Chad Fabry

Update: I just returned from the interview and I'll be listed in two categories as a preferred vendor...as an inspector and as an advisor. Apparently there's more people who don't even know where to start than there are needing home inspections. I'm pretty darned excited about all this and I'll let you all know if it's profitable. Thanks again,

Mark Weimhammer took these photos Download Attachment: mark4.JPG 34.98 KB Download Attachment: mark5.JPG 33.84 KB

I'd love to join, but I don't yet have the required experience to qualify. Next year.

Update: I just got off the phone with the director for all of western NY and we've set up a meeting for next week. I'm hoping to be listed as a preferred vendor on their website and in their literature, both for the possible business it'll generate and to add to my resume'. The fact that I'll be exposed to some of the grand old homes in my area is just icing on the cake. I'd like to eventually do some demonstrations for them like restoring old sash, or copper/terne roofing, wood flooring..that kind of stuff. The people @ the Landmark Society were very impressed with the letters they received on my behalf and the caliber of the people of the people that wrote them. I thank you sincerely for taking the time to help. Chad

Negotiating with a woman is like setting your hair on fire and beating it out with a tack hammer. You know you'll end up buying another camera; today would be a good day to do that. I'd suggest that the seller provide a permit and inspection record of the post fire repairs. The alligatoring part bothers me some.

I use Inspect Express as well. Aside from operator incompetence, the program works well for me and produces a very professional looking report.

The roof probably butts to the brick wall and the wall is built on a beam concealed below. Step flashing in the mortar joints over a counter flashing would provide water proofing. Look up "reglet"

That's why I wear the beanie with the propeller on it.

The wire that's feeding(or that's fed by) the 50 amp breaker is too small. The 6 gauge aluminum wire is rated for 40 amps. An electrician should evaluate and recommend repair which may include either running a #6 copper conductor, a #4 aluminum conductor or, depending on the circuit load, may be as simple as replacing the 50 amp breaker with a 40 amp breaker. I guess I'd write something like that and put in some boiler about how a circuit can overheat when overloaded.

I don't have the whole IRC, but I think it's 702.4.2...or in that area.

The civilian Hummers are fat, expensive Suburbans as far removed from their military heritage as a dachsund is from a wolf. The only two things a Hummer does well is turn women's heads and use gas. I'm married and poor so they aren't that appealing to me. On the Toyota note: I owned an auto parts store for some twenty years and auto parts get delivered to the shops. I used Toyota's both personally and for my business. Two of them went over 500,000 miles with NO interior engine work. Three needed just timing chains and guides in the same range. The Toyota 22r motor and subsequent variations on that theme, may be the single best piece of engineering ever installed in a passenger vehicle. For pure utility, a two wheel drive 4 cylinder Toyota pick up can't be beat. Car buying sn't about utility though, it's emotional and personal.

Judging from the plumbing @ the expansion tank the original system was open to atmosphere and had no pressure on it. The tank was just a buffer zone to accomodate the thermal expansion / contraction of the water as the boiler cycled..or was fed coal. The "new" boiler looks 15 years old at least and the tank has been working and may still be open to atmosphere...which is OK, I guess. I'd want a manual re-set low water shut off installed. The PRV in the picture though would have no real function if the system is open to atmosphere so I'd surmise that it's a closed system at this point. If that's the case, I'd replace the old copper tank w/ a steel, bladder type expansion tank. You just don't know what pressure is going to blow that old tank up. The whole install is kinda ugly.

There's tons of mold in that there attic.The pine does darken as it ages, the resins in the wood oxidize and change the color. That and the fact that it's probably had more than a couple leaks in the last 90 years or so. Doesn't look burnt to me.

I've lit or tried to light every one I've come across. I couldn't get one to work and neither could the seller of the house. I'm still not sure if we were doing something wrong or if it didn't work. I write up all the vent free units even if they do work and give the long list of "cons" to owning and using them.

lol

The factor that stands consideration is with all the fixtures open there'll be very little pressure. It then becomes a matter of whatever side is plumbed larger with fewer turns and shorter origin to destination lengths to determine where the water will flow. The plumbing with the least resistance gets the water even if it's going backwards through the fixture. I've resisted answering this post until now because I knew my response would sound obscure. I was right.

Sometime over the next couple of days. Thanks

Hello all, I posted this here because it pertains to old homes in a way, and there isn't an offical place to ask for favors. I've been actively attempting to get my foot in the door at the historical society for the county where I live. I've finally sold myself to the point where they've asked me for peer references. The only people I know are here. I realize that I don't really know anyone here, but I could probably list everyone's strong points and write a short list of their abilities. I'd operate as a question and answer guy at the landmark society events, and in exchange I'd be listed on their list of preferred vendors. Historic homes are the intended focus of my business and this would be a good stepping stone toward that goal. So, here it is, the question. If, and only if you have faith in my technical skills, would you please write a short letter to that effect. Include your own credentials please to validate your opinion. I figure one or two of you have communicated enough with me to know what I can and can't do. I'm asking here instead of in person because I didn't want to put any of you on the spot. I appreciate the help, Chad I took the email address off this post. It seems that I'm not too popular at NACHI and I was a little concerned that folks over there might want to help me too. I got a head's up from one of the friendly folks there. If you're inclined..ask me and I'll provide it for you via email

I'm lucky, OSHA always comes to me, I have no reason to visit them. They always bring good advice like "put a ground on your steel benches" I say I have like twenty benches..are you serious? They say "fire extinguishers can't be any higher that 52 inches" I say mine are 53 1/2 inches.. shall I move all thirty of them..it'll be no trouble to re-weld all the brackets to the I beams after I cut them off. They say "all lifts must have a safety that engages no higher than twelve inches" I say "my lifts go up 6 feet, why would I go under one when it's twelve inches high?" I have minimized their visits though. I've found if I start crying and screaming every time they come, they come less and leave faster.

It's known as the stupidity code #101

The guy read that the tub should be set on a mortar bed...he tried to follow directions. The cardboard doesn't bother me much. He used it to keep the epoxy from running while it was curing. I'd write it, but if the rim of the sink is epoxied to that counter Don and I could both stand in it. I know, I know, Don and I wouldn't both fit in the sink and it's not healthy to think about the visual.

I took the test at Gerry's request a few weeks ago. First time through I had a 79 but failed it because my performance in fireplaces and chimneys was dismal. If there are burn marks on the carpet I suggest the hearth may be too small. I've taken it two more times since then and scored in the low to mid 80's and passed, but just barely, those two times. I consider structure to be one of my strongest areas, but scored as low as 66 and never got a 100 in that category. I thought the "how many cubic feet for an alcove question was borderline ludicrous, and until someone brought it up here, I didn't know that multiple answers were required for some questions and in a state of confusion was choosing the one answer I thought most relevant.

I thought you said the first photo was as bad as it got.

I'd like to see gaps that a Dodge Caravan couldn't pass through, but the interlayment of felt is correct.

Terry, A drop or two of water below the meter would just prove the theory that's been proven already with the advent of AC. Compressed gas goimg through a pressure reduction, cools. The pipes would be ever so slightly below ambient temps. In high humidity, condensation would occur. If there was more than a few drops of water I have no idea what caused it. As always, I reserve the right to be wrong.