hausdok

Hi, Yes, that fitting that Frank showed is designed to be installed onto an existing line without shutting off the water. That manufacturer makes several devices for direct tapping into lines under pressure. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Jim, Yeah, I think they do. I was looking for that reference when I found the one above. This may be indirect, but he didn't indicate that one way or the other when he posted. OT - OF!!! M.

Can't you just imagine the kind of bacteria trying to make it's way up that pipe to the fridge? Turn off the freezer to defrost it and there's going to be a stampede going up that pipe. "Damn! These be some tasty ice cubees, Elrod!" OT - OF!!! M.

It's not allowed. IRC 3003.2/UPC 311.2 No saddle fittings or tapping/drilling of drain line.

Hi, You said that there was a B-vent cap. Was there a storm collar above the bib flashing where the vent passes through the roof and was the storm collar caulked to the vent pipe with high-temp silicone to prevent condensation from draining through the bib and dripping off the vent? Was the vent from the collar in an unheated area that's allowing exhaust gases to cool so rapidly that condensation actually ices up at the terminus? The ice on the nail heads could be ordinary house humidity that's condensing on the cold tips of the nails. After the sun gets high in the sky and heats the roof a little bit, the moisture will evaporate. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Eric, Actually, if I'm remembering this correctly, John came here and received some pretty straightforward warnings about how this was probably not the best time to be diving into the home inspection field and not to believe everything he heard at the schools. Am I right about that, John, or am I misremembering that. OT - OF!!! M.

Read the manuals at the links above guys! OT - OF!!! M.

This Christian Science Monitor article run on MSN Real Estate kind of sums up the situation with real estate agents across the U.S.. Inspectors who've built their businesses solely around referrals from the real estate sector have got to be feeling the pinch of this by now. To read more, click here.

Hi, He misspoke. I'm sure that he meant to say plastic-coated connectors. You are correct, a "connector" - a short flexible pipe used between the end of the primary fuel line and the appliance must not pass through a wall, floor, etc., but don't confuse CSST with a connector. The rules for CSST are different despite their similarities to connectors. You guys would probably not sleep well if you were in Seoul, Korea. The entire city is plumbed with plastic gas line that's buried about 18 inches below grade. I watched them installing the stuff back in 1993. Most homeowners use a length of soft rubber hose clamped onto a fitting like you'd see with an an air compressor to bring the gas from the meter into their homes for the water heater or hydronic boiler for the floor heat. In my brother-in-laws place it comes through a hole drilled through a door jamb, snakes across the wall and then goes along the backsplash at the kitchen counter before dropping behind the stove. It was identical to the rubber fuel line hose one can purchase in an auto parts store. That's in Korea which is technologically pretty good. I was reading about how in China folks were stealing natural gas from leaking pipes at refineries by using large plastic blivets made from some kind of plastic bag material and would ride on down the street with them on the back of a bicycle and then plumb them to their houses with a length of hose, a clamp, and a screwdriver. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Yes, it does need protection from nails when passing through a wall stud - just like wiring or pipe, but it doesn't need to be sleeved when passing up through floor sills or wall plates. Go to the links posted above for best guidance. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Will, I don't know if you'll find what you need there, but go to the menu bar at the top, cursor "Library" , choose "File Downloads", and then scroll down until you find the documents that deal with manufactured home anchoring systems. OT - OF!!! M.

Simple answer, no. OT - OF!!! M.

There's nothing anyone here can do for you, as we are not contractors and are home inspectors. However, it sounds to me like your solution is obvious; you need to cover that soil in the crawlspace with a sealed barrier and you also need a radon mitigation system beneath that barrier, so contact some radon mitigation professionals in your area to discuss your options and obtain bids. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Washington D.C. - January 10 A new professional designation program from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will soon provide home buyers with additional assurance that the builder or remodeler they've chosen is authentically "green." The Certified Green Professionalâ„¢ designation will be unveiled Thursday, Feb. 14 during Green Day at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Application information will be available at the show. “We know green is the future of building. With the Certified Green Professional designation, we’re helping our qualified members demonstrate to their clients that the future is here,â€

As if we didn't have enough bad news already, according to this article in the January 16 edition of the Detroit Free Press, things are probably going to get worse in the housing sector before they get better. To read the entire article, click here.

Seattle, WA - January 18 A home inspector licensing law (HB 212) cleared the New Hampshire Senate yesterday. According to an article in the New Hampshire Business Review, If the bill makes it successfully through the state senate without changes and is signed into law by the governor, beginning in 2010, home inspectors in New Hampshire will need to complete all licensing requirements and be issued a license in order to practice. As written, the bill would require that inspectors have a high school diploma, complete 80 hours of home inspection education, pass an exam approved by a newly-formed state licensing board, complete minimum annual continuing education requirements, and agree to a number of ethical guidelines; including prohibitions against compensating real estate agents for referrals, inspecting homes where they might benefit from indirect compensation or future referrals, and accepting compensation for referring contractors. The bill passed the senate without debate on a voice vote. Only one senator cast a nay vote. That senator had voiced concerns based on the New Hampshire interNACHI chapter's objections to the state-mandated test, lack of reciprocity, and grandfathering provisions in the law. To read the entire article click here.

Hi, Thanks for pointing that out for me. I've fixed the links and they should work now. OT - OF!!! M.

Atlanta - January 17 To encourage energy efficient design in a range of building types, ASHRAE and its partnering organizations are making available for free the Advanced Energy Design Guide series. Electronic versions of the newest book in the series, Advanced Energy Design Guides for K-12 School Buildings, as well as the existing guides on small office and small retail buildings are available for free download at ashrae.org. Future guides, including one focused on warehouses to be published this spring, will be available for free electronic download as well. “Energy efficiency is still a vast and underutilized energy resource that is essential to the long-term survival of our world,â€

Hi Randy, They are current carrying conductors. If you place more than one under a single lug and that allows them to loosen over time and begin arcing, you can have all kinds of stuff happen. Right? From my point of view, it's a very simple thing that folks over-complicate and that Joe and Jim are very correct to point out. The code says you can't do it, unless the panel labeling says that it's allowed such as in the photo above that is provided by Joe, so, whether it causes damage or not is irrelevant. We see stuff every day that is done wrong but has or hasn't caused any damage; more often than not, it seems to be the latter. I might have said, "...hasn't caused any damage yet," but that's irrelevant too, because it's not a foregone conclusion that when something is done in contravention of existing regs or codes that it will cause damage. Double-lugging neutrals on a panel bus is wrong unless the labeling on the panel allows it; that's all there is to it. There is no controversy, just some folks that don't want to write it up because they don't want to argue with an electrician or don't want to make waves, or electricians that don't want to fix it because they don't want to listen to what a home inspector says or because they've never bothered to learn their craft properly. Write it up and be done with it. Whether you write it up to be fixed right now, or the next time an electrician is out there working on the box as Jim does, just do the right thing and write it up. The reason that I'm so inflexible about such a little thing as this is because, even though in nearly 12 years I've been fortunate and have never had to defend myself in court, it might happen someday, and I don't want to be put in the position of admitting under questioning, while under oath, that I ever ignore stuff, even very minor stuff, that I know is wrong or is in contravention of codes and regs, for the sake of avoiding an argument or making waves. Take it from an ex-detective that has spent more time than he wants to remember being grilled by attorneys in court, that kind of admission in court will completely blow your credibility out of the water. If it's wrong, tell 'em it's wrong and write it up. What they choose to do about it from that point on is their business. OT - OF!!! M.

Simple, You're a home inspector and some electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys, and AHJ's would rather have a strand of barbed wire shoved up their bunghole before they'll ever admit that a home inspector has anything worthwhile to say. When I run into those guys, I ask them that question directly; usually something like, "You know, I didn't write these code rules; it was a bunch of licensed electricians, electrical engineers, and probably some code guys - your guys - sitting around a table that wrote these rules, so how about helping me to understand why you're right and they're wrong. Sometimes it brings them around, sometimes it results in a brusk, "Kiss my ass," or "F**k you, Asshole." It doesn't happen very often, so I can't say which response I experience the most - I think it's the former; they come around. Maybe it's time for home inspectors to ask to be included in the code writing processes. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, They look like home run bonding cables to me. I agree with Jim; they should be on the bus, not that one-conductor lug. If there isn't a hole large enough in the ground bus for them, there should be separate lugs for each. It would have made more sense to have those in the main panel, No? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I don't really see a problem with him reporting that it was 2-200 amp panels, as long as each panel is rated for 200 amps. He could have one 200 amp panel and one 100 sub-panel and it wouldn't change the fact that he's got a 200 amp service. I think it can help to know what the sub-panel enclosure is rated for. Rob, the ground bus is supposed to be bonded to the enclosure in a sub-panel. It's the neutral that's supposed to be isolated from the EGC's and the enclosure. So, how many conductors are feeding the sub? OT - OF!!! M.

Thanks Chad, I was wondering whether I'd attend when it hit Seattle. Being often motivated by the noises I hear in my rather broad midsection, now it looks like I'll be attending. ONE TEAM - ONE BITE!!! M.

Hi Pookie, I see that you just signed on to TIJ as a member. You are aware, aren't you, that this is a home inspectors site and that we don't get to remove components from the homes that we inspect, so there's no way that anyone here is going to be able to supply you with a motor for that (Besides, that post is almost a couple of years old.). Why don't you just contact the nearest electric motor repair shop - you can find them in just about any major city - especially if you have any factories around - and they'll be able to either repair the motor you have or hook you up with a new one. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Washington - January 16 Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes was virtually unchanged for a fourth consecutive month in January as mortgage-market problems and inventory issues continued to pose challenges, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI rose a single point to 19 this month following a downwardly revised 18 reading in December and 19 readings in both October and November of 2007. "Builders are taking a realistic view of the continuing housing market correction and doing what they should to get inventories under control and restore greater balance to the supply and demand equation," noted NAHB President Brian Catalde, a home builder from El Segundo, Calif. "The HMI has held within a narrow two-point range for the past five months, indicating that builder views of housing market conditions essentially haven't changed over that time," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "Builders are anticipating a time when market conditions will support an upswing in building activity - most likely in the second half of 2008." Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as either "good," "fair" or "poor." The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as either "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. In January, the index gauging current sales conditions for single-family homes remained unchanged at 19, while the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months rose two points to 28. Meanwhile, the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose one point to 14. Regionally, the HMI results were mixed in January. The Northeast posted no change at 20, while the Midwest reported a two-point gain to 17 and the South registered a three-point gain to 23. The West posted a five-point decline to an HMI reading of 13. "We applaud the Federal Reserve's stated willingness to act aggressively to help stimulate the economy through further rate cuts in the coming weeks," noted Catalde. "Congress must also continue its efforts to help resolve the credit crunch and get housing back on track by moving quickly to get a Federal Housing Administration reform bill to the President's desk and accomplish much-needed oversight reform for the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Editor's Note: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is strictly the product of NAHB Economics, and is not seen or influenced by any outside party prior to being released to the public. HMI tables can be accessed online at: www.nahb.org/hmi. More information regarding housing statistics is also available at www.housingeconomics.com. #### ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.08 million new housing units projected for 2008.