Nolan Kienitz

As I live and breathe ... a voice from the past. Good to see that you are back kicking about inspecting. Been a long time since we have talked. At least you don't have to deal with the TREC up in Oklahoma!!

INachi / Nick Gromicko now have two counter-suits: Download Attachment: InterNACHI-sues-HomeSafe-and-Kevin-Seddon.pdf 844.91 KB Download Attachment: InterNACHI-motion-to-pierce-HomeSafe-coporate-veil.pdf 69.24 KB

Can use it to steam hotdogs ... [^]

Nolan, are you able to perform a flooring inspection? I'm trying to locate a second inspector to corroborate the first inspection provided by the manufacturer. Some of the planks look to be "de-laminating" and were there a manufacturing problem, I'd not want to leave them out of the fun. Thanks!! Amy No, I won't do such an inspection. You need to get in touch with a qualified, reputable installer (recommended by the manufacturer to have been trained/knowledgeable in their product) and have them provide an independent review. Manufacturer should have several sources to choose from. I don't have any installers that I can recommend and would be searching just as I'm recommending you do. Sry for delay in reply as my wife and I were on a few days holiday with two of our grandkids.

Agree with everyone above. Your installation is 'hosed'. Yes, we have had excessively high rain and high humidity this spring and early summer and all wood (or even laminate) product needs to sit in the home for almost a week to get acclimated to the environment. Installers should have tested moisture content, made sure floor (slab) was level ... if not put down a level-set compound, put down a vapor barrier if attempting to glue directly to slab. I agree with Jim L., I also prefer a nail down surface and that means a wood decking set on top of slab then the wood flooring gets installed. You will be in the midst of a finger-pointing session, but stay strong. Manufacturer is correct in that the "rules" of how the product is to be installed should have been followed. Can they provide a list of installers who they consider approved/trained to install their product in the D/FW market? Best wishes to you.

My oft-used phrase is: "Follow The Money." New home construction builders will do absolutely no more than what the local AHJ requires them to do ... no matter what the code and even 'local AHJ adopted' code says. I gave up doing new home construction phase inspections 5 years ago as I got tired of arguing with the builder and the AHJ ... even when the AHJ adopted paperwork was presented to them. Simply a "wink-wink" and "move along" ... there is nothing to see here. AHJ's and new home builders (follow the money) and the handshaking going on between the two. Sucks ...

Vinyl = NOPE! Aluminum = NOPE! James Hardie product one of the best products out there for siding as long as the installer is certified and proficient in installing the product. Same goes for almost anything being installed. If the company doing the installation is worth their salt the installation will meet the manufacturer's requirements. Not a hard decision.

Here is a link to the Lafayette County - Mississippi - Court Cases. Documents have a fee attached if so inclined. Court Cases - Lafayette County - Mississippi

If indeed it was used ... it was probably what was left in the shop, manufacturing site or on the truck. Waste not ... want not! I recall my Dad telling me that growing up on the farm.

Don't spin your wheels with such. Comments above hit the points very well. You have better things to do than trying to dig up permits and status of each.

Heck, Erby, I thought that was an image of Kurt that I found!! [:-monkeyd

Here you go ... Click to Enlarge 10.34 KB

For those feeling just a bit "irregular" there are some treatments for such ... Click to Enlarge 27.26 KB

Could post-tensioned cables have saved Denray's 3 1/2" thick garage floor? Marc Not likely. Comments I shared were from an engineer with PTI ... the company who administers the PT slab design, etc.. See cracks all the time in PT Slabs ... that is the bulk of what we have in Texas. Some cracks are just more than others. Most often the thickness of the slab in the garage area is less than what is set for the living/occupied area. Go figure that one with cars weighing a few pounds more than a few of us humans. Huge factor is the site prep from proper soils for area (seldom is ever done), proper compacting (sheeps foot, etc.. ... never see it done save for an owner with their own piece of dirt and being knowledgeable about such), proper setup of the PT cables in the trenches and terminated properly at live and dead ends and on and on. See hiccups all the time and seldom will builder correct before the pour. I did a phase job on a custom property at Possum Kingdom Lake (West of Fort Worth) several years ago. The engineer for the company who did the foundation had to sign off before the pour. I chatted with him at the site and he left after about 30-minutes having left a one page report with the builder. Problem being is that he missed two PT cables that had not yet been installed (were still coiled up next to project), several of the cables were rolled over and twisted like a pretzel and several of the live and dead end connections were terribly messed up. I gave my report to the client and builder and the foundation worker was there trying to get ready for the pour and I went over all my findings with him and the builder and they said they would get it all corrected and were amazed that the PT engineer signed off on it. Well, when I came back for a framing inspection the two PT cables were still coiled up, but now in the trash pile and the live/dead ends were still messed up. I will only hazard a guess that the pretzel twisted cables are still twisted. Can only bang one's head into the wall so many times. I shrugged my shoulders and moved on. I did make note of my findings, but to no avail.

Sidebar comment follows: While at a 3-day seminar put on by the Post Tensioning Institute several years ago the first moments of the class were great. Room of 30+ inspectors, coffee cups filled (some donuts still being munched on) and the PTI engineer/instructor walks in with his cup of coffee and begins class. He starts off with the "first rule of slabs". "Set the forms, pour the cement, it dries ... it cracks." That's it, class is over, that's all you need ... have a great day!" He picked up his coffee cup and walked out of the room. Now a room of inspectors quite taken aback and a bit stunned. Then after only a minute or two he returned and repeated what he said. That is the fundamental baseline for slabs ... keep that in mind and now the details. That began an intense 3-day class on the PTI foundations. Damn good class and I'll likely never forget the PTI engineers opening comments. So very true !!

See it all the time here in Texas. Typically not a concern.

Nicely done!

Without seeing some good establishing images of what you are talking about it is difficult to make any substantive observations. However, based on what you have said I'll offer the below: - Weep holes have been installed where they are 'required' to be installed. Approximately every 30-inches along the first course of bricks. - Odds are there is a slight 'drainage swale' along your backyard that routes the water runoff to the sides of the home. Sometimes those swales are minimal, but (in most cases) handle the runoff quite well. As I noted, a series of images will be most helpful.

I've been using an Olight M20-X for a few years now. Has not missed a bit. I also have a Fenix TK15 in the bag as a backup. Both have the scallops on the light hood that sold me after Kurt says those scallops are great to keep agents at bay.

Maybe I should give the local James Hardie manufacturing plant a hint to add W/H's to their queue !! ?? JH has a manufacturing plant in Cleburne, TX (SW of Fort Worth) and I've been there a couple times on tours. Great folks and an interesting process. The semi-liquid JH product could easily be poured into a cylinder.

Mike and others, Here are some PDFs of the recall. Download Attachment: CPSC_SqD_AFCI_recall_highlight.pdf 125.67 KB Download Attachment: SquareD_AFCI_RecallDATA.pdf 175.04 KB

I've recently found some of the re-called Square D AFCIs still installed. They go back to ~2004.

A Rube Goldberg piece of art that just kept on giving ... It started here (note slip of "green tag" from City of Dallas at top of W/H): Click to Enlarge 44.74 KB Plumber "signed/dated" graphic of his artwork: Click to Enlarge 37.8 KB And on it went (good labeling anyway): Click to Enlarge 46.55 KB Quick drain ... no sense in slowing things with a trap: Click to Enlarge 35.58 KB Quick run along wall to garage exterior: Click to Enlarge 33.37 KB Almost to the exterior wall now: Click to Enlarge 58.28 KB Whew ... now it's outside on the dog run: Click to Enlarge 52.16 KB Finally ... there's the drain, below the dog's fireplug: Click to Enlarge 48.78 KB Plumbing seemed to be key in this property ... Master Bath toilet backed up nicely into adjacent shower pan ... [:-crazy]

How about a "small cow" ?? [:-slaphap No attached JPGs from me on this one!

Size appears to be split from <55 to >55 gallons. <55 gallon products have higher efficiency requirements that require more insulation and that is changing the size of those units to about 2" higher and 2" wider. Space is the key item here. I didn't read the details on the >55 gallon units, but they apparently have more requirements that get into condensing units, etc..