inspector57

Good video for clients and builders. Thanks!

Brick veneer, meaning it is not structural. It has nothing to do with holding the building up but is supported independently by the foundation. Lick-n-stick is fake veneer that is supported by the building itself much like any other siding product. With the amount of damage described and pictured, removing, cleaning and reinstalling the brick may be a more worth while expenditure of resources.

Did it rain? Really, that may be the question you need to ask. An IR or moisture meter won't tell you squat if the building has dried out since it rained. You can see stains (usually) whether wet or dry. The first and best inspection is visual and all the other tools in the bag are just to confirm your suspicions. All the whizz bang tools in the world can't tell you if the roof leaks unless it is leaking or at least still wet when you are there.

I'm not a sprinkler expert but I would just assume the fittings were needed to properly position the head out of harms way at the bottom of the feeder pipe as well as enableing the head to be aimed the right direction.

Looks like Heil-Quaker from the cabinet design from the 80's, not a clue what the label says.

I tend to overheat when I try to solder. I blame it on using Silfoss on refrigerant lines which has a much higher melting point and a wider sweat spot. (At least that is my story and I'm sticking to it!) Once you overheat a solder joint or valve body you're pretty much screwed. It is easier just to cut it off and start over. As I alluded to earlier, next time you have a water drip or trickle in a pipe with no other way to drain it, (say at a low point of a system) Get some fresh white bread and make a dough ball and pack it in as far ahead of the joint to be soldered as possible. Quickly solder the joint while the bread absorbs the water. The bread will quickly dissolve. Then flush the line.

Yep, water cannot be in the line and get the copper hot enough to solder. Try the old bread plug trick but shark bites work better than I would have thought.

I've never seen it but then at 400 amps, that in itself would be a rareity.

Bidet, I see it quite frequently in certain ethnic/religious instances. Obviously they need to go, no backflow prevention and usually uses a self-piercing valve.

Ugg, again? By the way the last link did not work for me.

"Attic Fan" in common parlance but more correctly a whole house ventilator fan. Sucks air out of the house and exhausts inside the attic which should have adequate vents to outdoors. BIG chance of backdrafting of gas appliances and chimneys when in operation. Occupants must open windows to get flow through ventilation. Very useful in hot climates that cool down at night. They were very common here before a/c became popular.

If not already present look into adding a fresh air makeup on the HVAC with a inteligent controller. This will help wash out the indoor pollutants with fresh air, moderate the humidity. One drawback is drawing in allergens during hay fever season, so make sure you know where the switch is to overide. This is the V - (ventilation) part of HVAC.

Splurge and use quality metal roof (i.e. standing seam) then place a steel stairway over the roof with as much clearance as possible. Done properly it should last a lifetime.

I just ran the first paragraph of our state mandated preamble to all reports through and got a 17.56. This is the blurb that is supposed to explain the inspection process to make it easier to understand..........

Don't rely on "red" and "blue", look at the top of the heater for the markings on the heater itself that indicate the hot and cold ports. Typically the hot will be on the left side of the heater and marked with an embossed "H". Sounds like a missing dip tube or defective element though.

It has been years since doing it but lots of appliances used to be shipped with both sets of jets and conversion instructions and the installer made the adjustments on the spot along with installing the correct tag. the reason for the different orfice is the different heat value in the two different gases, Propane has much more heat value than the same quanity of Natural gas even at the same pressure.

It was common in that era around these parts to have underground "stop and waste" valves with the square steel handle extending to or above the floor inside the house. Of course stop and waste valves are no longer allowed and pipes must be protected from freezing (insulated.)

And that video does not show it fully extended, still another few feet left. I have one and while it is great and the only way for me to get on some roofs, it is a beast for one man to handle. I carry the short version (4.5' folded) of a Werner and only carry the big gun when I know it is a requirement to have it. Thank goodness for Bing and Google!

My opinion is they should never be installed unless there is absolutely no other option to ventilate an attic. I have installed them in the past, but no more after seeing literally hundreds of burned-out / locked-up motors. They will not survive more than a couple of seasons around here since it is a flawed design. Trying to use an air cooled motor for continuous duty in an air stream that is 110-150 degrees just does not work. Add to the reliability concerns the cost of energy to run the things and the fact that you are using interior air sucked through every hole in the ceiling to cool the attic and they become less and less attractive. Maybe, just maybe, if I was in an area that air conditioning was not required and the unit only ran a few weeks every year, I might consider... Nah, there are better methods![]

I don't have a clue and it appears the person who wire this did not have a clue either.

Ditto about forgetting what the Realtor thinks. While I love referrals from almost anyone (even Realtors), I cannot and will not write my report or guard my words to appease anyone, especially not a Realtor. The good Realtors want you to protect their clients and realize there are lots of houses but not lots of clients, the bad one's... well I don't want to be associated with them anyway. I do try to temper my words to convey the right amount of alarm to the clients since some can get spooked for little stuff that is present on almost every house. In the case of what the OP described, the client SHOULD BE ALARMED you have the potential for an indoor pool with evidence that it has been partially filled before. I rarely tell a client this but from what the OP indicates, my words would be "Run, Forest, Run!"

Tell me again, what is the difference?[^]

Yep, looks like the air valve that controlled the lift. I'll bet the hydraulic ram is still there below the floor or else the steel ring, etc. would be gone. It might be very expensive to remove and do the clean up if the thing leaked. I would treat it just like a fuel oil tank with recommendations to pass it off to an environmental / removal type. No way I would want to pay for that to be repudiated on my dime.

I'm betting on moisture blisters from a manufacturing defect or improper storage.

Yep, wrong is wrong. No way that is even close to the intent or the letter of the law. There is a reason that it is a TEMPERATURE / pressure relief valve.