Konrad

I like the mousetraps.. As for the latch on the door... That would require actual work, time, and a small amount of money. It's FAR easier to just complain about it here. [^] (But I think there's extra door hardware in the house, I am going to look into it.)

There ought to be a code requirement that says the thermostat on the water heater must be mounted high enough above the floor that little 18 month old toddlers cannot turn it down to "vacation" twice this week, and ruin daddy's morning shower!! [:-yuck] [:-censore [:-yuck] (also ought to be a law that allows me to have a high security perimeter fence at the furnace room entrance)

Man, I didn't think anyone would see the AL/CU connection, simply because I didn't think it showed up in the photo very well. You guys are eagle-eyed. The head of maintenance did this to that panel. He was not there at the time I looked at it, so the majority of my history is second-hand.. Yes, there is a conduit (actually two) going out the back of the panel, through the poured foundation wall, and out under the parking lot outside. No one seems to know what they served, they are abandoned. Anyway, during the last rain, they had a lot of water coming through this panel from those two abandoned conduit. This was his (hopefully) temp fix until they find the source of the water infiltration. So there's probably a great big pile of water behind that foam. Great... On to the foam: Foam is bad because: 1. Yes, heat dissipation is hindered. 2. It is not a UL listed material for this type of electrical application (no elect inspector would approve this condition) 3. Expanding foam is a petroleum based product that is flammable. 4. Expanding foam is a petroleum based product that can corrode the insulation on the conductors. As for the green 12 ga wire (or whatever it was) I really don't know the history of what/why/how that thing is there. But the ground conductor is as good a guess as I can come up with too.

After you get done viewing the phone and smacking your forhead, saying, "How dumb can people be??"... It's in a 1600 amp commercial panel in the basement of a hospital. We're adding on to the hospital, and I found this on Friday. Not in the scope of our work, this was existing conditions found. The question is: What are the reasons this is so bad? There's more than one thing wrong with foam in this application. I'll explain WHY the owner put foam is in there in a day or two. There's also a second problem, but it's hard to see in this photo. Extra points if you spot it. Download Attachment: DCP_4136.JPG 71.25 KB

Well.. I *think* it's abs, but maybe it's not. [?] It's black plastic 2" pipe (which is really big for a water main line), and it's connected with three clamps. That's the way they do it around here. [:-crazy] I'll see if I can get a photo of it put up.

Well the pipe is sleeved. I must say I don't know what a "relieving arch" is. It's unlikely I could get anyone to prove anything. It would require *extensive* demolition of the brick veneer terrace above to get to the location where the line enters the foundation. Basically, try to visualize a front porch, but made with foundation walls, brick veneer, and a concrete slab on the porch. I replaced the computer monitor for $89.00 today (got a used one), so it's mostly just a damned lucky break that we were there when it happened. Hell, even if it'd been while we were asleep it'd been a HUGE loss. I'll take my one monitor and run. From an inspector's point of view, I don't know how a guy could visually determine that this plastic pipe was about to come off the copper fitting inside the home. It's not like you can see through the plastic pipe, which fits over the copper fitting and is clamped on. But I'd bet that if this had been a client, they'd have been calling their lawyer!! [8] [:-thumbd]

We just moved into a new (built in 2000) house last month. It's an acreage with a 50 gpm well. The event I'm describing happened Holloween night, so interpret that as you will. [:-alien] I'm in the basement, on one end of the house minding my own business, getting ready to take our 16 month old for his first trick-or-treating. And I hear this sound. It's sort of like the sound of a jet engine from far off. My parents happen to be there, and I hear my dad yell my name from the other end of the basement. (the basement is big, about 2,500 s.f.) I go over there, and he's standing in the doorway to the mechanical room, which also serves as a 400 s.f. storage room. I look over his shoulder, and I see a horizontal column of water plowing across the room. Now, remember we just moved in, so we have TONS of stuff in the storage room: photo albums, guitars, christmas decorations, computers, etc... All this stuff is just getting fire-hosed. There's a sump and a pump in it, as well as another floor drain on the other end of the room, but you can imagine it's only doing so much, and the water is rising. My dad goes back upstairs for brooms to push the water, and I make my way through the torment of water to the electrical panel. So there I am standing at the electrical panel, this mayhem going on around me, and I'm frantically trying to read the panel cover listing to find the breaker for the pump. There's two 200 amp panels in this house, both are FULL so it wasn't as easy as you'd think in "peacefull" times. I found the breaker, and swiped at it with a short prayer that I wouldn't get zapped too badly. Thankfully, I did not. We proceeded to start the 3 hour clean up, and halloween was basically over at that moment. Analysis: The water break happened at the 2" line that goes through the poured foundation wall, where the a.b.s. meets the copper line/expansion tanks. At first we thought the pressure switch in the supply line has malfunctioned while the pump was running, which propably would have made the pump keep running until it built so much pressure that it blew the plastic pipe off the copper fitting. The pressure switch is fine, though. Our conclusion is that there has been settlement outside the foundation, which has pulled the plastic pipe away from the fitting slowly over the last 3 yearrs or so. It was too short to re-attach to the fitting. So an extension was put on, and it's re-clamped, and all is well. What a crappy halloween. We're already bracing ourselves for next year. [:-crazy] Side notes: Happy ending - because we were home and acted quickly, the only thing actually lost is one computer monitor. Everything else was pulled out and dried, and so on. No stains on the walls, etc. We had 3 dehumidifiers, 3 fans, and a shop vac. So we got the water out pretty fast. The insurance company said nothing would have been covered because technically the source of the problem was outside the structure of the house. F-ing A-holes... Good thing we didn't lose much.

I confess I'm unfamiliar with this type of configuration. They make clothes dryers that vent their hot humid air into nearby plumbing vents, for circumstances where you cant run the 4" vent to the outside. The model dryer I saw was a Bosch, probably a high end unit. Can someone fill me in on the particulars of this? [:-crazy]

If nothing else, they don't allow you to view any potential defect underneath them. That might be a good thing to note (maybe you already are).

http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pa ... tyform.jsp Maybe it's a bit propogana-ish. Maybe not. Just passing it along.

"Indecision may or may not be my problem." ~ Jimmy Buffett [] What I MEANT to say was that the first photo I posed showed the worst of the shake spacing. The spacing everywhere else wasn't as bad.

Thanks for verifying what I thought as well. That photo was as bad as it got, the rest of the roof covering wasn't as bad as that. But wait, it gets even BETTER! You will LOVE this photo of the valley dying into the side of the wall... [:-banghead] Download Attachment: Cardwell Roof.JPG 67.61 KB

I'd guess we have maybe 1 in 20 on the houses around here, if that many. Please view the photo and advise. It this acceptable? The tar paper is going to fade and wear out, no? Download Attachment: DCP_0908.JPG 77.99 KB

I know this has been discussed before, apologies for being redundant. [:-boggled] Can someone refresh my memory regarding requirements for the triangle-shaped opening that is formed at the stair tread and the bottom of the railing above it?

I think you're right. All the disconnects that I see on my commercial projects from our firm are line of sight. Possibly a local code variance?

It is my understanding that the last date for making a claim with this stuff was a year and a half ago. I may be wrong, but that's what this web site says. See this link. http://www.lpsidingclaims.com/

Wow, you guys are fast. Backflow valves inside those little spray heads, huh? Ok, so what about the shower wands then, are they the same? (I do confess I've never disassembled either of these items.)

There are inspectors who call out shower wands on a hose-end fitting falling into the tub, and cross contamination. Isn't the nozzle at the kitchen sink just the same thing? [:-banghead]

I was initially hung up on your sixth sentence until I re-read it. My first interpretation was that you were refering to THAT particular siding, but you're not. You're talking about pressboard siding in general.

Is it just me, or is his tan darker in the first post vs. his second post??

I basically stated what I saw at the time, that the roof appears to be aging faster than it should. I wrote that it's possible that this is from ice dams. I didn't say it was from ice dams, so hopefully I'm not sticking my neck out. I do know this: My roof on my house is 14 years old and looks a lot better than this one at 5. She called me while I was at Davis, and I explained to her that I could show up in two hours, but I wouldn't have any tools or a ladder or be wearing the proper clothing to enter the attic. She seemed more gratefull for the quick turnaround rather than me bringing my stuff. They did have a ladder there, but one look at it made my spidey-sense tell me not to use it. (I may be developing that low-grade radar warning that you vets are always refering to) So anyway, that's why I wasn't actally on the roof.

I did a roof-only inspection this afternoon for a homeowner who is fighting with their insurance company about damage to their roof. Brief history: The winter was harsh here last winter, and there were ice dams everywhere on practically every house in Lincoln. The owner states that the asphalt shingle roof is 5 years old. She says the curling shingles were not like that before last winter. Owner also states there was a great deal of water infiltration into the house. So... She wants a letter from me basically stating that there is damage to the roof. I know the pix are hard to view well because of the lighting, but my feeling after being there in person is that this roof needs some help. A roof that's only 5 years old should not have any curling. There were multiple tabs that have lost their tar strip adhesion, perhaps you can see them near the plumbing vent. I'm only going to charge a minimal fee, and I can't (and won't) state things I'm not certain of (because I wasn't actually there in Feb when this happened). I am addressing the letter to the homeowner, and it will basically state that I feel this roof covering has aged prematurely, and could have been caused by ice damage. I explained very politely that I'm not there to represent her, I'm not her attorney, I'm simply going to report on exactly what I see today. I'm still new to inspections, am I approaching this with the right philosophy? Does the roof look premature to you? Comments welcome. Download Attachment: DCP_0690.JPG 79.78 KB Download Attachment: DCP_0691.JPG 111.67 KB Download Attachment: DCP_0692.JPG 83.89 KB

"Ask, and ye shall recieve." [:-bouncy]

By no means am I a heat pump expert, but shouldn't every heat pump have a high head-pressure over-ride shut off, to prevent damage as described above? We don't have a lot of them here, I wish I were more versed with heat pump theory. [:-indifferent]

Can anyone point me in the right direction for one of those sheet metal gauge thickness checkers? They're sort of the inverse of a spark plug gapper. (This isn't actually for HI's, I need it for my A/E work) But if anyone knows where to find one of them, you guys will. [:-angel]