hausdok

Washington, DC - Release #07-036 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: Counterfeit "Square D" Circuit Breakers Units: About 30,000 Distributor/Retailer: Scott Electric Co. Inc., of Greensburg, Pa. Hazard: The recalled circuit breakers labeled "Square D" are counterfeit and might not trip when they are overloaded, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Incidents/Injuries: Scott Electric Co. is not aware of any incidents or injuries associated with these counterfeit circuit breakers. Description: The counterfeit circuit breakers include Square D QO-series models 115, 120, 130, 160, 215, 230, 260, 1515, and 1520. Actual Square D circuit breakers have (a) the amp rating written on the handle in white paint on the front of the breaker; (b) on the side of the breaker,where wire terminal screw is located, the arc shoot opening should have squared corners with the bottom edge of the opening angled up; © the mounting clip should be yellow chromate with half of the top of the clip visible; and (d) the Square D insignia should be molded onto the breaker. If your Square D breaker does not match this description, it could be counterfeit. Sold through: Scott Electric Co. distributor locations throughout Pennsylvania and Texas from May 2005 through May 2006 for between $4 and $25. Manufactured in: China Remedy: Consumers should contact Scott Electric Co. to arrange for a free inspection and if necessary, replacement or refund. Consumer Contact: To arrange for a free inspection or for additional information, contact Scott Electric toll-free at (877) 222-0473 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or log on to www.scottelectricusa.com - consumers and contractors can also obtain additional information by e-mailing Scott Electric at tdiorio@scottelectricusa.com To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07036.html

Washington D.C. - November 16 Today, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Scott Electric Company Inc., of Greensburg, PA, recalled about 30,000 counterfeit "Square D" circuit breakers made in China and sold by Scott distributorships throughout Pennsylvania and Texas from May 2005 to May 2006. Scott Electric company reports that these breakers might not trip when they are overloaded, thus posing a fire hazard to consumers. As of the time of this writing, Scott Electric wasn't aware of any incident or injuries associated with the counterfeit breakers, and wants consumers who have them to contact Scott Electric to arrange for a free inspection and, if necessary, replacement or a refund. According to Scott Electric, the counterfeit breakers are labeled Square D and include QO-series breakers, models 115, 120, 130, 160, 215, 230, 260, 1515, and 1520. Actual Square D circuit breakers have (a) the amp rating written on the handle in white paint on the front of the breaker. On the side of the breaker where the wire terminal screw is located, the arc shoot opening should have squared corners with the bottom edge of the opening angled upward, and the mounting clip should be yellow chromate with half of the top of the clip visible. There should be a Square D insignia molded onto the breaker. If consumers have breakers that don't match this description, they could be counterfeit. (See the illustration for a counterfeit breaker). To arrange for a free inspection or for additional information, contact Scott Electric Company toll-free at 877-222-0473 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or log on to www.scottelectricusa.com. Consumers and contractors can also obtain additional information by e-mailing Scott Electric at tdiorio@scottelectricusa.com.

Hi, I think the bottom line is that a properly sealed crawlspace can be used anywhere, whereas a vented crawlspace cannot. Even in the areas where vented crawlspaces are the norm and work fine when done well, there is so much variation in the quality of installation that the only way you can be sure they are working properly, when a house is new, is to go into and inspect the entire crawlspace at least twice a year for the first few years, just to make sure that things are working well. On older homes, it's a crapshoot. One would generally expect that if a home is older that the crawlspace ventilation has been working fine. Otherwise, the homeowners would be aware of issues caused by inadequate ventilation. I've found that just isn't true. More often than not, when issues are discovered, they've gone on for decades without anyone knowing about them, and then, when we bring it to their attention, the homeowners will shoot the messenger and declare that we don't know what we're talking about. We could avoid all of that by just going to fully-sealed crawlspaces and turning them into conditioned space. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Randy, Yeah, I agree, the sealed crawlspace crowd can get pretty wound up. However, I've looked at some sealed crawlspaces here in the Northwest and they were nice dry places without any dank odor. Nice to inspect and free of any nasty rodents. Every time I crawl through a 24inch deep space on my elbows and knees and have to pass over fields of rodent excreta and the tell-tale carcass (Like I did yesterday beneath a 5800 sf 8-plex) I tell myself to get out of this gig and start another company cleaning them out and sealing them. OT - OF!!! M.

Huh? That's a second Magnatrip. What was that one for? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Thanks for posting that. I've added it to TIJ's downloads library so that it'll be easier for folks to find long after this thread winds down. To access it and other documents in the downloads library, just pass your cursor over "resources" in the menu bar above to produce a drop-down. Choose "Resources" and then you're there. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, That's a Magnatrip. Besides the fact that it's a Zinsco and is considered the Corvair of the electrical world, it's about 40 years old and it's time to replace it. Yep, they'll color coded and, yep, they do come with single main disconnects.......sometimes. Most of the older Magnatrips have copper bus bars and then somewhere around the mid-60's they went to an aluminum bus. Do you remember what this one had? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, That might work in Kurt's neck of the woods where everything is in conduit and the center screw provides a ground, but it's pretty useless anywhere else. Tell 'em to either upgrade, add GFCI's or make sure they only use double-insulated devices (the ones with a two-pronged plug) in those receptacles. OT - OF!!! M.

I routinely write them up for lack of bolting and lack of flashings. A few years ago there was a kid getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan here and his family held a going away party, The whole family was at the party and they were on the deck when it pulled off the house and collapsed. His grandfather was killed - real nice going away present. I use it as an example of why it's important to properly flash and bolt them and I include a graphic of a properly-done ledger in my reports. Nobody around here argues about it - probably because there have been no less than 3 deck collapses here in the 10+ years I've been doing this and every time people were seriously injured. There's an article about this issue in this month's JLC. Frank Woeste has developed a bolting table for deck ledgers that he's trying to get incorporated into the 2009 edition of the IRC. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi All, I just checked the member sign-up queue and noticed that there are about 25 folks waiting for their membership to be approved - some of them as much as 49 days. So, once again I'm compelled to explain the registration process. I bet that some of these folks are wondering to themselves, "Why haven't I been approved? I'm a good inspector and I've submitted my data to TIJ but approval has been a looooonnng time coming. Why won't O'Handley approve it?" The answer is simple - it's an automated process. If you want to be a "member" at TIJ, you must submit a valid e-mail address when you fill out the registration page or your membership will never be approved. As soon as you fill out the registration form and submit it, the site automatically and instantaneously sends you an e-mail message with a link which you must click to confirm your registration. Once you've done that, the software automatically approves your registration and you have full access. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes in most cases, so there's no reason for anyone to be in that queue. However, submit a false e-mail address and the confirmation letter never reaches you and you remain in the queue in perpetual limbo. So, if you've been wondering, that's why. Now, submit a new application with a real e-mail address and you'll be approved in minutes. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yep, Frubble and flean fill OT - OF!!! M.[:-dunce]

How old is it? Perhaps you're thinking of the word "Rubble." Boy-o-boy, trivia pursuit for inspectors. Who woulda thunkit? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Les, You aren't referring to Lean Fill are you? It's a flowable/compactable fill used under footings in problem soils. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Terry, I don't think Jim means it's a 3-phase service. Only a 3-phase panel being used in lieu of a conventional panel and, in order to energize the third bus, they had to create that backfeed through a breaker, which is, as you say, pretty convoluted. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Now, that's one that Doug Hansen is going to want to see. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Well, it there are proper expansion and accessory joints and you're seeing curing cracks, then the base-coat mix was probably too watery and the whole lamina is shrinking. It's portland cement based, it's gotta crack someplace! That's what the accessory and expansion joints are for, but if they get the mix wrong it'll shrink and crack. If these are hairline cracks the stucco manufacturer's association doesn't recommend screwing with them because a stucco wall, when done properly, is a rain screen wall and any water that gets in won't be a lot and will immediately be conveyed to the bottom of the lamina. You can learn more here: http://www.stuccomfgassoc.com/about.html OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Danny, Did the applicator include accessory and expansion joints in the application or was it a solid wall of unbroken stucco? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Scott, I can answer that. If you want to save your comments that you've already customized in 3-D you can cut and paste them into I.E. very easily. Just open a version of each and then right-click on the comment box in I.E. to bring up the dialog box. Change the indicator and then cut and paste your comment from 3-D and save it. You're done. It literally takes seconds. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, There are plenty of discussions about the pro's and con's of various software packages. If you pass your cursor over 'forums' on the gray menu bar above, a drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Search" and then search for "Inspect It" or "InspectIt" to see if that will bring up a thread. If not, just go through the previous threads in this topic area and you'll find plenty of comments about systems. I had InspectIt ....for about a year. It drove me right up the wall and I finally dumped it for something that's safe for any computer moron like me to use - Inspect Express - and that's what I've been using for almost five years. I must have called the InspectIt people 25 times the first year and always came away feeling like the guy at the other end couldn't care less whether I got my report up and running or not. You won't have that problem with IE. Don't take my word for it though. Peruse the previous threads to see what others are saying. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Ummm, Okay, that's when the amnesia kicks in and I can't remember a damned thing about that house because I've done too many of 'em. OT - OF!!! M.

Ah Nuts! I completely zoned out this morning and missed it! I've checked the GMA site, but it's not posted there yet. Did anyone tape it? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Kurt, Thanks for the uh, er, compliment.....I think. Short or long report format, I don't think it really matters. Say your client walks away from a home and then he's approached by a subsequent buyer who wants the house. The other guy doesn't want to take the time to find/hire an inspector, go through the process and wait for the report, so he offers your client a few hundred bucks for the report that you just busted your ass to produce, and he gets the idea to do this from his realtorzoid. Your client sees a chance to recoup what he's paid you for the report on the property he doesn't want, so he agrees and transfers the report. Two years later, the guy who bought your report, has a flooding issue in the basement, looks at the report and then discovers that nothing in your report indicates anything about basement flooding. So, he decides to sue you and finds himself a local bloodsucker to take the case. You get served with papers and find out they're sueing you under subrogation, so you're now off and running in a suit. In court, your lawyer forces the guy to admit that he'd paid your former client for the report and that he didn't have a contract with you and you end up winning. So, you've finally won the case but not before you're nerves are trashed, because it took two years and a lot of lost hours preparing stuff for your lawyer before it came to trial, and you're legal fees just about depleted everything you'd been working so hard to save for the downpayment on the summer cabin up in the Michigan woods. All because someone didn't respect your copyright and sold your product to someone else who didn't have a right to it. if you go after the former client, the guy who tried to sue you and the 'zoid who's idea it was to purchase your report from the former client for conspiracy to violate your copyright, your very clear copyright could earn you treble damages from each and will send a very clear message to the local realtorzoid community that says, "If one of your clients wants an inspection report on a house, let him hire an inspector to get it, don't let him try and purchase a report from someone else without getting an inspection." Yeah, I know, it's a stretch and it wouldn't do your name any good with the local 'zoid community, but you'd be a hero to the local inspector community, 'cuz every report obtained that way is the pocket of some home inspector picked. Sorry, I know you know this stuff. It's just my OCD kicking in and making me say it. Besides, wuddueye know, I'm a retired military cop, not a lawyer. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, What Les is really trying to say is see your attorney. [:-eyebrow OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Kurt, I don't know that I'd want to apply a layer of MiraDrain or plastic. That'll just collect moisture against the backside and then it will build up, drain to the bottom and you might end up with some ponding. How about parging it with some fiber reinforced mortar to minimize curing cracks and then apply a layer of crystaline waterproofing material such as Xypex, to make the parge layer impermeable to water? If it's not enough to cause ponding now, this might be just the ticket. Xypex will allow vapor diffusion but will not allow water molecules to pass through. If you stand the wall off as you've described, stand the rock free of the ground and cover it with a slot-routed baseboard, air circulation will make that wall cavity part of the conditioned space and there shouldn't be any mold developing. He's a woodworker? Have him pick up some composite lumber and use his shaper or router table to fabricate the baseboards right there in his shop. The composite wood won't absorb moisture, discolor or rot and will remain dimensionally stable. Oh yeah, the water vapor. It sounds like he's a pretty knowledgable woodworker, so I'm sure he's letting his wood aclimate to his shop atmosphere before he uses it, but what's the humidity in that showroom? Are pieces that remain in that showroof for a long time being shipped to Vegas? Isn't he concerned about dimensional stability in Vegas' dry climate? Aw, maybe I'm over-thinking it - everything in Vegas is air conditioned anyway. That's all I got. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Brandon, Did some reading a few years ago about these coatings and I recall that they're actually made up of very tiny beads of ceramic that slow down the movement of heat/cold through them. So, a house with this stuff painted on the roof takes substantially longer to heat up during the day from solar gain and then longer to cool off at night when it's cooler outside and that solar gain is trying to move in the opposite direction. I can see where there's an advantage in the very hot deep south, but I don't think they're going to be much good during the winter in the northern climates and I don't think that the folks that develop these products expect them to be effective in those northern climates. I was just wondering whether anyone down Texas way knew anything about whether this guy was seeing the savings that he wsa hoping for. If I get some time today I might call the utility provider and ask them, because according to the article it looks like they'll be monitoring things closely. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike