Garet

You're saying the thermodynamic properties are sufficiently similar? It did seem to be cooling reasonably well. Yep. The things some people will do to save a dime! Turns out I didn't need to prepare a report. The mis-applied stucco (2 years ago, all wrong), roof problems and grading issues were more than the buyer was willing to swallow.

What bad things will happen when you put a new evaporator coil (actually 4 years old now) manufactured for R-410a onto an old compressor (now 23 years) made for R-22?

Concrete can be placed in sub-freezing temperatures, provided that the contractor takes appropriate steps to keep it from freezing before it sets up. With flatwork, that's hard to do. With a footing it's pretty easy (assuming the ground is not frozen and assuming the contractor is prepared ahead of time). A wall is harder because it has more surface area. The smaller the placement, the harder it is to keep warm. We placed footings once for a parking garage with temperatures in the teens. Pulling the blankets off 3 days later they were still steaming. Of course, they were 3' thick and 8' wide. One more thing. If someone is taking cylinders, they have to either be placed under the same blankets as the work itself or taken into a lab to cure. Don't even think about putting them into one of those little insulated plywood boxes on the job site. They'll freeze before they cure and crumble to pieces. Not that I would know from direct experience. [:-taped]

I had the same experience (with the same results).

Nothing, as far as I could tell. It was already a long inspection, so I didn't want to spend a lot of time running between there and the panel. Thanks everyone for your input.

Found this in a 1950s -1960s bathroom. It had an exhaust fan over the throne, with a somewhat newer count-down timer control on the opposite wall. Google turned up nothing. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 26.7 KB Click to Enlarge 54.24 KB Click to Enlarge 28.02 KB

Wouldn't that cause the service mast to act as a parallel conductor to the neutral? That seems like a bad idea. No? If not, then why the insulator?

Is the flashing on top of the roof tile, or is the picture deceiving?

I would not be at all concerned about lack of support under a short section of footing like that. Could be erosion, but I suspect it's been that way since the builder left unless there's a torrent of water flowing. I would be concerned about that much water if it "hasn't rained for months". Sounds to me like the water pipe has problems. FWIW, our neighbor's water pipe recently sprang a leak somewhere outside the foundation, with a similar amount of water inside the basement (as well as a flooded meter pit). Some flaw in the copper pipe sat there for 4 decades and finally let go.

Please tell us, what's keeping water from coming in???

What was the date of the ANSI standard? It's cut off in your first picture. ANSI standards are updated every 3-4 years, which would confirm the difference between 2002 and 2009.

Antique? Is it just me or does that look like MDF/particle board in the second picture?

Slab replacement and mud-jacking both address only the symptom, not the problem. The problem is the deeper loose soils. Unless the loose soils are excavated and replaced the surface will continue to settle and it may need to be repaired again in the future. The good news is that the rate of settlement slows down over time. The bad news is that there's no way to predict if it will settle again.

Try contacting the engineering department of the local utility provider and ask if they have a document detailing installation requirements.

No. It should be smooth-walled. I call those 'cheater' fittings. They tend to collect solids and they tend to crack on the ribs. BTW, neither the dishwasher drain nor the NM cable to the disposal are right either.

I only see a dozen or so propane houses a year, but I've never seen (or heard of) such a thing. What does it look like?

I think the point of the post is to hold the load from the end of that central girder, not to support the wall. You mean in case the wall collapses from under the end of the girder? In that case I agree, a post would help.

Posts won't help. Posts hold vertical loads. This isn't a vertical load problem, this is a lateral load problem. Various solutions to consider: tiebacks, internal strongbacks or a cast-in-place sister wall. None are as simple as a post.

Any ideas what this is? It's located in the operating room of a veterinary clinic (horses) constructed in the early 1970s. The round mark on the floor apparently held the operating table, which has been removed. The inner round ring on the floor is steel. I was surprised to not find signs of anchor bolts. My best guess is the operating table was hydraulic, much like an auto mechanic's lift. But we found no signs of a hydraulic pump or power supply. There had apparently been an air compressor outside this wall, with piping coming inside. Anything to be concerned about, is it just a leftover oddity from the past? Click to Enlarge 55.92 KB Click to Enlarge 57.76 KB Click to Enlarge 60.61 KB

If you went to a cardiac specialist for an EKG, would you expect a printout from the machine or would you expect something from the doctor describing your condition? If you got the EKG printout, how would you know what to do with it? For those of you who give the hourly radon readings, how many of your clients call worried they have a problem because a few of the hourly readings spiked above 4.0? They're paying me to provide a radon test. The result of that test is ONE number (the average) which is what I provide. Just curious, but how do you get by with that? Don't your clients ever want a copy of the actual test results they paid for? Or does the seller before they commit to mitigation? Never heard of someone not providing the full test results so was just wondering.

I've never give the hourly readings to the client. How would they interpret them? I have a simple Word template where I fill in the average reading, details about test date, time, duration and a paragraph or 2 explaining what it means.

What makes you think he forgot anything? If the buyer didn't check he'd save some coin and be Scot free. If I had a vote, flippers would be banished to a level of Hell 3 levels below used car salesmen, and one level above ambulance-chasing lawyers.

It can happen in any 'hood, it's just more likely in some than others. One of my clients in a new subdivision (as WASP and suburban as they come) came home one night to find his irrigation vacuum breaker gone and his neighbor's yard flooded.

The label on my gas water heater tank says "May be installed on combustible flooring." Is there some rule I'm not aware of?

In case you need another... Click to Enlarge 29.66 KB