Richard Moore

Much better...tho I have no idea whether the painted thingy is a PRV or not. Time for Mr Kibbel methinks.

It's good to save space Brandon, but do you have a larger photo than 2.48k?

Jim, could you explain the difference please? I confess I've never heard of different types of arcs. I thought AFCI's protected against things like a loose connection at a receptacle terminal. Wouldn't that be a series arc??? What constitutes a parallel arc? After a bit-o-google... Am I getting that right then, that an arc at a loose terminal or wire-nut would not trip an AFCI? PS...for those who want a headache you have to read the patent abstract...good luck!

Other than get rid of it? Nope, sorry, no idea. I can't say I've ever seen a single fuse in a J-box like that. There may have been a good reason for it's presence 50 years ago when it fed something else, but who knows?

Hi Rob, I think you are tip-toeing a bit there. It's not so much "outdated" as just plain wrong. There's enough going on in your photos that I don't think anyone would fault you for saying that the home needs a new, professionally installed service to repair what has become a dangerous mess. To put it another way, do you have any doubts at all that a licensed electrician would spend more than 10 seconds looking at this before telling your clients that what they need is a new service panel? So why not just say that?

Yep! When the contestants in a pissing contest get face to face, there are no winners!. Gentlemen, remember where you are and let's keep this civil.

I'd be ashamed if I wouldn't at least go as high as the sewer-scope guy! Click to Enlarge 101.19 KB

No, at least nothing at all visible through the opening, and I'm fairly certain they were sucking, not blowing. Bathrooms also both had functional baseboard heat with original looking thermostats. Not a big deal, the ceiling exhaust fans work, and the clients aren't at all concerned. I've just never seen fans in that position before. The below is a close-up of the timer each had. In both cases easily reached by someone sitting on the throne. Click to Enlarge 9.04 KB

1959 home (killer views) with a bunch of "original" stuff. The two bathrooms were back to back. Each had a normal functioning ceiling exhaust on a timer but each bathroom also had these fans low down by the toilets on their own separate timers. These functional back-to-back fans did not appear to have any exterior exit point or duct. It's almost like they were intended to "share" the odors with the other bathroom. Fart Transfer System? Anyone know what their purpose would have been? Click to Enlarge 57.35 KB Click to Enlarge 58.03 KB Gotta love the pink and baby blue fixtures! [:-yuck]

So...this thread isn't about me? Disappointing!

Yep! I was actually referring to that, but duct insulation also.

Anything is possible but, peering through the hole, it just didn't look like plumbing. I was thinking more along the lines of a wall mounted pencil sharpener mount??? No big deal as it's definitley not still in use. We (clients, me, etc) were all just curious. Same house...how not to hang heating duct in a crawl. Live & FUBAR KT!!! (I know about the insulation!) Click to Enlarge 58.56 KB

1921 home. Found this on an exterior wall in the kitchen just above the countertop. Nothing at the actual exterior. I could see wall void behind it so probably not a plumbing thingy. Both sides are slotted. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 62.54 KB Click to Enlarge 38.74 KB

Is it OK to walk three quarters of a roof? I had issues with the other quarter today. Click to Enlarge 77.47 KB

Yeah, I could see myself making a complete mess that way. My other concern was that I would be rushed into a screw-up by the limited tack time. The glue-together method was also time consuming, but I was in no real hurry. It gave me the luxury of carefully selecting each piece for match and/or contrast and taking breaks whenever I felt like it. Actually fun and one of the more "instantly" gratifying things I remember doing. All the transitions were made in my shop out of solid Jatoba (Brazilian cherry). Just took a few photos of the tidier areas... Click to Enlarge 47.49 KB Click to Enlarge 94.58 KB Click to Enlarge 47.91 KB BTW, in case you were wondering: the mattress from the guest bedroom (1st photo) is currently on the floor in the dining room. I've been sleeping down there the last 6 weeks while my dog recovers from leg surgery. He gets a new x-ray tomorrow, and if all is well, we can let him back upstairs and return to a normal life. Yeah...we spoil him...just a little!

From the Ekowood install for direct-glue down at http://www.ekowood.com/sol_ins_pop03.html Click to Enlarge 19.09 KB Click to Enlarge 14.42 KB The first lists almost everything but particleboard. Concrete slab? Perhaps the most important bit is the second where it states an approved adhesive must be used. With the correct glue and the particleboard securely fastened to the actual subfloor, I'm not sure I see a problem...but I understand your concern. I went with an engineered wood floor for my remodel about 3 years ago. The entire 2nd floor aside from the bathroom and laundry. I did a lot or research and really couldn't find any downside to it over solid, but it basically came down to looks. I wanted a pre-finished, wide plank, Brazilian cherry and the stuff I went with (also from Malaysia) just looked so much better than anything else. I considered the glue-down method but it seemed messy so, after much leveling (old house), I did a glue-together, floating install over cork. So far so good!

It's not ideal, but your panel wouldn't worry me that much. You would have to have the exposed conductors an awful lot closer to each other or something else to create arcing. It does make working on the panel a bit more hazardous though as it negates the recessing of the live bits. Too easy to drop a grounding wire onto the exposed parts for instance.

Odd photo in that article. Which one of those two guys is Mary? Unrealistic expectations. No such thing as well-behaved cats.

Turns out it was a DIY job by the seller. He had owned the whole twofer. The folks I really feel for are the ones who recently bought the other unit.

So much for the "fix"!!!! The entire crawl was a swimming pool with the moisture barrier floating on top. I'll let my report photos do the talking. Click to Enlarge 96.17 KB Click to Enlarge 57.15 KB Click to Enlarge 83.9 KB Click to Enlarge 92.91 KB Click to Enlarge 95 KB Click to Enlarge 82.93 KB Click to Enlarge 59.42 KB Surrounding terrain slope was not good, but it hasn't rained heavily here for at least 2 weeks and not at all for the last week. Evidently the seller isn't actually interested in selling the home because I can't believe he left it this way. I'm 99.99% certain my clients are walking away. Besides this, there were numerous other problems indicating a builder who didn't have a clue.

Same 1992 townhouse with the drainage issues (I'll update that mess later). I enter the attic and am immediately greeted with the pleasant translucent glow of sunshine through vinyl siding at the gable end walls. As if having no backerboard or sheathing and various tears and holes in the felt wasn't bad enough, the idiots decided to just cut the middle stud (web?) to install the gable vent. I could grab that 2 by 4 below the vent and move the whole thing in and out 6" or more. Click to Enlarge 41.05 KB This place was just CRAP, with everything done on the cheap and wrong. BTW...for those that might want it, the Vinyl Siding Institute installation manual is at... http://www.vinylsiding.org/publications ... Manual.pdf You'd think that was clear enough even if you lacked common sense!

I don't know if we have that feature here(?). Most of us just kind of hang out. To be honest, I doubt you will get much more on this. I think you would be better talking to an architect or some type of designer. Ultimately, whatever you think you would like is probably the way to go.

As they're purely decorative, I might be tempted to go with 3 arches, all the same size. IE, 2 above the double door. Oh, and also add one above the man door. And, maybe the brick as well as Blago, sorry Jerry, suggests. The final touch might be "carriage" style doors. Or...I'd save the money and go to Hawaii or Jamaica for 2 or 3 weeks.

I've kidded clients on their third or fourth inspections that I have a 10 inspection punch card, 11th free. But, no, no discount for subsequent inspections. You don't go back to the same dentist because he gives you a discount. If your client was pleased with your work the first time, they should be happy to pay you the full price again for the same full job. If not, then you may have issues that need addressing.

Mike, I thought Seattle was on the 2006 (still no diagram though). See... http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/Seattle2 ... ameset.htm Hi Rich, That's what I'd thought too...until I'd clicked on my favorites link. Hmm, maybe they've got separate links to the 2003 and the 2006. Jeez, what a pain in the keester. Guess I've gotta replace that link. Thanks. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Yeah Mike, the link in my post goes to the 2006 codes. The one you posted is the 2003.