Konrad

Mr. Woehl, I work for an engineering firm in Nebraska, and each state has their own way they do things. In Nebraska, it is required for the firm to submit their prints to the local authorities before a building permit is ever issued. They will review the prints and make comments and return them to you, sometimes asking (demanding) certain changes, other times simply asking for clarification. It is very rare that a set of prints gets approved with no red lines (corrections). They usually find something they don't like. Often, if you show a willingness to comply (instead of fighting them) they are more inclined to have some leniency. If you make them mad, you will never ever see the light of day, and alles kaput. The previous replies will also be helpfull to you. Sincerely, Konrad

I'm a little unclear about the hearth requirements for gas inserts. IRC appears to defualt to the manufacturer's listed installation requirements. The Code Check flip book (HVAC) calls out 16" for gas inserts. Is there an industry standard, or have I misread the IRC?

I grew up playing in feedlot runoff, does that count as mold?

Slight thread drift, but... During the final stages of construction on the commercial side the finish grade guy will come in with black dirt and a box scraper and sometimes finish the grade above the brick course with the weep holes in it. A hole in the brick just inches below the surface is asking for water to go into the wall cavity. Keep them weeps above the finish grade. [b)]

This irritates the living crap out of me. They're required for all the commercial work that's done around here, complete with mortar net and flashing. But residential?? LAHJ has deemed the unnecessary. [:-banghead] [:-banghead] [:-banghead] Stupid idiots. With all the "mold is gold" people running around, you'd think they'd enforce a construction standard that allows water to leave a wall cavity.[]

I'll endorse Crusty's comment. I went on a big dissertation back in January over on ASHI's board about using the C-word. I have boiler plate that says "modern standards". Now... I've only done one inspection (done today I might add [:-bouncy] [:-bouncy] [:-bouncy] ) but I had an old salty inspector explain it to me basically just like Crusty did above, and he cited court cases. [:-boggled] You cross a line of liability exposure when you start using the C-word.

After following several HI resource sites over the last 12 months (mostly from the outside looking in) and reading that thread... I remain firmly entrenched right here at the "association-nuetral" TIJ. Thank the Good Lord there's *someone* in this industry without an agenda. I can't imagine what the commercial side would be like if AIA, EJCDC, or NSPE had these feudal issues that HI associations are engaging in. Crimony, what a distraction!

Yeah, me too. I'm taking our skid loader down to Hallam today to help him demo the remains of his garage, I'll ask him again what this guy was talking about.

The question I'm posting is sort of third-hand, I wasn't actually there for the conversation. But here goes: My buddy who lost his house in Hallam was looking at some of the modular homes. Apparently one of the rep's stated that on lower-pitched roofs, they don't necessarily recommend going with the full R-40 insulation above the ceiling. Possibly something to do with vapors? Climate is Midwest (Nebraska). I'm not sure what the actual conversation was, but does anyone know what this guy might be talking about?

Alright, that pretty well asnwers my question. It IS un-insectable, after all. I picked up the "sanitized" phrase from over on the hvac-talk bulletin board. Does anyone know about how much this costs?

Would it be inappropriate to have boilerplate that says something to the effect of recommending a "clean & check, including sanitizing the evap coil", if the unit is more than a few years old, and there isn't any regular record of maintenance? It's the sanitizing of the evap coil that I'm focusing on here, but would it be a cop-out on the HVAC portion of the inspection? A person could arguably put this in most of their reports, yes or no?

Warga, Do you have the IRC on disk, or is it available online somewhere? I have it in 3 ring binder form, but obviously you can't copy and paste from it.

This is a house in a buddy's neighborhood. We don't have very many stone houses like this, but the ones that I see often have this dark coloring on them. Is it a bacteria or fungus or something? What would take it off? Is there any reason it only develps on the east and west elevations of the house, but not the north or south? These stains in this photo are the west elevation. Download Attachment: DCP_0318.JPG 77.32 KB

Is the home on a well, or public utility? Is it possible there's a high iron content in the water and it's simply rust deposits from the hose?

He says it's three years old. How likely is it that there's enough sediment in there to cause this? It's a genuine question, not challenging the above statements. I guess it all depends on what's in their water.

From here, it sure looks like the A and B leg have arced to the neutral at some point in the past. One other comment, and then an additional question. (Comment) Modern standards call for service drops to have a minimum of 18" clearance from the roof structure, on any roof with a 4/12 or greater pitch. On a flatter roof, the clearance requirement increases to 8 feet (I think). (Question) Will the local utility company correct this for no cost? I've seen in print many times that the electric company is responsible for the conductors (in residential) up to the weather head.

Possibly a tap for an icemaker/water on the refrigerator in the kitchen? That's what the soft copper looks like. Just curious, was the flow rate at the plumbing fixtures decent?

The only "steak holder" I'm interested in is the plate I'm holding in front of my grill. [^] Nebraska has harsh summers and harsher winters, but we got the best corn-fed beef on planet earth. [:-bigmouth]

Works for me.

Do you?

Would it be prudent to note somewhere in your report (in a diplomatic way) that the buyer started the a/c system? Just to cover your butt?

That stuff is pretty rare around here. Are there class action suits with it, similar to LP siding? (which, BTW, is in great abundance around here)

Brian Goodman said I just talked to yer wife, Brian. And she said "not". [:-bigmouth] Whoo, I kill myself... [:-tong2]

Here in the Midwest, we have the luxury of 120 degree temp swing in a given year. So we get ALL types of weather. And we ALL put vapor barrier on the "warm" side of the wall. (The inside, for reasons you state above.) Are people confusing poly vapor barrier with housewrap?

I don't know who's funnier, Chad or Brian. But I damned well know that I'm very amused sitting on the sidelines right now. [:-bigmouth] My time will come, I can feel it already. [^]