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Collapsing brick structure (C) Daniel FriedmanHistory of InspectAPedia.com®
Why we started, where we began, and how we got here

This article describes the origins and history of our website, InspectApedia.com.

We discuss the beginning of our experience in the building trades, home inspection, and the compilation of this 'encyclopedia' of building & environmental construction, diagnosis, maintenance & repair. This article also shares why we chose to make this information accessible and available publicly.

Page top photo: watch out: some home & building inspection topics can involve not just risks of major costs, but critical life-safety hazards like noticing broken bond courses in a structural brick wall that risks sudden wall collapse.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

What is the history of InspectApedia?

Radiant heat caused floor gaps (C) Daniel FriedmanThanks to reader Wyatt who asked us what the origin of the name InspectApedia was. We appreciate the chance to share a bit of our history and enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Here's our answer to his question.

Photo: investigating the cause for gaps forming in hardwood flooring in an older home.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Why are we called InspectApedia.com?

Two parts to the answer: History and Definition

History of InspectApedia.com

A little history of the website, InspectApedia.com.

I, Daniel Friedman, original writer/publisher of InspectApedia, drove my first nail in the 1940s on my dad's dock in the Rappahannock River. Later, after a career as a computer nerd, and working in the building and mechanical-system installation & service trades, I started this building-encyclopedia project (in the mid 1970s) by collecting notes on how to recognize & report problems for buildings, and how to "fix stuff right" to make it easier to give advice to my clients.

Some of our most helpful information comes from people who inspect buildings - one of our significant audiences, too, including home inspectors, building code inspectors, engineers, and architects. Other information comes from building and indoor environmental experts including both building scientists and industrial hygienists.

I have been educated and supported, often with written articles by and extend my gratitute to some very generous people including trade school teachers (Bernie Campbalik for one, carpentry at DC BOCES),

and later by some equally generous ASHI home inspectors (Tommy Byrne, Mike Skok, John Annunziata, Evan Grugett, Mark Cramer, Doug Hansen, now at Code Check, Alan Carson, and various engineers and architects (Dave Wickersheimer, P.E. R.A. & Gordon Tully, R.A.) ,

and by industrial hygienists, forensic experts (John Shane, McCrone Research Institute),

and other writers and publishers in the field (Steve Bliss, past editor of the Journal of Light Construction, editors at the Old House Journal, and others) - it's a longer list, many of whom you can find in our CONTRIBUTORS, CONSULTANTS, & AFFILIATES page).

In the 1980s, I set up a dial-up server (before public internet) for ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors - as an online place for building inspectors to help one another with Q&A and access to documents & standards & technical research on building failures.

By 1986 we were hosting our private, dial-up website, ASHINET at bsdwebsolutions.com, managed by Brian Cook. That ASHI "website" later moved and re-named ASHI.com and it's still around as ASHI at https://www.homeinspector.org/ though without my "encyclopedia" project.

We (as the ASHI Technical Committee) had a lot of interest from some home inspectors but some other fellows, more focused on business and bottom line, around 1990 thought the idea of an online building inspection, diagnosis and repair encyclopedia was too much unicorns and rainbows - a waste of time. (You know who you are, so I won't mention names.)

That ASHI encyclopedia project was de-funded. Disappointed, but respecting the organization's wishes, I picked up my unicorns, whined, and went home.

I moved what was my work to my own website, inspect-ny.com and began adding to it.

In 2005 I again moved what was fast becoming an actual encyclopedia to a less state-specific name: InspectApedia.com which has since grown to its present form with thousands technical articles, hundreds of thousands of related images and drawings as well as thousands of supporting PDF documents from a wide range of expert sources.

We're presently read by and offer support to readers in fifty two countries around the world.

Home inspectors -> home inspection -> encyclopedic collection -> InspectApedia. That's part of the story.

Definition of "Inspect" ?

"Inspect" means we have to actually look at stuff to figure out what's needed or what went wrong - or right.

Why "inspect"?

To fix a building problem or an indoor environmental hazard concern effectively (and economically), we need to pay attention. We need to understand the problem's cause, choose a suitable course of action, do it, and then check that we've done it effectively.

That sort of understanding means we have to look at stuff and think about what we're seeing: what does it mean?

Looking at stuff means "inspect it".

So we are InspectApedia.

As we attempt to be encyclopedic and continue to add research and information, we are InspectApedia.

We chose the middle "A" as it begins the alphabet and might help in sort-ordering. Inspectipedia.com with an "I" now auto-forwards to the proper name for our website. The one with the A.

Why is the A red? As our website traffic and the number of countries we serve grew, and even before we copyrighted our name, some fellows registered similar names using other letters - snagging our traffic and thus the pittance of Google ad income that supports the website and lets us provide information free to everyone. We hope that the "A" avoids confusing our website with lookalikes.

How do we put that history and inspection experience to use?

In order to offer research-based, unbiased, and accurate information to building science or environmental safety questions, it made sense to publish this information on the internet so it could be provided easily, and be accessible to all - professional and layperson alike.

Exposing diagnostic, repair, and good practices advice to very broad public comment by providing it on the internet also invites critique, content suggestions, content corrections, and material expansion as readers ask questions or provide feedback. So the website and its web-published articles are provided in the online forum of the internet for several purposes:

The value of an expert in construction problem recognition, diagnosis, repair depends on being professional, competent, ethical, and professionally neutral but as informed as possible on a myriad of construction and environmental topics which concern our clients.

To be well-informed requires being a continual student. We have found that researching, writing, and conducting as well as attending education classes on pertinent construction and environmental topics has been a great way to keep us as informed as possible.

Where are we now

Today InspectApedia.com provides an encyclopedia of building and building-environment construction, troubleshooting, and repair articles and research forming thousands articles, employing a similar number of supporting references often as free PDF downloads from other expert sources, and using nearly 200,000 photographs and drawings to help avoid, sort out, or solve various building construction, mechanical system, and indoor environment health and safety problems.

We continue to welcome content suggestions, criticism, questions or advice from our readers. Working together makes us smarter.

A Footnote on the InspectAPedia.com® Name

Collapsing building © Daniel FriedmanYou're right, Wyatt, to hint that perhaps other names could work, and I wish I'd trademarked a better name back in the late 1980s when we first started moving a collection of building & environmental troubleshooting & repair information onto a publicly-accessible computer host.

InspectApedia.com content was first published at a dial-up website in 1986 for ASHI and later, around 1990, as my own project named inspect-ny.com, hosted by bsdwebsolutions.com. That website was renamed in 2005, and moved to GoDaddy as InspectApedia in 2007 [Image file] when Brian Cook gave up his private bsdwebsolutions service. Today the website is at hostgator.com.

By the mid 1990's ASHI, having no interest in snagging as a member everyone who wanted to be a home inspector, began losing ground (and new members) to an alphabet soup of other certifying home inspector organizations like FABI, TAREI, CAHI, CREIA, NABI, NAHI and INACHI.

Frankly, in my OPINION, by being less exclusive, some of those outfits have done a better job of collecting and educating home inspectors - to the benfit of home buyers, owners, and occupants.

Though we began using the name in 2005, we trademarked InspectApedia [PDF] later in 2008. We also registered one of several "lookalike" names, Inspectipedia.com (with an "i" instead of an "A").

Help us out Wyatt: what name would you suggest? Is it available? If so, we'll be sure to consider it and to give you credit.

Help us out also, readers, with criticism, questions, content suggestions. We are committed to accuracy, politeness, and avoidance of conflicts of interest. Your contributions will help other readers as well.

InspectApedia.com is better for that input.


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InspectApedia.com General Information

There are more than 20,000 topics found in this building & indoor environment encyclopedia. For more detailed help, use the SEARCH BOX found on any InspectApedia page to ask a question or search this website.

Suggested citation for this web page

HISTORY OF INSPECTAPEDIA at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

InspectApedia.com General Information

There are more than 20,000 topics found in this building & indoor environment encyclopedia. For more detailed help, use the SEARCH BOX found on any InspectApedia page to ask a question or search this website.

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