Garet

Open or woven doesn't really matter, as long as you install proper valley cap shingles on top. Click to Enlarge 74.24 KB

I say, never pressure wash a house. It drives moisture into places where it wasn't designed to go.

A temporary pump with no water sensor - Oh My! That's a jack-leg, screwed-up installation created by someone who doesn't understand how to tackle the problem. The simple fact that the crawl still has standing water should be proof to any 5th grader that the system is not doing its job. There's no trying to save this installation. They need to hire a contractor who actually knows what he's doing to start over from scratch. Brandon, sometimes it's easy to get sucked into the middle of other people's problems, but there's no good in it for you. Don't let your business practices be dictated by others. As Walter says: all risk, no reward.

They're using logic that's only relevant if you get all your energy from non-GHG sources (...gee, they work for BC Hydro) and your house is always in heating mode. I suppose there are small fractions of the world where that is true, but to extrapolate that to the larger population on this planet is absurd.

How about... "Modifications have been made to the electrical system by someone who clearly does not have the right set of skills. Obvious defects include bla, bla, bla. Since much of the electrical system is hidden it's likely that there are more problems that I didn't find. Have an electrician evaluate the entire electrical system and make appropriate repairs."

How have they detailed the plastic around the base of the columns? Just wrapped it around the base of the wood? With large amounts of moisture in the ground, the moisture will be concentrated at the opening as air moves up out of the soil into the space above (stack effect). We mostly have steel posts in my market and a common problem is severe corrosion at the base. Wood will rot much faster, especially if the black goop was painted on as an afterthought and does not cover the bottom of the posts.

Bonding the neutrals and grounds in both panels causes the equipment grounding conductor to become a parallel conductor for the neutral. Normal every-day current will flow between the two panels on both wires. Depending on what else is connected to the grounding system it can also cause current to flow other places where it should not (such as water pipes, CATV wires, gas pipes etc). Attached picture shows over 2 amps flowing through the CATV system when the grounding system was re-bonded improperly. Click to Enlarge 25.67 KB

Why would one want such a structural floor in a basement? What purpose is served by the sub-basement? GD: Because we have expansive soils here that can heave the a slab-on-grade floor up. I've seen the soil move several inches. Interior partition walls would push up on the first floor framing and wreck the house. With the structural subfloor the soil can heave upwards and not affect the structure; the crawl space just gets a little shorter.id="blue"> If that hokey get up (but at least they used "duck" tape to seal the connections[:-banghea) is to vent the sub-basement, why would it be hidden behind an access cover and not installed in the open like the rest of the mechanicals? GD:Mechanicals are often located in the center of the basement. Ventilation works best when you pull from the edges. There should be a complementing inlet air pipe on the opposite side of the basement. Since the inlet pipe has no serviceable parts it could be hidden behind finished wall surfaces with no access. id="blue"> Isn't mechanical ventilation of that type required to be automated with thermostat/humidistat type controls? GD:The humidistat is normally located at the crawl space access hatch where the homeowner can adjust it easily. Garet Denise Denver, CO www.Cornerstone-Inspection.com id="blue">

It's not a radon system. Most likely they have a structural floor in the basement, consisting of framing with joists (either wood or metal) and OSB floor sheathing. We sometimes also construct them with structural steel beams and a cast concrete floor. Either way, there is a crawl space below the basement floor. This fan is part of a mechanical ventilation system intended to remove moisture from the crawl space (although they also tend to flush out radon). Most of these structural floors (...but not all) have an access hatch into the crawl space. The fan wiring and plug look hokey. They're normally hard-wired with armored cable to a j-box on the side of the fan. Garet Denise Denver, CO www.Cornerstone-Inspection.com

Starting with the '03 IRC, flashing is required above all wood trim that projects out from the wall. Garet