mgbinspect

(You might copy and past posts to WordPad before I submit them, just incase it won't postIf it's .)

Gosh, your write. I feel reel bad now. (Not to mention - sometimes my spelling and word use on here can be horrific, as a handful of good Samaritans here know. So, maybe I'm calling the kettle black. I just found it a bit tragic, the guy has that on his cards.)

I just had a friend hand me the business card of another inspector here in Richmond. This is what is printed on the back: "Weather you are buying or selling a home, knowing its condition guarantees you a fair and smooth transaction. With a home inspection you receive a thorough, indepth visual examination of the structure and operating components of the home performed by trained professionals." [:-magnify

Like Brandon says, if it's installed well, I just tell folks "It's like having two overcoats on!"

Is it, by any chance, kin to a heffalump?

(Which tees up the trivia question: Who used whose legs for towel racks?)

Aw cmon, Ben, the worst that can happen is your legs get used for towel racks until you loose a few pounds. [:-party]

I imagine anyone that has installed brick, myself included, has done it. It takes practice to consistently lay bricks a hairs breadth aways from the line.

Ugh, I hate synthetic stone. It's about as fraught with danger as EIFS - rarely done right.

If that's a concrete footing, sure, I'd have done it. I'll go if I can exhale hard enough to get through a space. If not, I turn around. This is going to sound crazy, but a lot of times the only way I can get through a space is with my arms stretch forward, because I have broad shoulders, and it keeps me from getting stuck. I'm just not claustrophobic.

Oh, you know how it goes: you offer resistance and the top door panel folds up before your very eyes as the motor churns on, or the motor blows up, and costs a trillion dollars. Been there - done that. [:-graduat

By the way, that garage door opener is a cute little rascal - not much to it. Click to Enlarge 30.16 KB The motor is about the size of a soda can. And, unlike most door operators, it takes up very little garage space. I like it! It's surprising they haven't caught on around here.

For some peculiar reason, I wasn't able to add a little educational info to the original thread - some database error. So, I guess this is a continuation of the original thread: Again, If there are horizontal cracks, which confirm that the brickwork has bulged outward since it set, and the veneer seems loose and unstable, repairs are needed asap. If, however, there are no cracks or gaps in the "bed" (horizontal) joints and the veneer seems to be solid, then it was installed or shifted while green to set that way. It's a cosmetic condition. There are a number of ways this could have occurred: 1. When masons have to deal framing that is not plumb or projections beyond the wall framing plane, they usually do one of two things: A. Clip off the backs of bricks until they get past the projection (the preferred method, because no one knows it's been done but the installer). B. "Twig" (set) the line outward, and slowly roll the veneer out to clear the projection) - an unsightly Neanderthal approach, which only makes sense if the roll will be very slight and clipping bricks is, therefore, too difficult. 2. Then there are a number of things that could have caused the masonry to shift, while green, to set, as you see this veneer: - As Kevin suggested, laying too many courses while the work is green, or similarly, "striking" (tooling or finishing) the joints while too green, can permit the work to bulge out. Usually, if this begins to happen, there's no stopping it and the work will fall out of the wall while green. I've actually had both things happen to me early in my brick laying days. - While rather remote, an apprentice could have been accidentally "crowding" (pushing outward, with the top edge of his brick) the line that everyone is using as a guide to install the brick.

OK. Thanks guys. I don't even see ANY adjustment screws for a resistance reversing feature. So, I wasn't sure what kind of catastrophe might happen if I attempted to stop it.

The shadows in the window openings create a bit of an optical illusion, making it appear more extreme than it is. When you inspect the surface of the brickwork closely, if no bed (horizontal) joints are open (gap) or cracked (hairline), then, unfortunately, that is the way the brick veneer was installed, and it probably reflects an attempt to get past framing that was not plumb. If there are no cracks or gaps and the veneer seems to be solid, then nothing needs to be done. It's cosmetic. If, however, there are horizontal cracks and the veneer seems loose and unstable. Repairs are needed asap. I was a journeyman mason, before getting into general contracting and inspections. Hope this helps.

Greetings all, Is anyone familiar with this garage overhead door opener: Wayne Dalton idrive for TorqueMaster? I've never seen one. It appears to be direct drive to the spring bar, and the motor is about the size of a fist. It seems mighty enough, but I see no apparent safety reversing features. And, as fragile as the system looks, I'm not excited about testing it for a reversing feature, for fear of damaging the aluminum door or unit. I'm in the field, so I can't upload A picture. This is a two year builder's warranty inspection, so the opener is relatively new. If you have any familiarity with any reversing features, which aren't obvious, kindly inform me. Thanks in advance.

The thing that has never set well with me is that foundation stabilization typically comes with a ten year guarantee - not very assuring...

As Bain suggests, I doubt this is merely a brick veneer problem. In order for that to be the case, the veneer would have to literally slide across the foundation surface, which isn't likely. The gap, being as wide as it is and larger at the top than the bottom, suggests that the foundation is, most likely, separating and laying open. The reason the brick is pulling away from the structure, is because the framing, due to lateral and diagonal bracing offered by the drywall and sheathing, can't pull apart and lay open so easily - adjusting more like a parallelogram to deal with the shift. Hence, the brick veneer rides the foundation apart, while the frame twists and flexes to conform to the settling foundation. Wall ties, for brick veneer, are flexible and corrugated, which gives them considerable stretch, permitting the brick to move away. The short version - brick veneer and wood frame construction, by design, react differently to the same settlement, and that gap exempifies that difference. Richmond, has its share of shrink/swell soil (I live in a pretty big patch of it.) and soft soils. So this is one of several common scenarios here. Foundation stabilization will, to some degree close everything back up, but they would probably elect to find a happy median between "arrested" and returned to original position. Regardless of the cause and remedy, this goes beyond the brick veneer and a geological/structural engineer is the way to go.

Thanks for that post, Joe. I was wondering how the coils were set up.

Since you have the ad: 1. I gather the unit on the upper left hand side must be a relief valve? 2. The smaller line, apparently to the pilot, is before the larger unit, so I assume it didn't have a thermocouple. But, the pilot does have its own little thumb-screw shutoff at that top elbow. 3. I can't come up with any idea what the unit just below the main shutoff valve is. It doesn't appear to have any controls or other wires or lines going to it. 4. But, apparently this was, as you say, an "on demand" unit, but very primitive temperature regulation - set it and forget it? 5. You fire it up when you want hot water and turn it down to pilot or off, when done? The self closing service doors top and bottom are pretty cool. It's a real beauty. I love old stuff like this - handsome! I have a very old chemical fire extinguisher - all copper and brass. It has full instructions stamped into a large brass plate. The instructions begin, "To play..."

Unfortunately, it wasn't in an antique place. If memory serves, it was a lobby for maybe an insurance or utility company. I doubt they'd part with it, but I do know where it is, if anyone's interested. I can narrow it down to about a six block area in Fells Point for you.

Yep, that's what I was referring to. They work amazingly well - razor sharp.

As strange as it may sound, I'd love to not only have it, but get it in operation again.

I believe I've seen a self-tapping device that can be used in the same way you'd use a phillips head screwdriver. It's quite sharp and made specifically for your application - designed to dig into the screw head until it reaches enough resistance to back out the screw. Check with someone at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

I saw this beauty through a storefront in Fells Point, Baltimore MD on my way to the Philly Tri-State ASHI seminar, and had to photograph it. Click to Enlarge 88.65 KB