Bain

My intention wasn't to be snide. A 90 kb photo would pretty much be worthless, because the detail would be lost. I have your e-mail address. If you'd like me to zap you a photo or two, I'm happy to oblige.

Hmmm, some things never change on this forum. Any look is better than no look. When it isn't safe to use a 40+ foot ladder to hop onto a roof, an aerial photograph can be exceedingly helpful. Photos taken by my drone are 14 megs, and can be zoomed in upon. I tried to upload an example, but anything over 90 kb gets rejected here.

Bill just makes shit up, Chad. You haven't figured that out, yet?

1975, per Preston's. It's a champ, and it should receive a proper burial when it passes.

This poll is without merit. The most important skill isn't even on the list. What good is a home inspector without his most finely-honed craft? That of which I speak, of course, is Kung fu.

I have a TIR, as well. Ben found ours at 2K off retail, which was nice. IR cameras are strange beasts. You can point one at an obvious problem and receive no confirmation at all. But ... they can also reveal issues you couldn't have known about otherwise. I've founds tons of leaks after running water in a bathroom, and then scanning a drywall ceiling beneath the bathroom. You can also see chimney-flashing issues by scanning drywall beneath chimneys. I've scanned tons of EIFS walls, but have never found confirmations of moisture. I don't know if that's a lack of understanding on my part, or if the EIFS is too thick. IR cameras aren't magical, but they absolutely are helpful. Mine has 120 x 160 resolution, which isn't terrific, but 340 x 340 was 10K more when I bought the TIR.

Tamko is more of a rapper than a singer. Even though he's a cheeseball, I'd go with Justin Timberline.

Actually, if you apply Euclidean geometry, that scuttle is pretty much perfectly sized. I'm surprised you're not aware of this, Rob.

This is supposed to be the latest and the greatest. Check out the video. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/techn ... .html?_r=0

Do we really want to let John know? Loki, maybe! Hah! Too late! The secret is out. We would LOVE to come, and I promise to maintain control and not embarrass anyone.

Kevin, I've missed you (no homo).

The house was about sixty years old. There were clay tiles--now separated--that ran from the front foundation wall to this pit in the crawlspace. The pit was about four-feet deep, approximately ten-feet by ten-feet in size, and it had concrete-block walls. My first thought was that it had to be a cistern, but clearly not much water could be collected, so probably not. Any clues? Click to Enlarge 52.4 KB Click to Enlarge 56.87 KB Click to Enlarge 51.03 KB Click to Enlarge 45.3 KB

His position, I understand. You do? 99% of the basements I see on new construction have cracks at the window corners. What is the structural "reinforcement" for this? 50 yr old houses, 70 yr old houses have vertical foundation cracks. The problem I see is seepage. What is the structural "reinforcement" advice given? Earth anchors? Underpinning? I am all ears. Prudence suggests he should always recommend repairs to limit liability. Prudence? There are better words to describe this recommendation. This has happened to me a few times, and there's no easy answer for how to deal with it--post-inspection, Sometimes, it is remarkably easy. Call a waterproofer. You misunderstood what I wrote. The "no easy answer" refers to when I see benign cracks, but have to wonder about an engineer who may come behind me--a week later, five years later--and mistakenly recommend repairs that could cost thousands of dollars. That's the situation described by the original poster, and that's what I was responding to. I apologize if I wasn't clear. The kinds of repairs utilized aren't actually germane to the conversation but, around here, injecting concrete beneath footers is a favored method, for whatever reason. What else? Oh, regarding prudence and an engineer. He has liability just like we do, and that's why he puts lots of disclaimers in his letters. What's important, though, is that he has exposure if he says something is okay, but the condition worsens in the future and possibly causes larger problems. Sure, the engineer is a wuss for doing his job defensively. I was simply stating what happens in real time.

This has happened to me a few times, and there's no easy answer for how to deal with it--post-inspection, or when you walk down into a basement and see a crack for the first time. An engineer spoke at a CE seminar I attended a couple of years ago, and his position was that any crack in a foundation wall MUST be reinforced. His logic was that, if the foundation wall is compromised in any way, then the load of the house isn't being adequately transferred to the footer. His position, I understand. I also understand that stuff happens to foundation walls, and that movement often attains stasis and there's really no cause for alarm. The engineer I mentioned even said that he gets into battles with another engineer in his area who oftentimes says a cracked foundation wall should be sealed, but that structural repairs aren't necessary. The X factor, is that the engineer doesn't want to be wrong and have someone ask him or her to fork over a few thousand bucks five years in the future because something wacky happened. Prudence suggests he should always recommend repairs to limit liability. I've had lots of engineers for clients, and I unfailingly ask them if they learned building codes in school, or whether they were taught to observe and assess issues in residential construction. I've never had anyone respond affirmatively. Typically, most of them laugh and say something like, "I can tell you how to build a bridge, but I don't know that much about houses." My experience is that most competent structural engineers are autodidacts, and learn about residential issues post-university. The ones who rely solely on their school curriculum to assess houses are ill prepared to do the job.

This has been discussed before, and I'm usually the odd dude out, but I never let anyone follow me around. I explain to buyers that I'm a man, and don't multi-task well--that if I try to keep up a running dialogue, I'll become distracted and overlook something, and that that isn't good for either of us. I realize we're all different, but I can't concentrate with people getting in my way, or asking me insipid questions about where I'm from or how long I've been in business. Imagine trying to write something--which involves concentration and thought--while carrying on a conversation. For me it's that simple. Our jobs require concentration and thought, as well.

Which is why I don't let anyone follow me around. Doing so would turn a ten-hour day into a twelve-hour day.

Kurt, man, if neighbors see you traipsing around a 'hood in that hood, they're gonna call the cops on you. I can just imagine some kid glancing out a window and screaming, "MOMMY!! It's Jason!" Besides which, I can't imagine how that hood would mangle my carefully-coiffed do.

If you don't look too closely, it could almost be someone's bong stashed in that cabinet.

They all have issues. It isn't a matter of if, but rather of when.

This system wouldn't operate on emergency heat, and when I hopped into the attic, I saw that the breaker was tripped. I had no clue why, till I removed the access panel and saw Mr. Mouse. May he rest in peace. Click to Enlarge 58.59 KB

A fireplace tech told me today that one of the three CSST manufacturers is now prohibiting their product from being installed in fireboxes. I don't know whether there are only three manufacturers of CSST, but has anyone heard this? And if so, do you know which manufacturer it is?

Life's good, Jim. I hope the same is true for you. Business is crazy, here, and didn't really slow down during the winter. I truly don't know why. That's mostly a good thing, but ten-hour days absolutely take their toll on one's mind and body.

Does anyone know how old this sucker is? The company was apparently purchased by Crane in 1960, which went out of biz in 1968. Click to Enlarge 38.73 KB

Too, there's an internal trap on the flue-gas condensate drain. Since the furnace hasn't been fired for a few months, the trap was probably dry or nearly dry. Flue gases pushing their way through a partially-filled trap would create a gurgling sound like the one heard in your video.

I researched this once, and couldn't find one manufacturer that required make-up air vents for a gas clothes dryer in an enclosed space. I even asked a couple of trusted HVAC contractors, and they agreed that combustion air requirements don't apply to dryers. It still doesn't make sense, 'cause the exhaust is coming from SOMEwhere, but that apparently is just how it is.