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I laugh when I look back, but I used to have Kinkos print nice laser color reports, bound! Clients just want the pdf. I'll give them whatever they want, but when I say they'll get a pdf attachment in an email within the next 16 hours or so, they say, "Great!"

Not in new stuff, thank God, but it's only been gone about 3 years, so I still see it in fairly recent renovations.[:-crazy] New stuff is mostly cementboard with some Denshield (sp?) At least, it's supposed to be. My point is I can't see through the tile to confirm that this is the case...

I've done it. But I still can't see - in someone else's installation - if the right materials were used beneath the tile - e.g., drywall v. greenboard, proper moisture barrier, insulation of outside walls, or framing quality. I can only wonder what someone else did.

Hi Bain, you could say that about the entire home inspection process. Very little is definitive. We can't see through stuff and we don't tear stuff apart. We inspect HVAC, but the control board, compressor or fan could die the moment we leave. There is likely no insulation in any of the walls of half the homes I inspect in Buffalo, and there may be the beginnings of muck behind any of them. There may be a loose electrical connection somewhere that begins arcing and starts a fire the moment I leave - even though I check voltage drop wherever I can. The corner of a house could drop because a loose underground drainage line finally took away enough soil so the house could no longer be supported. ... This list is very long. Setting expectations is important. I avoid as much of the "mumbo-jumboish" language as I can in my report by indicating general limitations (and referencing the ASHI SoP, which are the law in NY.)

That's an issue at every forum, but Chad's right - if you haven't filled in your profile, do it now. It's safe, simple and quick[:-angel] As part of doing your profile, be sure to add a signature that states your state...

There are no accidents.

A now common (Thanks to ASHI's current Pres) technique is to drag the end of your MagLite across the tiles and listen for differences in sound as you move along. I like it, and the client likes to see yet another way of checking the home.

As much as you might want to by-pass time, Carl's right, you can't. Mike's strategy is a good one - it's similar to Kurt's appreciation of Angie's List. I have benefitted from school teachers. They have an active bulletin board that loves me. This cost me nothing but time. Time for the word of mouth to develop. Time is money. (Les, you forgot the Yo-Yos!)

That pretty smurf tubing really brightens the place up, doesn't it?

I'm pretty sure you're right, Chad. Hope your biz is climbing faster than the thermometer.

Damn, that's true Chad, what gases are blocked??? I mentioned it because of the length issue Frank brought up. The IPC says(802.2) that all indirect waste piping exceeding 4 feet shall be trapped. I was also listening to a Sabres program [:-hockey]

Jim, I did that as soon as he asked if he could use my name in a letter he is writing to his attorney. Thanks.

Mark, Regarding capacity, the drain needs to handle 2GPM (3 d.f.u.) plus whatever floor drainage it was designed to handle. Regarding safety, it's hard to tell. The more interesting plumbing is upstream from the picture. What sort of venting is there? And how are the discharges joined? Regarding style, Frank's right about it being ugly. The receptor should be of an approved type, not allow splashing/flooding, and it should be sized correctly. Frank, does your state allow for longer lengths if the discharge plumbing is trapped?

Jim, Thanks for the quick response. You're a blessing to any forum you frequent! This was a sanity check question for me. I realize that the soil will equilibrate with its surroundings, so bone-dry really makes no difference. I think it's a big Duh! My client is having a problem with selling his home because his buyers' inspector said that the vb should not have been placed until the soil was bone dry. He is telling my client to remove the vb and rent some fans. I told my client I strongly disagree with that and asked if the inspector cited any reason or best practice reference. He said no. Nobody knows all (although you are spookily close) so I bounced it around here to see what happened.

Older home. Ventilated crawlspace (about 18 X 20) Dirt floor, with perimeter drainage and sump pump. About an inch of water collected due to sump pump malfunction. Repaired. Water drained/leached/evaporated so that dirt was only slightly damp. Vapor barrier removed, gravel added to some spots where existing gravel was sparse. Gravel was damp. Vapor barrier replaced. QUESTION: Did the surface need to be bone dry prior to placing the vb?

Jeez, I haven't used my little tester in so long, I forgot what those lights mean. I just dug it out of the bag, and you're right of course. I understand all of this now, except why the older GFCI's may or may not trip with a false ground. I like my Ideal analyzer - three green is good! Reminds me of landing gear indicator lights. "Three green" is part of every landing checklist (well, not water landings).

Ah, but Jimmy you still have hair. Makes ya look younger, say 33. I was 33, 21 years ago [:-headach

Jim, He wrote that the center light came on, and he parenthetically stated that this surprised him. Sounds like a false ground to me. With no bootleg, obviously no trip. But if the neutral conductor is connected to both the neutral and ground terminals at the GFCI, the handheld will trip the GFCI.

Hey Jimmy! When I was your age (I was 33)... Download Attachment: YoungMe.jpg 19.76 KB

Jim, It's pathetic information - you're right. New technologies allow us to determine how may genes different species share. Three major domains are found; Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. I mention this only because it's different from my childhood Kingdom, Phylum, Class stuff... Eukarya are divided into four groups; protists, Plantae, Animalia, and Fungi. Biologists never have, and never will say fungus is a plant. The author of that site should be embarrassed, but (s)he is likely making too much money to sweat it.

It does now... Back to the topic... id="blue"> A real feature of this BB is that we hear from persons all over the continent (and beyond). Regional issues can be a real source of entertainment and education. Chad and I live just 80 miles or so from each other, but he sees mostly concrete block foundations in newer construction while I see almost 100% poured in place concrete (Union power?). There is an electrician around here who likes to chain 2 or 3 GFCI outlets on a single circuit. I asked about testing such chains once, and fellow HIs were puzzled - why would you do that? I still can't find a good reason, but we see what we see. I like hearing about the stuff you all find, but I have yet to run into. Thanks!

Hmmm, you da man Katen! My thinking was that the handheld would trip the 2-wire through - in this case - the bootleg ground Zeb mentioned. I'll have to draw a picture for myself wrt this.

Thanks! If I wasn't an old fart, I'd put my mug up like you. Ah, the memories...

Rick, First, if you think you might be dumb as a pile of rocks, then you're not. It sounds like you have a handy dandy, but not a super handy dandy. A good analyzer will indicate bootleg grounds. If you are using one of those little traffic light testers, they don't always tell the truth.

Chad, Have you been playing those Reggae records again? Be sure to clean your bongs under a pierless faucet. (Oh this has to stop.)