mgbinspect

We have a fairly high water-table, so moisture, fungal growth, wood decay and termites are all issues here in both basements and crawl spaces. Most builders here won't build homes on basements, and a lot of the old homes on basements do leak.

Two thoughts came to mind, as I navigated this crawlspace: 1. The seller can't possibly imagine or be adequately prepared for the bomb I'm about to drop. 2. How can a guy do things like: - build a detached nice garage - buy a beautiful top of the line john boat - buy a lovely yellow loaded mustang - buy a chromed to the max Harley Davidson - replace all the windows - add vinyl siding and yet never ever look in his crawlspace over the course of eight years? [:-bigeyes

That's disgusting! Usually, a properly installed fabric as a part of the perimeter drain should prevent that. Apparently, it isn't properly installed - assuming this is a relatively new home.

Yeah, this crawl space is a complete train wreck - destined to become a sealed and conditioned space, after the replacement of many yards of sill plate and header joist (including the one the deck is hung on). And, the deck will probably become free standing. I think the buyers will most likely walk.

Richmond, is historically a haven for termites. It's not a matter of "if" they ever show up, but rather "when" they show up... This is, by far and away, the worst wood boring insect infestation I've ever seen. Every foundation wall has tubes on it about every three to four feet (probably sixty tubes in all). Most of the tubes have made it to the sill plate and beyond to the header joist and sub-floor. There were piles of tubes in the center of the crawl, which had me puzzled until I realized they were vertical tubes that had fallen over time after time. The tubes to the center beam are more akin to super highways. Tubes hang down from the center-beam as well. Click to Enlarge 84.53 KB Click to Enlarge 48.17 KB Click to Enlarge 62.16 KB Click to Enlarge 75.48 KB Click to Enlarge 77.65 KB Click to Enlarge 76.16 KB Click to Enlarge 109.38 KB Click to Enlarge 47.42 KB Click to Enlarge 112.53 KB

I had been kicking around, in my head, some form of unique custom flashing / counter-flashing designed to accommodate growth.

Or, pondering the saying, "If you build it, they will come."... I wonder who's coming?..

Somehow, there's a probably a GREEN explanation for this, like never having to weed whack around the light posts - trillions saved in future weed whacker fuel! Yeah, that's the ticket. (And, the architect loathes those who text while walking...)

I've never been a big fan of this type of insulation as the inside surface of ducts, for the following reason: Click to Enlarge 68.82 KB Click to Enlarge 71.13 KB Click to Enlarge 64.2 KB [:-yuck]... Pretty gross....

For what it's worth, today's inspection has two, less than half full, 225 AMP Cutler-Hammer panels with 200 AMP main breakers on a 320 CL meter. "And, that's the way it was - Tuesday, October 5, 2010."

What a great reference, from an unquestionable source. Thanks Mike.

I suppose you're right, Jim. That has been my, apparently invalid, concern that can finally be dismissed. Thanks Jim and Marc for hammering that understanding home. I get it now. [:-graduat

Well, it could be the same thing, but I'm more wondering if anything bad could happen if for instance, you DID have a cable coming in rated for 400 AMPs or 320 AMPs connected to the bus of a panel rated for 200 AMPs, with no main breaker (and six throws shut off everything). Could something BAD happen in this setup, or is it just peachy? I always figured SOMETHING bad could happen. I'm not sure what, but just wondering...

Of course, I've always understood that an undersized cable is a bad thing, but I always figured that too much power coming in, un-checked by a main breaker properly sized for the breaker panel, could be a big problem too.

Then exceeding the needs of the house and the rating of the panel is not a concern, as long as the six breakers are properly sized. Got it.

This all raises another interesting concern: If, for instance, you have a 150 AMP panel without a main breaker, which meets the "six throws" requirement, and it's on a 200 CL meter, then a 150 main breaker is NEEDED to limit potential to the panel rating. Yes? When you can behold the service entrance cable, such a need is obvious. The meter is another possible tip to the condition. The only down-side; I doubt there are 150 CL meters?

I'm not sure how I went from not knowing if I should call something a 200 amp service, or 2-200 amp panels, to acting in bad faith and not trying to figure out the size of the service and if it's appropriate for the house........(?)..... There's a small pile of implications in that comment. What's most interesting to me right now, is no one has answered the original question of the OP, nor mine. What do you call it? Do folks call 2-200 amp panels a single 200 amp service? I continue to blissfully call two 200 AMP panels 400 amps of service -right or wrong. Unfortunately, around here, the only time I ever see two side by side panels, the service is always underground to the meter base, so I have yet to see the cable coming in. But, one has to assume that the local power company has it set up to handle both panels at more than the 80% rule. Doesn't that seem reasonable?

They are solitary, in that they don't nest together. Each has it's own little hole (hangout) and they are ferociously territorial, so when there are a lot of them around they dart at any movement, and will confront each other mid-air. They are masterful little aviators - hovering and darting much like humming birds. They don't sting, but can bite the He$$ out of you.

This house was nothing to write home about, but it DID have individual returns for each room, which was pretty rare for such a low end house.

Sure. This arrangement is better for this house because the return air is coming down from the ceiling and the supply air is going down below the floor. If you oriented it the other way, you'd need more ductwork next to the furnace. Also, in this case, you want the air conditioner evaporator coil to be below the furnace. This way, when the blower is running, you won't get a spray of condensate all over your heat exchanger, which could cause it to rust & decay. The fact that the evaporator is downstream of the heat exchanger is also good because, if there's a refrigerant leak during the heating season, the leaking refrigerant won't hit the hot heat exchanger and turn into a toxic gas. - Jim Katen, Oregon Thanks, Jim. It's funny, I am familiar with your explanation regarding the location of the evaporator coil, but It's so rare for me to see a setup like this that I'd not given much thought to the cooling side because I was so hung up on the heating side. I gather that, even though it's probably not very significant, this setup is slightly less efficient on the heating side of the equation. Yes? And, prior to draft inducing blowers, they would have merely dealt with the additional ductwork and kept the furnace right side up.

Thanks Marc! So, now there only remains the question: Why can't the furnace orientation remain up, so the draft is rising up through the heat exchanger, which would appear more efficient, even if the distribution airflow needs to be downward? Any takers?

OK, Here's one for the brain-trust. The home I inspected Friday had a furnace installed (as a replacement) in 1999. This Ducane furnace is upside down. I understand that it has a draft inducing blower and should work, but is this OK, or is this the wrong setup for downdraft? I guess what has me wondering is that I don't fully understand why the burner HAS to be over the heat exchanger even if the distribution airflow has to be downward. It just seems illogical to have the burners over the heat exchanger unless it's just unavoidable. Of course, with a unit laid on its side, there's really no option with an induced draft unit. So, if this is an acceptable application, I'd still like to understand why it had to be setup exactly like this. Thanks in advance. Click to Enlarge 85.72 KB Click to Enlarge 92.26 KB Click to Enlarge 29.6 KB Click to Enlarge 35.17 KB Of course, I know it needs impact protection and some other attention.

'Undersized cable' has a completely different definition when it comes to utility lines. As long as that cable will hold an overcurrent or fault current long enough for the transformer fuse to open, that's all they usually care about, or need to. As an HI, I don't bother with trying to judge it's adequacy. Marc My son worked for the local power company here for four years, and they certainly seem to have it all figured out. And, I too have come to understand that transmission line and service entry cable sizing is a science that is not as bound by rules we're familiar with.

My advice is to not attempt the entire workout right out of the gate. You will end up so beat up, you may quit. You may not want to do a full 5-6 days a week right off. Also, maybe for the first week or two, do only the first half of the video per day. When you start doing the workout, half a$$ it-- no kidding. If you can do 10 push- ups at a time at the start, only do 5-7 or so, because you will then have some reserves for the second half of the video since you will be doing the same exercises all over again. As you start to get into better shape, you will be able to know how hard to push throughout the hour to have just enough reserves to finish. Enjoy plyometrics....[:-weepn] Thanks Brandon. Thankfully, I've always been naturally pretty muscular, and sports and bricklaying kept me toned. Even to this day, in horrible shape, I can drop and do 15 - 20 pushups - no problem. My main area of concern and caution is these 59 year old joints. They won't bounce back from injury like muscles do. So, that's where I need to be careful.

I don't understand the difficulty. If you've determined that the cable feeding the meter can is not appropriate for a 400-amp service then you need only determine what size it *is* appropriate for and that will be the service size. - Jim Katen, Oregon It's pretty typical to run across upgraded 200 AMP panels on original overhead aluminum #2 or #2/0 here. I used to encourage my buyers to contact the local power company and request that they upgrade the service cable. The local power company usually deems it fine, due to being air-cooled. I still identify it as technically undersized cable, but tell folks to not be surprised if the local power company assures them that it's fine.