hausdok

Hi, Well, he didn't say whether he meant inside or outside. I'll give an example. Last year I did a crawlspace that took me 40 minutes and was a nightmare to get through. It was nasty, dirty, dank, and dark. After a crawlspace cleanout guy came in cleaned it out, added some vents, and then lined 100% of it from an inch from the top of the foundation walls with a completely sealed vapor barrier, it took me about 5 minutes to scoot through and was a sight to behold. It actually looked nice in there! OT - OF!!! M.

Heh, heh, I was chuckling to myself when Nolan or someone said they'd weiged in today somewhere around 195. Hell, he's a lightweight compared to me, but I'll accept "little" ; it's the smart part that won't fit well, though. [:-dunce] OT - OF!!! M.

Yep, I found out only yesterday that I could have made a fortune installing these systems for the past 11+ years because there are no licenses here or standards written into law. D'oh! OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Rich is right on all counts. The electrician was trying to lie his way out of an embarrassing situation. He should have installed a second GFCI breaker for that second pairing of wires. OT - OF!!! M.

I'm thinking vapor barrier. OT - OF!!! M.

I've probably cut the paint bond on a few thousand panels and the only time I had a complaint in nearly 12 years was when I'd left my mini-vac at home and hadn't been able to vacuum up the paint chips. OT - OF!!! M.

Aaagh!, When I was 19, I sent away for an immigration application packet to the Australian consulate in New York. I've been trying to get down there my whole life. That's it, I officially hate you, Fabry. Better look under your bed at night for an IED. [:-gnasher OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Sure, if they're identical and old enough and were both installed around the same time, why couldn't they both have the same symptoms related to old age? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, You can see the Code Check worksheet online at: http://www.codecheck.com/service_calc.htm Has anyone visited the Code Check site lately? If not, you should. Scroll down the home page to see who's featured there. Then go to the top menu bar and click the tab, "Ask Code Man." I've got to give him credit, Doug's got stones! ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, I refer all work to that Mitenbuler guy in Chicago. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi All, Well, my curiosity got the best of me, so I got on the net and googled for the department of licensing and radon. Then I got ahold of the State Dept. of Health Radiation Division and talked to the only "Radon Guy" there, Mike Brennan [:-graduat. Mike tells me that, other than the need to have a contractors license and all of what's required for that, there are no licensing requirements out here for either radon testing or installing mitigation systems. [:-bigeyes He says that when folks call asking about radon in the state he explains to them that there are only two hot spots in the state - Spokane and Vancouver - but recommends folks get the tests done anyway for peace of mind. He said that in those two areas new homes now have to be built with 'radon resistant contruction.' He said that when callers are interested in getting any testing or mitigation systems, he refers them to the websites of the two national organizations that certify radon professionals. [:-tophat] Guess we're still wide open out there. [:-eyebrow Guess I'll go down and get some new business cards printed. [] ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Here's a scanned picture from Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings - 2001 Edition by Douglas Hansen of a 120-volt service. I sure hope my friend Douglas doesn't chew me a new one over this, but I doubt if I'll ever get a chance to take a picture of one. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I'm not saying they don't exist, because I really don't know, but I've never seen an area that had strictly 120 volt service. Here's what Hansen says on the subject: He also has a small chart of service sizes and lists "30-amps at 120-volts (Obsolete)." Get online and order yourself a copy of Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings - 2001 Edition by Douglas Hansen. It will be the most valuable book in your library until you've gotten used to all of the electrical stuff that you need to know. OT - OF!!! M.

Hmmm, I've been thinking I need to go into the radon mitigation business out here in the western corridor. I've never seen a radon mitigation system here. It's a wide open market. All I need to do is open up a company and put a couple of ads in the paper and I'm sure that all of the folks moving here from other parts of the country where those systems are common will want to get those put in. I'll be able to clean up! [:-bonc01] OT - OF!!! Pssst, only kidding! M.

Hi Jodi, When you say "two wires" are you talking about two black wires twisted around a long steel cable that's anchored to another steel cable strung between poles and the weatherhead? If so, you're referring to a triplex cable and there are actually three conductors; two hots and the neutral - the neutral being the steel cable that's carrying the weight of the two cables twined around it. Each of those heavy conductors carries 120 volts and each is connected to a different bus in the panel. The electric clothes dryers, water heaters, ovens, etc. run off of a two-pole breaker that connects to each bus simultaneously to get 240 volts. OT - OF!!! M.

Or 'Have a professional repair all damage' or 'have a properly licensed professional repair all of the damage'. Here's a way to stay out of passive trouble. Look at your sentences. If you see the verb used in the past tense dead last in the sentence, or in the past tense followed by "by," there's a good chance that you're writing your reports like an outdated engineering text. OT - OF!!! M.

Well, I've told the brethren many times that my brain can't do math - even elementary math. I'm a math moron, a math idiot, a math dope, a math incompetent, a math....., ah, you get the picture. However, in this case, I never returned to the first post, I went with what I thought I'd remembered was said above. Oh well, memory isn't much good anymore either, I guess. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Les, It wasn't this radon contractor, was it? He moved out of his own state to start another business someplace else. His state shut him down and fined him more than $14,000. He never did pay his fine - it's still open on the books. OT - OF!!! M. P.S. Looks like you had some poria (brown rot) eating the OSB in that first photo.

I agree, Old fans with worn bearings and congealed grease in an area where the fan can get cold. They are "on" but they aren't spinning. They create a certain amount of heat as they sit there trying to turn and eventually that heat warms the grease enough to allow the armature to spin. Replace 'em. Most of them cost less than $50 anyway and they're generally expected to last only about 10 years. If they're 18 years old, they're lucky they got that much time out of them. OT - OF!!! M.

Tsk, Passive voice. Bet you can rewrite it in active voice. OT - OF!!! M.

Dang! That leaves me out. OT - OF!!! M.

Huh, That reminds me; I've got plans for a cedar strip sea kayak around here someplace. Been meaning to sit down and look them over and decide if I've got the time and gumption to start one. OT - OF!!! M.

I remember my Dad using paint wedges like Jim described. I just did a search. Hell, even Dr. Joe Lstiburek recommends using them under some circumstances. http://www.castlewholesalers.com/ALLWAY ... f-100.html http://www.sherwin.com/pro/problem/faq/ ... sel/#q5271 http://www3.sherwin.com/pro/problem/pro ... /index.jsp http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Allway-SW ... 412002.htm http://www.bennette.com/pdf/whyfail.pdf Siding wedges http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/finlines/knaeb95c.pdf OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, It looks like some kind of white or light gray stuff that's got some black funk (algae) covering parts of it. Well, I've never met Bill, so I can't say; but Kurt....?.....Oh yeah. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, It happens a lot around here when they repaint in damp weather and don't ensure that the siding is absolutely dry. I only remember seeing it with oil-based top coats. Something to consider is that if you repaint a home without cleaning and priming the old paint properly, the new paint won't bond well to the old. Also, if siding is primed but left unpainted for several months, and then painted, the same thing can happen 'cuz the primer will no longer give the topcoat good "teeth." My theory, formed without any actual scientific testing over the past decade, is that the new paint dries to a skin but doesn't bond to the surface. The trapped moisture contains some kind of bacteria that forms gas that expands and causes the blisters. It seems to happen more with claps that haven't been back-primed. Those claps are probably already high in moisture content anyway from vapor diffusion before the new paint is applied. Besides, I've often seen painters around here painting in damp weather - even in the rain. Once that gas bubble forms a blister, vapor moving into the bubble cools to dewpoint, and condenses to water. The water remains trapped under the outer layer of paint. As diffusion continues, additional water just allows the gas bubble to keep growing. Like Jim, I sometimes come along and hit them with my probe to see if they're full of water. Most of the time they are. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike