According to the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau Notices page and Costal Contractor Online, the Southern Pine lumber industry is dealing with concerns that design values for visually graded southern pine lumber may need to be reduced.  This need is based upon private testing and industry testing, which has reportedly indicated that a general downward trend in stiffness and bending stress values exist when data over a period of time is evaluated for No.2 2x4 studs.  There is concern that design values may need to be reduced as much as 25%-30% for No. 2 2x4 stud; however, caution is emphasized this concern is only for 2x4 lumber at this time.  Under discussion is whether this affects other dimensional lumber, and if so, to what extent.  Currently there is discussion among the governing agencies about the need for modification of design values, but also in the procedures used to develop these values.  Design professionals are cautioned to stay apprised of the current discussion and design recommendations.  For the best and most current information, check the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) for recommendations and announcements.

Additional reading for more depth on this subject:

Southern Pine Inspection Bureau Notices

Forest Business Network.

Costal Contractor Online

Professional Engineering Inspections has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service and health providers.

“We wish to express our sincere appreciation to our clients who have provided the positive feedback through Angie’s List to make this award possible for a second year.  We will continue to work to provide quality inspection and consulting services to earn your positive feedback in the coming year.” - Edward Robinson, P.E., President

“Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “The fact that Professional Engineering Inspections can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers.”

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 2 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Take a quick tour of Angie’s List and view the latest Angie’s List news.

Did you know we have a facebook page.  We often post small news clips or other stories of interest there.  Check us out on Facebook and be sure to "like" us!

http://www.facebook.com/Professional.Engineering.Inspections

There is an interesting article in the Joplin Globe this morning about the information coming out of the inspections of the storm damage in Joplin and how we can builder better structures.  The question is will a public free to choose pay extra for these improvements?  I doubt the public will.  It is more likely the insurance industry will mandate changes just as has been done on the gulf coast raising both costs of construction and insurance forcing improvements.

Joplin Globe: http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1315240161/Teams-of-scientists-looking-for-lessons-in-storm-s-aftermath

Comment on this article on our facebook posting.

I have found some interesting things in my 20+ years doing inspections.  This is a a great story of honesty.  Wish I had somthing to add but it speaks for itself.

Family finds $45,000 in new home — then returns it

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has released a white paper on corrosive drywall (CDW) found to have been used in some U.S. homes built or renovated starting in approximately 2001 through approximately 2007.  Most of the complaints related to CDW have occurred in Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia, although there have been reports of complaints in other states, as reported by the Florida Department of Health.  Noxious odors (e.g., smell resembling a burnt match), visible corrosion of copper and silver items, and health concerns have been associated with the installation of drywall.

The document briefly indentifies the problems which are believed to be caused by CDW, suggestions on evaluation, discussion of remediation with comments on the known data, and suggestions for more research.  Citations are provided throughout the document to support the provided data and to allow for further research on the subject matter.  The intent of the document is to help to clarify existing information and provide recommendations to promote future research in all areas of this problem.

I have read the paper through, but I have not attempted any critical review based upon the citations; however, based upon a review of this document, it is clear that it is difficult and impractical in some cases to fully evaluate a home under consideration for purchase for this type of defect.  Evaluation for this type of defect exceeds most, if not all, standards of practice for a visual inspection by engineers and home inspectors and, clearly, there are problems in detection even when air quality experts attempt to find and quantify suspected problems.  Even a minimal evaluation during a home inspection would require disassembly of components in a home at representative locations or of equipment which is not normally disassembled.  In some cases, a licensed technician is necessary to perform such disassembly for an adequate evaluation.  Further information in the document stresses the need for a maintenance history of the building to detect problems because off-gassing and its damaging effects may not be consistent, and the resulting odors or damages may not be apparent at the time of evaluation.  It is difficult enough to get basic information on the age of the roof and history of known defects, such as foundation repairs, so it is doubtful such a history will be available from most homeowners.

The document is clear to point out that there is a lack of clear and specific scientific information due to difficulties in field testing inherent to the problem of CDW.  This is apparently the point of the paper, that there is a specific need for coordination in the community to tackle this complex problem.

From the Wall Street Journal:

By Dawn Wotapka and Robbie Whelan

A Florida court ruling relieves home builders of some liability in the ongoing dispute over the use of defective Chinese drywall, which thousands of homeowners say has driven down home values and caused health problems.

In the decision, entered Nov. 5th and made public Wednesday, Judge Glenn Kelley of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Fla., said that because home builders did not manufacture the problematic drywall and.....  <more>

October 1, 2009

In January the City of Houston adopted amendments to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code & Chapter 11 of the 2000 International Residential Code. As part of the city’s commitment to energy efficiency, the amendments included increased phased requirements effective October 1, 2009.

Beginning October 1, 2009, all new construction of Single Family Residential and Multifamily (3 stories in height or less) will be required to achieve a 15% minimum improvement in energy efficiency above the Houston Residential Energy Conservation Code.

During our process of meeting with stakeholders to prepare for the implementation of the changes, we identified some areas that needed some modification to ensure easier compliance. These minor modifications were approved by City Council on September 30.

A summary of the modifications to the code are as follows:

Deleting the 15% above requirement for additions  only new constructions will need to comply.

Allowing other above code programs in addition to the Energy Star program  this will allow for other programs when approved by the Building Official.

Allowing other software programs to evaluate above code percentage.

Decreased areas in the option packages to provide easier compliance, while still maintaining the 15% above code minimums.

Added a new option package table for Multi-family structures for electric resistance heating most multi-family new construction projects are built with electric compared to gas.

To assist in this process, we are also preparing a guideline and adding a supplemental page to the current City of Houston Energy Form for use with the option packages.

For additional information contact the City of Houston Planning and Development web site.

It appears that Harris County is taking setps to continue what the TRCC used to provide in the way of residential code inspections for new construction in its jurisdiction.  Watch this space and PEI will post new information as it becomes available.  Below is an email sent to PEI related to this new program.

 

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As the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) sunsets, unincorporated Harris County under the provisions of Texas House Bill 2833, will implement a Notification of Inspections process similar to TRCCs.  To facilitate this, Harris County is offering a training seminar for Builders and Inspectors.  The training will include the following:

.    How to Register
.    How to Login
.    How to Notify Harris County of the Completion of an Inspection
.    Useful Forms

This process of notification is very similar to the TRCC website process except, builders may have to login to notify Harris County as well as the inspector, and the residential structures are tied to the permit number obtained by the builder, not the builder's TRCC number.  All residential developments permitted on or after September 1, 2009 in unincorporated Harris County will require inspection notifications to Harris County.

There will be two options for training.  One option will be to download the PowerPoint presentation off of our website at https://www.eng.hctx.net/permits/bldgcodes/Default.aspx and the second will be to physically attend the training seminar on September 22nd or September 23rd.

The seminar will be held at the Harris County Flood Control building located at 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77092 in Suite 100.  Please select from the two dates listed above, and contact Debbie Bledsoe at delta.classroom@hcpid.org to confirm your attendance.  There is no requirement to attend the training session.

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation.

 

Brinks Security Has Changed its name to Broadview  Security.  This comes as a result of Brinks Secuirty becoming a publicly traded company.

Get details from the Brinks/Broadview web site.