Are viral social media home inspections fair/appropriate?

[Yikes]

Lately there’s been social media video channels run by home inspectors that call out home builders for punch list items. Some issues are minor, some egregious (no insulation in attic). Many of the posts relate to poor workmanship, not necessarily code issues. But reading the comments, some viewers respond with “city building inspectors must be corrupt to allow this to happen”.

We all know that traditional construction techniques mean that almost every building is a one-off, with varying levels of labor quality, and every building ends up with a punch list. Do you think these videos are a fair way to interact with the industry?
(Please note that I am not proposing any kind of restriction or censorship, I’m a 1st amendment guy. I’m just wondering your opinion.)

 

[steveray]

I have no problem with any of it....If it goes to a legitimate "news source" (if there is such a thing these days) I would expect them to do their homework/ research, but as far as "crap posted on the internet" goes....Game on....If he calls out sucky builders and inspection departments, good for him...If it is not a code item, he should also say that and/ or defend the code inspectors too...You don't get to be one of the fastest growing metros without rushing and missing some stuff....

 

[tmurray]

I think part of this is that we are living through a time when the Dunning-Kruger effect has never been so apparent.

During COVID everyone became an infectious disease specialist.
During Uvalde everyone became an active shooter & hostile event response specialist.
During the assassination attempt on Trump everyone became a protection detail specialist.

None of these events had perfect responses, far from it.

It's fine to have opinions, but people seem the think that their opinions have the same value as trained and experienced experts. Even when the opinions are obviously flawed, we hold on to them like a drowning man hold onto a life preserver. We have tied so much of our ego to being "right" that we no longer care about objective truths. We would rather think we are right, than be open to the option that we are wrong and actually learn the truth about anything.

The other thing I thing we are on the verge of seeing is a turn on the internet where we can no longer behave with relative anonymity and free of consequence from what we are saying.

 

[mtlogcabin]

Anybody can do what he does. His name the specific contractors that built the homes is the issue.
I put some of the pictures posted on this site under the counter glass. Nobody can identify where the violation is. No harm no foul to our contractors.

 

[jar546]

IMHO, he has the right to do what he is doing and assumes any liability if he is wrong. His videos probably forced the builder(s) to re-evaluate what they are doing and improved their quality control. If these are legitimate issues, there is no reason why he can't share them publicly.

 

[bill1952]

Nobody can identify where the violation is.

Does it have to be a code violation to be bad work?

 

[Inspector Gadget]

Here's a question: ever see one of these home inspectors wander through a building and find nothing wrong?
Of course not. That wouldn't get views, would it?

It's like Mike Holmes - who never seemed to find a renovation that wasn't rife with problems so he could present himself as superior to every other contractor out there. Why is that? Bottom line: it's curated, filtered media.

I could start a youtube channel where I follow up on the "work" these for-profit "home inspectors" have performed, and point out the very obvious things that they missed, because dagnabbit, they do. Perhaps the best example of this was a recently purchased home, that had a home inspection "passed" despite had an improper foundation, with no ventilation in a readily accessible crawlspace. The joists were at 90 per cent moisture, and black with rot. The rim joist was crumbly to the touch.

Here's the thing: Realtors curate a list of home inspectors. If home inspectors find too much wrong with a home, the sale may not go through. The Realtor will then lose money. So ... why would Realtors recommend competent inspectors?

 

[tmurray]

Here's a question: ever see one of these home inspectors wander through a building and find nothing wrong?
Of course not. That wouldn't get views, would it?

It's like Mike Holmes - who never seemed to find a renovation that wasn't rife with problems so he could present himself as superior to every other contractor out there. Why is that? Bottom line: it's curated, filtered media.

I could start a youtube channel where I follow up on the "work" these for-profit "home inspectors" have performed, and point out the very obvious things that they missed, because dagnabbit, they do. Perhaps the best example of this was a recently purchased home, that had a home inspection "passed" despite had an improper foundation, with no ventilation in a readily accessible crawlspace. The joists were at 90 per cent moisture, and black with rot. The rim joist was crumbly to the touch.

Here's the thing: Realtors curate a list of home inspectors. If home inspectors find too much wrong with a home, the sale may not go through. The Realtor will then lose money. So ... why would Realtors recommend competent inspectors?

My favorite one was before I was a building inspector. I was an energy advisor and go into a house the day after someone bought it. I climb up into the attic and see some random pieces of vermiculite insulation sprinkled around the attic hatch, but everything else was fiberglass batt insulation in the attic. I lifted up the fiberglass and the place was full of vermiculite below.

I had to go tell the owner as I was under contract by the federal government and that was one of their conditions. "Impossible. I specifically picked someone who is an expert in asbestos detection" he said, showing me his card that said that on it. I handed him the pamphlet from Heath Canada on the topic and scurried back up the ladder to get a small handful of it. I showed him what was in his attic and he compared it to the picture on the pamphlet. "Well that does look like vermiculite, but how do I know you didn't plant it?". I told him to go up the ladder and look for himself. To lift up the fiberglass batts. He did and I heard "it's everywhere!" from the attic.

The home inspector's insurance ended up paying for the asbestos mitigation.

I've had multipole realtors call and ask code questions over the years. Only one actually responded appropriately to life safety concerns. Most respond with, "well, it's not THAT big of an issue right?" When I need a realtor, or when someone asks me who to use, guess who I recommend every time.

 

[Inspector Gadget]

"Well that does look like vermiculite, but how do I know you didn't plant it?"

Buddy has watched too many 1980s cop shows.

 

[tmurray]

Buddy has watched too many 1980s cop shows.

Just looking for any reason that I could be wrong and he wouldn't actually have to deal with it.