hausdok

Rock wool is slag wool. It's made from shiny slag left over after one smelts iron. I agree with Jim; I don't think you have anything to be afraid of. Filter it out with a paint strainer or something and don't lose any more sleep over it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

It's probably a tripped GFCI someplace. The house I did yesterday afternoon had a nicely remodeled bathroom. I tested the GFCI in the main bath and then it wouldn't reset. Found that all baths were on the same circuit and the owner, thinking he was being really safe, had put a GFCI receptacle in all three. The two that were downstream from the first in the voltage stream wouldn't reset until one went to the first and reset it. That wasn't to hard to figure out. Later on though I found a hall light and a bedroom light wouldn't function. I was about to write them up when the client mentioned that they'd been working fine earlier. I went to check the panel - no tripped breaker. Then I thought, "I wonder..." and went back to the bathrooms to check the GFCI's. Yep, the do-it-yourselfer had tapped into the same circuit that powered the hall and bedroom and had put that GFCI upstream of those circuits. Tripping that bath GFCI cuts power to half the second floor. Wiring looks easy to do; but if you don't think things through you can end up with some odd and interesting circumstandes. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

It's quick. It's easy. It probably costs less than $10 vs. a couple thousand to tear out a mud pan and floor, reconfigure a drain and redo the pan. If it works it's worth it. Who cares about the AHJ. The house is already built. Now you have to find a solution to the AHJ's screwup - missing this. Besides, nobody is ever going to see it. If there has ever been one of those installed in a shower drain on a house I've inspected I'm unaware of it. Not sure I could even see one of these looking down through a shower strainer. I'm sure I probably wouldn't have noticed it unless the drain were clogged up. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

It's a glass mat roof. A cheap alternative to modbit, epdm or PVC. It's a cheap roof. According to the guys I talked to at Jorve roofing, it's got about a 7 to 10 year service life. Give 'em a call and talk to one of their supervisors about it ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Ramdino, Then it's worse than them being pussies; they don't know what the hell they are doing. If they want to tell you how to write your reports they must first know how to write a report and it doesn't sound like they know. I say that because they could do everyone a favor, if they are going to be report overseers, by insisting that every comment identifying a deficiency do the following: - Identify the issue - Explain why it is bad for the house and the consequences of inaction and support that with references - code, texts, manufacturer's instructions, etc.. - A clear recommendation to the client(s) about what to do next - ie. have it repaired by a plumber or electrician, have it investigated by such-and-such specialist and then repaired as needed based on the specialist's recommendation, etc.. I agree that just saying that: "The deck ledger is not attached correctly and violates code." doesn't provide the client much info and is pretty useless, but making it harder for inspectors to provide usable references is just as bad. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yep, Might be incompatible materials. The moisture scenario works too but not because of boiling - because bacteria trapped in the moisture multiplies and gives off gas that expands and forces the stuff to stretch until it fractures. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, It's moisture that's worked its way up behind the tile due to capillary action. It probably isn't in the substrate, wall or framing yet. You don't need an infrared camera for that kind of stuff. rap the tile with your knuckles and use your eyes. If the tile echoes you've got a loose tile. If there are cracks or voids in the grout water will be behind the tile. If the caulk is failing along the tub rim there will probably be water behind the first course. If the corner joint grout is cracked or if it's been caulked and the caulk has failed there will probably be water behind the tiles that meet that corner at either side. I routinely see stuff like that and later on when I check with Yung she confirms that she'd found water behind the tile. Unless it's really old and I have a high expectation of finding drywall or greenboard behind the tile, and it looks like it's been that way for a long time, I wouldn't expect it to have gotten into the wall. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, But the real problem is a licensing board that's afraid to upset the realtors. Translated into English; they're a bunch of f***ing cowards. Hey NC Home Inspectors License board, You guys are a bunch of Pussies!

Maybe to put those pipes outside of an asbestos jacket that's been removed? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

So, I look at badly cracked foundation walls all the time. Some are in basements and some are crawlspaces. When wall drainage details are correct and exterior drainage (roof and surface) is properly configured, we don't see water coming in through the cracks that often; so a cracked foundation wall in-and-of-itself doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up with water under a home,....unless some other details are seriously screwed up. No weeps at the base of the veneer and no evidence of through wall flashings there? Also no flashings at the top of the veneer where the vinyl transitions to the brick. I don't think it's an issue with surface water, ground water or roof water. If it were, patching the wall certainly wouldn't have increased the influx. I think water is draining behind the vinyl and veneer to the base of the veneer. It can't get out so it backs up to the top of the foundation wall and then it drains along the top of the concrete wall to the low spot in the center where the foundation cracked, fills up the area where the carbon-fiber matting is applied to both sides of the wall and then overflows like a cup that's over-full into the interior. To confirm my theory, have him take an electric drill and drill a small hole (1/8" would be fine) below the girder in that matting to see if you get water draining out of there. I thnk it's had water in the basement for years because the numbnuts that applied the brick and the idjit that installed the vinyl siding didn't do their jobs right. Figure out what's letting all of that water in behind the vinyl and fix it. Then fix the vinyl-to-brick transition by integrating flashings into whatever is behind the vinyl and then fix the brick-to-foundation transition by re-doing the brick and ensuring through-wall flashings and weeps are there and you'll have fixed the incoming water source from the wall. Then you have to make sure exterior drainage is right. Is that yard sloped away from the foundation at least an inch per foot? It sure doesn't look like it in the photo. Are there downspout receivers or do the downspouts dump right onto grade next to the foundation? That yard needs to slope properly away from the foundation and those downspouts either need to be tight-lined to in-ground drains that empty into dedicated drainage well clear of the house or they need to be extended to a point at least six feet from the foundation. Of course you knew all that but maybe some folks reading this thread, like new inspectors, didn't (Though they should know it if they're in this business). ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Have you checked out the Bosch site to see if they have a place where you could post that question and get an answer straight from the horse's mouth? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hoo Boy! Expect a diatribe shortly. When our foundation repair contracting friend reads this he's going to go off the deep end. Lots of stuff on here about the process, including photos. Just search the site. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's a shame. Those T-Lok shingles will outlive anything else around when they're kept clean. The moss has done a job on that cover.

Nah, moss will eat wood. It uses the oxalic acid to break down the cell structure into something it can feed off of. Oxalic acid on the other hand is used to bleach wood without turning it white and it can also be used to age new asphalt shingles so that they'll blend in with an older roof better when you make roof repairs. It's also great for cleaning concrete - but I'm guessing you already knew all that. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yep, it literally wraps itself around the crushed stone granules. If you pull a chunk off the roof you'll typically find a bunch of granules stuck to the bottom of it and the area where the moss had been, if it's been left too long, will be softer to the touch because moss secretes oxalic acid to digest whatever it is growing on. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Not unless the shingle formulation is seriously screwed up, but if they's used the wrong kind of felt - building paper instead of roofing underlayment for instance - the paper will wrinkle up when it gets wet and that might feel like a sponge when walked on. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No Scott, in Boston that's 'yahd aht'.. let's make that clear.. K, But how is pronounced in Nuh Joyzee? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Uh, Pssst, Hey, modernroofer, thanks for posting your opinion of Decra; but that post you responded to? - it's more than four years old. Those folks with the Decra roof have never returned here since as far as I know. Note to Decra if you stumble on this thread. Don't bother writing to TIJ and demanding a retraction because you don't like what this person has said about your product. Look at the footer below this page. You'll note that the views expressed here are the view of the authors - in this case modernroofer - and do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the sponsors - or the owners of this forum either for that matter. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Randy, If there's a lot of moss on the leaking areas the moss might be forming a dam and preventing the water from draining off the roof and some of it's backing up under the shingles. Underlayment only remains weather resistant if it's not constantly wet and can dry out between rains. If you have a situation where the moss was causing water to back up under the shingles and it has been going on long enough the underlayment would be saturated through and through and water would pass right through it. How steep was the slope on those roofs? I'd be more inclined to think it was condensation. If there's a lot of moss on those covers the moss has to either be on the north or east sides or the houses have a lot of high trees around them that prevent sunlight from reaching the cover, killing the moss and drying out the roof. I often find roofs with a lot of moss on the north plane where the underside is dripping with condensation but the south plane will be moss free and the underside nice and dry. That's because the UV kills the spore that gives moss its start and the heat from the sun can dry out that south roof plane during the day. The north slope doesn't get any sunlight so it stays damp, the spore isn't killed on that side and the spore is fed by the dampness on the surface and eventually the moss takes off in a big way. The underside of those roofs stays cold and condensation is the norm if they don't have a really well ventilated attic. Sometimes the contrast from one side to the other is stark. With a little investigation I typically find that insulation has been pushed in tight against the bottom of the insulation baffles and has collapsed them so that only a small fraction of the air that's supposed to come through them is actually passing. Then, if there are gable end vents installed in conjunction with the frieze vents, very little air actually moves up the underside of the roof to remove all of that dampness. Lots of air will get into the attic around recessed light fixtures with open cans, wiring coming up through the top of wall plates, unsealed areas around chimneys and vents, disconnected ceiling fans, etc.. and lots of times I find the that when there is that much wetness the whole house ventilation system isn't even functioning - especially if it's controlled by one of those mechanical 24-hour timers - because the two little springs inside often break. People have those systems set up to vent the home but they don't realize that the timer is broken and that the home isn't being ventilated. Found two like that in the past week - on one of them the underside of the roof was, besides being wet - all covered with black leopard spots of fungi - on another the moisture was feeding what looked like giant peach fuzz on the underside of the deck. In each case there were issues with attic ventilation and with whole house ventilation systems that weren't functioning or weren't being used. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Enclose it below the deck.

To home inspectors it's not new news that there are issues with the FPE Stab-Lok panels; but inspectors must constantly fight the idea put forward by some in real estate that because these panels were never recalled by the government they must be fine and no evidence exists to the contrary. A Bay Area investigative news team has just published a report of their findings after looking into the FPE Stab-Lok issue and having some independent testing done. To learn more, click here. Editor's Note: Thanks to professional electrician Jim Simmons (User name Mr. Electric) for this submission.

Hey! What the....I'm sure I've been under that house a few hundred times. How did it find its way to Illinois? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, An attic is considered an outside source per F2407.6.1(1 & 2). A single opening from the closet into the attic space is OK if it's in the upper 12-inches of the space and is 1 square inch per 3,000 Btu and is greater in area than the sum of the area of the vent connectors F2407.6.2). It can be to an attic (F2407.6.2). Obviously, the opening has to end above the insulation - six inches minimum, I think - and they aren't allowed to install any screen over it in the attic (F2407.1.1). So, you've got to measure it to ensure it meets the size requirement and you have to ensure it ends above the insulation and isn't screened. If it meets those requirements there is no need for a second opening and you're going to end up with egg on your face. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Splitting hairs but I think the term is AMI - in Accordance with Manufacturer's [b/]I[/b]nstructions. When you say PMI to me, I instantly think of a Preventative Maintenance Inspection. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Howard, Home inspectors aren't allowed to remove burners and such. I think I've only seen one or two Airco units in 16+ years, so I can't picture what you're talking about. I don't think there is any way we could do what you're talking about without some kind of disassembly. The typical way we'll inspect a heat exchanger is with a mirror, if we can, to try and look for visible cracks. Sometimes some of us remove a temperature sensing unit so we can peer into the box and feel around with a fingertip - there are some Carrier units sold by Carrier and BDP where this frequently reveals cracks; but most inspectors won't do that because it's considered to be "invasive" and is beyond the mandate. It's more common for us to run the furnace and observe the flame and wait for the fan to come on. If there are cracks in the exchanger the second the fan comes on and pressurizes the air around the heat heat exchanger that air pushes through the cracks in the exchanger and substantially changes the appearance of the flame. Is there any reason that wouldn't hold true for an Airco unit? What kind of disassembly are we talking about for your match method? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike