hausdok

Hi, I bet they'd installed that pan without anything extra to support the weight. I helped a fellow replace one of those inexpensive shower stalls a few years ago that had a couple "smiles" in the pan. They'd occurred in places where there weren't any support ribs molded into the underside of the pan. You could feel the pan move if you pushed on it with your heel between the support ribs. The instructions on the identical new pan didn't say anything about supporting the pan with anything extra (There were about a dozen ribs fanning out from the center, so it looked pretty rigid.), but I didn't want to take a chance on it failing again. I smeared some paint on the ribs, pressed the pan to the floor to reveal the pattern and then I mixed up some stiff bedding mortar, rolled out a bunch of thick breadsticks of the stuff that were deeper than the height of the cavity beneath the pan, laid them out between the rib impressions and then we carefully pressed that pan into position on top to compress the mortar bed and spread those breadsticks out beneath the pan between the ribs. Once it had set, we ended up with a nicely bedded pan with a nice solid feel to the bottom and absolutely no more flex in that pan between ribs when someone stood on it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, I like to put that stuff in perspective by calling it AIDS for wood. Folks get it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

It's possible to do it but it's not allowed. Both previous roof cover layers will need to be torn off and a new cover installed. But you already knew that, didn't you? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike P.S. I deleted the link you dropped along with your inquiry and have locked your profile. Please don't come back. Don't know why anyone would want to hire your roofing company if you are dishonest enough to pass yourself off as an unknowledgable homeowner in order to furtively sow links on sites like ours.

Hi, It really depends on what the membrane is. At 15 years old and without a history of very diligent care there's a good chance that the roof membrane is not worth trying to save and a new membrane would make more sense. When you say "black rubber membrane" do you mean that the roof is actually a rubber, similar to an inner tube or is it a plasticized asphalt. Can you take some pictures - some far off shots and some close-up shots and then post them here for us to look at? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Well, That's a safe assumption, since practically every two-story out this way has a single stat somewhere on the main floor and it's pretty unusual to find a zoned FHA system with second floor stats. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I suspect that something is going on with the stat. He sets the stat to 50?F and the temperature downstairs is 67? to 70?F? What's up with that? Sounds like a screwed up stat that's not shutting down the heat when it should. If it were to shut off the heat when the stat reaches 50, as it's supposed to, do you think it would be over 80? upstairs? I doubt it. He'll have an open stairwell that's allowing all of the bouyant heated air from downstairs to flow upstairs unrestricted. The stat is on the main floor. He might not have a return air on the first floor. If he does, it might be blocked or might not be connected. I know of one fellow who had a situation where there was no return air - they'd simply painted the drywall behind the grate with flat black paint. I myself have found situations where they'd cut a hole in the drywall but there was no opening to the other levels in the wall cavity and the return air on that level was just for show. If heated air is always rising up to the second floor, and your system doesn't shut down when the stat reaches the temperature it's set to on the main floor and allows it to go 17 to 20 degrees past what it's set for, the second floor is always going to be way hotter than the first floor. As far as the meter thing; it might just be your water heater. Did you try shutting down the water heater and make sure the clothes dryer and stove were off before you went to look at the meter with the heat pump shut down? If all of those are shut down and the meter is spinning with the disconnect to the heat pump turned off, the emergency heat elements in the air handler might have cycled on. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

According to this Sun Sentinel.com article, thousands of Florida homeowners recently saw their homeowners insurance increase after inspections conducted by their insurers determined that discounts they'd received for hurricane upgrades weren't justified. Worse, some of the inspectors working for the insurance companies are the same inspectors that had been hired by homeowners to confirm upgrades had been completely and properly done in the first place. Sounds pretty screwed up, doesn't it? To read more, Click Here.

It's been a week, Tom has already sent his report out and did his job. The seller is offering concessions. It's in the buyer's court now. It looks like we have a difference of opinion. There is no scoreboard here. Nobody gets points for winning an argument here. It isn't worth getting worked up over. You've voiced your opinions, now let it go. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Around here it doesn't make any difference. ABS is king due to cost but I've seen plenty of PVC as well. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I had something similar last week. An oil furnace flue encased in concrete that passes alongside a basement before it couples to a masonry chimneystack. Click to Enlarge 53.5 KB There weren't any mysteries as to why the exhaust gases were condensing so badly that they were literally draining out of the wall where the smoke pipe is connected. Click to Enlarge 32.23 KB ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

You're thinking clogged vent and tank collapsing before it starts to suck air in around the cap with a moan, right? OT - OF!!! Mike

It was the Ghost of Cheap Oil in Christmas' Past trying to get out of the tank. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Same deal in most older parts of Seattle and no anti-backflow mechanisms on most of them. The city is slowly installing storm sewers in streets but it's an on-going decades-long process. Like Chi-Town and other places, whenever there are severe winter storms and the sewers become clogged they back up into basements and on the evening news there is usually the inevitable short video with a voice-over describing the problem with some guy trying to use a 2 by 4 to wedge rags into the toilet that's doing its best to imitate Old Faithful. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Nah, I hardly ever see copper stubouts on PEX. Around here they either use those sweeping bends and just let the end hang out of the wall or they put an elbow just behind the wall and use either PEX or copper to come through the face of the wall. I've yet to see the molded and chromed plastic stub-out covers designed to go over PEX stub-outs to disguise them. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, I know that. That's why I shot my big mouth, well, er. ran my fat fingers off, before bothering to check on this particular model; and, as usual, got my head stuck up my ass. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I would never have remembered that - even if I had remembered the movie. Gonna go eat my mash now. OT - OF!!! M.

First I had to google A Christman Story, now I'm sitting here trying to figure out what you mean, Kevin. Guess I'm too slow for you guys. Must be the oldtimers disease setting in. I'd best go eat my porridge now and leave this place to those of you who're more quick witted and intuitive. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Ritchie, You might be starting fires where none existed. I agree that the original poster's siding install is crap and needs to be torn off and redone properly; however, how can you make the statement that Hardiplank should never have been power nailed when J.H. specifically recommends the use of power nailing for best consistency in application? Also, they do allow HP to be installed directly over OSB sheathing that's a minimum of 7/16-inch thick as long as the butt joints are nailed over studs. I've been looking at power-nailed HP for the past 15 years and if power nailing were a serious issue I can guaranty you I would have heard about it by now. Can you point to a specific bulletin put out by J.H. stating to disregard their installation instructions and their best practices manual for whichever region one is in? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

These are possible causes and troubleshooting for flame cutting out on that unit according to Heat n Glow's own manual for that product. Symptom: The pilot is burning, there is no burner fl ame, the valve knob is in the ON position, and the ON/OFF switch is in the ON position. A. ON/OFF switch or wires. - Check the ON/OFF switch and wires for proper connections. Place the jumper wires across the terminals at the ON/OFF switch. If the burner comes on, replace the ON/OFF switch. If the ON/OFF switch is OK, place the jumper wires across the ON/OFF switch wires at the gas valve. If the burner comes on, the wires are faulty or connections are bad. B. Thermopile may not be generating sufficient millivoltage.- Check that the pilot flame impinges thermopile properly. Be sure the wire connections from the thermopile at the gas valve terminals are tight and that the thermopile is fully inserted into the pilot bracket. Check the thermopile with a millivolt meter. Take the reading at THTP&TP terminals of the gas valve. The meter should read 350 millivolts minimum, while holding the valve knob depressed in the pilot position, with the pilot lit, and the ON/OFF switch in the OFF position. Replace the thermopile if the reading is below the specified minimum.With the pilot in the ON position, disconnect the thermopile leads from the valve. Take a reading at the thermopile leads. The reading should be 350 millivolts minimum. Replace the thermopile if the reading is below the minimum. C. Valve. - Turn the valve knob to the ON position. Place the ON/OFF switch in the ON position. Take a reading with a millivolt meter at the thermopile terminals. The millivolt meter should read greater than 125mV. If the reading is acceptable, and if the burner does not come on, replace the gas valve. D. Plugged burner orifice. - Check the burner orifice for stoppage. Remove stoppage. E. Wall switch or wires. - Check the wall switch and wires for proper connections. Symptom: The pilot and main burner extinguish while in operation. A. No LP in tank. - Check the LP (propane) tank. Refill the fuel tank. B. Improper gas inlet pressure. - Natural gas should be 5-14 in. w.c. LP should be 10- 14 in. w.c. Verify pressure with manometer. C. Inner vent pipe leaking exhaust gases back into the system. - Check venting system for damage. Replace/repair improperly assembled pipe sections. D. Glass installed improperly. - Check to ensure glass is installed properly. Replace fixed glass panel assembly. E. Thermopile or thermocouple. - Replace pilot if necessary. F. Improper vent cap installation. - Check for proper installation and freedom from debris or blockage. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Brandon, It wouldn't. I thought that one might be equipped with a temperature cutout but I checked the installation manual and it is not. pkutches, Have you tried working through the trouble shooting steps in the manual? If you don't have it anymore, download it here and work through the trouble shooting chart. http://www.heatnglo.com/~/media/Files/H ... 8_900.ashx ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's basically it. There are also btu/lb figures for wood available on the net that may allow you to get an idea of the efficiency of the entire system i.e. the % of btu's invested (expressed in lbs of wood) that actually ends up within the conditioned space. Douglas fir is approx 8,800 btu per 'oven-dry' pound. The math is nearly as simple. That is if Mr. O will allow it.[] Marc I looked at that formula Rich put up and I started getting nauseous and light headed. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

If you're running it at high temp all the time it might be cutting out due to excess temperature. Turn the heat down and try it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, Always behind his back with a snicker. [] ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Ditto. You've definitely been an asset here. A little full of yourself when you first showed up; but after you mellowed out you became one of the family. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, I know, it's funny. Heard it before. Please post stuff that's going to foment a political torrent on some other site that likes that kind of stuff. We don't welcome discussions about politics or religion here. Thanks. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike