Mark P

Looks like PVC. EPDM is rubber, like a heavy rubber inner tube There is one brand name of PVC called "Durolast". You can google them and from their website request an information package that includes a small sample of the product. Worthwhile for learning. How do I know? I asked the same question a few years back.

There is nothing that mandates the replacement of a FPE panel. I’ve found that a lot of electricians are not even aware of the problems with the FPE breakers. I guess they don’t teach it in the union schools. However; it is my opinion it should be replaced because of the latent safety concerns and I tell my clients as much. I don’t tell them to have it checked out by a qualified electrician, I just tell them to have it replaced and educate them on why.

Since there are wires there too, my 1st quess would be they had a Jazzuci tub. But it looks pretty nasty for a water line. My 2nd guess is a gas line for a grill

I learned from the previous resident that the roof cost $34,700 3 years ago. !$! Wow !$!

Thanks everyone that sets my mind at easy. I was anxious over the cost of the roof, I did not see any problms, but allways beter to ask. Thaks Brandon, I allways care to know. I've been all over that website, and included it in my report.

This is only my 2nd or 3rd wood roof in the past 4 years. I’ve spent the last couple of days rereading articles, etc on wood shake / shingle roofs. However, considering the size and COST of this roof I’d like a more experienced opinion. The roof was replaced 3 years ago. This is shake and there is felt between each course. There are soffit and roof vents. The shakes are installed over plywood. The valleys are metal. There are some shakes that are lifting up an inch or so. They do not look excessive. It has not rained for awhile here. It is my understand this is because they dry out and is to be expected and is okay??? I'm not to confident about this and am uncertain what to say. Can anyone determine if this is in fact cedar? I read that shakes are made of other types of wood too. Can you share a boiler plate you include in you reports on care and maintenance of this type of roof? As always any assistance is appreciated. By the way this is a bank repo. Click to Enlarge 65.56 KB Click to Enlarge 86.6 KB Click to Enlarge 75.56 KB Click to Enlarge 57.63 KB Click to Enlarge 73.3 KB

Thanks Mike, This is all I could find. I'm going to call the gas company. "The customer shall provide adequate working space for MidAmerican Energy personnel to maintain the metering and regulating equipment as follows: • Six (6) feet head clearance above grade • Three (3) feet from the front of the meter • One (1) foot to either side of the meter • Six (6) feet of level ground to any retaining walls or other sudden drop offs in front of the meter"

I’ve never been a sports fan. When someone starts talking about some player or team or stats, or last nights game my mind just kinds of glazes over like I were listening to a presentation on tax reform. It just does nothing for me. I have nothing against it, I just never got it. Seeing that I live just outside St. Louis I just keep it to myself that I don’t follow sports. When the subject comes up I just stay quiet. In a town like this, if you’re not a Cards fan, it is like your un-American or something. I’m mean I had to go out and buy a St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt for my kids to wear at their schools on “Cards Dayâ€

Yea, on 2nd thought it would be better to fix it now, instead of waiting for a problem down the road.

New construction, well 1 year old. The bottom 2-3 inches of the gas meter is in the dirt. I told them "it won't effect the gas flow to the house, but I don't think it should be in the dirt like that." Now I'm writing the report and I'm uncertain what to say. Does it really hurt anything? Is it really wrong? It belongs to the gas company, is it even the home owners concern? Will the freezing ground move it in the winter? Should the meter be raised, or just the dirt dug out from around it leaving a hole that can be filled with gravel? Heck, I'm stumped. Click to Enlarge 64.75 KB

I think the bigger question is what were these vents intended for and why are they not hooked up? Is the plumbing system vented or where these suppose to be the vents and they never got hooked up? Was there a remolding job and the vents have been moved and these are old? Anyway to answer your question, I would say if they are not needed have them removed and the roof patched the next time the roof is replaced, unless you see signs of a probelm. I'm sure you'll get different opinions.

I'll take "Rot and powder-post beetles" to $600 Alex.

I often refer to it by the trade name "DRYLOK", but should probably just say "Masonry Waterproofer"

The fat one in the middle?

Here it is for everyones enjoyment. Thanks Jim for the link. "Avoiding Dead Air Spaces “Dead airâ€

I looked at the "First Alert" website and found nothing. I tried to call, but they are closed for the holiday. So is it 4" to the center or the edge? This one was around 5" to the center and under 4" to the edge. I mentioned the NFPA 72 4 inch rule. I 'll try and call again on Monday, so by the time the builder comes back, I can either say "the manfactures say xyz...", or "Your right sorry about that..."

I cannot find this in the IRC or code check. It is in the JLC Field Guide, but with no code reference. The house is new construction and the smoke detector is 5 inches from the bedroom wall directly above the door. The buyer is an electrician and swears it needs to be at least 6".... I told him I would try and find a reference to support tearing up the ceiling to move the detector. Does anyone have a code reference for this? I don't know what code this town uses, every town is different around here. Thanks

Thanks guys - checks are in the mail. [:-hspin]

This 2â€

This is not in WI, it is in Fairview Heights IL. The paper is the Madison (county) & St. Clair (County) Record. Both counties here in Illinois – just outside St. Louis. I drove by this afternoon. Older neighborhood 1950 – 60s. According to online pubic records it was bought in 12/15/05 for $49,000 and sold 5/31/2006 for $94,000. So it was flipped 3 years ago. Notice the discolored OSB front right corner. Click to Enlarge 71.98 KB Click to Enlarge 73.9 KB

Yea, it is really annoying - but they have the law on their side, regardless of if we agree with it or not. You are right, Kurt, they will never be able to police it. I think they just search the internet and anyone they find advertisng IR gets a letter. They will bully some people into paying the monthly fee.

This is in Fairview Heights Illinois, just 2 miles from where I live. The company is one of my competitors. Maybe I'll drive by the house and see what it looks like from the outside.

I don’t have an IR camera but will likely get one someday. The homesafe patent thing annoyed me so last year after reading about it over on the ASHI board I called homesafe to ask about the patents. A man called me back a day later and we had a polite 45 minute conversation. In the end we agreed to disagree. Here are some of their points (best I can remember) that stuck with me. It took a lot of time and effort to get the patents and they are not going to go way overnight in the court of public opinion. If someone wants to spend the time and money to fight it is court – that is their right. Someone else already has the patent on using IR for checking insulation. When they find someone who may be using their protocols and is not licensed through homesafe – they have 3 warning letters that go out, each with stronger language then the previous. After that they may consider legal action. If they do not do this (protect their patent) then the patent may be cancelled. They do not require anyone to use their camera or take their training (but it is the best, according to them) – they just require people to pay a monthly fee for using their patented processes. People don’t understand process patents. They (homesafe) were the 1st to use IR in HI. They figured out the protocols, the need to create a temperature difference between the inside and outside of the house. The 1st to use it to find water intrusion during a HI; the 1st to use it to find overheated electrical components during a HI, etc. When they started, the cameras were big & expensive and no one else was using them during a HI. So because they were the 1st and because they spent 6 year getting the patents they deserve to receive a fee from anyone using what they did 1st.

Holly Double WOW! Do you have any pics of the outside or solar panel system?

I treat them the same as an air sourse heat pump and only test them in the mode they are in. Most do not have a back up, (don't know why you would need one) but some do and I'll check it. I'll take temp readings. Look at overall condition, any leaks, etc. The biggest challange is explaining to the customer how it works. Often time it is also hooked into the water heater to assist in the heating of the water. If the installer left a label (phone #) on the unit I tell the customers to call them and learn what they can about past maintenance, future maintenace requirements. Here is an informative site.. http://www.geoexchange.org/