mgbinspect

Awww.. I actually think they're kinda cute, myself. And, the finish and brand plate on the condensing units look so nice you have to resist the temptation to wash and wax it... [^]

I lit the cigars with them, Erby. They're gone... [:-weepn]

In the Energy Consultation courses I've taken it's always pointed out that ductwork attributes for up to 30% of the inefficiency of HVAC systems, which is pretty sobering. When you ponder what we've seen over the years, it's easy to see why, though. Thread drift: As Marc points out, we Americans are funny sometimes - very set in our ways (ducted delivery systems). It makes me think of our similar love of the great big refrigerator full of hoarded crap we find ourselves needing to purge of spoiled food every few weeks. Hmmm.. Maybe a little fridge and more frequent visits to the market does make sense. After years of cruising' down the road in our favorite gas guzzlin' beast of a vehicle while lighting cigars with twenty dollar bills, an age of sensibility may finally be upon us? I know I've been thinking quite a bit about all those twenty dollar bills lately....

Click to Enlarge 58.96 KB I see this breaker about once every forty to fifty panels or so around here. I believe it was John Cranor, of our local ASHI Chapter, that floated the e-mail a few months ago. So, naturally the red flag went up (no pun intended), when I opened the panel and saw red. And, it was indeed a Murray panel. I told my client I'd get back to her as soon as I had credible info regarding my concern. Now I can shoot her an e-mail heads up. Thanks for your help all.

I haven't seen that "brand", but the units show up quite often in added sun rooms and Florida rooms around here. I saw my first one about twelve years ago - maybe more? I like them! They're a great way to condition a room when ductwork will either detract from the room or simply isn't practical. The systems are more expensive per ton than conventional units, which is offset to some degree by the lack of the ductwork. I think the elimination of all the potential inefficiencies of ductwork is pretty cool. I'd own one. I toyed with installing such a system in one of my rentals, but was finally convinced that in the long run it was going to be cheapest to stick with the through the wall and window units. (It's a small home.) Mitsubishi seems to be the popular brand around here.

OK, Thanks Jim. I thought I saw an e-mail heads up go through my system a month or so ago about such a breaker. But, I'm confident that if you are not aware of it, there probably isn't one out there. Thanks so much for your response, sir. It's greatly appreciated.

Greetings all. There was apparently a recent recall of a red electical main breaker. Does anyone have a bead on the specifics of that recall? Manufacturer? Thanks in advance.

Home Energy Consulting is curiously difficult to market, but should be a bit easier in this market. What I do as a home inspector helps someone dodge one time bullets or the money pit. A Home Energy Consultation, if done properly, helps a person recognize and eliminate habits and conditions that literally claim a portion of their hard earned money day by day. It also presents them with a list of possible projects prioritized by the cost and rate of return. Once a home owner has all of this information, they can make their own educated choices. In my mind, Home Energy Consultation isn't about the environment even though I love hiking, mountain biking and wildlife photography. Any affect that home improvements or living changes have on the environment are simply a good side benefit to me. The big benefit, in my mind, is helping people recognize and eliminate as many ways as possible that they waste their hard earned money. It's no different than when we walk up on a leaking natural gas line or propane tank and think of all that money going up into the air that no one even knows about. How long has this poor person been paying for this waste? After all, the additional revenues that the local power company or utility department experiences hardly help the economy, but those same dollars used to purchase goods does help the economy. The depth of training and the extent of service performed varies with the institute. I've been through two courses that were just OK, and I'm in the process of training with one I like a lot, which is proving to be pretty exhaustive. It doesn't really make sense to me that folks are so perfectly willing to let their hard earned wages drift away, but I am guessing that this new economy is going to force folks to be much more diligent about stretching dollars. With this in mind, I'm preparing to give Home Energy Consultations another more earnest try beginning with some innovative marketing. Here is a pretty good academy that was started by an architect that has gone so green that he has a meter on his home for the months that he actually generates electricity over and above his needs, which he sells to the local power company. His course is the best I've seen and is really probably a bit over the top. www.greenandsave.com

Read the thread "Re-inventing the Wheel" which speaks of the woes of Portland cement and masonry unit compatibility. https://inspectorsjournal.com/forum/top ... C_ID=10921 Re-pointing old brickwork is both an art and science that, when not done correctly permanently destroys old historical buildings every day. Every time I go into downtown Richmond and see someone repointing masonry incorrectly it just kills me. I want to stop and give them a lecture, but it's obvious that most of them simply wouldn't really grasp it or care just so long as the check's good.

Amazing... That's a lot of work that I can only imagine anyone ever performing if they forgot them. It's way too labor intensive to be economical.

When you see weeps like this, it usually isn't done with a drill and bit. Nylon cord was laid into the masonry and pulled out just before the mortar actually sets too hard. It's really all that's needed as opposed to leaving out entire head joints. And, it's a lot better way to ensure that the drain path isn't clogged up by mortar droppings during installation.

It seems, for the most part, to be a cosmetic issue. Notice that inspite of the brick surface being chipped away, that the chip is not forced downward and still remains on line with the rest of the brick joint and has not bee pressed outward with enough force to compress the sealant at all. The chip is basically just hanging out there. This is a rough modular brick, which has been saw-cut to be at the right bearing height for the lintel. My guess is that the cut surface of the brick wasn't even - it had some high spots or was cut with a couple passes that were not quite on line with each other. So, in a way, Tom's suggestion of overloading would be correct - overloading of the highpoint, which in turn, failed. There even appears to be mud under the steel, which is always a no no. It's not very likely that it doesn't have sufficient bearing - possible, but hard to imagine.

Especially, never recommend caulking the front edge of the lintel under the first course of brick, which will definitely trap moisture in and dramatically accelerate the whole deterioration process. If that junction is caulked and painted now, recommend the sealant be removed.

As a mason, we used to be warned not to completely mud in terra-cotta liners because they expand and contract and can crack. Maybe the liners cracked the block chimney, by pushing outward on the block. (notice that the crack: 1. is very straight and centered on the flue. 2. stops when below the firebox or thimble area. 3. isn't larger at the top, as if the chimney were spreading apart due to settlement). Concrete block are such big units that they make for a rather fragile system, in some ways, when compared to brick - they handle dead weight great, but other stresses, not so good. Just a guess. Also, during my disaster restoration days, I saw lightning crack the heck out of brick chimneys. I suppose a lightning strike could crack a block chimney pretty easily. But, as straight as the crack is, my money is on the flues expanding outward against the block and cracking the outer surface.

I'm sure that they start out with a grommet, as you say, and then later fails and gets puttied up with plumber's putty. As that dries out and separates, it acts like a funnel and channels it in. I only see moisture intrusion like that on older homes, and it's usually getting in at the meter base or below it due to an improperly routed cable through the wall. I am usually able to see the track coming right out of the jacket and onto the main lugs. I'll run across that about three or four times a year.

I often see water get into panels by 1. penetrating the top of a poorly sealed meter base 2. getting behind a meter base that isn't sealed where it meets the exterior wall allowing water to run the length of the jacket, or 3. just running the the length of the cable under the meter base because it slopes downward (without a drip loop) before it penetrates the outside wall or foundation. It seems less likely it's entering at the weatherhead since there would be a break in the jacket at the meter connections within the meter base.

Thanks much Terry and Marc, that'll work here since this is just extended to the drip tray. I appreciate the hustle.

Well St. Scott hopped off line. Anyone got the straight poop on the PEX listed above for an extension tube?

I appreciate your help so quickly. Right or wrong, this just isn't what I'm accustomed to seeing here in new construction, so I had to verify quickly. Glad it's rightl

Thanks for that, Scott and the only plastic approved for the extension tube used to be CPVC... has that changed?

Can anyone tell me pretty quickly if on new construction it's acceptable to have PEX as the extension tube and the first 8" of the leads off the water heater. I am under the impression they're not, but don't want to call it if something is changed. This is the color coded PEX - Blue and Red "B137.5 100PSI 2 180" Thanks in advance for a quick-turn on this one.

There ya go...

Normally, brick is attached with pretty heavy gage galvanized steel wall ties with a dove-tail end, which fits into a channel poured into the concrete, or in the case of concrete block back-up, duro-wall. But, with these kind of forces, I could see even good attachment failing. Many tall buildings from this time period were experiencing failures, due to an improper marriage of structurally incompatible materials. I drive by one on the highway almost every day that is so obvious that the cracks and repairs can be seen from about a half mile away. Here's another extreme failure due to a bad design choice of materials where the brick veneer literally was being blown out of walls to fall down and crush parked cars: https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... IC_ID=2604

John, Refer to a post I made in February of 2006, which will most likely put you on the right track. Since brick gets larger over time due to exposure to weather and moisture after leaving the kiln and concrete shrinks as it cures over the years, the brick is literally being squished away from the structure. That's why veneer on such buildings now is supported by a shelf angle attached to each floor and stops just short of the next shelf angle where a mastic expansion joint is formed to permit the concrete to shrink. As a mason, I was asked on several occasions to make repairs on such buildings and always declined. It's definitely one for a structural engineer and a proper fix ain't gonna be cheap. https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... erms=creep (If the vertical structure is steel, this post may not apply, but if the vertical structure is concrete, then it well may apply.)

Looks kike a pre-fab unit. If it was designed for the application and has acceptable hearths as required, there should be no concerns.