mgbinspect

Today I inspected a house about 56 miles out in the boonies. When I entered the crawl space, grey plastic drain lines caught my eye and my immediate temptation was to assume it was either pipe rated for electrical conduit or central vacuum. But when I crawled up to it I noticed in the printed info "PVC" and "DWV". So now I am more inclined to conclude I've just lived a sheltered life and have never seen this stuff, but it's legitimate. The male / female connections seemed deeper than I'm used to seeing by to to three times the depth. Since I'm about to sit and write this monstrocity, I'd love to KNOW as opposed to assume that this is legit sanitary line. So, I cast this out amongst the brain trust. Has anyone seen grey (about the color of PB pipe) PVC drain and waste line? It's a new one on me. Thanks in advance for the confirmation. Mike

And check for gas leaks on home owner's side of the meter! Man I'm constantly amazed by the volume of natural gas and propane paid for only to be released to the air unused. I have no idea how people don't notice that smell...

Welcome Dave! Gas water heaters tend to last a good long time, so don't be surprised if you get another ten years out of the water heaters with very little significant maintenance. If you aren't disappointed with the whole system's performance, I would just sit back and enjoy until replacement becomes a necessity. That's just my opinion, but if it isn't costly to run and ain't broke, resist the temptation to allegedly "fix it". Another good reason to ride 'em out - the efficiency of future heating systems will continue to improve exponentially. The longer you wait, the faster the system you finally purchase will pay for itself. In the meantime, keep your ear to the rail regarding heating system technology so you have a good educated idea what direction you wish to go in when the time comes.

That sounds a bit fishy. If you're on a well and the plumber identified the color in your water as sediment, how can the Apollo system be "the cause"? Usually when you start getting sediment in your water it's because your submersible well pump is too close to the bottom of the well, which is a progressive event as sediment enters and settles at the bottom of the well. I had to have my well pump lifted a time or two, but it was because grit kept chewing up my well pumps, but the cause was similar. You can have your water tested for a very reasonable price to eliminate all doubt regarding health and safety. Then, get a well specialist to determine where and how the sediment is entering the system. Typically these heating systems use plastic distribution line and aluminum coils, I believe, so rust isn't probable. After the problem is identified and eliminated, you may wish to have a plumber flush out systems and add a filtration system if you don't already have one.

"In and ideal world, they may be efficient. In the real world they suck. I advise you warn your clients. I have had more than one client let me know what they thought." It seems every area is different, in terms of both system demands and clients. I see those systems about as often and, curiously, no one has ever called to express dismay regarding them - not in over 10,000 inspections. Of course no one has called to rave about them either. I don't reply to dispute anything and truly don't doubt anyone's experience posted here. One curious thing I've heard and observed through traveling the country as a vendor at home inspection conventions and seminars: home buyer's expectations and willingness to be ugly appear to be markedly different by region. Thankfully, Richmond is an amazingly gracious town and people have always been pretty reasonable and understanding about practically everything - a home inspector's dream. But, during those travels and discussions with fellow home inspectors, I've heard horror stories of areas of the country where folks complain, find fault with just about everybody and everything, and sue at the drop of a hat. It appears that people that arrive here with that kind of attitude get cured of it pretty quickly or don't last long - they get shunned. Folks here are pretty laid back and just don't care much for trouble makers. Thank God. Pennsylvania is considerably north of Richmond and I could imagine Apollos may not be able to hang up there. Nonetheless, I may begin to state that opinions vary regarding the performance of and satisfaction with these systems. It can't hurt.

Sorry, Jim, there is a lot to read here and I notice you had already addressed Water Heater temperature setting. My bad...

And check to make certain the water heater temperature isn't lower than the recommended setting for this use. While 120 is recommended for safety, that won't cut it when the water heater is heating the home. You may need to jack it up and get scald guards for tubs and showers.

In true spirit, I'm headed out to hike in the forest with my jack russell. It's 21 degrees, so no doubt, we'll have the forest to ourselves. I was really supposed to go snowboarding, but the 3 degree temperature at the top of the mountain with strong wind gusts scared everyone else off. Too bad, because the conditions were great with no chance of snow melting to re-freeze as ice in the evening, but it's too far to drive alone. Oh, well it's supposed to be cold all week. I'll snowboard one of these evenings.

Agreed. In my own case, I KNOW I'd be in far worse shape if I didn't commit to NOT drinking carbs and calories. A coke is 108 calories just like that. Orange and grape juice - off the charts. It's just to delicious and easy to pile on calories and carbs without even giving it a thought. If you sit down and do the math, just switching from whatever you're currently in the habit of drinking to water will usually net a pretty impressive reduction in calories and carbs consumed. Also, each lb of muscle we add requires 100 calories to stick around. A little muscle building goes a long way in burning calories and carbs. And, that's what I need - to kick up the burning machine...

Well, for what it's worth, the metalization (removal) of spirits from the system becomes priority #1 as soon as it's consumed. So consuming into the night pretty much ensures that whatever you eat past about 6 PM is at the back of the line and you're most likely to end up wearing it. As a part of my plan of attack, I've cut out high test liquid refreshment altogether as of last Friday. I've truly declared all out WAR on this body. Drinking calories and carbs is far too easy so there's more to the magic of water than simply hydration. Avoid chugging calories and carbs. Let's DO THIS! Just imagine yourself on the obituary with folks reading it thinking, "Well that's no surprise the guy was a blimp."

You know, I was always active - swam in the AAU for about 14 years, then County league basketball along with laying brick. I used to be able to get pissed off at myself and in a month shed all the weight I wanted to. Then, at age 50 it all just seemed to become CONCRETE and really resistant to all the things that used to work. One thing that worked for me, was walking. I walked 2 - 4 miles a day and lost 29 lbs in 9 months. The funny thing is, the year before, I had mountain biked 700 mile in one season for the sake of my wildlife photography and didn't loose as much weight as just brisk walking. And, snowboarding, as much as I love it, ain't cutting it when it comes to weight loss, it's too easy - more about balance and agility than muscle (Great thigh burner though.) Mongo, any tips in particular for the over 50, would be helpful. I'm beginning to think the muscle confusion may be the best plan of attack. What do ya think?

5-10 36" waist 216 lbs. I'm game! I want to be a 185!

Lol... screaming.. (proper posting etoquete... no caps aloud.) lol.. I love it...

Terence, My understanding of chilled water cooling systems is very basic 101, but this sounds fascinating. I'm trying to grasp the concept here. Also, while I've already googled and understand what the two types of heat exchangers are, can you elaborate on the reason they are both employed? I could not find good explanations for the difference in design and application of open and closed loop systems. Can one of you two take a moment to explain? Thanks in advance.

Brilliant, Jim!... I love it... You know? I really wish I hadn't seen that tube. The steel of the square tube is at least half the thickness of the web and flanges of the I-beam that was, most likely, engineered for that application. The tube, unfortunatly, truly is the overload indicator. What is happening to the trades? Are there any true tradesmen left or are there merely guys who made it through another week to collect another paycheck? I'm not a big union fan, but there is a LOT to be said for forcing a tradesman to go through a very structured deliberate apprenticeship with levels of accomplishment and earned designations, which instill a sense of pride in both the trade and the workmanship.

Terence's response that follows reveals that I completely misunderstood the question. So, since I can't altogether delete my reply, to spare readers time and to keep this thread on track, I've eliminated the content. Pretty cool technology, though. (No pun intended...), which goes way beyond my limited understanding of chilled water cooling systems.

Hmmm.. Is that a square steel tube under the beam? That's what it looks like. That's funny. I also used to detail steel. (The ADD mind at work - a wanderer until I finally found a home in home inspections). We never would have found a tube as an acceptable bearing plate. A steel tube isn't designed to receive weight that way, but if it hasn't collapsed or mis-shapen yet, I guess it's ok. As Sargeant Schultz, of Hogan's Heros used to say, "I see nothing... " [:-bigeyes Don't worry about it Hoosier, I'm just surprised by the off the wall (or to put it more accurately 'out of the back of the truck') materials choice. It's fine...

According to older standards, the requirement was 8" solid masonry and a 2" air space between combustibles and the inner surface of the firebox or flue. The 2" air space got thrown into the mix in the early 80's. No doubt it's funky and probably some form of violation. I suspect reactions will be all over the place on this one, but could I sleep at night with embers in the firebox?.. Like a baby.

Here's a great little read - a Cliff Notes of Concrete courtesy of the Portland Cement Association: http://www.cement.org/basics/concretebasics_faqs.asp

Yeah, I started to go down that road, regarding probable loads applied to a pocket, and the array of possible structural layouts above made the range of possibilities too wide to arrive at an average figure. I found myself considering the fact that a center beam won't bear much, if any, weight from the roofing system, yet bears twice the live load that the perimeter walls do (per floor, so it would be doubled again for a second floor with a load bearing center wall) along with possible loads from the upper floors transferred onto it by a column. So, it does begin to add up quickly. Any way you cut it though, a concrete foundation is taking a walk in the park supporting a residence.

Heat pumps in Canada - a couple years ago here I predicted this day coming (efficient cold weather heat pumps) and was immediately stoned! Heat pump technology is pressing on like a freight trane. I've run across some systems that had tandem condensing units or two coils in one condensing unit on top of everything mentioned above. The advancements are no less than amazing.

Thinking about all this brings back the memory of an incident that is funny now, but was far from funny when it happened. We were in the middle of a pour on a formed and reinforced concrete foundation for an office building. One of our 'home from college for the summer' laborers was manning a vibrator and got it hung up in all the reinforcement steel. He never alerted us and just kept trying to free it in a panic. Unfortunately, the first we knew of it was when the form finally ruptured. What a nightmare that became.

You're right, Jim, now that you've made me think about it more. I'm glad you questioned it. It's been so long since I've needed to think about any of this. A quick google refreshed my memory: Residential concrete shoots for 2500 psi and anything within 500 psi is considered acceptable. Commercial concrete shoots for 4000 psi. The maximum psi attainable psi appears to be 7000 according to the Portland Cement Association. So, that slightly more than halves my original calculations which means that the average residential foundation can bear about 500 times more weight per square inch than its asked to. Even at the new figures, the load applied to the beam pocket is pretty insignificant. Again, probably the most important factor with steel would be bearing it on a steel bearing plate, which is set in high psi grout to properly apply the load to the concrete bearing surface. Whew! It has been too long...

The heat pump, by design, is always the primary system with some form of backup heat behind it to take over or supplement when the heat pump can't keep up. The beauty of the system is that heat is not being created (no on site fuel burned), but rather gathered and moved as it already exists in the air. Although, there is actually some heat generation when the refrigerant, in a gas state, is compressed (super-heated) by the compressor. Even the compression phase is more a compounding of existing heat. The only significant inefficiency is that a huge amount of energy is lost during delivery of electricity to the home via transmission lines.

Now that is funny... How Christmassy!