Richard Moore

Mike, I had a York furnace in a 2006 home today. Serial number WOK58..... According to the decoder chart, the 3rd letter, "K" represents the year and it would be a 2001 unit. That didn't make much sense, so I went off into google land and eventually found another chart that has K as 2005 (much better). See http://www.peaktoprairie.com/?D=153 I don't know for sure but I suspect all the numbers in "our" chart may be off by 4 years. ????

Either that or sediment (or solder) clogging the hot water line at the mixing valve cartridge. With the water heater that far away and very little hot water exiting at the shower it would take a long time for any heated water to reach it. "Priming" the nearby guest bath makes the hot available that much sooner. I suspect he could have achieved the same by running the hot faucet at the master bath sink first. Adjust and/or flush the lines and mixing valve. (If possible. I believe some cartridges may need to be replaced if they're badly gunked up.)

LOL. Try suddenly jamming a foreign language into a 58 year old noggin. C'est très difficile pour un vieux pet.

The utility company has its own rules for overhead service drops and underground laterals, BUT from the weatherhead (or the meter in the case of an underground service) the service entrance conductors have to be rated for the service disconnect. If I'm reading Mark's first post correctly, he has #3 SEC's feeding a 200-amp disconnect and there's no way that is right. Over-fused would be a good term. Yes, you might rate or describe it in a report as 110-amp service based on the weakest link, the SECs, but that doesn't mean that's the sum total load you could put on those conductors and just describing it as such doesn't mean you couldn't overload and burn those SEC's with 200-amps. The total load may be currently limited to 110-amps or less, depending on the existing circuits and the breakers in the panel, but as those can be changed or added to, the service disconnect should either be changed to 110 or the SECs to 2/0 Cu or 4/0 Al. All three of those statements are WRONG! One way of looking at it...Why would there be a table for Service Conductor size, describing the minimum allowable size, if it didn't actually matter what was "upstream" or the line side of the service disconnect controlling the possible load?

That's all well and good, Walter, but the franchises are able to afford much larger and probably more appealing advertising than us small, one-man imdependants. I was shown a previous report on the house I did only yesterday, done by one of the larger franchises, and it was a barely understandable, and incomplete POS. I agree that Angie's list is a good thing. I know you are not being personal, at least I hope so, but maybe I'm speaking for a few others as well as myself when I ask...who's begging? True, six years ago when I started, I threw away some brochures in some brokerage offices' trashcans (I assume that's where they ended up) and did visit some open houses for the first couple of months (hated that) but I never begged then and can honestly say I haven't solicited anyone, anyway since. All of the agents that now regularly refer me started doing so after one of their clients had found me by other means. I can't help it if a few agents happened to like reading a clear and understandable report rather than the checklist mess they were used to. Oh...personally...I don't do "menial" very well. I don't want the whole town. Couldn't handle it, don't need it, and my empire building days are over. I like being a one-man band. The paperwork is much simpler. Then I guess I must have a very easy life! But it's MY obvious duty to MY CLIENT and has nothing at all to do with where the referrals come from. I assume that's the same for the others who have no trouble at all understanding the simple ethical requirements of this job. Well...they seem very simple to me.

Ditto, except I only have maybe 2 dozen that refer me and I've yet to upset thousands, although I'm sure I'm well into the hundreds. I've said this before but I'll say it again...I actually think it would be a shame if the good realtors, like Melina, who truly care about their clients, were prevented from referring the good inspectors and therefore have to leave their clients to the vaguries of hyped up advertising to find their inspector. Not once has anyone in my small stable of regular agents asked me to go easy on a house, and I've "killed" deals for them all. While I realize that there's a lot of crap that goes on, associated with "owned" inspectors, I dislike laws that prevent good people doing good stuff. You can't legislate ethics into people and what typically happens is the bad guys just find ways around those new rules but you actually make it harder for some to do the right thing. I don't have the perfect answer, sorry, but agent referrals do not always lead to demonic possession, although agent solicitation might. My head has only spun completely around a couple of times and I haven't puked up an evil soft report since I started this business.

I've never heard of that happening with copper tubing. Once it starts to leak, it keeps leaking. It's not like steel pipe, where pinhole leaks routinely seal themselves with rust. - Jim Katen, Oregon Yeah, doesn't seem too likely does it, especially with water pressure that high. One other option is rat piss (lots of nests in the insulation) but it tasted like fresh water. [:-chef] Jim...assuming it's not the pipes actually leaking, and with the proviso that I'm going to leave it up to the plumber, do you think that some will still need to be replaced based on the corrosion in that photo? There were a LOT of similar areas. BTW...good to see you back posting on a regular basis. Are you also back at work yet?

This is kind of an odd question, but... I had a very basic 1989, 2 story with crawl, home today. Most of the copper piping in the crawl was hung using steel hangers and many areas looked like the photo. I'm calling for a plumber to go through the whole crawl to replace the hangers and piping as needed (insulation also needed). I had two small pools of standing water on top of the moisture barrier, both directly beneath badly corroded areas (the photo was one of them). One had only a cup or two of water and the other, maybe a gallon. It may just be coincidence that the pools were directly beneath corosion, but both were otherwise located so that I couldn't envision the water coming from anywhere else but the water pipes above. My "problem" is that neither area was actually showing any signs of active leaks. The house had 120-psi static pressure (another issue). So...while I strongly suspect the water is coming from the corroded piping, it just doesn't seem likely unless such corrosion could intermittently reseal itself. Can that happen? Image Insert: 91.15 KB

47 out of 50 (first try). But then, I am English after all. [] Fortunately, I can read the stuff a lot better than I type it! I'm still arguing with Yosef over one of the "wrong" ones. Jim, I've seen "none" argued both ways and also the opinion that modern usuage allows whatever sounds the best. In the case of a group of people, who may be mixed genders, "their" rather than "his" or "her" just makes more sense. When you get a little more emphatic and use "not one" instead of "none", then only the singular verb sounds right. Take the following... None of the teachers was qualified. None of the teachers were qualified. Not one of the teachers was qualified. Not one of the teachers were qualified. Word grammar check doesn't mind the first three, and they all sound OK to me. But the fourth is definitely wrong. Legal Note: Be aware that I dropped out of school on my 16th birthday, the first day I could legally do so, and my firmly held opinions should be regarded with a judicious degree of skepticism by others! [:-dunce]

"My husband don't do landry and only goes to the shed to get food out of the deep freezer if I'm not there to do it." LOL. Just trying to cover any bases not mentioned before. I think we all look forward to the photos. If possible, take a wide shot of the whole area as well as closer shots of the "stuff".

You mentioned the washer and dryer and freezer are in the same area. Any chance the powder might be related to recent laundry? Do you keep anything in this "shed" that has a similar consistency that may have been spilt and not "reported" to you? In other words...do you have children?

Hi Kimball. Click on Library at the top, and then Popular Files. The first file is a word.doc you can download. It only covers dates though. The BTU rating is often "hidden" in the model number, although it should be on the same label you are getting the other numbers from. The ultimate book is the Preston Guide. I don't have one personally, but others do here and are usually willing to help with the trickier/unusual ones.

Not seen anything like that. So...I assume that ductwork is split into supply and return air. Filter(s) at the interior return grills or is that the reason for the odd "tent" shape? Is that enough exposed ductwork to be concerned about insulation or is it double-walled? One last question and I promise to shut up...Does that lower section also contain the emergency heat strips?

I concur with the Erby the hole expert! This is an example of a skilled hammer saw operator! [:-paperba LOL. I'd hate to see the hole when he's faced with plywood sheathing! Someone needs a RotoZip for Christmas.

Been there. Done that. Trust me...It ain't there!

Square-D and Cutler-Hammer make the only residential breakers listed for 2 conductors. It's been that way for quite some time. Your photo shows those labeled for 14-10 AWG. If it 2 were allowed, it would also be on the breaker, presumably in the same place. The electrician is wrong. NEC 110.14(A) Terminals: .... Terminals for more than one conductor and terminals used to connect aluminum shall be so identified. If Sparky gives you any more crap ask him to pull the breaker and show you exactly where it is identified for more than one!

Try this link... http://www.marble-institute.com/industr ... on2008.pdf You can make your own conclusions, but it doesn't seem like even the highest emitting granite countertop is that much of an issue. "Adapting the 4pCi/L action level as recommended by US EPA as a reference and the house is not in active use, Crema Bourdeaux countertop raises less than 7% of this action level." Personally, I'm not rushing out to buy a Geiger counter. I have enough gadgets and I still haven't gotten that much use out of my Acme Combo Mold-N-Asbestos Detector!

Yeah, I've probably seen that myself but it didn't register. Oh well. I'm not even going to bitch about the plumbing right across the crawl entry barring access or the brand new furnace installed without any provision for a filter. Just one of "those" houses!

100-amp GE service panel (1958) home. Not a split bus and no main breaker (or other service disconnect) so the number of throws is wrong, but that's not my beef. All of the 240 breakers were single poles with these little inter-connects. The cover had bars between the breakers so there was no way to remove it without first removing the "links". They were held in place with small set-screws and my smallest screwdriver wouldn't fit. Frankly, I'm not sure I would have removed them all if it had. Image Insert: 53.07 KB Fortunately, the client was buying the place "as is" (had seen a previous inspection report), and was already planning a complete upgrade of the service and un-grounded electrical system, so not a huge deal not being able to get into it. But...[:-bigeyes

Winging it here with the limited info, but a few things to consider... Efficiency: Your old dinosaur furnace has a very simple heat exchanger and wastes a lot of energy up the flue. A new, high effeciency furnace would probably reduce your fuel bills by 25% or more. Stay there long enough and it would likely pay for itself. Sizing: Your old furnace could probably handle an extra 600sf. But that's only "probably" and a new one would be sized to fit. As for seperate AC for the new "wing", I guess that could depend on whether it's going to be everday space or a guest suite only used a couple of time a year. Selling your house (say in 10 years): With a furnace as old as yours, it is very likely that a buyer would want to "negotiate" a new furnace. You could spend that money now and enjoy the benefits and savings while you are still living there. Safety: Hard to say from a distance if your old furnace is a hazard or not, but a new one definitely would not be. Meanwhile, I recommend you invest in a CO monitor if you don't already have one. They are not that expensive and would add a margin of safety while you decide on the rest of the stuff. Convenience and space: I don't know where you Texans typically have your furnaces, but I'm going to assume it's in the garage you want to remodel. A new furnace would have a much smaller footprint and, typically, only require service access from the front. Your old furnace probably has the filters at the rear panel requiring space to walk around the beast? And then there's combustion air supply which gets a little more complex but, basically, needs to be adequate and cannot be drawn from a bedroom. A 90+ furnace can use a pair of 3 or 4" plastic pipes to easily draw and vent air directly from and to the exterior. The end result is that you could have a 90+ furnace in a small closet but you may need a small room for the old one. The gained space alone might be worth the expense of upgrading. (Note that a gas water heater also requires adequate combustion air but there are also "direct vent" solutions for those.) Even with photos I doubt we could give you a definitive answer. Your best bet would be to ask your neighbors and friends (Angie's list?) for an honest HVAC company and have them give you some options and estimates. You would, of course, want to decide about the garage conversion before doing that.

That makes sense. I couldn't see it freezing up in the first place (we didn't have that cold a winter) and even if it did, the damage didn't seem to be the type that might be related. But, yep, they could have had a strong cleaning agent in there for quite some time. The other two toilets were fine. Who knows? Here's a photo of the jungle back yard. I've seen weeds before (duh, obviously) but never that thick and high at a home for sale. I must lead a sheltered life. Image Insert: 229.43 KB

Phillip, First, in case you haven’t noticed, your page numbering is screwed up. It’s reading 1 of 1, then 2 of 2, etc, etc. If it looks OK before you create the pdf file, it may be the same problem I had with my pdf creator (albeit a different one). I found that the simple solution was to turn off background printing. As to the report….I think I’ll leave the wording to others for now, but a couple of things struck me immediately. I don’t really get the point of the “Summaryâ€

2006 home, with an original sale date of October, 2006. Judging by the MLS# and the chest high weeds it's been vacant for a year. The home is still in the original buyer's name so I'm not sure it's a typical foreclosure but, obviously, something went wrong in a hurry. All utilities were locked off at my first visit...grrrr! Anyway, the house is being sold for about $100K less than the original price. And this is the 2-yr old toilet in the master bathroom...!!! Image Insert: 38.84 KB Not just dirt; the glazing has actually "flaked" off. Easy call for a new toilet, but I've never seen one damaged like this. You think frozen bowl/trap water could cause that type of damage? What is almost comical is the can of Comet and the toilet brush still in place.

This is my favorite from today. Image Insert: 74.38 KB Range hood exhaust, so the flex is also wrong, but what I really loved is that the flex wouldn't quite reach the roof vent, so they added another inside the attic.

2nd breaker down on the left isn't being used. "Room for expansion!" Besides the multi-tapped neutrals, no retaining screw for the back-fed main, and lack of panel bonding(?), there is a small conductor that seems to be attached to the main breaker lug at the bottom right. It goes from there to behind the SECs but then seems to disappear. Any idea what that is? Image Insert: 45.21 KB