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Well, it's not interNACHI either. The largest inspection association in the world is, and has been for a few hundred years, the Royal Insistute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). All of the association members in all of the inspection associations in the US and Canada put together wouldn't make a pimple on RICS's butt. OT - OF!!! M.

Jeez, I hope that the sponsors read that. They're always haranguing me about being an undiplomatic war mongering tyrant (or some such). [] OT - OF!!! M.

Richard is right. That tray is physically screwed to the enclosure and the buses are isolated from the tray. There is no way for it to touch those hot buses from behind the tray. The third wire doesn't just disappear. It bends to the right and connects to the neutral bus with the curve behind the bus tray. If you'd given it a tug near the bottom of the box you would have seen the corresponding termination move a little bit. I count 21 single pole breakers and a couple of multi-wire branch circuits. I see 23 EGCs and 23 grounded conductors. You've still got room in there for one more breaker. Looks right to me, but don't go by me - electrical is my weak link. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Aw come on, Guys, Don't know if you've noticed it or not, but we try, although not always successfully, to keep the drama of the association soap operas out of here. After all, if we need to read that kind of drama, there are at least 3-4 other boards where we can go, shout at other folks and be generally rude, and then we can come back here and relax. Sure, it's kind of dull around here, what with folks trying to be civil with one another and treat each other with respect, even when we often disagree - strongly - with each other, but we're generally happy with it and we generally learn more this way. Life's good, enjoy being independent. I know I do. OT - OF!!! M.

Mine. After two different vans, it's perfect for this business. Image Insert: 100 KB OT - OF!!! M.

Here are some comments on an inspectors duties relative to mold in today's Chicago Daily Herald by home inspection pundit, Barry Stone (Gee, I wish this guy would learn to write his example inspection findings in active voice.). OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I just found this. Perhaps in the end laws like this are what will be needed to ensure that banks make sure that foreclosed properties are properly prepared before a home is placed on the market. OT - OF!!! M.

Usually no more than two per. OT - OF!!! M.

Fast? Nein, das glaube ich nicht. Bei Mir, bedeudet's gar Nichts - nur Kwatch. Also, Ich meine, z.b. "sich schlafen, sich standen, ...." Veileicht auf English geht's, aber, beim anderen Sprachen? Kaum.. OT - OF!!! M. Almost? No, I don't believe that. To me it meant nothing - only garbage. Besides, I mean, for instance, "(examples of modal verbs)." Maybe it works in English, but in other languages? Hardly..

So John, What's the beef? OT - OF!!! M.

Yeah, We've seen that before. It's a neat trick but it still doesn't make careless spelling acceptable in a professionally written document. I dare you to try that with German using modal verbs. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, My chart says that a #8 is too small if it's 60 deg. C wire but that it's fine if it's 75 deg. C wire or better. Looks like 90 deg. wire to me. I could have gotten it wrong though - I'm very weak in electrical. OT - OF!!! M.

Well, I've had a 3-light tester tell me there were grounds when there weren't, so I suppose it could work the other way around. I once did a house for an electrician. My SureTest said that there were about 11 open grounds on the first floor. The client said, "Haven't you got a real outlet tested?" I said, "What do you mean, one of those little 3 light testers?" He nodded, so I dug my 3-light out. He went back through and tested again and the 3-light tester said they were all grounded. I handed him a screwdriver and told him to open them up. He did - all of the EGC's had been nipped off. "Whoo-ee, I've got to get me one of those things," he said. I threw the 3-light tester away. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Dang! You're right, Jim. I pulled out my Hansen's and there is was in Chapter 4. It's weird how, even with nice clear photos, sometimes things are harder to figure out than when you see them in person. It must be a 2D versus 3D thing. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Is it a main or a sub-panel? With nearly all of the grounded conductors on one bus and the equipment grounding conductors on the other, at first blush it looks like it's configured to be a sub-panel. However, it's fed by a 3-wire SEC, the neutral and ground buses are bonded together with that back strap and there is a bonding jumper between the right-hand bus and the enclosure, as well as a heavy solid service grounding conductor at the bottom left connected to the left bus, and I suppose that SGC is connected to a grounding electrode someplace, so I guess it's supposed to be a main panelboard. Since it's configured as a main, the two grounded conductors added to that left bus with all of those EGC's really don't matter. The black wire that's connected to the right bus, which Richard mentions, has a white stripe on it, so I guess it's identified as a grounded conductor. Still ok if it's a main panelboard and would be fine if it were a sub-panel (as long as the bus weren't bonded). I do agree though that those look like two aluminum hot leads connected to that two-pole breaker that Richard mentioned. If the breaker is marked cu/al, I wouldn't be concerned about the aluminum wire. I disagree with Richard, though; that looks like #8 aluminum conductors to me, in which case it's correct for a 40 amp load. I wouldn't worry about the lack of any anti-oxidation paste because that's probably new copper alloy and is not as brittle and won't oxidize like the old stuff. The paste is more a mark of good workmanship than a necessity. That's if it is a main panel. If it's a sub-panel, it's all screwed up. What's with the screw clamp on the SEC/Feeder where it enters the panel? I've never seen one of those done that way before. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Depending on what type of phone you have you can connect to the net via your existing cell phone. http://www.tmobile.com/shop/addons/serv ... ataEmlSvcs Nah, Not me. It's hard enough reading something on a laptop screen, I sure as hell ain't gonna try reading an internet screen that's 2 inches by 1-1/2 inches. That card thingy sounds interesting though.... OT - OF!!! M.

Hmm, I wonder if they have those thingys for T-Mobile? OT - OF!!! M.

Well, then God must have been punishing the hell out of you the day that you had to inspect that mess! [:-devil] OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Kurt, I remember seeing that discussion once on the ASHI board when I was still affiliated with ASHI, but I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now. It is common to see gas fireplaces with both the large key-type shutoff in a floor or wall next to the fireplace, with a smaller shutoff valve underneath the fireplace before the connector, but I don't think two are required. IFGC Section 409.5 Equipment shutoff valve. Each appliance shall be provided with a shutoff valve separate from the appliance. The shutoff valve shall be located in the same room as the appliance, not further than 6 feet (1829 mm) from the appliance, and shall be installed upstream from the union, connector or quick disconnect device it serves. Such shutoff valves shall be provided with access. Exception: Shutoff valves for vented decorative appliances and decorative appliances for installation in vented fireplaces shall not be prohibited from being installed in an area remote from the appliance where such valves are provided with ready access. Such valves shall be permanently identified and shall serve no other equipment. Piping from the shutoff valve to within 3 ft. (914 mm) of the appliance connection shall be sized in accordance with section 402. 409.5.1 Shutoff valve in fireplace. Equipment shutoff valves located in the firebox of a fireplace shall be installed in accordance with the appliance manufacturer's instructions. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Randy, What piece of technological wizardry enabled you to talk to us from the site? OT - OF!!! M.

Jeez Bill, What program did you use to do that. Whenever I try that the danged resolution goes to Aunt Sadie's. OT - OF!!! M.

In this photo, someone has taken a screw-in plug adapter and installed wires in the slots to bypass the fuse in a disconnect that controls a light and a sump pump in the basement of a 1924 home. Many thanks to Phillip R. Smith Sr.Home Sweet Home InspectionsTuscaloosa, AL

Hi Kyle, Yeah, I see something similar in a lot of the condo conversions. The developers pay the cheapest bidder to come through and paint everything off-white and they aren't paying the painter (at least in the painter's mind, I guess) for the time it takes to put a piece of masking paper over the panel. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Expounding a little bit about what Chris said and I said in an earlier post - I think that if all of the inspectors in a given area got together and agreed on a single procedure that it would have some influence upon how banks and reel-tours deal with this issue. You can only be a doormat if you allow yourself to become one. As for these foreclosed properties, why not send a letter on behalf of every company in the area to the local banks and real estate brokerages, as well as to the local paper's real estate reporter, that explains that a home inspection can't be done properly, and won't be done, unless/until the owner of the home - bank, etc. - has had a plumber and/or an electrician out to the home to cap off cut sections of pipe where fixtures have been removed, replace missing fixtures or cap off wires and junction boxes, and put heating systems in order prior to putting the house up for sale. They are the "owners" after all and should be responsible for preparing the property for the inspection. If they're faced with unified resolve on the part of inspectors not to do it, and they know that's going to jam up the sale, they'll get off their duffs and take care of it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well, if you want it to stop you have to try and do something about it. Every time that a client tells you that the agent said that it's your responsibility, you should get on the phone to the agent, and especially to the agent's broker, and tell them in no uncertain terms that it is not the responsibility of a home inspector to prepare the property for the inspection. Got a local paper with a real estate section? If so, shoot off an email to the real estate reporter and ask him/her to say something about it in an article in the Sunday real estate section of the paper so that it will be common knowledge among those who still know how to read a newspaper. What the heck is a "basacard" OT - OF!!! M.