hausdok

Oops, Sorry, it hit 63 at 2PM. Walked out to the mailbox in sleeveless T, shorts and sandals. It began to drop around 3PM. It's 4:33 now, getting dark, and it's now at 58. Is that a little better? [:-dev3] ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

60 degrees and sunny here on Puget Sound (Mid-summer it's usually 70 to 73 degrees). We had record lows a couple of weeks ago! It rained like hell the last couple of days, breaking all records for rainfall in January. Melted the snow up in the Cascades and Olympics and we had something like 14 major rivers above flood stage yesterday morning. Most peaked last night and today is beautiful. I hear though that the respite will be short and there's more rain on the way. Just saw on the news that geologists are watching an ice chunk the size of Deleware that is getting ready to break off the Antarctica shelf. Wonder if that'll cause a Tsunami too. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm not aware of any requirement for a ceiling over a heating system. If memory serves, we beat this around about a year ago and the upshot of it was that you can even have a furnace room in a house that is completely open to the attic above a furnace. How about all of those furnaces installed in attics in other parts of the country? OT - OF!!! M.

Sure, Go to my Building Science Forum over on JLCOnline.com and search the archives. You'll find a few hundred threads that deal with it. Also, do a search of the JLC archives for 'felt' and you should pull up an article written by Marton Holladay, Editor of Energy Design Update, around 2001 and an article written by Paul back around 1998 or 1999. You can also go to the UMass Amherst site, go to the Wood Technologies Dept. and then search through Fisette's writings. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Danny, I wasn't referring to vapor diffusion. I'm talking about actual water. Water vapor and water molecules are two different things. Think Gortex. A jacket of Gortex will readily allow water vapor to escape through the weave, but will not allow water to pass through. House wrap is designed with the same concept in mind. When you apply siding you punch thousands of holes through house wrap. Any wind-driven water that gets behind the siding and drains down the face of the sheathing can, and often does, get behind the material. If it can't get out again, because the bottom of the wall has not been improperly detailed, it rots the wall. Thousands of builders all across the US are eating jobs that they did 5 or more years ago and many have lost confidence in wraps and are going back to felt. Add to that the studies of wraps, which are not backing up the wrap manufacturers, and you've got a huge mess in the trade right now. My predecessor at JLC Online - Paul Fisette - has done several scientific studies of wraps vs. felt and has written a few papers on the subject. Bottom line, never install wrap thinking that it is going to function well as anything except an air barrier because it won't. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No, the floors are insulated. Besides, the vents are open to provide makeup air. It'd be a waste of money to insulate those walls when you're going to be sucking cold air into that crawl anyway. Leave it alone. It's fine. The kraft paper has an asphalt emulsion on one side that retards diffusion through it to the crawl. Just make sure the paper is snug against the underside of the floor. You asked how much you should have, but you never said how much you've got. Around here (Puget Sound - mixed climate), we've typically got 6-1/4inch R19 batts. Your winters are colder than ours, so you could go thicker - provided you've got the joist depth to accommodate the added insulation - up to, say, 10 inches with unfaced batts. I wouldn't go thicker than that, because you'll get convective looping. Most of the heat in your home is lost through the walls and ceilings anyway. Housewrap is primarily designed to be an air barrier. Any product you use on the outside of that wall plane to improve its insulative characteristics will also be an air barrier, so you'll be throwing your money away on house wrap. Besides, if water gets behind wrap it can't get out again. You don't want to trap water in a wall clad with foam. Just ask anyone who ever had a barrier type E.I.F.S. system go bad. Your question about foam wallboard vs. foamed-in-place polyicynene is confusing. You didn't say that you intend to strip out the interior walls and remove the existing insulation, so why would you even consider polyicynene? Go with a closed cell foam, cover it with felt, fur it out and apply your cladding in rainscreen fashion. The felt will allow diffusion to occur without trapping moisture and the rainscreen will prevent infiltration by wind-driven water. Well, if the ceilings are cathedral ceilings with shallow rafter bays and you intend to apply a new roof anyway, that's one way to go. You can use vented nailbase sheathing - essentially grooved, closed-cell foam sheathing with a layer of OSB or plywood bonded to one face. Strip off the existing cover, apply the sheating with a ridge vent and a vented drip and then apply your cover. This allows air to circulate beneath the deck and meets manufacturers' requirements for a vented deck. This is the wrong venue for these questions. Home inspectors aren't really supposed to prescribe detailed solutions. It's more appropriate for us, once we've spotted an issue, to explain why it is detrimental to a home, explain how it should have been and tell the client to get a professional to correct it, than it is to begin describing complete processes. Go to the forums at the Journal of Light Construction Online at http://www.jlconline.com and ask them again. You'll probably encounter some gruffness from one or two there about it being a place reserved for 'contractors only', but it is the Editor's policy (I know 'cuz I'm one of his moderators.) that non-contractors can visit there as well and should be treated politely, so you'll probably get plenty of helpful responses. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I've never heard of any software that would qualify you for an insurance discount. If there is any, I suppose there would have to be special aspects of the report that are what the insurance company wants to see included. To my way of thinking, no such product would exist. It isn't the report format that does the inspection and compiles the report. It's the inspector. Any good inspector who is honest and thorough is going to be less of a risk to an insurance company, using any reporting system, than an inexperienced, poorly trained or ethically challenged inspector that uses the best software in the world. Are you asking because you know that such a product exists, or are you simply fishing? If you actually know that there is an insurance company out there that will give a discount for using a certain software, who are they and what are the aspects of the reporting system that they want to see? If you're just fishing, forget about looking for something to reduce your insurance cost and concentrate on learning the business from top to bottom as best you can without taking any shortcuts. If your state allows you to be bonded, you can cover yourself with a bond for relatively little cost compared to an E & O policy, until such time as you've gained enough experience, become very proficient and can afford to pay for a decent E & O policy. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

It's a good question, but the reason he wasn't getting any answers earlier in the day is probably because everyone was out working. I try to keep my nose out of here during the day or I won't get anything else done. That said, I've read the Gastite manual and I don't remember a specific prohibition against it. I do remember a requirement to ensure it isn't installed where it will be abraded by sharp edges. However, there is also a requirement for a drip leg. The code prohibits a 'connector' from passing through any floor, wall partition or appliance housing. Strictly speaking, I guess these can be interpreted as being connectors. Around here, there is usually a wrought iron pipe coming off the gas valve that extends through the side of the cabinet and has a drip T on the end before it connects to the CSST. OT - OF!!! M.

Yep, Same here. Pull the covers to examine the insides of both fuse boxes and panel boards, but don't generally pull fuse blocks. However, there have been cases where I'd explained to the client that I'd like to know whether the correct fuses were being used, but couldn't tell because they were concealed and I didn't want to pull the block because they have a tendency to crack and come apart. The client would express some concern about that and want to know anyway, so I'd only do it after the client assured me that he or she would take full responsibility for repair of the pull block and box if it fell apart and the homeowner refused to pay for it. Since none of those ever self destructed one me, I can't say how effective entering into such an unsigned agreement with a client would have worked out. I like to think it would have been okay, but to this date I've been lucky I guess. About 7 years ago, I took a class here that was given by an electrician who is one of the authors of the Washington State electrical code. He said that in his business most electricians don't trust components that are more than 40 years old. That was all I needed to deal with old panels and such. Since then, when I encounter these old boxes I just tell the client that the thing is at least 40 years old, explain that electricians consider 40-year old electrical components at end of service life, and recommend replacement. I've yet to have had an argument about it with any buyer, seller, realtor or electrician. I think most agree with the idea. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I have to agree with Jim. Think of the thing as a big blow dryer. Ever covered one end of a blow dryer? Unless it is getting enough air to keep it cool, it will shut itself down until it cools off. Electric furnaces have the same thing, an over-temperature limit switch that will cause them to short-cycle when they aren't getting good airflow. Almost without exception, when I open up the access panel on electric furnaces installed in small close rooms or closets in manufactured homes around here I find that there are melted wires and signs of overheating. Sometimes they have plenty of makeup air, but the filters are so clogged that they can't get enough air and overheat anyway. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Stan, It threw me for a loop too, but after a few seconds I was able to figure it out. I think you're looking at the surface of an aluminum shed roof of a porch underneath the overhanging eave of a gable end wall that is covered with tree debris. The white slats you're seeing on the lower left are the high ribs of the roof. You've got a strike there with the exposed split bolts lying on that aluminum roof. Split bolts are splicing devices that are just what they are named - a split bolt wherein two wires are overlapped in the center of a slotted bolt and held in place by a nut tightened down on the bolt. The split bolt is supposed to be heavily wrapped with tape and there are rules about the drip loop at the strike, which should not be resting on the roof. If a hot cable has an exposed split bolt and is resting on wet debris on an aluminum roof it could make for a pretty 'hot' situation for anyone stepping onto that roof or trying to clean out any gutters attached to it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

The recent tragedy in Southeast Asia has obliterated villages in more than ten countries. Over 150,000 lives have been lost so far and disease and famine threaten more. In addition to government efforts there are many relief agencies coordinating distribution of food, clean water and medical aid. If any of you would like to contribute to the tsunami relief efforts, do so through one of these agencies. If any of you have others, let me know and we can add them to the list. Americares Direct Relief International Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) Oxfam America American Red Cross Save The Children Unicef

Hi, I dug through about 12 different texts and couldn't find any code reference to receptacle height for anywhere other than over kitchen counters. However, I did find this: 1. Amateur Builder's Handbook - Hubbard Cobb, 1950, Garage, Page 289-290: 2. From Ortho's Basic Home Building - An Illustrated Guide, 1991, Planning The Wiring, Page 166: I've always interpreted counters to also mean workbenches in garages and basements. Here is a question and Rex Cauldwell's answer from the February 2003 Journal of Light Construction: I think this essentially boils down to what is a custom of the electricians profession and height must be relatively subjective - depending on area, because none of the references that I looked at that were written by electricians (Cauldwell, Kittle. Richter & Schwan) specifically addresses receptacle height. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, The Becker book isn't bad, except that a lot of the systems included in it are dated and it is regionalized. It's pretty difficult to write a definitive text about this business, unless you utilize a group of authors from all over the continent that are familiar with all of the systems and peculiarities of different regions, so the best advice I can give you is to read everything and anything that can be even remotely related to home inspections and make like a sponge. Myself, I have about 30 magazine subscriptions - Fine Homebuilding, Journal of Light Construction, Popular Mechanics, Family Handyman, Walls & Ceilings, Plumbing & Mechanical, Metal Roofing, Reeves Journal, This Old House, Handy, Frame Building News, etc., etc. My office is lined with rows of books about construction, home maintenance and repair, plumbing, electricity, HVAC, etc.. I have been saving articles out of magazines for more than a decade. I used to file them all neatly in filing cabinets until I ran out of room for filing cabinets. Now there are stacks piling up in here that I have noplace to file. Not sure what I'm going to do about all of those. Bottom line, it doesn't matter what your read and what courses you take. When you get into this business you must continue to learn every single day of the year, year after year after year, if you intend to remain competent. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Okay, William, Jimmy, Rob and others up in Mass. Talk this one around and save it. Massachusetts Colonial ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Okay Chad, I've just sent an email to PETDTMT (People for Ethical Treatment of Dogs Threatened by Mouse Traps). You can expect the picket lines to begin forming within hours. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi, It is not an issue. I see it all the time. The rule counts at the main disconnect only - not at a sub-panel. However, the occupant must have free access to the main disconnect and must keep the key where it is readily available if he/she has padlocked it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Paul, I fixed it for you. Here's a tip folks. If you want to get a free spell-check tool go to iespell.com and download their free spell checker for Internet Explorer. It makes checking spelling in a post as easy as right-clicking. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Everyone, I'm just posting here to remind everyone to add their link to TIJ's links archive. It's not a big fancy search engine, but doing so will help both you and TIJ. The more places you link back to your website, the better for you when it comes to search engine presence. All I ask in return is that you reciprocate by placing a link to TIJ on your own site. By doing so, you'll help TIJ get better web presence. Better web presence for TIJ, will hopefully oneday mean more sponsors. More sponsors will mean that I'll eventually be able to do some site upgrades and improvements. Oh, and while you're up looking around the site, don't forget to click on the sponsors' sites every once in a while and see what they have to offer. Providing a link to TIJ is easy. Just go to 'Home' on the task bar above, choose 'link to TIJ' from the drop down and follow the instructions. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

by Matt Michel My friend, Bubba decided to enter a bike race. Though I wasn’t entering, he asked me to ride alongside and pace him. “I gotta beat the competition,â€

Hmmm, That's odd. If I'm not mistaken, Paul MacLean has had one of those for years and years. Paul, you out there? Is that the same brand? I used to have a 22ft. extension ladder and a 6ft. step ladder. I stowed those and now have 13ft. and 21ft. Gorilla ladders that I bought at the big orange box. They're L-G knockoffs made in China, and heavy, because they're rated for 300lbs. However, they get me where I want to go most of the time. I'm thinking about picking up the new 17ft. Costco L-G knockoff too. I used to have the first Costco knockoff, but that was chintzy and made with stamped, riveted-steel hinges. It didn't even compare to the 17ft. one they have now, which is essentially an in-between sized version of the Gorilla ladders. The 17 footer will be nice for those in-between heights, so I don't have to struggle with the 21 footer, which can feel pretty unwieldy sometimes. There've been times when I've wished for a 26 footer, but I don't know that I want to have to battle one that long. Still, they do compact nicely and nest very nicely one on top of the other in the back of my Baja. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, You should check out the latest version of our sponsor's software, Inspect Express. The program runs in MS Word and can be learned in under 15 minutes. It's fully customizable, and you can choose to either prepare reports in full narrative or semi-narrative format. I haven't played with a lot of demo versions of other programs - mostly because I'm a cyber idiot and can never figure out how they work. For whatever reason, I was able to figure out IE in less than 15 minutes the very first time I tried it. With me, that was key. I'm not a fan of checklists or semi-narrative type reports. My reports are full narrative. However, IE's semi-narrative format is ideal for the inspector who is going to be doing on-site reports using a pen-tablet or notebook computer. You can switch between a full-narrative or semi-narrative report in IE by simply clicking on a checkbox in settings before you start to prepare the report. It gives one the ability to offer a semi-narrative report at one price for the person who's in a hurry and wants it on-site, or a full-narrative report at a higher price which you prepare back at your office and deliver via email the next day. I used to use the InspectIt program, which was semi-narrative. Before that, my old franchiser's format was a semi-narrative type. I've played with the semi-narrative version of IE, and I think it looks cleaner and more professional than most semi-narrative formats I've seen, and there's no difference in the way the report is input into the computer, so there's no additional learning curve. Plus, one can archive up an unlimited number of versions of every single boilerplate comment. So, when you do have a situation where you need to modify your boilerplate a little to suit the home, and the custom comment you write is pretty good, you can instantly save it for use when the same type of situation arises in the future, without modifying your default boilerplate comment. When the report is done, I can print a 30 page report out - in color - in less than 5 minutes and punching and binding the report takes less than 3. I print my cover on linen finish ivory-colored card stock and the rest of the report on hi-grade, ivory-colored, linen finish paper. When bound with a cover, the end product looks very professional and just blows the clients away. It's worth checking out. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I doubt that it's caused by an insulation problem. Algae growing on the outside of homes is common here. Have them treat the exteriors with JoMax. Nuff Said, ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Do people tell you your price is too high? How do you handle it? Charlie Greer is an HVAC and plumbing industry consultant and creator of the Tec Daddy DVD training program (www.CharlieGreer.com). Each year he plays a “Simonâ€

Yes, Yes, Dang it Neal, I was writing that and asking myself why the name of the product didn't seem "quite" right. Thanks. Something's going on. I poured myself a cup of coffee this morning, opened the cupboard above the coffee maker and then spent nearly a minute with a coffee cup in my hand looking into the cupboard at the Coffemate container wondering what it was I had wanted to get out of the cupboard. I finally glanced down at the cup of hot black coffee and remembered it was to get some Coffeemate. It's only one of at least a half dozen things in the past couple of days. Early onset of alzheimers?!! [:-bigeyes ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike