hausdok

I've always assumed that to do this legally one must use box extensions and isn't allowed to simply leave the screws loose and let the wire tension hold the thing against the back of the cover. Is that the way you all understand that? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I'm curious 'cuz I just started it. About 3 weeks ago I noticed that the computer was running dead slow and was hanging up a lot - something that it had only done a couple of times ever. I saw an ad on TV during the Tour de France for something called CleanMyPC.com so I checked it out on CNet, saw that they were reputable, and then downloaded their free scan - wuff! 681 errors! I called their number for advice, the guy opened the registry and found a bunch of spyware, some viruses and even two key loggers running in the background. I had a McAffee subscription but the damned program had been coming on and screwing me up at times so I'd been exiting the program in order to get my work done - I guess some stuff got through. I talked to those guys about what to do. They had a bunch of different options - none of them cheap. I decided to go with a one year unlimited service and support option for nearly $300 - I figured what the hell, for .81 cents a day it might be worth it. They had me download some software over the net so that they could work on my computer. Then a tech logged onto my computer, took over and spent the next six hours cleaning it up. In the process, they removed the myriad of spyware and virus detection programs that I had that were spending more time fighting with one another than protecting my computer and installed a spyware program and a virus detection program. Afterward, they recommended that I do something about backing up my data - I hadn't done it since Christ was a Corporal, so I asked what they recommended. They said, go out, get a desktop backup, bring it back and we'll take care of it. I made a quick trip over to Costco, picked up an external drive, plugged it in, contacted them, they logged on and installed it all - just like there was a computer tech sitting there. Then they backed the whole thing up. So far, they've got about 8 hours into my computer and I can call them 24/7/365 for anything I need help with and they'll just take care of it as if they were a computer person working in my office. I have to say, it beats the hell out of taking the damned box and loading it up in a car and hauling it to a shop somewhere and being told that they'll get to it when they can. Pretty happy with the service so far and the box is chugging along splendidly - better speed and performance than I've seen in years. If anyone is interested, check out Cyber Defender.com ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yep, I'm too fat. I bounce around between 245 and 260 lbs. I'm about 5'10". I can fit through an opening 10-inches by 20-inches or 13-3/4 by 13-3/4. A quarter inch smaller and I can't get through. I'll go into anyplace that's large enough for me to squeeze through the hatch and be able to get turned around in. A roof has to impossible for me to safely get onto and off of from my ladder, or be so steep that I can't get traction with my shoes or maintain traction with my palms, has an unstable surface that's sloughing off, or is slick with damp moss or algae, before I won't climb it. Some come on here occasionally and classify that as showing off; it's not, it's just part of the job - I do it whether anyone is watching me or not, it has nothing to do with showing off. Under our new SOP here, a home inspector must enter, and traverse, attics and crawlspaces and traverse roofs. "Enter" as defined by the law is to physically go into the attic, crawl or other area. Simply sticking one's head and shoulders into these areas is not entering. "Traverse"under the law is the act of physically moving through a crawlspace or attic or over the surface of a roof during an inspection when it is safe to do so. The SOP does state however that the inspector is not required to perform any procedure or operation that will, in the opinion of the inspector, likely be dangerous to the inspector or others or damage the property, its systems or components. Basically, the inspector has an out for safety of himself or others or not to cause damage; however, if a client sues for negligence it's ultimately going to end up being a judge or jury's decision as to whether the inspector was just being too lazy or was simply too fat to enter; and, knowing that he or she was too fat, should have had a backup plan to get the attic or crawlspace inspected properly - such as a skinny assistant or dropping some of that girth. Some of us on the board here wanted a rule that when a client calls up for an appointment the inspector must tell the client during that phone conversation when/if it is the inspector's policy not to ever go into attics or crawlspaces or to ever go up onto roofs, or to not climb ladders, etc.. The majority of the board overruled that motion; so now, if the client shows up for the inspection and they are going through the inspection and are halfway through it and the client asks, "Aren't you going up on the roof," and the inspector says something like, "No, I don't ever go up onto roofs for safety reasons," the client is basically screwed. The only option for the client in that circumstance, is to stop the inspection and get another inspector that will go onto the roof or into the crawl and attic; or, if the roof leaks or there are other issues, initiate a complaint to DOL that the inspector was negligent. If their investigation determines that he was not, the client still has the option of suing but it's still a far from ideal situation for a client. In the end, I think it best that the customer ask up front during that first phone conversation whether the inspector habitually does those things except under extreme circumstances that make it unsafe or whether the inspector doesn't do those things most or all of the time. The telephone installer, cable installer, plumbers, electricians, alarm system installers, insulation contractors, crawlspace vapor barrier installers and cleanup guys all go into these areas and seem to survive. Chimney sweeps, roofers, telephone company, cable company, electricians, gutter guys, roof cleaning companies all seem to be able to safely go up onto roofs. One would expect that a home inspector that's supposed to be an expert when it comes to houses would be at least as competent at going into/onto these areas as these other lower-paid trades. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

LOL, Back in 1989 when I was attending the Q course at Ft. Bragg, B Company 1st SPAR (Abn) had a copperhead that was kept in a glass case in the orderly room. It was so accustomed to human interaction that, as long as you moved slowly and deliberately and didn't startle him, you could reach right in and pick him up and he'd wrap himself around your hand for the warmth. Doing that was kind of a right of passage for anyone that got stuck with OD or CQ. I have to admit that the pucker factor was right up there with my first jump the first time I pulled the duty and had to pick that guy up. He got a little white mouse for a meal about once a week. It was something to watch. Drop the mouse in the case and he would slowly and carefully sidle into position for a strike and then hit that rodent just once. The mouse would jump around like he'd been stuck in the ass with a white-hot poker and then he'd flop over on his side and start panting as his legs were paralyzed. The snake would come around to the head end, unhinge his jaw and over the next five minutes, even though the mouse was still alive and breathing, gradually take the mouse completely in. Once he got the mouse past the mouth area the mouse couldn't get any air and it would take less than a minute for the breathing to stop. Since reptiles live an incredibly long time, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's still there to this day and still being used as a right of passage for members of that unit. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Myself and a few others have been toying with the idea of starting a competing organization for some time. The problem is that so many of those we like and respect are involved and heavily vested in other associations that are already losing membership numbers to the soap opera and state associations. Starting another organization could threaten the survival of those respected orgs and we could end up being the villains. Still, with this latest mold is gold thing, maybe it's time to rethink that position. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No, that's not how an Apollo works that's just the way a lot of them are set up in this area. We also have virtually identical systems without the timers where the only difference is a dictionary-sized plate-type heat exchanger a second circulator and an immersed coil water heater. Those are as the previous fellow described - completely isolated from the potable water. I don't see what the big deal is; there really isn't a whole lot of difference between sending the water through a heating loop off to one side and sending it on a home run to a plumbing fixture; the route is just longer. One does have to ensure that the timer and circulator on the system is functioning properly so that water doesn't stagnate in the coils far from the potable water supply, became laden with bacteria that spreads to the system, but that's really not much different than when one has a long run of pipe to a sillcoci that never gets used; at least this system periodically cycles fresh water into the system before it ever has a chance to become laden with bacteria. Let go of some of those preconceived notions once in a while; you might be surprised at how good some of these innovative new systems are. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Does that mean that if you inspect a home with four exterior receptacles - one on each side with the GFCI protecting them all next to the back entrance - that you write them up because there aren't GFCI receptacles at each? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's a good point. What one must also keep in mind is that there is a pilot burning 24/7/365 in that water heater that's warming that vent and has already established a draft. Lastly, it doesn't get real cold here in the winter; and, despite the fact that the code now says that installations in this climate no longer require a double-walled vent connector, the installer has used one anyway, which will probably ensure that the exhaust gases rising up that vent maintain buoyancy year-round regardless of temp, unlike those where installers use single-walled connectors. It wouldn't have concerned me at all. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Kellie, Where is the HVAC unit located? If it's in the attic you might want to get the condensate drain checked out. I inspected a home back in December where a condensate line from the attic HVAC unit that passes down through the walls below had cracked and the leak was showing up on the ceilings of the first floor and not the second floor. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

My memory of that rule is that there is a minimum 12-inch to first bend requirement when the flue is going to discharge into a masonry flue but that there is no such requirement if it's a contiguous metal flue from bottom to top. What is Harper's code cite? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

There is no difference in taste. Hydronic heating systems run off of water heaters are pretty common here and when properly installed there are no taste issues. The key thing with such systems is that they are equipped with a timer that automatically circulates the system at pre-programmed times of the day or night in order to prevent bacterial growth in the water that's in the heating loops. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well why didn't you say so? Google "John Siegenthaler boilers", load up your printer with paper and start printing. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Jeez, It never occurred to me that the 2/3 of us who don't choose to participate in interorganizational squabbling and ego flogging were a bunch of unprofessional ner-do-wells. I'm going to go out in the woods now and have a good cry at what an awful unprofessional person I've become. Jimmy, care to join me? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Are you thinking annobiids? If so, I can't recall ever seeing their stuff clump like that and it sure doesn't look like ant frass. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Randy, Where was this home? If it's anywhere north or east of West Seattle I seriously doubt if it's subs; they don't have travelling papers and visas to come east or north of West Seattle and in 14 years here I've never found them outside of there. Did you take a piece of that stuff in your fingers and roll it and break it apart? If it was hard and breaks into tiny little mechanical pencil lead sized pellets that look like a little six-sided drum under a lupe then it is DWT frass. I used to have a little terrarium filled with PDWT, wood mulch and a chunk of rotten wood. DWT are like little brick masons. They'll move out to a part of the nest or entrance to the galleries that they want to block, turn around, eject a pellet, turn around again, smear it with saliva and then pick it up and push it up into the opening. That happens time and again until they've built a solid barrier that will keep other insects - even large carpenter ants - out. Sometimes the frass walls break loose like that and hang off the wood. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's 'cuz you aren't looking in the right places. Don Holohan is the guy behind HeatingHelp.com. His site is the same concept as TIJ except it's for heating guys. Go over there, click on resources in the menu bar and then click on Library and then put on 15 pots of coffee and order in a couple dozen pizzas and a gross of donuts and kick back. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No worries, Boyo You've always got me around to get things all discombobulated again. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Don't worry, after you've done a few hundred attics and crawlspaces the feeling of fiberglass lodged in your skin and fiberglass dust behind your eyelids will be so much a part of everyday life that you'll hardly notice mosquito bites anymore. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, It should be in your in-box. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, In Colorado the Bentonite expands and contracts so much that it will heave a basement floor. They go deep with a grade beam and pier foundation perimeter and then place a concrete floor above the highest point they expect the Bentonite to heave to during the wet season. They have to leave that area accessible for inspection purposes. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Man sagt, "was ist," nicht "ist was". Bentonite ist der Bentonit oder der Ton oder "clay" auf Englisch. Eine Mannschaft - Einer Kampf!!! Mike

Hi Randy, What was the soil like in the crawl? Clay? Crawlspaces below basement slabs are used in Colorado a lot because of all of the bentonite there. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Go to The Wall at HeatingHelp.com and dive in. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Jim, I'd meant to respond to this thread weeks ago but I'd forgotten all about it. After your initial post I wrote to James Hardie directly and quoted you. Here's the response I got: Michael- This is simply incorrect and I'm am not sure where a rumor like this would be coming form. In fact quite the opposite, we have over the last year launched our HardieZone System http://jameshardie.com/builder/hardiezone.shtml, which is a product line that is specifically Engineered for Climate based on our significant Research and Development into fiber cement technology and our 30 years of proven performance in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. What kind of complaints is he/she referring to? Dale Knox Technical Manager 909 319 1382 ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Crimeny! Is Burqha-son over there now? I'm glad I left when I did. Joe the Burqha - foul-mouthed whackjob extraordinaire. OT - OF!!! M.