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Hi Jim, Some good news (I think). I was talking to L-P this morning about another issue when I mentioned this little scavanger hunt. The rep asked me to point him to the site and as soon as he pulled up the photo he said it was a G-P product but then when he heard that it wasn't screened on the back wasn't so sure. A little while later he called me back to inform me that he'd talked to some of his colleagues and had learned that some G-P products are not screened on the back and that it really depends on where it was made. I then went to the G-P site, called their toll-free number and the operator redirected me to Blue Linx, the outfit that took over the distribution operation for G-P. Left a message and a while later a very helpful fellow named Eric called back. I directed him to your photos and he said that it looks like it's G-P's Catawba Sundance line. If it is that product, the class action closed about 3-4 years ago but it has a 30-year warranty (pro-rated) so it might be possible to make a warranty claim. If so, tell him not to expect much once the stuff has been pro-rated. It sounds like it really isn't worth the trouble. I'd just tell him to tear it off and replace it with Hardi-Plank. Hope this helps. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, Water heater was my first guess but then I couldn't figure out why a water heater would need those guide rods extending up from the unit. Then I thought maybe it was some kind of fruit or apple/fruit press/cooker but I couldn't reconcile what look like ash trays in the bottom or what looks like drip lines. Come-on Bill, you're killin' us! OT - OF!!! M.

Platform heater OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Interesting case today. Home being sold by an architect/do-it-yourselfer. The buyer is a lawyer transferring here from Chi Town. Mr. Architect apparently re-sided his own house with L-P Smart Lap back in 1997 (Of possibly 1995 - I'll address that later.). The house was a pleasant pale green color with stained trim. Nice color combination. This fellow never sealed any end grain, never back-primed it,didn't caulk butts or end-to-trim joints, didn't use head flashings, Z-flashings or mounting blocks for exterior fixtures and installed it within an inch of grade. Face nailed all of it. On the east and north sides - the non-weather sides, it's still doing okay. On the south and west sides, the weather sides, it's delaminating and swelling. Yep, I hear you Jim. Going, "What? I've never seen Smart Lap fail!" but this is failing. However, not through any fault of the product I'm afraid. You know that nice pale green color? It's the original factory-applied primer. He never bothered to paint it and after 9 (possibly 11) years in this climate without ever being sealed it finally began to swell and has started to check along the drip edges. The disclosure documents said that the siding had been done in 1997 but other notes provided by the homeowner said that it had been re-sided in 1995, so after I found the delam I was convinced it had to be the pre-'96 InnerSeal. That is, until I inspected the garage workshop and found some of the stuff on his woodrack and checked it out and found a sticker on it - SmartStart - a narrow starter course and knew it had to be the newer stuff. Now, L-P might have refused to pay for damage to some of the stuff but probably would have paid him something under the warranty if it had been properly caulked and painted. Now I doubt that they'll pay a cent. I make it to be about 20 squares, not including an allowance for waste. I'm thinking $15K on the low side and $20 - $22K on the high side. Pretty expensive screwup for an architect, no? Jim, I googled 'hardboard siding' and was amazed at how many different products are out there. There are actually a lot of products made by smaller companies that most of us have probably never heard of. That might be what you've got there. Any chance that someone remembers the contractor or there might have been a permit issued for the reside job that will name the contractor so you can call 'em and ask 'em what they put on there? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

True story, Back in 2000, the first day that my wife Yung began working with me, I taught her how to use my Protimeter SM and turned her loose inside a brick home I was inspecting. The home had the usual litany of problems but nothing really "serious". I was nearly done when Yung tugged at my sleeve and had me go into the basement where there was a low spot and stain on the old worn carpet. She showed me that it indicated about 30% moisture. The first thing I thought was that a cat or dog had peed on the carpet or someone had knocked over a drink. She shook her head and then deliberately began moving toward the wall of the finished basement pocking the SM into the carpet over a narrow band about 6 inches wide. It continued to register high readings. When she got to the wall she showed me where the baseboard was about 25% moisture. I pulled back the edge of the carpet and found a trickle of water draining out from behind the drywall. I scanned the drywall and it read dry. The owner was there and explained that there were 1 by 4 nailers attached to the basement and cripple walls and that behind that was a layer of polyethylene plastic. I opined that something, I didn't know what, was leaking into the wall. The owner wanted to know what it was but I told him that they'd have to get an invasive inspection to determine that. I went back about my business. A few minutes later the owner came to me and told me that he wanted me to do the invasive inspection. I was loath to do it but he insisted and said he'd pay me to do it so I agreed to open the wall. I got my utility knife and we cut a hole in the wall. As soon as we popped that piece of drywall out the stench of rotting wood literally assailed us. The inside of the wall cavity was just soaking wet. I reached in and squeezed one of the cripple wall studs and it literally broke off and collapsed in my hand. The cause? No weep holes. This was the south (weather-exposed) side of a home with an atypical east-coast type of roof without our typical 2-ft deep overhangs. Water striking the south side of the home was striking and permeating the brick, draining down to the bottom of the wall where it couldn't escape fast enough, backing up behind the felt and overflowing into the wall cavity. For whatever reason, it was able to drain all the way to the center of that basement room without soaking through the foam carpet underlayment and it was backing up in an old dirt-plugged drain in the center of the floor and that was what was spotting the carpet. Best argument for through wall flashings and weeps in a veneer brick wall that I've ever seen. I was really proud of my rookie inspector that day because she'd saved my bacon. Imagine the cost to repair that mess if she hadn't suspected a spot on the carpet at such an unlikely spot in the center of a seemingly dry room. Over the past five years she's become a master with that Protimeter and I've learned the hard way, many times, that I shouldn't question her findings. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's an everyday thing around here. By the time I'd been in this business a year I'd low-crawled more than I'd low-crawled in nearly 21 years in the service. I've gotten pretty good at walking on my heels and shoulderblades to get around in the one's too low to turn over in. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Jim Have you got The Siding Book? I loaned mine to a fellow months ago and he's apparently forgotten that he has it because it hasn't been returned (hint-hint). I think I saw that produce in there but I can't say for certain. Getting old, not remembering so well anymore. Possibly a Forestex, ABTCo, Smurfit or L-P's Canexel product? Sure wish I had my Siding Book here. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Adding more moisture to an attic environment doesn't make sense and venting a bath fan to the outside is the sensible thing to do in any climate, regarless of any code. A rain cap is about $15. at the local home center and a piece of ducting less than that. It takes a good roofer about 30 minutes to install a rain cap and another 5 to hook up the piece of ducting. Your total cost would probably be less than $200. In the context of things to worry about with a home sale, given the price of homes today, that's pocket change. Why not just do it? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Steven, I've had one for going on 7 years. Once you have one and understand it's limitations you won't have a problem with worrying about erroneous false grounds readings. It's waaaay better than one of those dinky 3-light nightlights. By the way, if you just do a search on this site for Suretest you'll find that this has been discussed many times. There's lots of good stuff in this database, you just have to be willing to take the time to look for it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Oil furnaces typically put out a lot of yellow sulfur residue. Could it be something like that? OT - OF!!! M.

Oh, Well, if you're looking for a visual aid then you should check out I.E. because they have a video tutorial to walk you through the process. It's on their site. Check it out. You can also download a demo and do some live inspections with it to get a feel for the product before you decide if you want to purchase it. OT - OF!!! M.

Did you bother to check out our sponsor on the home page? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, You can do the same thing with InspectExpress. They'll even give you a little website and you can upload the reports to it so that clients can come and get their own report. It's an extremely easy program to learn and customize. Folks always want to write their own boilerplate so they made it dirt simple to replace the existing boilerplate with your own. Costs less than most of the others too. http://www.inspectexpress.com ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

They've used a pigmented shellac. That will not kill the mold or even prevent it from growing. It's fine to block stains with but that's about all. The stuff needs to be killed and then cleaned up with soap and water. Don't let them get away with this. Do a google search on pigmented shellac and sooner or later you'll find the government document I'm thinking of that stressed this. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Sounds like you should give the local code guys a call and ask these questions of them as well. Maybe they don't even realize what can happen with these things. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I've seen it. It's thick and you can see the aluminum core at the snipped ends where the GC and EGC are connected under terminals at the buses. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well, yeah either that or the size. Aluminum wiring always jumps out at me because of it's size. With aluminum wiring you're using 12 gauge for 15 amp circuits, 10 gauge for 20 amp circuits and 8's for 30 amp circuits. Paul, It's pretty brittle stuff. You can't bend it as much as you can the copper. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

In For Pros by Pros Remodel Plumbing, third-generation master plumber Rex Cauldwell shows real-world plumbing problems and solutions. You never know what you'll encounter when inspecting plumbing, so you have to have a solid understanding of plumbing systems and their problems. There's everything plumbing in this book from pipe types one would likely encounter when inspecting a remodel job including steel, copper, PB, CPVC, and PEX. The book explains how they should be installed as well as how they should be tied into preexisting systems The guide explains: The water supply system Tapping into supply lines Adding/running drains and vents Remodeling kitchens and baths Installing a dishwasher Plumbing in an icemaker Converting a tub-only faucet to a tub/shower Installing a toilet in a basement. id="indT">This is a worthy addition to any home inspector's library. Softcover, 8-1/2 x 10-7/8 in., 192 pages, with color photos and drawings $24.95 from Taunton Press Published 2005, ISBN 1-56158-698-6, # 070782 ABOUT THE AUTHOR A third generation tradesperson, Rex Cauldwell is both a master electrician and master plumber. Rex has an A.A.S. degree in Electronic Engineering and gives seminars nationwide. He is a consultant and Q&A reference, an expert witness, and his Taunton Press Books, wiring a house and inspecting a House are popular industry standards.

Hi, Don't know if you're interested, but one of the downloads that we have in the downloads library here on TIJ is an Army Correspondence Course on grounding - Install System, Equipment and Component Grounds. Here's the shortcut. Once you get done with that one, you might try some of the others. Just go to the blue menu bar above where it says 'resources' and choose downloads and check out TIJ's library. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well Bob, Now you know why my soldiers used to say Sgt. O is older than dirt. OT - OF!!! m.

Thread edited for relavent content. (Some of us got a little too close to bawdry on this one folks!!!) OT - OF!!!

Obviously molded. I'm thinking the manufacturer of the roofing product probably includes it as part of the system. OT - OF!!! M.

Ever watch 'em built those? First Mr. Worker comes forward checks out the work area (I think it's smelling it but I'm not sure.), then it smears the area with some saliva. Then it turns around and backs into place like a cement truck backing in next to a foundation and pushed out a pellet. Then, just like the dutiful mason it is, it turns around and uses its mandibles to push the brick firmly into place in the saliva. When he's exhausted all of the pellets he can, he leaves to go eat and another one pulls in behind him and continues the work. Meanwhile, the soldiers, like mafia union bosses, surround the worksite on all sides and make loud clicking sounds to ward off anyone approaching the work site. Pretty kewl! OT - OF!!! M.

I'm interested in the plastic stuff. It looks almost like a stiff ABS-like plastic that's been pre-formed for that specific application. Is that what it looked like? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I think termite shields will work fine. Having had about 10,000 of them as "pets" for a couple of years I know for a fact that they'd probably never be able to get past the lip without falling clear - until they've built a large tube, that is. Maybe the demise of termite tubes is concurrent with the use of pressure-treated woods for mudsills? After all, the chemicals used for pressure-treated woods have been known to be corrosive. What's the point of putting down a shield if the shield will rot away within a few years? OT - OF!!! M.