hausdok

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering new green building codes that would become the most stringent in the country. If the codes are approved, they could eventually cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tons. Mayor Gavin Newsom has promised to sign the code into law. To read more click here

Editor's Note: This information was recently posted to the Mike Holt forum, so I thought it would be useful here. Northbrook, IL - Nov. 30, 2007 Recent testing by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) of samples obtained from both the marketplace and several manufacturers indicates that some GFCI units do not meet all current UL requirements and, under rare conditions, may not trip when a fault is present, resulting in a loss of protection from electric shock. There have been no reported incidences of these products causing injury in the field, and under normal circumstances UL expects these products will perform their intended function. While GFCIs provide an effective means for protecting against electric shock, UL recommends that they be tested regularly to verify they are operating properly, using the self-test feature that is built into these devices. UL encourages users to test and monitor their GFCIs using the process described below. UL has notified all manufacturers identified to date whose product samples did not meet all current UL requirements so that they may take appropriate action. UL has not withdrawn its certification mark from existing products nor does UL believe the products should be removed from homes or other locations entailing normal use. UL may issue further advice as additional testing is conducted and its review proceeds. Name of Product: Wall receptacle-type Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI). Rated 15 or 20 Amps, 125 volts. Advisory: Under rare conditions, these GFCIs may not trip when a fault is present and may malfunction resulting in a loss of protection from electric shock. There have been no reported incidences of the products causing injury in the field. Identification: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters look like duplex receptacles but are distinguished by their "Reset" and "Test" buttons. Uninstalled Product: All affected manufacturers identified to date have been notified. Retailers, contractors and electricians should contact the manufacturer for further information. Installed GFCIs: If the GFCI is already installed in your home, UL recommends that all GFCIs be tested monthly following these steps: Push the "Reset" button located on the GFCI receptacle first to assure normal GFCI operation. Plug a product (such as a lamp) into the GFCI receptacle and turn the product "ON." Push the "Test" button located on the GFCI receptacle. The lamp or other appliance should go "OFF." Push the "Reset" button, again. The lamp or other appliance should go "ON" again. Repeat this test with the lamp or other appliance plugged into a receptacle marked "GFCI Protected" in close proximity to the GFCI receptacle. Push the "Test" button again and the lamp should go off. In addition to the monthly test, UL recommends that GFCIs installed in environments with both sustained high temperatures (greater than 90°F) AND high humidity (greater than 93% relative humidity) be tested with greater frequency. These environments may include some bathrooms and indoor pool areas. UL recommends that the GFCI be replaced by a qualified electrician if: The lamp or other appliance plugged into the GFCI remains "ON" when the "Test" button is pushed. The GFCI does not reset when the "Reset" button is pushed. The GFCI performs its intended function, but trips repeatedly during normal use. (This may indicate either a faulty appliance or a compromised GFCI. In either case, replacement of the GFCI is recommended and the appliance should be checked for proper operation prior to reuse.). Finally, with all GFCIs, it is important that consumers not use the unit's "Test" and "Reset" buttons as an on-off switch for appliances plugged in to the GFCI. UL urges consumers to continue to use GFCIs, as they play an important role in protecting you and your homes. If your GFCIs require replacement, UL recommends that a qualified electrician does the replacement. http://www.ul.com/newsroom/newsrel/nr113007.html Any questions or comments, contact Al Ramirez in UL's Northbrook, IL offices by phone at 847 664-2905 or e-mail at alfredo.m.ramirez@us.ul.com. ####

http://www.scifi.com

Olympia - March 20 The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has, on occasion, relevant information that licensed Structural Pest Inspectors (SPIs) or home inspectors may find useful, so a new WSDA listserv has been initiated. A listserv, or list server, automatically manages mailing lists and sends messages to the email addresses of everyone on that list. A listserv is similar to an on-line discussion group (newsgroup or forum) except that messages are transmitted as an email only to individuals on that list. This particular listserv (PEST-INSPECTORS) does not allow subscribers to send messages to the mailing list. However, subscribers may send comments directly to the List owner (Dan Suomi) by clicking on “Email the List Ownerâ€

This article in the online version of The Houston Chronicle is about an inquiry into a series of electrocutions of our serviceman in Iraq where faulty grounding of systems put in by government contractor KBR is suspected. I can't help but wonder whether a robust staff of competent inspectors might have prevented one or more of these deaths. To read more click here.

Nah, Some days I just get the giggles. OT - OF!!! M.

Toljaso! [:-smirk]

Nope,Too late, nanoparticle bugs. It's new Chinese technology. The first time the bulb is turned on, they're released into the atmosphere and look like dust. You breath them in, and they imbed themselves in your lungs and then the Chinese listening posts get to listen in on every conversation you have. Rule #1: Never utter passwords out loud - even when you're alone. Rule #2: Always ensure that nothing you are writing or displaying on a TV screen is line-of-sight to one of these bulb thingies. Rule #3: If you think you might have breathed some nanobugs in, go get some Musinex to flush them out of your lungs. [:-psst] OT - OF!!! M. If you believe any of this BS, you're nuttier than I am.

Just make sure they're made in America or you're liable to end up seeing a video of yourself on a Chinese version of U-Tube. OT - OF!!! M. This is obviously paranoid delusional prattle.

Hi Caoimhín Don't take it personal. Since I don't even do radon, I've never even bothered to pay much attention to these articles or the studies. I post a ton of stuff here that I don't necessary agree with or know anything about just for the sake of stimulating discussions like this. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That all depends on how it's tied into the house. If they removed the veneer and actually tied into the framing with a good solid connection, and provided that there are proper flashings at the roof-wall intersection between the house and the roof of the 3-season porch, you would not need to have posts next to the house. If they anchored it to the veneer, one would have good cause to be leery of that. If they anchored it to the framing but there's a way for water to get behind that veneer and flow down onto that framing behind the brick, there's a reason to be leery of it. That looks like a garage beneath it. If they went through that wall and tied into the second floor in order to add that deck, you might be able to detect the work at the ceiling of the garage. If not, at least explain your concern and warn that there's no way to confirm that the 3-season porch is solidly attached without some kind of invasive inspection. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

You could've fooled me: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... i_78783509 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-19385242.html http://www.answersingenesis.org/creatio ... /malta.asp http://www.showcaves.com/english/au/reg ... rPedy.html http://www.showcaves.com/english/de/mis ... stein.html OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Not to get off on a tangent, but what's up with that sill; or is that a sill? I blew it up and it looks like it's just a stringer nailed to the underside of the joists. I can even see a butt end between two separate pieces of lumber. Where's the rim joist? The end of that joist is pretty dark too - as if it's soaking up moisture. Are those joists resting in pockets in the walls - what's up wid dat? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yes, by all means, welcome Ernie; we need more old hands hanging out around here from all parts of the country 'cuz some of us aren't familiar with systems commonly used in other parts of the country. I'll bet Earnie can teach us northwesterners a thing or two about boilers and steam heating systems which are scarce as hens' teeth around here. By the way, Jimmy, when exactly did men stop living in caves? I must have missed the memo. [] ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well Mitchell, not to be contrary, but my experience was 100%. The one and only time I tested one, it stuck open and refused to close. It was my first year in the business. I'd been told by veterans in the business during training that testing TPR valves and main shutoff valves on plumbing wasn't a good idea. I figured, "Ah, what could happen; it says right on the valve to test it," so I didn't believe the propaganda. The logic of not screwing around with main shutoff valves that look like they were forged in the 17th century made sense to me but not the argument against TPRs. Still, for months after getting into the business I didn't test them 'cuz I wasn't willing to test my theory. Then one day I got a customer who was like, "Well, how do you know if the thing is going to work when it should if you don't test it?" I could sense that this client was a little bit anal retentive like myself, so I decided to humor him. I flipped the valve, released the handle, and the water just kept on coming, whereupon the customer stood there smiling like a cheshire cat, because he thought he'd somehow found a defect that I would have missed, when in reality we wouldn't have known one way or the other by not testing it - it might have worked when needed but then wouldn't have closed; who's to say? Anyway, I tapped on it, I pushed, I pulled - nothing; it just kept pouring water all over that basement floor. Fortunately, it was one of the older houses with basement and a floor drain very close to the tank, so I shut off the water to the tank and it didn't do any damage. I finished up the inspection and then talked the agent into hanging around so I could fix the valve. I jumped in my car, scooted over to a nearby Ace Hardware, picked up a new TPR valve, a soldering torch kit with some flux, solder and pipe dope, shot back to the house, did a lickety-split valve change, and then drove all the way to the next job with the afterburners on, breaking every traffic law on the books. Still, I was so late for the next job that I punished myself for my stupidity by taking $50 off the price of the inspection. At the end of the day, I ended up with a whole lot less in the blue column than I'd intended and was stuck with an extra soldering torch, flux, and a can of pipe dope. Now, sure, I could have written up the valve and allowed a plumber to deal with it, but the admonitions of those veteran inspectors during training not to dink with those valves if I didn't want them to dink back kind of rung in my ears. I tend to punish myself for my boners. Now, I don't care how anal retentive the customers are; I'm not testing them. If the client insists on knowing whether they work, I tell them to have the homeowner demonstrate the valve for them; preferably when I'm not in the home. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Check to see if they're made in China. The chinese ones have electronic spying bugs in them and they have an army of folks gathering folks' personal information. Since their quality control isn't very good, sometimes they go on the fritz. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike This is a total fabrication. Don't believe a word of it.

Hi, If you're talking about SIPs walls, they're definitely wrong. The slab and the wall panels will move at different rates in response to temp/humidity changes. There needed to be a termination bead with weeps above the edge of that slab, as well as accessory and expansion joints at appropriate locations. Need help with getting some authorative substantiation? - Contact Mark Fowler at the Northwest Wall & Ceiling Burea (http://www.nwcb.org). ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Mike

Washington, D.C./March 19, 2008 - Release #08-228 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Progress Lighting of Greenville, SC, today announced a voluntary recall of approximately 1,000 ceiling light fixtures. The fixtures were manufactured by Pegtom of Hong Ding, China, because a weld that affixes a mounting bracket to the ceiling pan can fail, which can cause the fixture to fall and injure nearby persons. No injuries have been reported, but Progress Lighting has received six reports of fixtures falling. Only Progress Lighting ceiling-mounted outdoor light fixtures with model numbers P5526-20 and P5526-44 are included in the recall. The light fixtures have three flame-shaped lights inside a beveled glass and solid frame. The fixtures require (3) 60-watt lightbulbs. "Made in/Hecho En/Fabrique Aux China" and the model numbers are written on the packaging of the product. These fixtures were manufactured in China and sold through electrical and lighting distributors nationwide from January2007 through November 2007 for about $200. Inspectors finding these fixtures should advise homeowners to stop using the fixture and contact Progress Lighting to schedule a free repair. For more information, contact Progress Lightingtoll-free at (866) 418-5543 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.progresslighting.com To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, click here.

Washington - March 18 Single-family housing starts continued on a downward trajectory in February, posting a 6.7 percent decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 707,000 units, according to figures released today by the U.S. Commerce Department. Meanwhile, production in the more volatile multifamily sector registered a 14.4 percent gain to 358,000 units, limiting the decline in total housing starts to a rate of 1.065 million units -- 0.6 percent below the revised January pace. "Builders continue to scale back production of single-family homes in an effort to contain inventories amidst ongoing problems in the mortgage finance arena and other challenges that are keeping many potential buyers on the fence," said NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. "We're doing what we can to restore balance to the supply-demand equation, but we need the Federal Reserve, Congress and the Administration to take immediate action on several fronts if there's any hope of rebuilding consumer confidence and jump-starting the economy." "Our latest surveys of single-family builders reveal that many prospective buyers are looking into a home purchase at this time, but that they are unwilling or unable to make their move with conditions in the overall economy and financing arena what they are," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "The Federal Reserve's latest moves to shore up financial markets have certainly been welcome developments, and a significant interest rate cut following today's FOMC meeting will be more positive news," Seiders said. "Beyond this, Congress and the Administration should follow up on the recently enacted economic stimulus package with additional measures aimed directly at boosting the housing market. If prompt action is taken in the direction of a home buyer tax credit, FHA modernization and GSE oversight reform, a housing recovery could take shape by this year's second half and the benefits of that to the overall economy would be substantial." Regionally, housing starts were unchanged for the month in the Midwest, up nearly 4 percent in the South and up 5.1 percent in the West, while the Northeast posted a 27.7 percent decline that offset a large boost in the previous month. However, every region was down on a quarterly basis in February. Permit issuance, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 7.8 percent overall in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 978,000 units, with a 6.2 percent decline registered in the single-family sector to 639,000 units and a 10.8 percent decline on the multifamily side to 339,000 units. Source: NAHB####

Hi Mitchell, When using Firefox to upload a file you need to wait until the upload box says that the file is uploaded and shows you the url in the upload box and then cut the url out and paste it into your post and submit. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

This article talks about a 2-day national certification and education program for wastewater inspection professionals to be held 2-3 April in Gaylord, Michigan. For more information, click here

This short commentary by a Georgia politician in his local paper's online edition talks about what this particular pol sees as good about a home inspector licensing bill that recently passed the house and is currently before the Georgia State Senate. To read the entire commentary, click here

In this Mortgage 101 Barry Stone column, a consumer writes in to explain how, within a year of buying a home, a furnace burns out and a repairman called in reveals that he'd told the agent that the furnace needed to be replaced. Read Barry's response here.

Hi, Well, I assume that your state has some form of licensing for pest guys. Did they not provide you with information about their required reporting format - whether you have to include it along with the home inspection report, whether specific numbering has to be on it, etc.? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, That's fine, except recommending that they extend an intake pipe to the outside after they've already got things on the interior configured the way the manufacturer requires for a furnace pulling air from the interior is going to make you look a little bit pedantic and goofy and could damage your credibility. If they've installed it within parameters required by the manufacturer and the code, telling them now to install an exterior intake pipe is just spoiling for trouble. You have to learn to pick your battles in this business and I don't see that as a battle to be fought; at least not in this circumstance. Yeah, as Kurt and Jim say, something to keep critters or objects from fallling into the intake pipe would be good, but I wouldn't be worrying about somone covering up that hole. You can't anticipate every action that someone else is going to do around that furnace, nor should you. Besides, if that intake hole gets blocked, the furnace should shut down - if it doesn't, it's not on you, it's on the manufacturer. Sorry if this came off as grouchy, but it's been a sucky day. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike