John Raffensberger

Did an inspection on a 15 yo cape. Found cracks on the front and back walls that mirror each other. They start at the top with a little offset and go down about 15" then are almost met by cracks starting at the slab. They are a little wider than 1/8" at the widest part. It's like the sides of the house are settling and middle is settling at the same time Plus there're small cracks all around the basement including slanting cracks that meet at the corner. How Bad Is It? Thanks John

I've never seen this type of system before. Looks like it's pressurizing the space below the slab. No vent pipe found to the outside. The little sign says clean screen periodically. Thanks for your help, John

Kurt, You're Such A Big Softy. Only my admiration and gratitude stopped me from tearin' you up. Won't be in Chi-Town in the forseeable future but thanks for the invite. If you'd like to just send a few of your favs that'd be great. I've gotten a lot of responses so there's no big hurry. But I'm sure you've got a few doozies. Just to let you know, things are going well here. Twins great, wife working hard, now If only I had a few more inspections. The RE market has hibernated but that's just allowed me to begin my RE empire. Watch out Trump. See Ya and Thanks' John

Kurt and Joe, First of all, I'm taking Spatial Orientation off the request. Thanks for your help, whenever you get them to me would be great. Joe, the pic is great. It'll definitely make it into the presentation. Oh this will be a PowerPoint presentation and since this is my first attempt to put in pic I'm not sure what sizes are needed. Thanks for all your input and replies John

So many comebacks...I won't even bother. Think "Garage 6" From A 45 MPH Road" or House with picture window over-looking the town dump brick wall.

Not of your naked self or partner. I'm fine tuning my presentation for new buyers seminars and need some pics. Since you folks have been incredibly helpful to me in the past I'm going back to the well. I know there are plenty of pics on this site but want to make sure it's OK with the photog. If you want to tell the story I'd be glad to share it along with pic credit. Thanks A Lot, John I'm Looking For Pictures Of: 1. Common Problems 2. Enexpected Finds 3. Grading 4. Energy Efficiency/Passive Solar 5. Spatial Orientation

Sorry Les No Pics. Mike thanks, this is sounds exactly like what I was looking for. I know I'm getting in over my head but I'll let the buyers know. Kurt, your help is and has been incredibly valuable. I've adopted your down-to-earth, no bullsh*t style and my clients really appreciate it and now you've become part of my boilerplate. Thanks for everything. John

Mold?! Really, It was everywhere. The only place that was lacking mold, funny enough, was right over the bathroom vent. Must have used clorox cleaner in the bathroom. The attic had two big gable vents and that's it. ON A SIDE NOTE: The basement had a sump well that was a culvert pipe turned on it's side with 2 feet of water in it. The dry basement guy gave them a bid of $10,000 for a system including an industrial dehumidifyer. Back to the attic: So they need more ventilation and some kind of cleaning/eradication product. Any reccommendations. Or should this be handled by "professionals" Thanks from the stupid new guy probably getting in over his head, John

Thanks for you input. As far as the rest of the wiring in the original box it was the normal mix of everything usulally found in a handy homer box this age, overfilled, double tapping, one circuit with aluminum wiring, undersized and oversized wiring etc. Thanks for your help, in the report I told him to have a qualified electrician look at it. Don't know what he'll do. Thanks for your help Raff

Here's the scenerio: -Pre-listing inspect for a (sorry)realtor friend. -New main panel installed for Hot Tub -Service comes into new panel with 100 Amp breaker. -Inside new panel, breaker without markings or switches feeds old main panel with a 125 main breaker. Just how wrong is this and what do I say about it. Thanks, You guys are the best Raff

Thanks for the responses. I'm using a new protimeter mini. The bath does have an exhaust fan and a window. The weather lately has been warm and humid so I wouldn't think that condensation in the space would be the issue. This was the second time I walked through with the owner both times I saw the same thing. You're right about diagnosing issues, I try to stay away from it and that's how I wrote it up. This is actually more for me. Just want to know if the moisture levels could get that high just from the shower? Thanks again John

Hello Everyone, Was doing an inspection on a place that had a drop ceiling in the 1st floor bathroom (always a good idea) and found water stains in several different places - none inside the tub enclosure. What is more puzzling is that some spots measured in the teens and one spot 50%+. Looking up inside the tiles, no evidence of active leaking was seen. There is a second floor bath/apartment but it's been vacant for months. The question is: Can this high 50%+ reading be from humidity from the shower? Thanks, I appreciate your help. John

This might be easy for one of you but it stumped me, and my client who seemed to know his way around a house. The system was serviced 5/3/05 and it was 78 degrees out and the power was on. When I adjusted the aftermarket thermostat up the furnace did not respond until I hit the reset button on the furnace and then only the pump motor turned on, the furnace did not light and system cycled off. Also, the fan/blower did not respond to the thermostat but did turn on manually. The oil tank was buried so we couldn't check level. My thoughts: No oil in the tank and bad fan/thermostat connection. Thanks for the help. John

Anyone try this one? Opinions?