hausdok

There's a fungus amongus! [:-magnify Click To Enlarge

Dead ringers for Meryl Streep and a petite version of Jamie Lee Curtis. (I sh*t you not.) OT - OF!!! M.

Um, That was back in those uninhibited late 60's/early 70's. One night one of them suggested we expand our horizons, make it really interesting and invite another.......guy.[:-bigeyes Well, I'm adventurous but not that adventurous. I wanted to have my cake and eat it too and I didn't want to, er,....share with anyone else. I said no way in hell. That was the beginning of the end. Need I say more? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Aw go such a turnip you old curmudgeon! Been there, done that.......twice. It was anything but blissful. Chaotic maybe,blissful no. There was that time I lived in a little two room cabin in Woodinville, CT with two young bi-sexual ladies and we all slept in the same bed. I'll never forget.......... OT - OF!!! M.

You're right. The code can only regulate the length of ducting installed in the house. It can't count the length of what's connected from the house to the dryer, because there is no way to anticipate what that might be - some folks put the dryer directly in front of or over the house duct, some folks put it way off to one side. FWIW, CPSC says there were more than 17,000 fires in the US between 1993 and 1997 that were caused by occluded dryer ducts with corrugated ducting. They recommend using only a smooth-walled metal box vent at the back of the unit and smooth-walled metal ducting all the way to terminus, making sure to tape all seams with high-temperature foil tape - not 'duct' tape - and do not use screws. OT - OF!!! M.

Put it in context for me. What's the debate about? OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, If you're serious about being a true professional in this kraft, you really need to get Doug Hansen's book, Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings. It's written specifically with the questions of home inspectors in mind and has the answers to virtually every question that will ever come up. Here's what Douglas says about this: I think that answers your question, no? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Kurt, Masonite had two products - Masonite Hardboard Siding and Omni-Wood Lap Siding. The Omni-Wood product consisted of a thin (3/32" thick) layer of textured hardboard bonded to the face of OSB. I don't recall ever reading/seeing anything about a Masonite simulated stucco product. MaxiTile did have a Fiesta Stucco panel at one time. It came in 1/4, 5/16, and 7/16 in. thich panels that were 4ft. wide and either 8, 9 or 10ft. long. MaxiTile is a cement fiber product but is much lighter than HardiBoard and comes in a variety of textures.It's pretty lightweight stuff and weighs less than 2-1/2 lbs a square foot. Could it be the MaxiTile product? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hmmm, Let's be realistic Roy, it was a 14-day suspension. I hardly think he was crushed. He can probably easily afford to take two weeks off to wait out a two-week suspension. I talked to Dr. Soumi about this last year. He said that it was a pretty nasty crawl and was pretty wet, sloppy and close. Now, I can't presume to speak for the inspector, I've only spoken to the guy once in my life, but I'm guessing he might have taken one look and said to himself, "To hell with it, I'll take my chances," and he didn't go too deep. I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, 'cuz, hell, I've squeezed into places so tight I've gotten stuck, but given his age it's a reasonable hypothesis. He's been in the business a whole lot longer than either of us and stays really busy. If he were performing lousy inspections day in and day out, all of us would have heard about it long ago and he would be out of business by now. Other than yourself and the other guy involved with this same house, I've never heard a bad word about him. Be-that-as-it-may, he was suspended for 14 days. He screwed up. He admitted it. He paid for it and he may pay far more for it if the homeowner has her way. I don't see where that has anything to do with ASHI. I'm sure nobody in ASHI, any other association or any independent ever taught the guy to do that, and I doubt that anyone locally would have approved of what he did, so you're aiming that pistol in the wrong direction. ASHI doesn't make the rules for pest inspections in this state and can't enforce them. Neither can any other professional association enforce local laws against any of their members. The state is the only legal enforcement authority. They took action according to their disciplinary matrix and it's now a dead issue. I'm told the inspector is a pretty smart cookie, so he's probably learned his lesson and won't ever take the easy way out again. Don't you think it's time to let it go? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's a good point. Don't scoff Jeff. I'm certified by NWCB as an EIFS inspector/repairer, and I rarely do it. However, I've owned an SM for more than five years and wouldn't be without it. My wife Yung and I work together. She does the interiors while I do the structure, exterior, roof, and all of the electro-mechanicals. I've tought her how to interpret both the SM and my SureTest and she's become a maestro with them both. By the time I get done with the exterior and all the electro mechanicals, she's gone through the home from top to bottom and has checked virtually anywhere there might be a moisture issue. I catch up to her and she takes me back through to show me every issue she's found, whereupon I double-check it to be sure and then write it confirmed. She's rarely wrong. I'd bet that between the two of us, we've found enough hidden stuff over the past five years, that never could have been detected visually or with the pin meter, that if we were to receive the cost equal to repairs for every time we found one of those hidden items, we'd be living in a new 5,000 sq. ft. Euromanse on the East side. Protimeter SM. Never leave home without it! ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Danny, It sure doesn't comply with the manufacturer's labeling, does it? When I find that, I just write it up. If the builder begins carping that it was installed "To Code" I point out that it isn't installed to code unless it is installed according to the manufacturer's listing and labeling and then I ask him or her what it might have felt like to them if someone had died because they'd ignored the installation instructions. Check with Lennox. The log set is sold with instructions that show the way the logs must be placed. Any deviation from that, and you risk impinging the flame and producing very high levels of CO. Amazing that someone hadn't noticed this at some time over the past 10 years. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I agree with Steven - no barriers. Cells is heavy though and he's going to lose some R-value when the FG is compressed. OT - OF!!! M.

Now, I've always like the Czechs. Now, if I could just hit that mega-millions lottery. This would be the main house[:-tophat] I'd use this one on weekends[:-viking] Naturally, I'd remember all of my TIJ buddies and let you guys come on over whenever you felt like slumming in eastern Europe. OT - OF!!! M.

Odd place for a register. Maybe they defeated the limit switch in order to be able to use the register as a hair dryer.[:-bonc01] OT - OF!!! M.

Thought you'd guys would get a chuckle out of this: Ouch! OT - OF!!! Mike

Hi, 4-year old house. Chances are the plumber who did the work is still around. If my curiosity gets the best of me, I usually track the plumbers down, call them and ask them what the hell they were thinking of. If it doesn't, I usually recommend the buyer do the same, and then, if the plumber can't satisfy him/her that it was okay to do, have it converted back to a standard configuration. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I've actually seen it the other way. A post WWII CMU cottage in a town originally built to provide housing for returning GI's, where they built out a framed house about 3-1/2 times the size of the original around the original, leaving the original disguised. The tipoff was the 1' thick window wells and doorways. When I got into the attic, I found the original roof beneath the new in the attic. Felt like a paliantologist that had just found a mastadon skeleton. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, You've probably hit upon it, but it shoulnd't be in the same room as a laundry anyway, especially if a clothes dryer is located within the same room. First, it needs 50 cubic feet of makeup air for every 1,000 BTU's and unless there is a fresh air source into the room it's starving for oxygen. Second, if a clothes dryer is in the same room, every time the dryer comes on it will depressurize the area around itself and affect how that furnace fires. There shouldn't be any air return grills, blowers or other air-gobbling gizmo's within 10ft. of that furnace. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Terry, Yeah, it's a floating floor assembly. I doubt it was "press wood" - probably a high-pressure laminate like a Wilsonart or a Pergo. Whenever I have a tricky question about a floor covering - whatever it is - I go to the National Floor Trends site, visit their bulletin board and either post a question or just search their archives. I usually find the answer. Check it out at: http://www.i-boards.com/bnp/nft/ ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Teresa, I remember hearing about this problem one time on the Association of Walls and Ceilings Net Forum. Go over there and post your question and I bet you'll get some really good answers really fast. You'll find them at: http://www.awci.org/netforum/awci/a Careful, those guys and gals over there can be get sidetracked with a lot of wisecracking, but they know what their talking about, so you'll get the best answers possible. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Okay, So now I agree implicitly with your call. OT - OF!!! M.

I dunno, If it's a utility closet in a one-story house with an attic above it, and is isolated with a 1-hr. wall, I don't think it is even required to have a ceiling above it. Is that what this is? It's rare, but I see them open to the attic every once in a while. I seem to recall a long conversation about this on another board where the final concensus was that it was goofy but allowed. That being the case, the OSB is no more flammable than the exposed underside of the roof is. The OSB is probably functioning as more of a dust cover to keep out most of the insulation blown into the attic, rather than prevent spread of fire. However, if it is on the ground floor of a two story house or in a basement that is another matter and the penetrations should have been sealed. If it's a one story with an attic above it, dunno if I'd call it or not. Guess I'd have to see more of it than the extreme closeups to say. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, That's because there is no such thing as 'Cramerware'. Look for Intelligent Reporter authored by Mark Cramer. While you're at it, check out our primary sponsor's software, Inspect Express at http://www.inspectexpress.com. A new version has just come out and it's getting better and better all the time. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, There is one, but you won't see it in the quick reply box. It is on the regular reply box when you click on 'reply to topic'. You'll see an icon with an ABC and a checkmark. It isn't a very good spell check. All it does is highlight the misspelled words. You still have to look up the correct spelling and manually change them. If your browser is Internet Explorer you can get a free spellcheck utility tool that works really well by going to http://www.iespell.com. OT - OF!!! M.

Some thoughts about ASHI's Inspection World 2005 by TIJ's Northeast correspondent, Jim Morrison. This year's ASHI® conference was much different than the first one, which was held in a Rutgers University dormitory in 1977 and attended by just 50 people. Austin’s InspectionWorld 2005 saw about 1100 home inspectors gathered to improve their skills and share their knowledge. I attend these conferences every few years or so. This was my sixth. When I left home that morning it was 18° and snowing, but when I arrived at the Hilton in Austin, TX, I was pleased by each of the 76 degrees on the thermometer and bright sunshine (though it only lasted a few days). The Hilton where the conference was held was the nicest hotel in anyone’s memory. The hotel restaurants were top notch, the gym was modern, clean, and uncrowded, and the conference facilities were terrific. Austin is often referred to as “Little Nashvilleâ€