mgbinspect

So, what exactly are we looking at, Scott? Fungi? Scrap material? I guess, I'm unclear on what surface or material to hone in on. Is the right surface inner duct material that is so dirty it's now gray? Is the darker gray portions of the scrap fungi? Help...

That's actually a heavy duty work-light bulb - amazingly tough. Yeah, I have the million candle flashlight and a bunch of other lights, but that work light sure comes in handy in a really dark row house basement when all the ceiling light bulbs are burned out and you need two hands. It makes night day as long as there's an outlet around.

Here is a 1 1/2" I. D. metal bathroom sink drain tail piece - available from any hardware Store. Click to Enlarge 60.07 KB But, given a little crimp with a pair of pinch-nose pliers to reduce the O. D. slightly like so... Click to Enlarge 23.14 KB it becomes a handy little lightweight central vacuum hookup tester. Click to Enlarge 33.88 KB The metal completes the circuit between the two contacts and the vacuum fires right up. This tool's been serving me faithfully for about fourteen years. And, my "if all else fails" plug-in work-light, Click to Enlarge 55.64 KB which has come in handy a ton of times, fits right down in it. Click to Enlarge 47.06 KB If you have some similar handy space or effort saving improvised testing tool or equipment. Share the love here...

Now what dod ya go and do that for Tom? I'm dieting and all I can think of now is a big ole' block of blue cheese. This all has me thinking I was about to test begin a campaign to detect and exterminate old friends of the family...

The only thing that really bugs me about insulation wrap on ducts is that every time it goes over a corner it is compressed compromising its performance, and it seems like every time there's a transition from hard to flexible duct the junctions have either no, or badly compressed, insulation wrap. I guess I just wish there were more rigid standards regarding duct work, or an idiot proof system. And split ductless systems, which Kurt raised a while back. I really like split ductless systems. What's particularly funny - providential, is that I live in a tiny home right now that I originally purchased to be a rental unit. When the economy tanked, I sold my big home I no longer needed because all the kids were grown and gone and moved into this place. IT HAS ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT and a through the wall AC unit. Lol... I've kicked around going to a central system, possibly a split ductless system, but my HVAC buddies tell me the cost of heating and cooling will go up - not down. So I remain on the fence.

Excellent Les! THIS is what I want and need to understand about this product. Thanks! Sadly, I do wish I'd run across an HVAC distribution system in a home that I was thrilled with. They seem to typically be a flagrant demonstrations of how little HVAC installers care. I think what I liked the most promising about fiberglass duct board is how easily it goes together and seals up with very little variance in thickness (insulation), unless the installer is a butcher.

Marc, I'm honestly curious. Have you actually seen condensation and well established fungal growth on the interior of these distribution systems? When I first heard similar arguments from HVAC guys, it made perfect sense to me fiberglass duct board would be a good environment for fungal growth, but on the other hand, I can see where airflow and the nature of fiberglass could promote evaporation actually preventing condensation and provide very little organic matter for fungi to live on, unless the ducts become quite dirty. I hope this thread actually casts some light on the system, separating fact from fiction, because I, for one, have no practical experience with the product and wish to formulate an educated opinion about it. Honestly, I have yet to see a duct system that I really liked. They're all awful. But this one, at least, seems to have potential - especially where energy efficiency is the target.

"Mold's primary function is to breakdown dead organic material and recycle nutrients back to the earth. Without mold our world would be covered in accumulated organic matter.... It is estimated that molds and other fungi make up approximately 25% of the earth's biomass... In addition to breaking down organic material, mold is also an aid in the development of certain foods and medicine such as cheese and penicillin (and, as Tom has reminded us, Beer and Wine. Yes!)." ~From a mold inspection training manual. I'm with Tom, I propose a beer, wine and cheese tasting party, with a side mission of accumulating a handsome stack of discarded chicken wing bones to satisfy our little buddies in the fungi class.

What do YOU think about fiberglass duct board? I have yet to hear an HVAC technician or contractor say anything good about it - declaring it a potential air quality disaster. Yet, an online course through Certainteed, has me rethinking my opinion of the material as maybe the best insulated duct system for a lot of attention worthy reasons: It is uniquely consistent in insulation thickness. It is easier to form and fit tightly together than any other delivery system, if the installer is meticulous. It experiences, on average, less heat gain or energy loss than any other duct system. That's BIG when you consider that approximately thirty to forty percent of the inefficiency of an HVAC system can be pinned on the distribution system. The acoustical properties of fiberglass insulation absorb most noise generated by air handling equipment, air movement and conversation. In spite of it being fiberglass exposed to the inside duct surface, tests confirm that it is not prone to give up its fiberglass to the air - tested at much higher velocities than it would experience in a heating and air application. The introduction of fiberglass to the interior envelope is "insignificant". Finally, and most surprising of all, according to Certainteed and contrary to the claims of HVAC guys: o The thermal properties of fiberglass insulation minimize condensation. o The inorganic properties do NOT support microbial growth. I find myself inclined to declare fiberglass insulation duct board the clear champion of all distribution systems. Some of its fine qualities are obvious and indisputable, like its consistent thickness and ability to be formed into a very tight and gap free delivery system. Yet, some of the alleged qualities of this material could very well be unfounded biased sales propaganda. So, what do you know or understand about fiberglass insulation duct board? Is it a champ or an air quality disaster waiting to happen? Am I brain-washed and in need of enlightenment to the contrary, or does it earn and deserve two big building science thumbs up?

I only test for it when asked to, and even then, I farm it out to an associate with one of the sophisticated monitoring systems that takes reading around the clock and can also show if it's been un-plugged etc. It is rather interesting to see the corrolation between the readings and weather and/or daily activity. I don't really worry that much about it, although I have had a few homes that were off the charts, which tend to be in areas with a lot of rock outcroppings in hilly areas or along our river.

Well, I'm not an engineer, but if the concrete shelf is original work poured into the concrete foundation, which it appears to be, I wouldn't be too concerned. The photo you posted scales approximately 36" of vertical steel reinforced concrete before transitioning to the masonry chase. That's pretty substantial. Then the work above is tied together through the interlocking nature of masonry, so the entire support has to fail, before it becomes a serious event. Do keep in mind it's not a solid masonry chimney, which would be considerably heavier. It's merely a masonry chase, which is still heavy. It's pretty difficult to imagine a failure based upon those photos. Also, keep in mind that a spread concrete footing is important when the soil is the reciever of the weight above, but that does not appear to be the case here.

You da man! Come start a similar religion on this coast, will ya?

Yet, isn't it, on average, particularly high in your neck of the woods, Jim? I don't PUSH radon testing, but do, a handful of times a year, farm it out when asked to.

Yes, Jim, I'm inclined to leave it to others. Based upon my convictions, it never would have been anything more than a revenue trickle at best.

I hear you, and that's exactly what I told that last client. I assumed they were satisfied with that assurance. Still mulling all of this over and will probably simply chalk up the certification as interesting info. Well, Scott, here's hoping that half way through your inspection there is no knock from a NACHI home inspector who has arrived to perform the mold test on your property. [:-banghea (hm.. my spell-checker wants to correct me by suggesting that NACHI should be NACHO... [:-dev3] Just comic relief everyone stay seated.) Fellow DDMG charter member.

Well, this is all interesting, timely, perplexing and frustrating. Before I go any further, I must say that, since the very beginning of the "mold is gold" era, I've been very strongly in the camp of Mike O, Kurt, Les and Scott. I took free certification training about eight years ago as a part of a home inspection seminar and was COMPLETELY turned off to the idea of testing. I saw it immediately as the latest ploy by hungry attorneys to whip up fear and revenue - more ambulance chasing. All that being said, I just finished certification training to test for mold for an interesting reason: About three weeks ago, I received a call from a prospect referred by a happy client. During the telephone interview, the woman asked me if I did mold testing. I informed her that I didn't and never thought much more about it. On the day of the inspection, I'm about half way through the inspection when the doorbell rings and in comes one of my competitor home inspectors, whom I both like and respect just fine, TO DO THE MOLD TEST. That really miffed me. I went home thinking, you know what... for the sake of those people that are simply determined to have a mold test, maybe I should provide it. At least I have a realistic opinion about the whole subject and know that in the majority of cases it's going to come up as acceptable anyway. So, I began to scout out a training school I felt comfortable with. After a telephone interview with the outfit, I went ahead and registered. Then, I shot brother Mike O a PM asking for his opinion on the subject. Mike graciously sent me a very helpful and insightful reply that confirmed the position that I've had since the beginning - I've been a charter member of the DDMG since the whole subject arose, although I was not aware of the group. Happy to be in such good company though. I did go ahead and finish the training, which was interesting and some of the content is similar to Mike's opening post of this thread. Now I find myself in a quandary: From the moment I started the certification process, I never intended to do testing as a way to start a new revenue stream. I merely did it so I could: 1. say, "Yes, I can provide that service for you." and 2. avoid another home inspector showing up on my job to provide a service that I refused to provide that my client that actually wanted and was determined, at all costs, to get. I still remain pretty strongly in the DDMG and haven't fully arrived at a decision on what to do.

that get omitted by most installers... [V] Thanks for your insights, Tom. I'm encouraged by your responses for a pretty depressing reason: I don't think I've ever seen any such details incorporated into any vinyl siding installation around here - not even new construction. It's always the same: J-channel around all four sides of an opening, which always had me thinking about all of that water literally running down the wall behind the siding. [:-yuck] I'll be sure to check out that install manual so I"ll have a clear picture of what isn't being done here that could be.

I can't help with a final ruling, but I'm not aware of any prohibition on splicing service entrance conductors. The concern with splices in grounding electrode conductors isn't the splice itself, it's the possibility that someone could undo the splice. If someone undoes a GEC, then you have a quiet, unobtrusive problem that won't manifest itself until something goes wrong --- then the GEC won't be there to perform its duty. Whereas if someone undoes a splice at a service conductor, stuff just stops working. (Unless it's the neutral, in which case everything gets really bright & runs really fast before it stops working.) - Jim Katen, Oregon As always, makes perfect sense. Regarding the lack of a neutral, I was pretty lucky this spring. The home I live in now has a plug that looks like a standard three-prong, but it's actually a 220 (the house is old). I plugged my through the wall 110 air conditioner into it and hit the switch. As you said, it buzzed and carried on like an old sparky electric chair, yet nothing really functioned. I guess it was just the compressor working double time? But, the fan didn't come on. I tried it twice before tested it and figured it out. I had a neighborhood electrician convert the plug to 110 and that AC unit has worked just fine all season. Maybe the shock therapy added a little life to the old unit.

True, but the pieces could be lapped and interocked - adjustable to fit snuggly to a range of window and door sizes. I really can't believe no one's done it. You listening out there vinyl siding manufacturers?

Well Tom and Kurt, maybe I'm just like that annoying kid that constantly asks "why"? But, here's my rant: One would think that in ALL the years (todo las dias) that man has been making and installing vinyl siding that some siding brain-child would have come up with an intrlocking marriage between door/window units and a J-channel style unit surround that channels the water across the unit head, down the jambs and kicks it out over the first piece of whole siding under the unit to the right and left of the jamb. Is that so hard? It seems pretty easy and doable to me. Your mission, should you decide to accept it is.... This post will self-distruct in 10 seconds... [:-disguis

Thank you kind sirs. I would love a final ruling if possible. It's a bit amusing that a splice in the ground cable is unacceptable, but is OK on a main entry cable.

But then, Tom, (and I know you're right) the vapor retarder really serves also as a busy drainage plane behind the siding? In those areas where water routinely makes a path, should it not be a vapor barrier all the way to exiting the siding? Or, is that simply not necessary?

Breaker panel upgraded at some point to 200 AMPs. Main service cable extended, within the breaker panel, about a foot, with what appears to be probably a screwed together connector made for the job, to reach the main breaker. Been a while since I've seen this. No pics as I'm out in the field. Is it Kosher? Thanks. PS. Gound wires merely twisted together without wire nuts and 33% of the strands for the aluminum service entrance ground snipped away gives me more reason to be questioning the main hot splices.

I'm suspect this subject has been thoroughly hashed, but: As I inspect a vinyl siding building, for the ten billionth time I am left to conclude that water getting behind the siding at doors and windows is simply an acceptable occurance as long as it isn't volumes. The system drives me nut. It's kinda like us wearing a trench coat in the rain that doesn't zip or overlap and we're supposed to be thrilled that we're not getting any wetter than we are. I'm just not a fan of vinyl siding unless they can come up with junctions that completely deny water entry. Are there systems like that?

As a disastor restoration contractor, I always left those problems up to ServePro or Service Master, and they are probably good folks to call. Some of the messes those guys cleaned up for me were downright miraculous. I mean, when you hear on the news about the person that decided to terminate a bunch of random folks and they weren't discovered for a week, who ya gonna call? Yep, the afore mentioned. They are the original Thing One and Thing Two of the worst messes on the planet. If anyone has a trick for getting cat pee out of concrete it will be them. That being said (or written, eh typed. Yeah that's it.) I don't know if this works, but: http://www.ehow.com/how_2266936_remove- ... crete.html Of course, after I posted it, I noticed it has a pretty meager rating.