House in Progress Diary

We can handle the truth...give it to us.

Sorry. A pet peeve of mine lately has been books and resources directed to homeowners that are too simple or too complex. The selections in the home section of the book store are either written for the "in one weekend DIY person"..."Three tricks to brighten up any room!" Or are aimed at contractors, "the HVAC Project Manager Planning's Guide".

Why? Why?

I would love to see more books for DIY folk who need to work on the STRUCTURE of their house. Not just windows or trim. How do you assess whether your mortar / footings / appliances installation / stair runs / ductwork or boiler pipes / etc. etc. are RIGHT or WRONG? (With clear illustrations.) And how do you fix these things if they are not? What are the advantages and problems of different fixes? How do contractors try to fix problems and which methods are better?

The home improvement book that I use to cram before any contractor interview or plan any systemic change has a simple name. But it can't be found on any store bookshelf.

Why do we love this obviously UNsexy looking book? Because IT IS DA BOMB!! And the knowledge it contains makes a homeowner feel...well... downright powerful.

How did we find one? Chance. We researched honest home inspectors and came across an article about Tom Corbett.

(It was actually an article showcasing him from Chicago Magazine. It is entitled The Home Reckoner,by Bill Clements-- Tom Corbett inspects houses. Some real estate agents wish he’d find another line of work. ) It's from the October 2002 issue.

This guy and his staff are hard core. Home sellers and real estate agents FEAR him. Because if there is something very wrong with the house you are considering investing all of that money and time and emotion in? He'll find it.

Then he'll compile the whole thing into a detailed report (not just a checklist) and debrief you for an hour at least.

It was scary to hire Tomacor...sometimes ignorance is bliss, right? But we've never regretted it. We were able to go back and negotiate a bit more PLUS we had a detailed checklist for things to fix in the house starting Day One.

To back up their data, Tomacor gave us their typical inspection binder. This thing is a TOME! A well-designed tome. You can get to your situation pretty quickly without having to read much else and just focus on that. It shows (with illustrations and limited photography) what something is supposed to look like versus what can go wrong. (Double-click on this sample picture to make it larger.)

I've been researching home cooling systems. Something I knew little about before I read this binder. And now? I can ask some educated questions about different parts of the system. Good thing! Because not everyone is giving us the same answer.

We love Tomacor, that they stabbed the wood gently and fearlessly with a screwdriver to test for rot, crawled into dark crawlspaces under the house, used mirrors to peer into strange places and so on in their dedication to GET THE DATA!

And they did. We even knew what length and diameter external tube we needed for a part missing from the hot water heater before we moved into the house because they noted it in the inspection.

And this is why they are so GOOOOOOOOOD. They KNOW old AND new houses and they've seen it all.

Best money we have ever spent and this great binder besides.

If you are lucky enough to need an inspector in Chicago, call:

Tomacor
333 W. North Ave., Ste. 342
Chicago IL 60610
(312) 475-0835
tomacorinsp@aol.com

I don't know if other out-of-state inspectors use this binder, but Tomacor would know and it wouldn't hurt to contact them and ask. They are courteous and professional.

Posted by jeanne on June 21, 2004 at 11:59 PM