Bain

Since this is a public forum, I suppose it would be instructive for those who DON'T have a feel for my sense of humor to state that: THE ABOVE LINK WAS POSTED IN JEST.

Ya know, maybe the next time a realtor asks if a roof is leaking, or utters some similar inanity, we should do what this perp did in court. Imagine the reaction! http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/files/34726- ... c_week.PDF

Brandon, it's fascinating how those peeps say the same things even though they're thousands of miles apart. Last time I told a client a roof was toast, the realtor asked if it was leaking. I told her that was like asking if it's okay to carry a grenade in your pocket if it isn't exploding. The client laughed. The realtor crossed her arms and gave me the snarly eye.

ahahahahaha. The contractor is currently in jail, awaiting trial on charges that he conspired with a bank to provide home equity loans that improved (allegedly) people's houses for outrageous fees that seemed like nothing when amortized over 15 years. Click to Enlarge 79.41 KB Click to Enlarge 62.97 KB

That was terrific, Kurt. The most compelling portion of the video is when they pour water on the block, and the open cell is almost immediately saturated. One doesn't need a degree to see that the product is flawed.

I never see this stuff and know very little about it. But . . . it's always fascinating to learn what's normal, what's rare, and what's up.

That's EXACTLY what I though when I saw the thread title.

I wasn't actually talking about the reinspection thing, Mike. I charge plenty for my time. I was talking about the constant battles with contractors and builders we bust, recalcitrant homeowners, and even realtor peeps--all of whom want to prove that we don't know what we're talking about. Brandon's letter from the roofer is a perfect example. The roofer is clearly defensive and disingenuous, yet so much of it winds up becoming a he-said/she-said kind of thing, and it's a major pain in the ass. I DON'T get paid for providing cites or documentation for someone who wants to convince others I'm a loon, or the concomitant phone calls.

Brandon, these kinds of debates/arguments/wars are absolutely the worst aspects of our jobs. And, of course, you're not being reimbursed for the time you're expending. My sympathies . . .

I always mention 9" x 9"s, but seldom say anything about 12" x 12"s. Lesson learned.

And . . . sometimes the plumber neglects to remove the test caps. Like this: Click to Enlarge 51.69 KB

I'm thinking you city dwellers don't see PVC vents very often. Here, when a house is built, caps are glued to the tops of the vents--or sometimes bladders are inserted if there's access in the attic--and the drain system is pressure tested to make certain there are no leaks. Once the plumbing inspector okays the drains, the caps have to be removed. The quick and easy way to do that is to whack the cap with a hammer, like in my photos. But in my photos, the cap fell into the vent and is now blocking it. The CORRECT way to remove the caps is to saw them off with a hacksaw so the diameter remains what it should be, and also so the cap doesn't wind up in the vent.

No, the pipe reduces to 2" from 3". Some yahoo whacked the test cap with a hammer rather than sawing it off.

. . . is the preferred weapon of choice. Click to Enlarge 57.66 KB Click to Enlarge 16.95 KB

I like that idea better, although, the flashing should still have an end dam. I will never see end-dam flashing on a deck in my area . . . not that it isn't a good idea. I see decks flashed like Reuben's all the time and, even when there's no change in heights, water runs between the trim coil--which is overwhelmingly the flashing of choice--and the siding. The secret is having the lower portion of flashing act like drip-edge, as in Mike's drawing. But . . . I can't imagine I'll ever see that, either.

Our pal, Chad, was kind enough to spend some time on the phone with me this morning to 'splain the ins and outs of foam insulation. I now have a better grasp of what works and what doesn't, and much more. Thank you! (But don't mistakenly think, my brother, that I won't be back to breakin' your balls every chance that comes along, once the sun rises anew.)

1.8 seconds if a squirrel is sighted.

He plans to insulate the attic ceiling. We've both been Googling, and people claim to have had trouble with closed cell foam, or products that weren't, indeed, Icynene. But . . . it's the internet, and it's difficult to separate fact from fiction. Except for when I'm here, of course.

My best friend is building a house, and is trying to decide how best to insulate the attic. He's leaning toward Icynene, which I've researched in the past, and which he's researching now. It hasn't actually caught on in a big way in my area, so I haven't been able to observe whether foam insulation has any adverse effects over the long haul RE condensation forming on a roof deck, venting, and all else. There was a recent thread about this very subject, but I've been unable to locate it. So . . . I'm wondering if anyone has seen any yuck associated with the stuff, as well as whether incorrect installation practices can muck things up, as they so often do in other areas of houses.

Tom, My heat pump has gas auxiliary, so I installed a thermostat--or what I called a manual override--on my condenser. If the temperature is hovering in the heat pump's I'm-just-not-sure range, the thermostat tells it to switch to natural gas. On an electrical system, depending upon where you are, you don't want the manual override, since the elements energize one at a time to--allegedly--save the homeowner dough. Click to Enlarge 58.27 KB

Jim said what I meant. But he expressed it much better. Under normal circumstances, the heat pump energizes when the interior temperature is a degree or two lower than the thermostat-set temperature. If the system runs for a while without raising the interior temperature, the heating elements are energized one at a time in the interest of energy economy. So seemingly cool air isn't always a sign that the heat pump isn't operating as it should.

That isn't exactly correct, my brother. Without a manual override, the heat pump may operate for as long as thirty minutes before it times out and realizes the interior temperature isn't rising. THAT'S when the auxiliary heat is energized. The system can be operating perfectly fine, despite cold air issuing from the ducts upon start-up.

That isn't enough info for anyone to help you. Your best bet is to call a service tech and let him tell you if the system is operating correctly or not.

Pretty crazy that it's dry-stacked and still hanging around. I can imagine making the first miscue, but who keeps using pinkish caulk to seal the joints? Andy Warhol nailed it. You can't legislate good taste.

Not in a flush-mount box like that. Was it ever allowed, Jim? I look at lots of houses that are 30-40 years old in which all the cables are stuffed through one large hub like that. I always tell my customer about it, but the electrician who comes behind invariably says it grandfathers in. Well, first of all, remember that it *is* allowed at the top of a surface mount box if a bunch of conditions are met, including securing the cables before they enter the conduit, making sure the conduit is at least 18" long, and derating the cables as you would for any other bundle if the conduit is more than 24" long. Aside from that, the electricians you've talked with might be right. The earliest reference I can find is from the 1975 NEC: 373.5© Where cable is used, each cable shall be secured to the cabinet or coutout box. (No exceptions are listed.) Before '75, I can't find any prohibition against it, except for derating, of course. I haven't spent much time on this one, but it seems that it was allowed before '75. From '75 till '99 it was flat-out prohibited. And from '99 to the present, the exception for surface-mounted boxes noted above, has been in effect. If Douglas is following this, he might have more pertinent observations. As always, you rock.