homnspector

Pressure may fluxuate in the municipal water line. I would buy a $6 pressure gauge that connects to a hose faucet and check it occasionaly or when you notice the reduced flow. I dont know what you could do if it does fluxuate, maybe a booster pump (if street pressure is low) or pressure regulator (if street pressure is high). BTW, What is a CAC?

Change in pressure sure would cause a change in GPM. I would say it is more likely to be a pressure issue rather than a flow issue if no other fixtures are being operated.

I check the water heater draft with a lighter. I would not want to guarantee that a fireplace draws correctly though without lighting a wood fire

Hi Terry, Curious to know how you check for proper draft.

Here is mine, feel free to use it if it helps. Note that the condition of the interior of a chimney often cannot be determined by a visual examination unless the chimney cap is removed and the chimney cleaned. If you have doubts about the condition of the chimney, pipe or liner, full evaluation by a qualified chimney sweep should be considered. I examine the chimney as well as practical without removal of soot or the chimney cap.

Well, that cleared that up! LOL. Any ideas out there why that worked?

"Interesting...I wonder if that's why my kids blow big ol' snot honkers at the community pool????" Man, and I've been to that water park near your house....

Sounds like expansive soil issues to me but I would think you would see some movement in the basement walls. We don't have many basements here so I dont know what expansive soil does to basements, but it is very much like what you are describing in the garage, like a heaving up.

Speaks for itself

Maybe it is back siphoning from the dishwasher (couldnt resist)[:-dev3] seriously though, I would flush the system for about 20 minutes, particularly the hot side. If the house was sitting vacant, water in the heater can stagnate, especially if the water heater is off. It takes a while to fully flush it.

Inspected an old (for this area) house today. At some point the service was "upgraded" to 100 amps. The 100 amp main breaker is installed with all of the others on the bus bar. The entrance cables are installed on what would normally be the load side of the breaker. Will this breaker trip properly? Does a breaker function if you overload it in "reverse"? Picture 2 is a nice bare wire at the entrance to a wet crawl space. Needless to say, there is a rodent problem. And, oh yeah, it was live![:-thumbd]

Those 5'8" doors are woman doors[:-tong2]

Is he the one who has been sending those?

Maybe "metal thingy that the copper colored and white wires connect to or the circuit breakers attach to". Too wordy, bus is better.

Not trying to be aggravating to people trying to help me but.. "P.S. You might want to stop capitalizing "bus" and start spelling it with one "s"." Buss From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Buss may relate of any of these: * Buss is an alternate spelling of bus, used mainly in the case of an electrical bus, also rarely for a computer bus. Course, if nobody else knows what I'm talking about, it probably isn't a good term to use.[] By "duplex" I just meant it was 2 connected units, maybe thats the wrong term if its not residential.

That actually sounds like a good way to price inspections. Hmmm.

Howdy, Today I inspected a small commercial duplex. I am not familiar with all of the differences between residential and commercial code. There was no firewall in the attic between the units. Is this needed? Also, subpanels were grounded to the main panel by metal conduit, no seperate main ground wire to the ground Buss in the subpanels. Thanks for any help.

OK...sounds like you know the answer! Why the question?

Sounds (smells?) to me like algae buildup in the water heater and piping. Is the water supply chlorinated? I too cannot see how the dishwasher would have cross contaminated all the way into the water heater. Besides, dishwasher water isnt exactly sewage. I often see this sort of scum come from Jaccuzi tub jets. Just my 2 cents.

How would you AFCI protect an entire panel? Do they make large AFCI breakers? If so, why not simply protect the main panel with an AFCI main and be done with it?

Jeff et al, very helpful information. I pretty much suspected 65 was not a hard and fast cutoff as I have gotten varying temps from different A/C persons. I learned the hard way on the heat pumps, turned one on when the ext temp was about 85 and blew an internal fuse. Often is Az (as you know), the ambient temp may be low (say 40 degrees) but the unit on the roof in the direct sun is maybe 80-90 degrees. I would assume it is OK to operate in these conditions. I wonder sometimes when I recommend "full evaluation by a licensed A/C contractor prior to close" as the unit could not be operated due to low temps that the A/c guy is able to tell them that it is working OK. I was thinking maybe there was some evaluation they are able to do at low temps.

Thats excellent! I wonder if there is any way to save it to a hard drive. Just kidding Brian, no hate mail from me.[] Originally posted by Donald Lawson Did you ever get a copy of ASTM E2018? For $45 bucks? Have you been drinking again Donald? Brian G. Po Boy (When one is "po" they can't even afford the last two letters)

$65 ?? Oh man, Brian will be bi**hing again about how "po" he is, spare me!

Like most home inspectors I have a clause in my contract that I will not operate the A/C unit at ambient temperatures below 65 degrees due to "possible compressor damage". Clients naturally want to know the condition of the system. Will it in fact hurt the system? I have heard that the freon or refrigerant may be in a liquid state at low temps and valves can be damaged and have also heard lack of lubrication in cold weather. Are either of these correct? Does the same hold true for a heat pump running in A/C mode at low temps? Is 65 degrees the correct cut off? I would like to be able to give clients a reasonable explanation of why I won't test the unit. Thanks A/C experts![:-bigeyes

Around here I occasionally run into the older fire retardant plywood which has turned black and chalky from prolonged attic heat due to lack of venting and the chemical treatment. We have more heat and less moisture in AZ but I would hesitate to call it mold or mildew without further checking. Also, could be the rooftop vents were installed later. The way they build around here, that amount of ventilation is typical. Has anybody actually seen the recommended 1 Sq. Ft. / 150 sq.ft. of venting? I don't think I ever have.