Home Inspection Association Urges State To Fund Eight-Year-Old Law Establishing Guidelines And Requiring Licensing Of Home Inspectors
The president of the home inspection association in Rhode Island is urging the legislature and governor to finally put teeth into a law passed some eight years ago that requires licensure of all home inspectors and establishes specific guidelines when inspecting a home.
"Right now, every home inspector in Rhode Island is technically operating illegally," said Paul Brunetti, president of the Rhode Island Association of Home Inspectors for the past 10 years, and head of the home inspection division of Griggs & Browne in Providence. "No one is licensed, while the law requires it."
"We have no mechanism to license home inspectors," he said. "While the legislature passed the law, it never gave us the funding to implement it."
"Anybody can be a home inspector," said Brunetti, who was appointed to the Rhode Island Contractors Registration Board in 2000, shortly after passage of the home inspection law. The home inspection law would be administered by the Contractors Registration Board.
Brunetti, who is a licensed home inspector in Massachusetts and Connecticut, has been performing home inspections for 26 years. He is also an active member of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Look for information about Rhode Island Home Inspection Laws on the Contractors' Registration Board Web Site's home inspection section. Visitors are told that all home inspectors are required to be licensed, find links to proposed guidelines and ethics, but also learn the program is pending because it "has yet to be funded."
"This became an un-funded mandate," Brunetti said. After passage, no funds were allocated to even print the rules and regulations that were developed and would have needed further approval before implementation.
"Some consumers have definitely been hurt because of the lack of enforcement," Brunetti said.
Typically a prospective buyer pays for a two and a half to three hour inspection of the home, which reviews everything from electrical systems to the foundation, roof and more. Home inspections are optional, but many lenders require them.
"Without effective enforcement of the guidelines, anyone can call themselves a home inspector", Brunetti said.
"The law," he said," requires home inspectors to be licensed, creates standards of practice, requirements for continuing education, establishes a code of ethics, and requires home inspectors to carry errors and omissions insurance."
"It raises the bar and protects the prospective homeowner when they are making the biggest purchase of their lives," Brunetti said.
Home inspection laws, requiring licensure, exist from Alaska to Massachusetts.
The Rhode Island Contractors Board was developed to protect consumers from unscrupulous contractors, and includes a dispute resolution board.
When The Swarms Are Gone, The Termites Feed; It's Always A Good Time To Check For Termites
Do you know what dangers could be lurking behind the walls of your home? Termites might be happily chomping away at your home's infrastructure, secure that they are hidden well and difficult to find.
Termites typically swarm in May and June, only to find their way back underground where the worker termites continue their mission of finding food and bringing it back to not only old colonies, but the new colonies they have developed right under your feet.
Often, when you the see a swarm inside your house, much of the damage is already done. Worker termites create tunnels to bring their food (your infrastructure) back to the colony. When reproductive termites (swarmers) have found the end of a tunnel, they swarm and burrow into the ground to create satellite colonies.
If you miss the swarm, the first sign you may see is a sagging floor,due to a damaged (eaten) support beam.
"There is an average of seven colonies on an acre of land," said Frank Brennan, manager of Griggs & Browne's termite department. Because termites live underground, they can remain active through the winter. Winter is a great time to have your house inspected for termites. Don't wait for a termite swarm to be your warning sign.
Normally, homeowners call a pest control company when they see a swarm. By that time considerable damage is done, and it is also possible that homeowners can miss the swarm. Brennan said that over the last three years, the swarming season has been short, lasting perhaps a month rather than two.
Brennan recommends that homeowners check questionable spots with a screwdriver to see if they've been hollowed, or call a pest control company to inspect for termites.
Property Owners Should Take Preventative Steps Against Ticks In The Spring
Two out of every three individuals in Rhode Island and nearby Connecticut and Massachusetts are exposed to a growing and dangerous tick population every year.
Once relegated to rural areas, ticks have now moved into suburban neighborhoods as deer populations increase and as suburban sprawl encroaches on what was once forestland and countryside. Statistics show the tick population growing throughout the Northeast, with Connecticut and Rhode Island experiencing the most rapid growth.
"Ticks hide in high grass, in flowering bushes and on edible plants, anywhere that creates a friendly environment, bringing with them the threat of Lyme and other diseases that can have significant medical consequences," said Michael Carello, a regional manager and tick specialist at Griggs & Browne, the region's leading pest control company.
Carello said ticks feed off deer and rodents that actually carry Lyme disease, transmitting the disease to the ticks, which then pass it on to humans.
"The University of Rhode Island identified that more than 717,000 Rhode Islanders were in danger of encountering deer ticks in their own yards and neighborhoods," Carello said. "And a Connecticut Tick Management Handbook said 'three quarters of all Lyme disease cases are acquired from ticks picked up during activities around the home.'"
Carello said a University of Rhode Island survey two years ago found only slightly more than one in ten Rhode Islanders using tick control prevention strategies.
"It makes little sense today to ignore proper tick preventative measures," said David Spicer, a regional manager and tick specialist at Griggs & Browne. "We strongly advise that property owners in suburban and rural areas consult a professional to determine the appropriate preventative measures."
Griggs & Browne uses a four step program, employing an innovative back pack method, with a spray that provides better coverage by allowing the technician to maneuver around difficult obstacles, such as rock walls and shrubbery. Griggs & Browne recommends treatments in late April, late May, mid to late June, and late October to November.
"These treatments are relatively inexpensive, and go a long way toward preventing tick infestation that can have serious health and economic consequences," Spicer said.
Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D. and director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease, suggests that Lyme disease costs Rhode Island $30 million a year.
"There are numerous incidents of individuals who are left with life-long serious conditions," Spicer said.
The Connecticut health agencies' report said if Lyme disease goes undetected and untreated for as long as a year after the tick bite, individuals may experience ongoing symptoms that range from tingling of extremities and sensory loss to mood swings and intermittent chronic arthritis.
Here are some preventative measures that Griggs and Browne recommends:
Sleep Tight... And Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite!
Bedbugs once commonly found in motels, boarding houses and second hand storage buildings are now making a comeback in the U.S. where they are increasingly being found in homes, apartments, and dormitories. They are commonly transported in luggage, and on clothing. Once in the home, they can spread quickly over floors, walls and other surfaces.
These tiny blood suckers feast at night. A common telltale sign is tiny dots of blood on linens, or tiny scabs on skin. They can hide in mattresses, box-springs, headboards, night stands, sofas and chairs. Females can lay up to 500 eggs in a lifetime.
Bedbugs are not a problem that you should attempt to treat yourself. There are no short-cut solutions to treating this pest effectively. You will need professional help!
Griggs & Browne's trained professionals have the experience to identify and treat bedbugs. Our inspections and treatments are very thorough, and often take several hours to complete. Follow-up inspections and treatments are usually required to insure the problem is eliminated. Call today, and sleep better at night.
'Green' Is In
Consumers are looking for environmentally responsible products in unlikely places
INDIANAPOLIS - May 10, 2007 - The ever-expanding "green" movement made headlines with the recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth," former Vice President Al Gore's award-winning documentary on global warming.
Scores of environmentally responsible products are now being offered - hybrid vehicles, energy-efficient light bulbs, termite control ... termite control? That's right, now even termite control can leave a smaller footprint on the environment.
Right now in many parts of the United States, subterranean termites are "swarming," leaving their colonies to form new ones. To treat their subterranean termite infestations, some homeowners have liquid chemicals added to the soil around and beneath their home. While treated soil provides termite protection for a finite amount of time, research shows that when homeowners consider termite treatment options, they indicate a high level of concern about the use of chemicals in and around their homes and the environmental implications. In part to encourage and recognize development of pesticides with lower environmental impact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative, a program that expedites the review and regulatory decision-making process of pesticides that pose fewer risks to human health and the environment than existing conventional alternatives.
Termite Control "Goes Green"
Homeowners are now "going green" by selecting an alternative to liquid chemical treatments - the Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System, the first termite baiting technology that was made available to homeowners. The premier bait used in the Sentricon System was the first termite treatment active ingredient accepted for registration by the EPA's Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative. The Sentricon System also is the only termite control product ever to receive the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, one of the U.S. government's top environmental honors. The award, presented by the EPA on behalf of the President, recognizes technical innovation that incorporates the principles of green chemistry into design, manufacture and use.
"The Sentricon System is environmentally responsible because it uses just grams of termite bait, when and where needed, to eliminate termite colonies," says Dave Maurer, marketing specialist for the Sentricon© System.
"Every home treated with the Sentricon System instead of a liquid chemical treatment helps reduce the impact of pesticides on the environment. The Sentricon System also provides better control than liquid chemical treatments because it is monitored on an ongoing basis by an Authorized Operator and it eliminates termite colonies, not just individual termites."
Many homeowners agree. Dow AgroSciences conducted research in 11 high-termite-pressure markets across the country, and discovered that most homeowners feel that the environmentally responsible attributes of the Sentricon System are preferred over those of the leading liquid termiticide.
The president of the home inspection association in Rhode Island is urging the legislature and governor to finally put teeth into a law passed some eight years ago that requires licensure of all home inspectors and establishes specific guidelines when inspecting a home.
"Right now, every home inspector in Rhode Island is technically operating illegally," said Paul Brunetti, president of the Rhode Island Association of Home Inspectors for the past 10 years, and head of the home inspection division of Griggs & Browne in Providence. "No one is licensed, while the law requires it."
"We have no mechanism to license home inspectors," he said. "While the legislature passed the law, it never gave us the funding to implement it."
"Anybody can be a home inspector," said Brunetti, who was appointed to the Rhode Island Contractors Registration Board in 2000, shortly after passage of the home inspection law. The home inspection law would be administered by the Contractors Registration Board.
Brunetti, who is a licensed home inspector in Massachusetts and Connecticut, has been performing home inspections for 26 years. He is also an active member of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Look for information about Rhode Island Home Inspection Laws on the Contractors' Registration Board Web Site's home inspection section. Visitors are told that all home inspectors are required to be licensed, find links to proposed guidelines and ethics, but also learn the program is pending because it "has yet to be funded."
"This became an un-funded mandate," Brunetti said. After passage, no funds were allocated to even print the rules and regulations that were developed and would have needed further approval before implementation.
"Some consumers have definitely been hurt because of the lack of enforcement," Brunetti said.
Typically a prospective buyer pays for a two and a half to three hour inspection of the home, which reviews everything from electrical systems to the foundation, roof and more. Home inspections are optional, but many lenders require them.
"Without effective enforcement of the guidelines, anyone can call themselves a home inspector", Brunetti said.
"The law," he said," requires home inspectors to be licensed, creates standards of practice, requirements for continuing education, establishes a code of ethics, and requires home inspectors to carry errors and omissions insurance."
"It raises the bar and protects the prospective homeowner when they are making the biggest purchase of their lives," Brunetti said.
Home inspection laws, requiring licensure, exist from Alaska to Massachusetts.
The Rhode Island Contractors Board was developed to protect consumers from unscrupulous contractors, and includes a dispute resolution board.
When The Swarms Are Gone, The Termites Feed; It's Always A Good Time To Check For Termites
Do you know what dangers could be lurking behind the walls of your home? Termites might be happily chomping away at your home's infrastructure, secure that they are hidden well and difficult to find.
Termites typically swarm in May and June, only to find their way back underground where the worker termites continue their mission of finding food and bringing it back to not only old colonies, but the new colonies they have developed right under your feet.
Often, when you the see a swarm inside your house, much of the damage is already done. Worker termites create tunnels to bring their food (your infrastructure) back to the colony. When reproductive termites (swarmers) have found the end of a tunnel, they swarm and burrow into the ground to create satellite colonies.
If you miss the swarm, the first sign you may see is a sagging floor,due to a damaged (eaten) support beam.
"There is an average of seven colonies on an acre of land," said Frank Brennan, manager of Griggs & Browne's termite department. Because termites live underground, they can remain active through the winter. Winter is a great time to have your house inspected for termites. Don't wait for a termite swarm to be your warning sign.
Normally, homeowners call a pest control company when they see a swarm. By that time considerable damage is done, and it is also possible that homeowners can miss the swarm. Brennan said that over the last three years, the swarming season has been short, lasting perhaps a month rather than two.
Brennan recommends that homeowners check questionable spots with a screwdriver to see if they've been hollowed, or call a pest control company to inspect for termites.
Property Owners Should Take Preventative Steps Against Ticks In The Spring
Two out of every three individuals in Rhode Island and nearby Connecticut and Massachusetts are exposed to a growing and dangerous tick population every year.
Once relegated to rural areas, ticks have now moved into suburban neighborhoods as deer populations increase and as suburban sprawl encroaches on what was once forestland and countryside. Statistics show the tick population growing throughout the Northeast, with Connecticut and Rhode Island experiencing the most rapid growth.
"Ticks hide in high grass, in flowering bushes and on edible plants, anywhere that creates a friendly environment, bringing with them the threat of Lyme and other diseases that can have significant medical consequences," said Michael Carello, a regional manager and tick specialist at Griggs & Browne, the region's leading pest control company.
Carello said ticks feed off deer and rodents that actually carry Lyme disease, transmitting the disease to the ticks, which then pass it on to humans.
"The University of Rhode Island identified that more than 717,000 Rhode Islanders were in danger of encountering deer ticks in their own yards and neighborhoods," Carello said. "And a Connecticut Tick Management Handbook said 'three quarters of all Lyme disease cases are acquired from ticks picked up during activities around the home.'"
Carello said a University of Rhode Island survey two years ago found only slightly more than one in ten Rhode Islanders using tick control prevention strategies.
"It makes little sense today to ignore proper tick preventative measures," said David Spicer, a regional manager and tick specialist at Griggs & Browne. "We strongly advise that property owners in suburban and rural areas consult a professional to determine the appropriate preventative measures."
Griggs & Browne uses a four step program, employing an innovative back pack method, with a spray that provides better coverage by allowing the technician to maneuver around difficult obstacles, such as rock walls and shrubbery. Griggs & Browne recommends treatments in late April, late May, mid to late June, and late October to November.
"These treatments are relatively inexpensive, and go a long way toward preventing tick infestation that can have serious health and economic consequences," Spicer said.
Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D. and director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease, suggests that Lyme disease costs Rhode Island $30 million a year.
"There are numerous incidents of individuals who are left with life-long serious conditions," Spicer said.
The Connecticut health agencies' report said if Lyme disease goes undetected and untreated for as long as a year after the tick bite, individuals may experience ongoing symptoms that range from tingling of extremities and sensory loss to mood swings and intermittent chronic arthritis.
Here are some preventative measures that Griggs and Browne recommends:
- Work with a professional to have your property adequately treated.
- Wear lightly colored clothing in spring and summer months, making it easier to identify ticks. When practical wear pants tucked inside socks.
- Conduct a daily tick check for yourself and family members, removing them quickly by using tweezers, grasping the ticks gently by the head. Save the specimen and call your doctor. Experts suggest that ticks must be attached and feeding for a 24-hour period to transmit Lyme or other diseases.
- Make sure you or your landscaper cuts your lawn to the property's edge. Ticks like to hang out in long grass, but aren't as happy when they stand out on a well-groomed lawn.
- Protect pets by using a repellent like Frontline.
Sleep Tight... And Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite!
Bedbugs once commonly found in motels, boarding houses and second hand storage buildings are now making a comeback in the U.S. where they are increasingly being found in homes, apartments, and dormitories. They are commonly transported in luggage, and on clothing. Once in the home, they can spread quickly over floors, walls and other surfaces.
These tiny blood suckers feast at night. A common telltale sign is tiny dots of blood on linens, or tiny scabs on skin. They can hide in mattresses, box-springs, headboards, night stands, sofas and chairs. Females can lay up to 500 eggs in a lifetime.
Bedbugs are not a problem that you should attempt to treat yourself. There are no short-cut solutions to treating this pest effectively. You will need professional help!
Griggs & Browne's trained professionals have the experience to identify and treat bedbugs. Our inspections and treatments are very thorough, and often take several hours to complete. Follow-up inspections and treatments are usually required to insure the problem is eliminated. Call today, and sleep better at night.
'Green' Is In
Consumers are looking for environmentally responsible products in unlikely places
INDIANAPOLIS - May 10, 2007 - The ever-expanding "green" movement made headlines with the recent release of "An Inconvenient Truth," former Vice President Al Gore's award-winning documentary on global warming.
Scores of environmentally responsible products are now being offered - hybrid vehicles, energy-efficient light bulbs, termite control ... termite control? That's right, now even termite control can leave a smaller footprint on the environment.
Right now in many parts of the United States, subterranean termites are "swarming," leaving their colonies to form new ones. To treat their subterranean termite infestations, some homeowners have liquid chemicals added to the soil around and beneath their home. While treated soil provides termite protection for a finite amount of time, research shows that when homeowners consider termite treatment options, they indicate a high level of concern about the use of chemicals in and around their homes and the environmental implications. In part to encourage and recognize development of pesticides with lower environmental impact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative, a program that expedites the review and regulatory decision-making process of pesticides that pose fewer risks to human health and the environment than existing conventional alternatives.
Termite Control "Goes Green"
Homeowners are now "going green" by selecting an alternative to liquid chemical treatments - the Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System, the first termite baiting technology that was made available to homeowners. The premier bait used in the Sentricon System was the first termite treatment active ingredient accepted for registration by the EPA's Reduced Risk Pesticide Initiative. The Sentricon System also is the only termite control product ever to receive the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, one of the U.S. government's top environmental honors. The award, presented by the EPA on behalf of the President, recognizes technical innovation that incorporates the principles of green chemistry into design, manufacture and use.
"The Sentricon System is environmentally responsible because it uses just grams of termite bait, when and where needed, to eliminate termite colonies," says Dave Maurer, marketing specialist for the Sentricon© System.
"Every home treated with the Sentricon System instead of a liquid chemical treatment helps reduce the impact of pesticides on the environment. The Sentricon System also provides better control than liquid chemical treatments because it is monitored on an ongoing basis by an Authorized Operator and it eliminates termite colonies, not just individual termites."
Many homeowners agree. Dow AgroSciences conducted research in 11 high-termite-pressure markets across the country, and discovered that most homeowners feel that the environmentally responsible attributes of the Sentricon System are preferred over those of the leading liquid termiticide.
Lead In Your Home: Risks and Precautions
Lead is highly toxic metal that produces a range of serious health effects particularly in small children. Children's exposure to lead is mainly found in most residences built prior to 1978. Lead in paint taste similar to chocolate for children. The principal source of lead is lead-based paint, which contaminate dust, soil and water. Because of their normal hand to mouth behavior, children under six are at risk of ingesting lead paint from their home and environment.
(Click here to read more.)
Lead is highly toxic metal that produces a range of serious health effects particularly in small children. Children's exposure to lead is mainly found in most residences built prior to 1978. Lead in paint taste similar to chocolate for children. The principal source of lead is lead-based paint, which contaminate dust, soil and water. Because of their normal hand to mouth behavior, children under six are at risk of ingesting lead paint from their home and environment.
(Click here to read more.)
Rhode Island
175 Niantic Avenue
Providence, RI 02907
Phone: (800) 924-8886
Fax: (401) 943-8083
175 Niantic Avenue
Providence, RI 02907
Phone: (800) 924-8886
Fax: (401) 943-8083
Eastern Massachusetts
140 Brockton Avenue
Abington, MA 02351
Phone: (800) 244-1012
Fax: (781) 871-5584
140 Brockton Avenue
Abington, MA 02351
Phone: (800) 244-1012
Fax: (781) 871-5584
Connecticut
152 Cross Road
Waterford, CT 06385
Phone: (800) 962-3296
Fax: (860) 447-9063
152 Cross Road
Waterford, CT 06385
Phone: (800) 962-3296
Fax: (860) 447-9063
Cape Cod & Islands
203 Main Street
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Phone: (800) 339-2212
Fax: (508) 759-5284
203 Main Street
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Phone: (800) 339-2212
Fax: (508) 759-5284
©2007 Griggs & Browne, Inc. All Rights Reserved