mgbinspect

Ah yes... a familiar sight. I heated exclussively with wood for a few years, as did most of the folks living out in our mountain community. This is a perfect example of a good wood stove (able to shut it down to practically no burn at all so it merely smolders for hours) teamed up with cold temps and an oversized masonry chimney and flue. Condensation and creosote collection on steroids. The flues that I've seen looking like this were the same most of the way down the flue. It hasn't burned already, but it's a chimney fire waiting to happen. I had a chimney fire one time, and it will scare one to death. The flames were do intense all the way up the flue that it sounded like the space shuttle taking off - complete with the pulsating roar. I had to shut the stove completely down and wait for the fire department. Thankfully, they didn't do anything crazy like send water down or up the flue, which would have cracked all the flues. They just hung out and we systematically let it burn itself out. The flue was fine and clean as a whistle. Stressful way to clean the flue, though. All the creosote down the sides of the chimney nails down the fact that the stove was regularly loaded, stoked and shut way down to smolder - a great way to conserve wood and keep the heat in the home, but hell on a chimney.

Actually, you just described a control joint, not an expansion joint. An expansion joint is there to allow the concrete to expand due to temperature rise. Using a softer material in the joint accomplishes this. The job of a control joint is to control where the slab cracks rather than to crack in a seemingly more random fashion. Of course, they don't always do that successfully. You are correct, and yet the control joint is there for the same reason - not in anticipation of settlement, but shrinkage. Of course they do come in handy to, as you have state, encourage even settlement cracks to happen in a specific place.

I've been on the sidelines while I transitioned from owning and living in my home to renting it and moving into my travel trailer, which entailed an estate sale. But, I am still very interested in re-submitting my application, as I got the same letter as Tom - lacking detail. There are a lot of lenders and Realtors here begging me to get going. As soon as my home rents, I'll relocate the trailer and concentrate on things like the 203K, again. Hopefully it'll all fall into place in the next thirty days.

From past experience, which is now approximately twenty-five to thirty years old: 1.) Control joints always seemed to line up with a door or window jamb. I don't recall them coinciding with columns. In smaller structures, where steel is the sole structure, the masonry is independant and it shouldn't matter. Normally, if the masonry was the structure, there would be no columns in the outer walls. 2.) Yes, they should. Normally control joints had a piece of keyed rubber that served as a weather seal and more or less a backer for the sealant that was later added. Back up and veneer always shared the same control joint. This was consistant in commercial work, schools, prisons, etc. 3.) It seems to me that the bond beams did break with the rest of the wall at the control joint, but since there is steel running through the bond beam, it really shouldn't matter all that much. Keep in mind that a control joint isn't there to manage settlement cracking. It's there to handle expansion and contraction of the materials due to temperature variations and/or shrinkage. (similarly, expansion joints aren't in concrete flat- work to manage settlement either, but rather to manage inevitable shrinkage cracking as the material cures and shrinks slightly. This same action is what causes concrete high rise structures to loose height as the concrete cures, which is known as "creep".)

During my early bricklaying days, my mentor was from Holland - right off the boat. His favorite insult was, "Ya dope!", and the only beer was Rrrrolling Rrrrock. He's the guy that always said to me, "Learn to do it right, and the speed will come.", and boy did it.

I do as well as Strohs and Schmidts. I never cared for the taste of Strohs, when I was young, but I now I think I would really enjoy it (it was kinda in your face). This neck of the woods we also had P.O.C. beer - Pride of Cleveland. I actually remember 3-4 bigger breweries in this area back in the early 60's. My favorite is Blatz as it reminded me of the noise you made after 5-6 chilly ones. How about: "Hey Mabel - Black Label!" and... Hams - "From the land of the sky blue waters..." One of my old roomates was a religious Schlitz guy. It didn't do much for me, though - too mild. I like a beer with some kick.

I'm green with envy as I've never been able to do that. If I can't put something behind me it'll gnaw at me until I do. It began as a mental image for me, kinda like setting your briefcase down - until it became a way of life. You said it right - stress will gnaw at you, if you let it. I just refuse to let it take away my happiness anymore. In the long run - dwelling on a thing rarely solves it. I"m a big fan of brainstorming, but stewing never works. Try it. You probably can do it, if you really put your mind to it. Just remind yourself that it's not going away - just put down for the evening.

I finally figured out about twenty years ago, when I was going through some really bad personal situations, to mentally check all worries and cares at the door of my home. They're not going anywhere, and I can't act upon them usually after hours. It's worked well for me. I literally "turn off bad thoughts" when I hit the door, as if there was a shelf for it all in the foyer. It will be there waiting for me in the morning. I'm sad that so many of you guys are going through such a hard time. I was told in 1989, by a friend, "when most of the nation has pneumonia, Richmond only has a cold." I immediately moved there (here). And, it has proved to be the gospel. I don't know why this town is so resilient, but during the worst of this economic slump, my revenues dropped off about 66% for a while, but quickly crept back up. I probably run, now, at about 70% of what I used to in the good ole' days, but even at that, last month I performed 35 inspections. It does help that I've been doing inspections here for nineteen years and am well known. I'm sure that gives me a leg up on a lot of guys. For what it's worth, about 30% of my inspections are relo work, another 35% is foreclosures and short sales. It's most definitely a buyer's market and anyone that can avoid selling their home now, is doing just that - sitting tight. Also, to make life easier, I've done, as I said I would: sold everything I own - EVERYTHING. The estate sale begins Friday. Then, I'll be moving into my travel trailer, which is pretty nice. My entire cost to live will be a mere $645.00 a month (site fee, water, sewer, trash, cable, internet and electric) The only factors left are groceries, vehicle maintenance and gasoline. I can pretty much survive on three to four home inspections a month. The rest goes in the bank. I've reduced my cost to live now three times: once two years ago (50% reduction), then about a year ago (another 30% reduction) This move reduces my total cost to live by another whopping 75%. I'm keeping my home, but renting it out. It's extreme, but I can turn on a dime and handle just about anything that comes down the pike now - short of an alleged "Act of God". We can't do much about the economy, but there's always plenty of wiggle room in how much it costs us to live. [:-graduat As far as jerks go in everyday business... I always tell them with a smile - to there face - "You don't have permission to ruin my day." And, I just keep smiling... I guess Abraham Lincoln said it best: "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Life is good...

Isn't the top picture the AC evaporator coil? The heat exchanger for these systems is typically another coil, which is usually flat across the unit with the distribution pipes from the water heater attached at opposite ends of the coil.

They had a pretty good run here in Richmond. We do see cold temps now and then, and I've never heard anyone complain about their performance. I haven't seen them in new home construction for several years, though. I guess that says it all. The only problem I ever witnessed with one was polybutylene distribution lines, which failed and made a heck of a mess.

You seem to be stuck on that thought today.[:-censore It must be the whole Independence Day thing...

Very cool, Bill! Thanks a bunch. I've marked my territory...

Seen em only once - recently - older home.

Yeah.. wish I could have. It was a vacant house - water off. This was actually in either the Tavern or the Store that I inspected a while back - the buildings that I posted here that were built in the late 1700's. It took forever to inspect those two buildings, and when the plumbings off, you have to get pretty innovative sneaky to relieve yourself... I've got it down, though... When ya gotta go, ya gotta go... Just call me houdini... [:-graduat PS. The toilet isn't my sneakiness. I'm talking more like behind the shed, in a big gulp cup or Moundain dew bottle, etc. etc. etc. Lol...

For the most part, I can agree with you, but in the case of my example, I feel the process constitutes a real "right to work" issue and also borders on a monopoly, since the process pretty much ensures that the current licensees have no competition that they don't agree to. That's wrong. It's a fixed game...

I do see a potential flaw in state licensing - a good example: Here, one must be licensed to test for asbestos. In the state licensing regs, one of the requirements is that a potential licensee must study under a current licensee. Naturally, this gives the tutor the opportunity to demand the signing of a non-competition agreement, which leaves the student only two options: 1. sign on as an employee or sub-contractor, or 2. leave town to test for asbestos. I ran into this dead end street when I tried to get licensed to test for asbestos. When I complained to the board, they basically said, "Oh, well..." In that case, licensing really serves the gool ole' boy contractors and makes getting into the game very difficult.

You know, if it was me, I'd always carefully calculate where the flashing turns into the chimney and lay up with brick or block until that moment - laying the counterf-flashing right into the brick under the stone. But that's just me. There's really no other easy or pretty way to flash stone.

Honestly, Mike, while it is a shallow arch and probably experiences a bit more stress than the average arch; unless the sides spread (or the arch joints wash away) it CANNOT possibly fail. Folks forget that an arch or lintel, in interlocking masonry works the hardest it ever will while the work is green - all dead load. Once it sets up, the arch or lintel is only supporting a little triangle of weight over the top of the opening. Above that triangle, all the masonry is completely supported by the inter-locking pattern, unless a vertical crack develops. That's why WWII photos of Europe show so much solid masonry still standing with ridiculous percentages of the masonry blown away. If the arches in Philips phot failed, only that little triangle of brick would fall out. I have seen steel curved lintels for shallow or very large arches, but most arches really don't need the help. It's just insurance.

Exactly the same here in VA - no licensing. There's a voluntary licensing program, that many of the guys opted into. Myself, I haven't and really don't think there's a need for state licensing here. In fact, that fact is precisely why state licensing has never come to pass - no need. ASHI is sufficient.

That is amazing. I would have NEVER expected that kind of follow-through.

They all look OK to me. The first two are laid up behind the frieze board, which means: 1. it's most likely veneer 2. there's no mor masonry or weight of any form over top of it. So, the brick arch merely support its own weight. The bottom two are an awfully shallow are, but nonetheless they are arches, which appear to be performing - no visible cracks. There are about 75 bricks total over the arch at about 4 lbs each. So the arch is only carrying about 300 lbs total, which doesn't even take into account the interlocking pattern that tends to distribute the load. I wouldn't loose any sleep over them - no symptoms, no problem.

I bet many of you would be surprised how many referrals come from ASHI. I suppose because I was so heavily into 100% commissioned sales years ago, I ask every prospect, unless they've already offered, "So how did you hear about me?" And the top five answers in order are consistently: 1. My agent gave me your name (usually one of three names) Interesting, since I haven't been in an agent's office in probably seven years. If I have any cards or brochures at Realtors offices, they're ancient. 2. I found you on the ASHI site 3. A friend or family member recommended you 4. You did my last inspection and we thought you did a great job 5. You inspected the home we just sold, and we want you to be that thorough on the home we're buying. I bet if you ask every client how they heard about you, ASHI is going to be the answer much more than you know.

I like Jim's description better. Honestly, other than the membership, I've never really given much attention to the goings on of the national organizations. I've always been thankful for the benis, but avoid the politics like the plague. I couldn't possibly be less interested. Three years of running the circuit as a vendor - enduring endless snobbery and cliques, did me in I guess...

ASHI is definitely the stately old grand daddy and gentleman of the organizations. I've been an ASHI Member and NAHI-CRIfor about 14 years. The tests are equally hard. I took them within a few days of each other. I get referrals from. ASHI weekly. I can't say I've ever received one from NAHI.

1. Name of the manufacturer of the brick 2. The name of the brick used. 3. Name of the manufacturer of the mortar 4. The name and type of mortar. 5. Call the local distributor that supplied these materials and ask that the sales representative visit the site. He can and most likely will bring the sales reps for the products involved. 6. Each manufacturer has their own plant engineer and lab - some labs are pretty impressive. I used to work with Riverton's (Martin Merietta) all the time to. Math mortar from historical buildings, and they were always very competent and helpful. 7. The manufacturer of the mortar usually has the ability to analyze that mortar - not typically for investigation, but rather for producing matching custom mortars. Just the same, they can determine the composition of the mortar in your masonry. No doubt, the result will be a woefully bad mixing job - way too much sand per bag. Typically, the mix should be about three to one sand to mortar (by volume), which ends up being about 16 - 18 average round shovels of sand per bag. All of this is bound to point to the installer - bad mix and bad installation. Certainly, the brick and mortar companies will be eager to provide sound proof that their products are not at fault, and you can rest assured that they won't be.