Jesse

I'm sorry, guys. Those were the only pants I had clean, and the dryer must have shrunk them. Actually, that's a picture of my good side.

Mike, you make a good point - that I really shouldn't give advice on this gentleman's crawl without being in it. I understand the system of vapor diffusion. I see only a few crawlspaces, but I've never experienced one with notable moisture during the really cold months, regardless of ventilation. That certainly doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's entirely possible the home in question is at the bottom of a hill or within 100' of a river. You are 100% right that the only way to guarantee a good sealed crawl is to condition it. What I said was that I close my vents later. It works well for my house on my lot. Ken, as a lot of the brothers here are saying, it's a safer bet to leave them open. If you're going to leave it vented for winter, spend a little cash, and a little time, and insulate any plumbing down there.

Ken I wait until a little later in the season to close my crawl vents, probably when temps are consistently below freezing. By then, our area is bone dry, and moisture in the crawl isn't really an issue.

Kurt Are you still working on that project that Terry was referring to?

To add to Chad's answer, I'd say BELOW the bottom of the incoming lines.

The regulator is upstream of the meter, at least around here. For meter banks in condo buildings, multi-unit commercial buildings, etc, I see one regulator on the line coming out of the ground, then the line branches off to multiple meters.

Soaking in Simple Green, then thorough rinse with a hose, is a good way to go. Doesn't trash the dishwasher.

Not an attack, Al, an honest inquiry: I don't understand how that's possible on a foundation that's already in place, with a buliding on top of it. Aren't there too many variables? Would you please post your reference so I can read about it?

Chad and Kurt are right. This is an ongoing problem.

Any of you checked out this book yet? Worth it?

Visually observed? Is there another way you would observe it? Passive voice twice in one sentence. An engineer is going to charge a few hundred bucks and tell you to call a foundation repair company.

Chad - Don't you know? I'm a home inspector! I'm rich! No need for your bribe money.

Dessert - tasty sweet course enjoyed at the end of a meal, or late at night when the wife isn't looking. Desert - place with minimal precipitation and too hot for me to live

Thanks, Mike, for the vermiculite clarification, and for the rat crap / lazy inspector story.

Forgive me for revealing yet another layer of my ignorance. Mike, you spoke fairly dramatically about vermiculite. I can ID it. I can tell you what it might have in it, and why, and when, blah, blah, blah. I get the impression from you, though, that even undisturbed, it presents a higher risk to occupants than other asbestos-containing stuff. Am I interpreting something wrong? Am I inferring too much from your story? EDUMACATE ME! PS - Loved the story. Kinda how I feel when I tell some body I'm a home inspector, and he/she tells me what a great guy his/her home inspector was. The inspector was there for almost two hours, and found that the kitchen didn't have those outlets with the buttons. "So we got the seller to fix that!"

No. The cold air does not create a barrier. If the attic was 100 degrees in the winter, instead of 30, less energy would be required to heat the living space below. If I should keep my ceiling cold, why should I insulate the attic?

I just caught myself nodding.

Jesse, What other issues are you thinking of? The waste line materials used lead me to believe they weren't installed by an actual plumber. The house is only two years old, so it's probably original. The receptacle, as noted in the original post, is face-up, which I wouldn't expect a decent electrician to do. So a non-plumber did some plumbing, a non-electrician did some electric... See where I'm going, Randy? No specific issues, just a heightened index of suspicion.

Looking at that picture, I'd expect that there'd be a lot more than a few issues in that house.

It that an African or European swallow?

Mine was a joke, Mike.

I'd be more concerned about getting one on my ass.

That's in the kitchen?

I stand corrected. Thanks, Jim.