hausdok

Hi Richard, Yeah, I guess that's the same stuff. I'm amazed that it stayed up there on those granules five years. It likes a very clean, smooth and dry surface. Down in Florida they use that stuff on the joints of the metal roofs on the single and double-wides followed by a highly reflective coating. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. Even on a 90° day, once it was rolled onto a thoroughly scoured and clean surface, it was tenacious and wouldn't come off without a fight. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Heck yes! It's what they use for SIPs. If they've sprayed that ceiling and the foam has bonded to the lower truss chords and to the drywall, that's going to be one very stiff ceiling and should be able to handle the R38 cells easily, smooth shanked nails and all. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, That's why I asked how wide it was. Last week when I was in Florida I was in a place that sold a bituthene product called Peel & Seal that comes in roles that ranged all the way from 3 inches wide up to 22 inches wide. The stuff can be gotten with foil facing like that or with a white vinyl facing or other colors of viny facings. When it was rolled down using a laminate roller, it looked just like that stuff. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

If you're like me, you've noticed that lately there seems to have been a huge increase in the number of suspicious emails coming from what, at first blush, seem to be legitimate organizations but later turn out to be scam artists trying to lure me in with phishing techniques. The situation has gotten so perverse that I no longer accept any e-mail from most commercial entities and will no longer do any online transactions with any business, unless they can prove to me that they have rock solid internet security and there is a foolproof means to know how to differentiate their e-mails from clones created by phishing scammers. Consequently, most of the commerce that I do is now the old fashioned way, with pen and paper and via snail mail. It's a damned shame, but it's the world we live in. That's why I got more than a little bit of pleasure to read today of how a huge international operation has managed to net some of the scum that run these operations. Now, if they would just re-open Devil's Island and begin shipping to there some of the human toe jam that perpetrates these scams we might see some real progress against them. To read more, click here.

Hi, I've been pondering this for a day or two. Now, I could be wrong, since I'd only been trained on auto AC systems and that was 39 years ago and the last time I touched one was in 1975, but it seems to me that, if the combined capacity of the two evaporator coils were to equal that of a single evaporator designed for the same condensing unit, the only thing preventing this from working right is flow rates to each. You stated that the one on the right isn't working correctly. Well, if the flow rate to that A-coil doesn't meet what's needed, it's not going to work, is it? I don't know much about fluid dynamics, but that line branches with a 90° Tee, which I believe will make for some cavitation and prevent proper distribution to one of the two A-coils - in this case, the right one. Common sense is telling me that, unless you have a means to ensure that distribution into each of those lines is equal to exactly what each evaporator needs, one or both is going to suffer. It's like the brakes on a car; if you don't have an equalizing valve ensuring that pressure equalizes at every wheel, you're brakes are going to be more effective on one wheel than another and you'll pull left or right or find yourself diving every time you put on the brakes. So, what's balancing this system? It seems to me there should have been some kind of manifold instead of a Tee, so that fluid can flow into the manifold and then from there flow equally to both evaporators, or, if one evaporator is a different size from the other, some type of regulator should have been installed to ensure that only the proper amount of refrigerant flows to each. Does that make sense to anyone? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Tim, Did you take any macro photos of the stuff. It looks like it might be a CPVC plastic roof but it's too far away to tell. How wide were those strps of material? OT - OF!!! M.

See what I mean, Some guys just have to constantly tinker. Now he's done one for gamers. http://ct.zdnet.com/clicks?t=40377008-c ... f&s=5&fs=0 OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, There are clearance requirements between meters and service entrances. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Brian, Was it an all-in-one PC or a conventional PC? This guy is referring to an all-in-one PC. I agree, you can get them cheap. Heck, I bought one for my wife complete with 19" LCD monitor at Fry's for less than $400. I don't think George Ou built it because he needed one; I think he did it as something to tinker around with, just to see whether he could do it or not. We all have hobbies. Some guys collect stamps; others like to experiment with computers and other gizmos. My brother spent more restoring his 57 than he'll ever spend on a new car. Everyone needs a hobby; just ask Chad - his is building ginormous thingys - or Les - his is flirting with young ladies. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

My brother and I converged on Dunidin, FL last week to fix Mom's roof. Hugh used that opportunity for a final shake down cruise for the '57 Chevy that he's spent the past 15 years restoring. She's like a new car. He did a pretty good job. Check her out. Image Insert: 36.75 KB OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Any chance that's a victorian that's had a new facade wrapped completely around the original turret? OT - OF!!! M.

Washington, D.C./October 2nd- Release #08-003 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Honeywell International Inc., of Morristown, N.J., today announced a voluntary recall of approximately 4,000 gas valves used in decorative stoves and fireplaces. The activation knob on the valve can be left in a position between OFF and PILOT, which can cause the pilot gas to leak and accumulate prior to burner ignition. This poses a risk of thermal burns to consumers when they light the pilot of the fireplace or stove. Honeywell has received one report of gas accumulating and combusting resulting in a minor injury when the consumer lit the fireplace and the hair in the back of the consumer's hand was singed. The recall involves gas valves used in liquid-propane-fueled decorative fireplaces and Franklin-type stoves. These stoves and fireplaces have direct pressure relief vents via a spring-loaded door. Fireplaces and stoves with a side or rear vent are not included in this recall. Honeywell sold the gas valves exclusively to original equipment manufacturers for use in fireplaces and stoves from April 2004 through August 2007. Those manufacturers sold fireplaces and stoves at retailers nationwide. Inspectors that see these valves should notify homeowners or their agents about this recall and advise them to stop using the product immediately and contact Honeywell for information on how to receive a free inspection and replacement valve. For additional information, contact Honeywell at (800)939-4836 between 9 a.m. and 5p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit the firm's web site at www.nvp-hearth.honeywell. To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please click here. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Hi, For those of you who are adventurous and think you might want to try tinkering a little and building your own PC, but aren't where Gary is and won't be there for eons, you might check out this fun little weekend project. http://ct.zdnet.com/clicks?t=40332146-c ... f&s=5&fs=0 ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

intra-network discussion forum???? and dig out my comments from 1996 - 1998 time frame??? Where would I find the intra-network discussion forum? Part of this site? No, the forum I was talking about is one that's available only to W.I.N.'s franchisees. I posted some information on that forum waaaaay back. I don't have access to it now. Even if I had access, it might not be there anymore, 'cuz they periodically archive that stuff. OT - OF!!! Mike

I couldn't type on that; it's too small. I touch type and never learned how to hunt and peck with two fingers. I have a hard time on those small notebook keyboards and need a full sized keyboard - you know, one that's the size of a typewriter's keyboard. I suppose that if it works for you it'll be fine, but it would take me longer to do it with that keyboard than anyone would be willing to wait. OT - OF!!! M.

Me too, Richard, Thanks. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Scott, Not sure that's accurate. I've looked at a lot of these, just as you have, and what I see is a lot of brands that have both a top port and a side port, in addition to an anode rod. OT - OF!!! M.

Huh, If that's true, there're a few million homes that are wrong. That AHJ needs to get out there and straighten out the rest of those building inspectors and all of those uneducated electricians, I guess. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Les, I sort of figured that you'd equate that article with sand in your shorts. [:-dev3] OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I can appreciate the fact that you're in a high infestation zone, but if the bug guys were using their heads they'd realize that people in the home are less exposed to toxins from his chemicals, and the bugs will be exposed to higher concentrations longer, if the chemical is placed under the barrier and the barrier covers it and prevents its rapid degradation. So, even if the authorities want them to cut back, they should be following good practices such as ensuring the cap sheet is applied properly, to maintain the potency of their treatment longer, and to prevent as much evaporation as possible. It's simple building science, not pest science. If they don't get it, someone needs to educate them about it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yep, That's the term used to describe our business in an article about a new home inspection franchise that allegedly ensures inspectors meet "nationally accepted" standards for the industry. Hmm, exactly what nation is that, anyway? To read the entire article, click here.

Do you mean to tell me that homeowners are risking their homes to make it a little more convenient for the termite guys? That's just plain dumb. If the termite guy wants his treatment to get into the soil, why can't he drag his sorry butt around the perimeter, pull back the plastic, apply his chemical, lay the plastic back down, and keep on going? Don't people realize that if it wasn't for the moisture they probably wouldn't need treatments? The moisture is what helps to make the wood soft enough for subs to eat it and supplies them with the moisture they need to stay alive. If you cut off the evaporation with a proper cap sheet conditions in the crawl become pretty grim for subs. Builders and homeowners where you are need to wake up to the fact that the bug guys are setting everyone up for failure in order to keep their own tap flowing. I can't find it (I can't find anything since I moved to this new place and haven't had time to sort through most of the stuff in my office), but I once obtained a little USDA book from the US Government Printing office that showed the proper way to install vapor barriers and for pest guys to do treatments so they'll be the most effective. You might check out their online library and see if you can't find it and order it. No, the flex is ruined and can't be dried. Pull it all out and replace it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No it won't, it'll just spray all over the place because there's no discharge line on it. That is, if it vents. It's wrong because the probe isn't in the tank. It's wrong because they don't have a discharge pipe on it. If those are galvanized components - can't tell, the color's displays a little weird on my monitor - it's wrong because those nipples should have been dielectric types. Plumbers around here used to install lots of them on the discharge line, especially in homes with basements. I think some knew that they were wrong, because they'd install a properly spec'd TPR on the side or top of the water heater with a short discharge pipe that would vent into the home if it blew, and then they'll install a second TPR valve that's designed to pop off at 125° on the hot water line up between the floor joists with a pipe that vents to the outside. I guess their reasoning was that the one on the line will blow and vent to the outside before the tank goes critical and they've got the one on the tank as insurance in case it doesn't. It's just wrong. Write it. OT - OF!!! M.

Hmmm, You know WJ, our sponsors just came out with a new program - Photo Drop - which is designed specifically for dropping photos into Word. OT - OF!!! M.

Was there a cap sheet on the soil? If not, and the boots aren't insulated, then you've got your answer. For every 1000 sf of uncovered soil in a dry crawlspace, you'll evaporate about 11 gallons of water every 24 hours; day after day after day. it'll cool on the cold metal, soak into the insulation and get trapped between the inner and outer shell of the ducts. OT - OF!!! M.