hawaii, Michael Stewart asked: Aloha all,  Are there any opinions out there on which circuit analyzer performs best in our line of work, the Ideal Suretest or the Amprobe INSP-3?Online reviews seem to favor the Amprobe but I seem to recall the Suretest as being the one to have from some you out there.My bride is purchasing the one I want as a late Christmas gift and I sure want to ...

From my daughter Haily’s blog...   Friday, December 28 not one of them   [This is a paper I wrote for English. She let me keep the format like this. (Young rocks.) Anywho, enjoy!] -=-=-=-=-=- There comes a time in every tomboy’s life At least once a day When she is forced to surrender all independence, All knowledge, All of her muscles. Because her kryptonite is something she loves even more:   Gentlemen.   You see, My childhood consisted of a Much different life than most girls. My childhood was the epitome of adventurous.   While most girls were inside With their perfect ringlets, And precisely painted nails. Playing House, And deciding what dress Barbie should wear.   I lived under the sun. With dirt wedged ...

457,000 LG washing machines sold between February 2010 and November 2011 are now subject to a recall spearheaded by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. So check out the recall information at http://www.thehomeinspector.com/Clients/CPSC/121812_LG_Washer.html for more details and pictures of the affected LG and Kenmore units. These products were sold at Best Buy, Home Depot, Kmart, and Sears stores. The information shows how to locate and read the identification sticker to determine if your unit is part of the recall. Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah - www.TheHomeInspector.com

A 2012 Christmas night fire displaced Sioux City, Iowa family. I get notified of electrical fires regularly and am always intrigued by the reporting. Unfortunately there are rarely any credible follow-up stories with details as to the findings, so we are left to imagine what actually caused the fire to happened. Here is the story... Electrical fire leaves Sioux City family without power Dec 25, 2012 8:45 PM MST * By Jacqueline Quynh SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) A Sioux City family was without power Tuesday night after a fire broke out in their home's basement. Five people were inside when it happened around 8 p.m., but none were hurt. According to a fire official at the scene, when the fire broke out residents inside smelled smoke and had some p...

If I had a Christmas wish beyond peace on earth, then it just might be to install these new USB charging duplex receptacles throughout my home, my city, Utah, and throughout the world. We took a trip back to Cape Cod a few weeks ago and we encountered them in some of the airport terminals. Legal?... Absolutely! Did they catch me by surprise, you betcha! They are supposed to run about $35, but I know that price is going to drop once they become commonplace. Here are some of the details. FEATURES - From Cooper Industries)     Standard AC duplex receptacle with two USB charging ports rated at 2.1A     Dual USB charging ports charge most compatible electronic devices that charge via a 5V charger adapter   ...

The Consumer product Safety Commission has announced the recall regarding a specific window manufacturer's hardware. I doubt many of us will see this particular window, but I want everyone to understand the risk so that they can be more aware of the risks of their surroundings. In this case the window opens inward and this creates a fall hazard zone. Some residential windows operate this way, but this is more common in commercial building applications. This means openable windows in the workplace, office buildings, and shopping areas. My sharing this warning is not meant to be like “Chicken Little”, but meant to enhance your awareness of risks around you. Check out this link to the actual recall... WINDOW HARDWARE RECALL PAGE And for more i...

INTO THE WOODS - Can you draw faces? It is a talent that few possess, but my daughter Haily nails them every time. She gets the proportions right. She gets the eyes and noses perfectly. She captures the look that never fails to please. Saturday afternoon she did it again when Miss Pam, the drama teacher at Orem High School, asked Haily to create the poster that would hang in the large commons area announcing to the school the opening of the play later this week. It is incredible to think that she took black butcher paper and taped up several rows to create the large 10 foot canvas. That combined with a few paints, a few hours and voila... Success! I feel a bit bad (tongue firmly placed in my cheek) for the two girls cast in the role of Litt...

CPSC RECALL NOTICE - I have prepared another CPSC recall page and video regarding a popular style light fixture. Due to the tripping of AFCI’s, Dolan Northwest is recalling 8,000 ceiling mounted light fixtures. These were supplied primarily to builders for new home installations and sold by lighting showrooms primarily to builders from 2008-2009. LINK TO ARTICLE AND VIDEO - http://www.thehomeinspector.com/Clients/CPSC/111512_Dolan_Light_Recall.html I hope that you find the information helpful! Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah

I am sitting here breathing a sigh of relief as the finishing touches of Aaron's Beauty & The Beast Lumiere costume have just been completed. At the end of the play, Aaron becomes human again and he is dressed in black tuxedo tails with a custom gold sequined vest, custom gold waterfall ascot, and a pink flower corsage. It may seem like overkill, but I really wanted his corsage to feature 3 lit candles. It seemed only fitting that this corsage be lit like his enchanted Lumiere costume, right? Well, I thought so anyway, so I gave it some thought over the last couple of weeks trying to come up with a game plan on how to accomplish the dream. Yesterday I was shopping in All-A-Dollar and found three little candles that you would use to ligh...

Thomas S. Monson shared in conference... Take an inventory and review your blessings, both large and small... Men are that they might have joy!... We can pray and our prayers will be answered.   President Monson went on to share that we should never ignore a prompting. How have I been doing in that regard? Have I been able to help those in need? Or have I been so self-absorbed that I am missing some of the promptings?... Definitely too self-absorbed! I think about the blessings within our household. We have great children that are making great decisions. I look at how excited Adam was to hear the changing of the age for missionary service announced yesterday. he did not immediately say that he was modifying his plans and leaving earlie...

You can say that I am one proud Dad, or as Aaron calls me... Papa Smurf. I have put the finishing touches on his play costume for the upcoming Beauty & The Beast. As Lumiere it was only fitting that he light up like an overgrown Glow Worm, and glow he does! Talk about a lot of work... yet it was soooo very rewarding for the dozens of hours invested int the project. The play opening is about 5 weeks off, so having this costume done really takes a load off my shoulders. But the greatest part is watching Aaron’s eyes light up as he puts it on and becomes Lumiere. Mark your calendars for November 7-12, 2012 with 7PM performances each night plus a 1 PM matinee on Saturday. All of this takes place at Canyon View Junior High School in Orem, Ut...

Parents.... 137 Kids Drowned This Summer - Be alert when your children are anywhere near pools, lakes, water slides, and bathtubs!!! The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued a warning regarding pool safety due to the fact that 137 children drowned during the summer of 2012. See the warning at http://www.thehomeinspector.com/Clients/CPSC/91312_Pool_Drownings.html You should also like my latest YouTube video dealing with the issue while relating some real life experiences and information. So visit the above link and enjoy!

Haily just informed me that the rain is falling outside and the thought of all the work that went into yesterday's “Chalk The Block” chalk art gently being washed away is a bit disturbing. I am so thankful for the pictures I was able to snap while the weather was still good. It just goes to show how important it is to take life by the horns and tail and get the most out of the wild ride.. Such is life!!! Rain drops keep falling on my head...

On Facebook I posted... “What a great event “Chalk The Block” turned out to be. I dropped my Orem High School student daughter off in the morning to what I thought was going to be some kids coloring on the sidewalks, only to find that this was an incredible showcas e of talent by those wishing to donate their skills on behalf of care and a cure for autism. I have several hundred photos of the event, including every chalk art entry in both the mid-complete and finished stages hosted on Haily’s website at http://hailyscomet.com/Art_Chalk_2012.html . Thanks Riverwoods for hosting an outstanding event that turned into a Leavitt Family day of fun!!!” I woke up this beautiful Sunday morning and realized that there were a couple of the pieces of a...

LINK TO VIDEO Jessica and Dave sent along a new video from Cape Cod. It is a blast to watch, and it is obvious that Rolf and Poppy are now old enough to really be a lot of fun. I think that is what makes their departure to East Coast living the toughest. It was also tough realizing that this morning would have been the perfect Fall morning to take them fishing... But then there is that 2,138 mile separation... Sighhhhh! I wonder how hard it must have been before the days of Skype and YouTube when the prior generations were separated by large distances. That would have been tough and I should quit my yearning, but it is still tough being a long distance Grandpa. Looking at Rolf and Poppy repeating the same fun activities over and over and ov...

It was a great birthday with mom at the LDS Brigham City Temple. See the great photos... http://www.thehomeinspector.com/Family/LeavittTimes_2012_9-5.html

Target shoppers beware... The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issues a recall for Energizer brand nightlights sold exclusively at Target stores between January 2010 and January 2011. Please visit my website at  http://www.thehomeinspector.com/Clients/CPSC/82212_Energizer_Nightlight.html to see a video I created for the recall as well as the information and pictures that will help you identify if you have an affected unit. WHAT'S THE DANGER? The units are prone to overheating and smoking and when the client unplugs them they can be burned by the overheating units. But logically, what comes after overheating and smoking? FIRE!!! None have been reported yet, but that is the next logical progression if the units are continued...

What a wonderful, wet, and visual Saturday evening spent with the family seeing Sugarland in concert. When they say that the Usana Ampitheater is an outdoor rain or shine event, they aren't kidding. We drove to West Valley with ominous clouds looming in the west that turned to thunder and lightening on the horizon. As we stepped from the car it started to lightingly rain. Yes, Dad had given the warnings before leaving that we should plan for rain. Haily wasn't concerned, as getting there as she said repeatedly, "But Dad, I am wearing a cardigan!" What we needed was full foul weather gear for what was to come. Enterring the outdoor arena for our first time we hunkered down under three blankets that would soon be fully soaked.  Since it ...

In the same fashion as Nephi of old reported that his Father dwelt in a tent (1 Neph1 2:15), I get the opportunity to tell all that ask that my daughter Jessica and her young family are now dwelling in a yurt. That’s right, a YURT! This is hopefully a temporary abode at a State Park near Cape Cod, Massachussettes. It will probably downscale to a tent and then finally upscale to a dwelling with solid walls once the end of summer holiday season ends and all of the tourists go back home to free up some longer term reasonable vacancies. But after the initial shock is over regarding the yurt, then the realization that her spirits are high and the trip is still in the great fun family trip stages. I am certain that if the yurt was the end all be ...

What an incredible surprise to open our front door and find our nearby neighbor, Julian Bitter, standing there offering us the wonderful gift of a Ziplock bag full of dinner rolls. Wait, that greatly undersells the gift. The rolls were just baked and perfect in almost every way, hence their new name as the Mary Poppins Dinner Rolls. Just seeing them brought back a flood of memories as I served together with his wife Sherida as she faithfully created the desserts for our monthly Cub Scout meetings. Her cinnamon rolls were incredible, and her theme frosted cookies always amazed. Now seeing her big bag of fresh rolls immediately made my mouth water. “You do realize that I don’t want to tell anybody in my family about these,” I told Julian. My ...

It is interesting transitioning from being an active parent to becoming a passive Grandfather bystander. Both Shelly and I have been spending 23 years investing quality time in the development of our kids hoping to share with them and help them hone their skills to make the best decisions and choose the path that will lead to the least heartache and the most fulfillment and joy. With that being said, the difficult part is allowing our children their free agency and room to stretch their butterfly wings and fly. But let them fly we must, and fly we know they will. I have never really been scared as to whether or not our kids will choose good over evil. We continue to watch them choose good. I think the hard part is when they pass through the...

Testing 1, 2, 3 Does it Work?

6PM - AUGUST 24, 2012 - I was thrilled to receive the following email message from Jessica and Dave... “We are safe and happy!!! Love Dave Jess Rolf Popy and Tommy”   That is such a relief as Jessica’s clan headed off to the East Coast with no real clear cut plans. They are somewhere near Boston and we hope they have a place to safely sleep tonight. UPDATE: When Aaron ws shown this entry he looked at me and said, "I'm so jealous. I don't think I have every been to the beach. But where are the waves? Are they not very big on the East Coast?" It sounds to me as though there is a trip to Newport Beach in our future... The Crab Cooker, clam chowder, and lots of waves.