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Times must be tough for contractors out there. December Press Release Company Website ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hee hee, You've just set a bunch of 'em back on their heels. They're all goin' "What the f....!" ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

As Dondi once said, "You funny guy, GI!" ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, I don't think the fix is to break out the sidewalk. It's too close to the foundation. Placing a curtain drain within 3 ft of that foundation won't do you any good at all; you'd want it no closer than six feet, and, if they're smart, they'd put them in in echelons about six feet apart all the way to the street. I know that you said that the front yard slopes all the way to the front of the house, but which way does the street slope in those diagrams - right to left or left to right? Instead of placing a bunch of drains in the front yard without any idea whether they will work or not until they're in, they might consider reconfiguring that entire front yard. I recently did a house with that configuration where they had very nicely notched out the front yard and placed a very nicely terraced set of segmental block retaining walls between the drive, public walkway and neighbor's property and had added a grated drain across the driveway. The landscaping contractor had placed very good drainage below the lowest retaining wall to gather everything coming off the slopes and what was now draining toward the retaining wall from the front of the house. That drain looped around the base of the wall and ran down along the retaining wall on the side of the property (what would be the right side in your photo) and I was told it emptied into a 6 by 6 by 6 drywell at the back corner of the property. They placed a nice little paver patio in the front yard and furnished it like an outdoor living room with wrought iron furniture and chairs. Even though it was outside it felt almost like being in an atrium with the raised plantings wrapping the area on three sides and lots of stuff planted there. They took a front yard that used to drain all the way to the house, completely reversed the direction of runoff, collected it well away from the foundation and then drained it off the lot sensibly without sending it underneath the house. If my danged scanner would talk to this new 64-bit computer I'd have scanned your photo, drawn in what I was talking about and posted it. Unfortunately, I can't get this computer and that scanner to talk to one another, so you'll have to envision it in your mind. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

If anyone is interested, Fluke is having a promotion right now that involves either rebates rebates or bonus accessories. Here's a couple of flyers: Download Attachment: CashPAK Flyer.pdf 695.12 KB Download Attachment: CashPAK Rebate Form.pdf 582.44 KB ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, Well, it turns out that the casualties weren't from this week at all; and that the request for prayers went out several months ago, but I think it is nevertheless valid. Once one does a little reading about these guys one comes to realize that this is one really tough, storied bunch of troops. They can use all the support we can send 'em. According to their website, the official line is that "The Battalion is one of the combat elements of RCT 8, whose mission is to conduct counter insurgency operations in partnership with the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan." The reality is that this is the same unit that pacified Fallujah in Iraq when it was an insurgent stronghold and now they've been sent in to pacify Sangin, a town in afghanistan that the British Marines held for five years but were unable to make significant progress with. Sangin has accounted for one-third of all British casualties in Afghanistan since 2001. The battalion's January newsletter tells what kind of progress they've been making and you can read an article about what kind of unit it is here. The unit's motto is "Get Some." ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I thought it was nailheads too; but not due to thermal bridging. The stucco job doesn't look right at all to me. My guess is that he used substandard fasteners, the fasteners are corroding and the rust is starting to come through the portland cement. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Nah, Ladder and binos. If it had been a shake roof like all of the neighbors and a dry day I would have. However, it was a flat concrete tile roof with a slight algae slick on it and it was drizzling at the time of the inspection. Anyone who'd have attempted that roof under those conditions would have needed to be wearing one of those big inflatable bouncy-ball suits and would have needed a chase team to stop him rolling. The owner was upset that I was there six hours; he said that he had it inspected three years ago in less than two hours. I said to him, "What you "got" wasn't an inspection; you got ripped off." Lots of stuff going on there but no roof leaks or leaking flashings. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I dunno, Build 'em right and flash them right and they don't leak. You want angles? This is one I did last week. 1988 house. You can see one of the stacks but it has three. Click to Enlarge 26.22 KB ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi All, Just received a shoutout from the GI net asking for everyone to say a prayer for, or send your positive energy or karma or whatever, to for "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and their families. They are in Afghanistan and have lost 12 marines in 4 days. It would be nice if you all could spread this message far and wide. If nothing else, to let the families of these troopers know that we share their pain. Semper Fi, Justin Allen, 23, Brett Linley, 29, Matthew Weikert, 29, Justus Bartett, 27, Dave Santos, 21, Chase Stanley, 21, Jesse Reed, 26, Matthew Johnson, 21, Zachary Fisher, 24, Brandon King, 23, Christopher Goeke, 23, Sheldon Tate, 27, Please, only respond to this if you want to express sympathies but do not respond with any political rants. Just pass this on, please. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

No accessory/expansion beads below the window; how about above? Stucco goes right up to that window frame? Looks like it's aluminum. Is it? Is that window underneath an overhanging eave or is it exposed to the wind/rain/weather? How is the top of that window detailed? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yech, I won't be clicking on this thread again. When you guys stop suppressing your nerd gene and your conversations take a braniac turn it starts gettin' real cornfoosing. I'm outta heah! ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Makes sense to me, Inside, the volume of the space where that air is coming from can be reduced by bringing in autos or storing property. People can do dumb stuff like block any air inlet into the interior because they're bothered by the cold air. Inside, pollutants in the air from chemicals or cleaning compounds can get sucked into the unit. Inside, the temperature around the unit can fluctuate greatly as can the moisture content in the air. Clothes dryers, interior exhaust fans, fireplaces all can effect it too. Most of that stuff doesn't happen outside, or if it does it doesn't happen as radically as it does in an indoor air environment. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, It is just about everywhere but it's only a concern where it's "hot" - in other words, where the radiation it gives off is over what they consider to be a safe threshold. A while back I thought about adding radon to my list of services, because when out-of-state folks move out here they keep asking for radon testing and seem to think that I'm lying to them when I tell them it's not worth bothering with. Anyway, I got on the phone and tracked down the Washington State radon guy. Turns out there is only one person employed in this state as an expert on radiation; he's an ex-submariner. The poor guy must have an office cubbyhole somewhere in the deepest darkest recess of the deepest darkest basement in Olympia because he seem to be starving for someone to talk to about what he does and he spent about 45 minutes on the phone. Maybe he's wrong or full of it up to his eye sockets, but he seemed to be very knowledgeable about the whole topic and sounded pretty confident in his answers. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Dunno about you, My Friend, but I prefer the look of a chase to a couple of tubes coming up out of the roof that look like they belong on the deck of a ship. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

I agree with Jim; the whole thing is stupid. No drainage plane and whoever flashed that to the roofline should have his thumbs crushed; then the work would match his capabilities. Take it down. Build another chase using pressure-treated lumber and treated plywood. Incorporate a cricket into it; wrap it with a couple layers of 60-minute paper, a layer of drainage mat wrap, some lath and cover the whole shebang with a layer of 3-coat stucco. Put a real cap on it next time, one that's custome made to incorporate the top of a stucco wall assembly and extends farther than three inches below the lip and flash the thing properly at the chase-to-roof point. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

The only hot spots for radon in Washington State are Spokane - a five hour drive east - and Vancouver - a three and a half hour drive south of that house. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's so cute. Marc, AC around here is when you open a window. AC systems are scarcer here than hen's teeth. Randy, Why, after 50 years is there suddenly a mold problem? I've had a couple of dozen of those where the pipes were dripping where they come of through the slab inside the interior wall between the kitchen and bath. I'd suspect a broken pipe before I suspected rising damp was the cause. If I bought one to rehab it, I'd build in multi-echelon defenses. I'd bust out the slab and pull out all of the original pipe from the street and then re-plumb everything from meter to fixtures with PEX. I'd patch that slab very carefully using a sleeve around where the pipes enter so I can seal them separately with hydraulic cement. I'd then wrap the perimeter of the slab with a Multi-flow collector system drained to a deep drywell somewhere on the property as far downhill and away from the house as I could put it. I'd probably install a second echlon six feet out from the foundation to keep the nearby yard as dry as I could and then replace the first course of block with a damp course. Follow that up with a Delta rainscreen membrane behind any siding and I think I'd have a nice dry little house. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

OK, You know that with my second grade math skills I can't do the math for you but the flue must equal the largest connector plus 50% of all others. Get out a pencil. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Which is what I'd always assumed and that's why I've never written it up in garages or where I could see a panel. In this case, it was in a utility room in the basement a long way from the panel. Can't recall every seeing that done before. I guess the lesson is not assume things in this business based on other things. Just because one type of device needs a disconnect or needs to be within sight of the panel doesn't mean that they'll all be under the same rules. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Most "real" home inspectors will be able to relate to this. The family wants a home, they make an application under one of the federal programs in order to qualify for an FHA-backed loan, the federal agency requires an "inspection" and an appraiser is hired. Months later, something goes bad with the home and the horrified new homeowner discovers that the home is uninhabitable and that the "inspection" they'd thought they had wasn't a real inspection at all but an appraisal. They go back to the fed agency to complain and are told, "Oh, too bad. We're very sorry but you must not have read the fine print very closely in that two-foot high stack of documents we had you sign while you were still high from making your first home acquisition. Didn't you see the disclaimer in there that says that our "inspection" isn't really a home inspection at all, and where we encouraged you to hire an independent inspector?" We inspectors have complained about this for years but the feds just don't get it.

Hi All, Thanks, I'd completely forgotten that I'd posted this. Chad, I found that but when I studied the requirements it seems like a residential unit didn't require line-of-site, just a disconnect someplace. Jim, that's what I'd assumed in the end but it would have been nice if it could have been a whole lot easier ot find. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Had a new furnace the other day in a basement utility room. No disconnect on the unit or within sight. Required? I guess I've never asked this before because I'd always presumed a disconnect is required and I hadn't run into any new furnaces without them. Just poked around in the codes. Unless I'm reading this wrong, a residential unit doesn't require one in sight - only a receptacle within 25 ft. Confirm? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hey, I said at least $1500. When I say at least something, I'm basically throwing out what I think the cheapest redneck with a hammer will do the job for. The guy I'd hire for myself would be somewhere above Joe-Bob and I'm betting nobody would want to swag a guess at that; it's going to be basically T & M at someone's standard hourly rate. ONE TEAM- ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

That's because when you think "duct" tape you are thinking about the silver gray stuff that everyone uses for everything and Red Greene uses on his show. That isn't really "duct" tape at all, it was invented in WWII and back then it was originally called "duck" tape because it was used to help waterproof stuff. ASHRAE came out with a finding at least a decade ago that essentially said that the widespread use of ordinary duct tape - meaning "duck" tape - to seal heating equipment was stupid 'cuz the stuff doesn't work, and said that it shouldn't be used. They were not referring to the UL 181 tape. UL 181 tape looks essentially the same but it's got better adhesives and is designed specifically for the HVAC business. It is clearly printed so that you know that you are not using duck tape. It is a good start but I think one should follow up by coating it with latex mastic to ensure a good seal. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike