hausdok

Not if they're specifically designed for vinyl siding with a integral channel at the sides. I can see the accessory receiver at the bottom, what did they have at the top of the window? OT - OF!!! M.

Okay, It looks to me like they've fully-lined that masonry flue with that flex. Did they cap it as well and seal it so that it's essentially now a double-walled flue? If so, and the transition coupling isn't leaking, and the condensate line is clear and draining, and the condensate pump is functioning correctly, and the the flue gases are being conveyed all the way to the outside, what's the issue? It looks like a BDP (Bryant, Daylight, Payne) Plus 90 non-direct vent application. Did you look at the install instructions. I seem to recall reading something in a BDP install manual once that said, "All models chimney-friendly when an accessory vent kit is used." The question is, is that the accessory vent kit they're talking about? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, That's very handy. One of the nice things about the MRA site is that it links you directly to most of the manufacturers' sites where you can sometimes find installation details. OT - OF!!! M.

We have some drains and catch basins around houses here that are designed to capture runoff and disperse it gradually below grade into drywells. When they fill up to overflowing the overflow is shunted into the sewers. Perhaps when it fills up the overflow drains to the sewer. OT - OF!!! M.

Come-on, Steve, your scaring me. Look at the announcement. See that hot link at the bottom that says, "click here?" Just click on that and it will take you to the online instructions where you'll be able to get access to the registration form. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Got questions about metal roof? Go here: The Metal Roofing Alliance. They have an "Ask the Expert" forum where you can ask them just about anything you want about metal roof installs. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi All, Well, so far it looks like it's going to be myself, Kurt and Les. Don't wait, people, these are probably going to go fast. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

As a general rule, most home inspectors practicing today know very little, if anything, about today's modern radiant heating systems and their hi-tech electronic controls. TIJ & Watts Radiant Heating & Snow Melting, a division of Watts Water Technologies Inc., are looking to change that with the first-ever radiant heating systems course designed exclusively for professional home inspectors. On September 12th and 13th 2007, TIJ and Watts Radiant will be hosting the first-ever course on radiant operations and installation at Watts' Warm U., the Watts Radiant University and training facility, in Springfield, Missouri. Unlike traditional heating systems training that's typically offered by manufacturers, this course has been specifically tailored to home inspectors. It will cover basic heat transfer principles, installation requirements for radiant heating systems, radiant heating products and accessories, fittings, connections and tools, and will include hands-on demonstrations. Cost of this course will be $125. This includes all accommodations, local transportation, and meals. Transportation to and from Springfield is the responsibility of the attendee. Class size is currently limited to 20 inspectors. Watts Radiant is waiving the $125 registration fee for the 20 inspectors who attend this inaugural course. Additional courses and dates will be announced if the home inspection community shows sufficient interest. Attendees will fly into Springfield on Tuesday, September 11th and a Watts Radiant representative will meet them at the airport. Students will be shuttled to their hotel, where they'll be able to meet and greet one another and enjoy an evening of relaxation. Classes will be held September 12th and the morning of the 13th and attendees will fly out the afternoon of the 13th. To sign up for the course, click on the link below, fill out the course registration and fax it directly to Watts Radiant. This course is available exclusively to TIJ members, so non-TIJ members will need to sign up for a free membership at TIJ before they can access this link. Join us and become the spearhead for future inspectors who learn about this important technology. To reach our online registration, click here. To visit the Watts Radiant site to learn more about Warm U. click the logo below. ABOUT WATTS RADIANT:Watts is a leading name in both the field of radiant floor heating and snowmelting - both in America and in Europe. Watts manufactures more radiant components than any other company in the world, including virtually every key component found in a typical radiant system. Watts subsidiaries from around the world pool their expertise to design and manufacture world class components for quality systems. Watts' manufacturing expertise includes PEX pipe, temperature gauges, controls, safety valves, pressure reducing valves, mixing valves, backflow preventors, flowmeters, balancing valves, electric floor warming mats and manifolds of stainless steel, brass and copper.

Bonnie Trenga's Sentence Sleuth Writing Workshop is going one on one. The seven-week writing class, which is currently held on TIJ as Bonnie Trenga's Sentence Sleuth Writing Workshop, is moving from a group setting to a one-on-one setting. Both beginners and more advanced writers can benefit, and busy inspectors don’t have to worry about keeping up with a class schedule. Inspectors can sign up for seven weeks of instruction and go at their own pace. If inspectors are more advanced, Bonnie will give them tougher assignments. If an inspector is more of a beginner, she'll work together slowly with the inspector. By the end of the class, students' written report materials will be higher quality than they are now, and they’ll have learned how to avoid seven common writing pitfalls. Bonnie wants each inspector who signs up to get the maximum benefit for his money. Even if it takes the inspector six months to complete the assignments. She'll give inspectors their first assignment, and when they're done, she'll give them the next one. The class follows the seven main chapters of Bonnie's writing book, The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier. Students will have about four or five assignments for each of these seven writing topics: passive voice, nominalizations, vague –ing words, weak verbs, misplaced modifiers, overly long sentences and wordiness. Each student will have his own private area, seen by just the student and the teacher, where students will submit assignments and Bonnie will provide feedback and answers. Each assignment should take a student 30-60 minutes. Each inspector will get lots of personal attention. The cost is $150 for seven weeks’ worth of writing improvement. To learn more click here.

Good response, Les. Are you familiar with Jeff's book, My House is Killing Me!: The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma? OT - OF!!! M.

Washington, D.C./June 12th - Release #07-209 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Globe Fire Sprinkler Corp., of Standish, Mich., today announced a voluntary recall of approximately 300,000 fire sprinkler heads. Name of Product: Globe Model J Series Dry Fire Sprinklers Units: About 300,000 Manufacturer: Globe Fire Sprinkler Corp., of Standish, Mich. Hazard: The sprinkler heads can deteriorate over time and fail to operate in a fire. Incidents/Injuries: Globe has received five reports of sprinklers that failed to operate as intended during a fire. Globe has received no reports of injuries caused by sprinklers failing to operate. Description: Model J Series dry fire sprinklers come in pendent, upright, and sidewall configurations. The name "Globe," the letter "J" and the year of manufacture (1990 though 1999) are embossed on the frame of each sprinkler. These dry sprinklers were designed to be installed in areas of buildings where the sprinklers or water supply pipes may be subject to freezing, such as unheated attics, freezers and coolers, parking garages, porches and warehouses. Sold by: Fire protection contractors nationwide from January 1990 through December 1999 for between $27 and $36 per sprinkler head. Manufactured in: United States Remedy: Contact Globe immediately to arrange to receive replacement sprinkler heads at a reduced cost of $9 per sprinkler head. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Globe at (800) 248-0278 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.globesprinkler.com and click on the "Recall" link. To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07209.html 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.

The commentary by David Eisenberg in issue #187 of Fine Homebulding Magazine is available now on FineHomebuilding.com. It highlights the irony of how it's easier to get plans for a minimal-standard to-code home approved, than it is to get approval for a high-end state-of-the-art home. To read the entire article, click here.

This special report from Issue #185 of Fine Homebuilding Magazine is available free as a downloadable .pdf document at the FineHomebuilding.com Green Building Guide website, where a lot of other information about green building can be found. To read the article, click here.

Atlanta, GA ASHRAE’s new 2007 residential energy efficiency standard contains several improvements made based on public input. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.2-2007, Energy-Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of residential buildings. “The standard features a simplified format and greater attention to the details of the document based on input received during public review periods,â€

Boston, MA FLIR Systems, Inc. has expanded its 2007 offerings for the fully certified infrared training courses offered by its dedicated Infrared Training Center (ITC) and has added RTools for SC6000/4000 and IR Thermography for Weatherization. The ITC will offer courses at its headquarters in North Billerica, MA, just a few miles north of Boston, and in cities throughout the United States and Canada. The ITC’s 2007 schedule of courses through December is available onlilne. The Infrared Training Center also sponsors the InfraMation conference, the world’s largest infrared applications conference for professional thermographers, which is being held this year October 15th-19th in Las Vegas, NV! This annual educational event features user-led presentations on infrared applications, practical “how-toâ€

A home inspector who is concerned about whether he is harming his health by exposing himself to the dust from fiberglass insulation recently posed that question to the Journal of Light Construction (JLC) Online. He was answered by Jeffrey May, principal scientist at May Indoor Air Investigations in Cambridge, MA, who incidentally is also a home inspector. To read May's response, click here.

Do you want to know more about some of the new technologies for building green? If so, HGTV Pro's Green Building Air-Sealing and Insulation page is probably a good place to start. To learn more, click here.

Hi Rich, Regardless of what Wayne Dalton says, I don't think there is anything in 16CFR1211 that provides for elimination of the secondary reversal feature under any circumstance. I guess if it were up to me I'd call the manufacturer and ask them to cite me chapter and verse where it says that in 16CFR1211. If they couldn't provide me the proper citation, I'd be firing a letter off to the nearest US Attorney to report the fact that they are telling people to violate federal law. OT - OF!!! M.

I routinely recommend folks have sewer lines scoped. Did it last night in fact. A lot of the housing stock in Seattle has the downspout receivers and stairwell drains tied into the basement floor drains and the city sewer. So, when we have unusually heavy rains combined with snow the sewers tend to back up and create geysers in basements. When I'm looking at a really old home with vitreous clay pipe receivers and basement floor drains in one of those old neighborhoods where there's only a sanitary sewer and no storm sewers, I always recommend they be scoped because I know that most of those old clay or concrete pipes will have collapsed or broken somewhere around the home or between the home and the street. Yesterday's was easy. They left a cleanout off a line in the basement and there was dried up gorf all over the floor around the floor drain. It was pretty obvious the drain had backed up and someone had been attempting to snake it out. Wish I'd had that damned camera, I probably could have added another service right there and been able to hand them a video tape without having to recommend they hire another guy to come in and scope the line. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I don't know of any. I was once a member, before I started TIJ. I found that most folks there are very professional. The reason that you don't hear much from NAHI is that their members generally prefers not to take part in the constant soap opera and drama that revolves around the competition between ASHI and NACHI. That alone, in my opinion, is a good reason for considering them. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Here's the free download for all of those new home inspectors who've never done any sheetrocking. USG's new The Complete Construction Handbook will make you a little bit more knowledgeable about drywall, veneer plaster, cement board, conventional plaster, etc. To get to this, you may need to register on the USG site. No worries, though; it's free and the only spam they've ever sent me in 3 years was a non-obligatory survey. If you've got a fast connection and a fast printer, this is one download you'll definitely want to spend some quality time with in the little porcelain throne room. Load up your paper tray and have at it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Herman, Pass your cursor over the blue text in the last sentence of the initial post in this thread and you'll discover that is a hot link directly to the My Safe Florida Home site where you can find out more about the program. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No offense meant, but your terminology is extremely confusing to me. There are meters, there are main disconnects, there are main breakers, there are panelboards (panels) and there are sub-panelboards (sub-panels), but in 11 years I've never hear anyone refer to the panelboard as a "meter panel." Is that an Arizona thing? The main panelboard is always where the main disconnect is - whether that is at the meter or in a garage or in a basement or anywhere else. The main disconnect can be in the form of a throw switch, a pull-block, a fuse or a main breaker. Any panel downstream from the main disconnect is a sub-panel- even if it has its own main breaker - and it must have the grounded conductors (neutrals) and equipment-grounding conductors (grounds) isolated from one another on separate buses without the neutral bus bonded to the panel enclosure. So to answer your question, yes, if there were a main disconnect at the meter, the pictured panel, regardless of the fact that it has its own disconnect, becomes a sub-panel and is therefore more dangerous because the neutrals and grounds are not isolated from one another. As Jim has pointed out to you, , So, the service grounding electrode conductor and the service grounding electrode can be at the meter while the main disconnect and panelboard can be at a different location, such as in a garage, basement, bedroom, etc. It's not a sub-panel until it is downstream from the main disconnect. It cracks me up when folks from other parts of the country see a photo of a panelboard in a garage or basement separate from the meter, which has it's own main disconnect, and refer to it as being a sub-panel, simply because it's not co-located with the meter. Around here, 99% of the services have no main disconnect at the meter. It's extremely rare that I see a panelboard co-located with the meter, or nothing but a main disconnect at the meter and a sub-panel in the home. In fact, in 11+ years, I've only had two inspections where there was a main disconnect located at the meter. Panelboards here are mostly in garages, sometimes in basements and hardly ever at the meters. The service grounding location here is primarily at that main panelboard where the main disconnect is located, but sometimes it's upstream at the meter, which is, as Jim's citation shows you, perfectly okay. Now, drive 50 miles north or south of Seattle and it's a whole different situation. There are different ways that these are installed in other geographical areas. You must understand the theory of how the system functions or you're liable to make an egregious error. If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest purchasing Douglas Hansen's book, Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings, reading it, and then immediately re-reading it, in its entirety, so that you get a better understanding of how this stuff works. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yes, I think that is exactly what they are referring to and a whole lot of builders are rueing the day that they ever allowed that little ditty to find it's way into the codes because they're now paying for wet walls. There's code and then there's the common-sense test. If it fails the common-sense test but is code, I think we've got a duty to tell our clients that, lest we become the target of a lawsuit. They can't sue the code guru, but they can sue you. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I've seen flux stains them older than I am with no sign of damage to the pipe. It might be a regional thing, but I don't think it makes that much difference. OT - OF!!! M.