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Hi, The labeling of that panel should have specified which breakers could be used. If the breaker used isn't in the list of breakers on the label, I write it up. It looks like that might not have allowed the deadfront cover to fit around the breaker properly. Did it? If it didn't, it's wrong - no ifs ands or buts about it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, It's probably exterior grade drywall. I see it here used for exterior sheathing every once in a while - usually on condos and townhomes. OT - OF!!! M.

Hmmm, They kind of look like hobbit digits! I didn't know they had a shire in Illinois! OT - OF!!! M.

Thanks, I actually had this bookmarked and have been planning to get it up on the home page. It's just a matter of finding time to do it. OT - OF!!! M.

A book review by Jim Morrison Know what an Ufer ground is? Neither did I until I read this book. Electrical Inspections of Existing Dwellings by Douglas Hansen, Redwood Kardon, and Mike Casey is a general and simple, yet comprehensive explanation of residential electrical systems - from the utility company, through the panel, and throughout the house. It covers the proper application of virtually every component (and I mean right down to the smallest wire nut) an inspector might encounter as well as the most common misapplications of these components. The author uses clear and boiled down definitions and walks the reader through the complicated processes and systems by which houses are supplied with electrical power. He uses redundancy to hammer major points home and the most important points are always backed up with a Code reference. Nearly every page has one of the hundreds of black and white photos, charts, illustrations, or worksheets illustrating the text and making it the most readable book on electrical inspections I’ve seen. Material is presented in easy-to-digest chunks with loads of illustrations by Paddy Morrissey. An experienced inspector could pick it up, flip around a little and learn something useful he could apply to tomorrow’s inspection in less than a minute. Anyone who reads this book cover to cover will easily double their electrical knowledge, but there is just too much information to absorb it all in one read. I’ve read it twice now, and leafing through it before sitting down to write this review, I came across plenty of nuggets of info that I’d already forgotten. It’s replaced a couple of other books and become a staple of my reference library. It’s also a great refresher on some basic science and loaded with the history of residential wiring. More than just a book about “how things ought to lookâ€

Yep, My very first inspection back in 1996 was of a 4000 sq. ft. 1904 stucco'd Italianate foursquare that had the original cast iron, wood/coal burning boiler that had long-ago been converted to burn first oil and later gas. I've never seen a Chrysler brand though. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Buster, It probably does not require them. I see a lot of woodstoves and stove inserts - sometimes 2 per home. It's a common detail to find them with a row of refractory brick or a cast refractory panel at the back wall and nothing on the metal side walls. Sometimes there will be a metal side wall attached with spacers and an air space behind. Sometimes there is refractory brick or a cast refractory panel the simulates brick at the back wall and what looks like a cast refractory panel at the sides, but when one taps on it it turns out to be stamped steel that is painted to look like brick with some type of ceramic coating. Unless I saw clear evidence that there should have been refractory brick or panels, I wouldn't call them, I'd just report the condition that I found the stove in, ie: The firebox is badly warped at XXXX - probably from excessive heat and possibly because there is supposed to be a layer of refractory brick or a cast refractory panel that's been removed. Have the stove looked at by a woodstove installer and repaired as necessary. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Here's what the maestro says in Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings - 2001 Edition: That oughta do it. I don't know enough about electricity to argue with AHJ's and electricians about it. I use a Code Check. When they dispute me, I fall back on Douglas's font of knowledge and he's never failed me. In fact, one Puget Sound Energy tech who'd argued with me about bonding, called me back to apologize profusely, after I'd sent him extracts from Douglas's book that explained bonding. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Yeah, it is all above the water heater or on a manifold array next to it on the wall. I see them used with bio-radiant hydronic systems all the time. The air pocket (maybe is should be termed a vacuum pocket) is formed when you turn off the water. The weight of the water on either side of the high loop causes the water to fall away and leaves the air gap - sort of like what is expected to happen with a high loop on a dishwasher. That detail shows a drop of 2ft. but you're only supposed to need a fall of 6 inches to create the gap. Another thing, the S-type heat trap isn't supposed to work unless there is one on both pipes entering and leaving the water heater. Otherwise, heat migrates up both pipes when no water is being drawn. Perhaps in this case they were worrying more about overheating the valve than wasting energy. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Konrad, The connector pipes above a water heater are sometimes configured in an S bend with a drop of at least six inches, so that, when the water is turned off, there is an air pocket trapped at the top of the high portion that will prevent heat from migrating out of the water heater up the pipe. A lot of the time this isn't necessary if the plumber uses a matched pair of pipe nipples at the top of the tank that have heat traps inside that are essentially little nylon one-way doors that close when the water is off. I'm guessing that the S-bend you are seeing in the drawing is to prevent the mixing valve from remaining heated to 140 degrees day in and day out, so it won't be too hot to grip when making adjustments. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, The aluminum wiring that folks freak out about is the mid-60's to mid-70's stuff, which was very brittle. It's my understanding that in the mid-70's the makers of aluminum wiring changed the manufacturing process to produce aluminum wiring that was less brittle and wouldn't corrode as rapidly. Unfortunately, they reacted too late - the public and insurance companies were already spooked by the stuff - and it didn't catch on. Cladding it with copper was a way to try and sell the idea, but it too didn't catch on either. In reality, I don't think using copper-clad aluminum wiring and creep are an issue anymore, as long as the devices that it is connected to are made from alloys that are approved for use with both copper and aluminum. Of course, I could be talking out of my a** - Electricity isn't really my strong suit and I'm not remembering stuff that I read as clearly as I used to. It's times like that I regret talking out of my a** a couple of years ago and pissing Douglas Hansen off so badly that he left TIJ. I should have been drawn and quartered for that. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I think that figuring the age of a comp roof really depends on experience with the products used in your own area and under your own climatic conditions. I've gotten pretty good at looking at the surface of a comp roof and estimating, by percentage, where it think the cover is in its expected service life. Many times I've found out, after I estimate where it is in its wear cycle, that I was either dead on or nearly so in terms of how many years a cover has been on a roof. The trick though is trying to stay out of trouble when they want to know how long it will last. Again, that takes experience and then you have to give them a good dose of reality and explain that the cover might last that long if well cared for, but if ignored, not cleaned and left with debris on it all the time, don't expect to get nearly that long. So far, I've had a really, really good record figuring comp and shake roofs. Tile's another matter. I don't see a whole lot of that and when I do I won't walk on it, so I can never really get a really good look at it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I didn't mean to hijack this thread, but I think that charging what 'everybody' charges is short sighted. Bungalows that sold for about $160,000 here in 1996 are now selling for nearly $400,000 in some neighborhoods, which means that the real estate folks are making nearly 2-1/2 times what they used to make on the same homes 9 years ago. Yet, the average price of a home inspection has only gone up about $50, because of all of the people jumping into the business who're low-balling everyone else in order to try and get a leg up. Naturally, the agents tell their clients that a home inspection should cost the lower figure and then folks call up expecting to pay that. When I tell them what the inspection will cost, they often can't see past what the agent told them and they try and negotiate a lower fee. When I won't come down, they'll quote one of the low-baller's prices to me. I tell 'em that, believe it or not, even home inspectors have to feed their families. Then I point out that not all inspections are done the same way, that comparing my inspection to a low-baller's is like comparing a Lexus to a Yugo. I'll tell them that they're paying far more than the price of a Lexus for a home, and ask them why they're quibbling over a $100 or so, when one mistake by a new inspector charging low-ball prices can cost them literally tens of thousands of dollars and a whole lot of stress and aggravation later on. Some get it - some don't. Still, it aggravates me, 'cuz we don't get to tell them what their agent should be making on a home before they hire their agent. Sorry about the thread drift, Buster.[:-ashamed ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Well, what alarms me is that today it has been 9 years since I signed out of Ft. Carson on terminal leave enroute to Seattle to open this business. I began ops about a week later and even back then my cheapest inspection was $275. To think that folks in this business after that much time are still charging such a small amount, yet shouldering more and more liability every year, is pretty alarming. Folks in this business really need to start asking themselves why we allow our prices to be driven by what real estate folks tell their clients they should be, instead of what we are worth. My opinion FWIW. OT - OF!!! M.

Yeah, I won't even get in my truck for anything less than her second-to-highest price. Tell me Texas inspectors, is that the normal price range down there? If so, how the hell does one make a living in this economy at those rates? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Richard, I agree to a point. The pipe entering the home has to be in contact with earth for at least 10ft. or more. Since one usually can't know for sure what there is below grade on the other side of a basement or crawlspace wall - more and more plastic supply lines seem to be appearing - I'm hesitant to rely on those for a ground and look for proper bonding and either a ufer or driven grounding electrode. OT - OF!!! Mike

Hi, I think you're fine. The #4 GEC to the rod is what you're talking about. The #6 is a bonding cable. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, There's a whole lot that can be going on there. Most of us have limited experience with metal roofs in residential construction. We call all shoot guesses at you as to what could be causing it, or you could go to the experts on metal roofs and let them take a shot at it. Here's the link to the "Ask The Experts" forum at the Metal Roofing Alliance's website. Once you post your question and get some answers, how about sharing them with us? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

In this business you can never get too much exposure. A new home inspector search engine has just debuted where inspectors can have a basic listing for free, or pay a fee for a more prominent and detailed listing. Check them out at InspectorSelector.Com . Ed.

Hi, I wouldn't be as concerned with moisture wicking to that concrete foundation as I would with subs moving up behind the veneer to reach the sheathing and framing behind the fauxstone on the house above. Naturally one would expect that the guy applying the stone had completely buttered the back of each and there was continuous mortar from side to side from the soil upward, but how do you know? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Well, you're doing better than I am. I just went to do a search and found myself locked out. Seems my boss over at JLC apparently forgot to renew my membership. It's the only perk I get for moderating that forum, so I'm feeling a little put out. Just shot him a letter. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, Bottom line - treat it like stucco. It is adhered to lath over a double-layer of paper. There is no gap behind it like brick and it doesn't rest on a ledge. It needs to be carefully flashed and has to be able to drain. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Les, No, I clicked on that link and it did take me to an electrical systems testing softward site. For the life of me, though, I can't imagine why any residential home inspector would ever want to use such a program. It's more appropriate for someone inspecting factories, power plants, hospitals and other large commercial structures. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I'm not sure what you're looking for, but if it's the skinny on what can go wrong with it, check this out: Manufactured Stone Nightmares - JLC, Dec 2004 OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Wit, I checked the site out. It's an interesting program and I'm sure it is something that electricians - particularly commercial electricians - will be interested in, but it involves aspects of an electrical system that are far outside the parameters of a home inspector's needs. Perhaps inspectors doing commercial inspections could make use of it, but the majority of home inspectors will never need anything like that. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike