inspector57

Yes, mulch on all the 2x4's. A probe easily passed through the otherwise normal looking wood. The white stuff was only visible in a few locations.

Thanks for the information. It makes sense that the fungus arrived on lumber infected before being used in the house. It is rare that moisture in the air would be enough to support the entire life cycle of much of anything, including fungus. Maybe the 2x4's were wet and infected enough when the house was built so that it had enough of a start to continue feeding on the lumber but not so much that it could spread since none of the other dimensional lumber looked effected. Attics hear are hot and dry most of the year but might get enough moisture to sustain life in an unvented attic during the heating season. It just freaked me out that this was spread out over a big part of the attic.

Since we don't deal with this in my area, I have not paid much attention so I have some questions. How is this stuff spread? Is it wood species specific? How do you get rid of it and how do you know you have gone far enough? The only advice I could give is to have someone probe all the wood in the attic and replace the damaged stuff. Pretty manageable if it is only the 2x4's that I found which were used for purlin struts, ridge supports, etc. but obviously much harder if it spreads to the rafters and ceiling joists. This house was a pass by my client due to this and the substantial termite damage and disintegrated ducts but I would like to know for future reference.

Fungal issues are not normal in my part of the world. For the first time in 20 years I have seen this and I'm stumped as is my pest control guy. The 2x4's seemed to be the only lumber affected in the attic framing. The lumber was still in place but totally mulch. Click to Enlarge 40.48 KB Download Attachment: RIMG6738.JPG 431.07?KB Download Attachment: RIMG7021.JPG 373.39?KB

Thank you for your helpful response, at least I asked and realized an issue and did not just ignore or tell the client to just throw some caulk or mortar in there, but I guess with your credentials , arrogance is expected and allowed. Arrogance? You don't know Bill K. He's got one of the most desirable combinations of knowledge and humility that I've ever seen. Marc I think he is just making a point about using the correct spelling for the steel supporting brick at openings as opposed to the similar sounding bean. Tends to make it more memorable... but I still get them confused.[:-dunce]

Get the moisture problem fixed. You don't have a "mold" problem, you have a moisture problem. Dry it out and the mold dies and it is in the crawl space where it won't bother the occupants. If you just have to do something to feel better about it, spray some mold killer product on it but that crawl looks exceptionally clean from here.

Not sure the origin or purpose of the equation but the label / listing rules. What is the "10" stand for in your equation?

I agree with your inspector. I assume the original support for the brick (the other brick below the roof line) were removed and they did not provide adequate support for the remaining brick which have succumbed to gravity along the diagonal step crack. Whether it will be a problem in the future is a big unknown but it would warrant a closer look in my book. Can you see the structural support below?

Does anyone have experience with this Flir C2?http://www.flir.com/instruments/content/?id=66732&pi_ad_id=64834025545&gclid=CLnZy8PyxMQCFYaTfgodhpEAsQ

Rodents. You can even see the holes. Tell him to get his UV light out of the truck.

Is it not required to use a flexible sealant between the clay liner and crown? I assume the crown is not allowed to remain attached to the chimney structure due to being bonded to the liner which has expanded in relation to the chimney structure. Click to Enlarge 70.61 KB

Thanks Jim. But are there any concerns of shock hazards to occupants? No as long as the ground is connected to the panel, you have ground reference but this is not to say there is no electrical hazard due to the extremely high voltage possible on different "hot" legs.

Condensate may also apply to high efficiency units just like condensing furnaces.

Yes it is a big deal for the vent to the crawl space interior. I think the high loop is only allowed if connecting to the sink/dishwasher tail piece, no?

If you loose the neutral reference, the voltage on 120 volt circuits can fluctuate as a function of the loads. So yes it is a concern since you can blow bulbs and electronics. This is a common source of bulbs dimming or growing brighter when various other loads are switched on and off. Was this the service equipment where the neutral and ground are bonded or is the neutral "floating"?

Yes, I would write those up as well. At the risk of starting a debate, "IF" the conditions are right, you can in fact reduce the line set sizes, both liquid and suction. And sometimes a larger line than the stub could be called for, it depends on the installation. The key is you don't just use what is on the truck but rather consult the charts AND the manufacturer instructions. The stub size has little to do with the appropriate line set size. This is so far beyond the scope of a HI that it would never be mentioned in my report but I understand you have a different scope.

I have AT&T Uverse wireless set top box in two of my rooms. No different from the hard wired units other than a little bit of lag in the remote when flipping channels. Mine is only 30' away with a bit of sheetrock and some brick through 2 to 4 walls between the router and the units. Wireless to the front room is another story with solid mirrored wall and metal vertical ducts lining the entire separating wall.

never mind

It is a dollar and cents question as to what you pick unless you just want gas and are willing to pay the difference. It would be a long time to get a return on investment on making the change now as opposed to when the a/c croaks and you have to make the purchase anyway. Around here the typical life expectancy of a a/c unit is about 12-15 years with something similar for a heat pump. Run the numbers for heating with heat pump vs gas depending on the fuel costs in your area. Seems like I remember an online comparison program that would crunch the numbers if you supplied the fuel costs. I'll look for it and check back if I find it.

"Connectors shall not be concealed within, or extended through, walls, floors, partitions, ceilings, or appliance housings." Seems to prohibit the practice for flexible connectors. While I have not taken the time to re-read the entire chapter, this one passage taken at face value seems plain enough for me to call it out. I could let it slide if I found the connector totally contained within a furnace and it fit with no abrasion or interference but again this is a situation I rarely if ever see. I can see the confusion written into the code enough to see your take though.

Typical. The guy does not even know if there is a real problem but imagines there is and wants to blame somebody and get the media to fight his battle then blast us for common sense advice. Sheesh, glad he is not my tenant.

So it's your interpretation that a flex connector inside the cabinet of a furnace is "concealed" within the appliance housing? If so, I disagree. It seems to me that this section is talking about areas that are not readily accessible, like the space behind a pre-fab fireplace. If they're prohibited from being in a furnace cabinet, why have the exception that allows them to pass through the cabinet when protected? The exception that I see pertains to semi-rigid tubing, not connectors. I see this as CSST, copper pipe, etc. not flexible connectors. "Connectors shall not be concealed within, or extended through, walls, floors, partitions, ceilings, or appliance housings." When they say connectors shall not be concealed within appliance housings, it seems pretty clear the flexible connectors should not be within or pass thru the furnace cabinet. Obviously the label posted takes this view. In any case, the furnaces I see don't have room to conceal the connector totally within the cabinet and it obviously is prohibited from passing through the cabinet wall, the only feasible option left is to use iron pipe to go through the cabinet wall.

As noted by Katen, IRC Chapter 24, G2422.1.2.3 Prohibited locations and penetrations. Connectors shall not be concealed within, or extended through, walls, floors, partitions, ceilings, or appliance housings. (exceptions follow) I have seen bunches of the flex connectors that have leaks from vibration on the wall of the furnace. That knock out has sharp edges that will slice through appliance connectors after years of vibration. I suppose the code writers wanted to err on the side of caution in prohibiting them within the cabinet due to the numerous components and potential sharp edges if a connector is wound around inside a furnace cabinet.

Not a new thing for me, I've called it out for at least the last 10 years.

My bet is cellulose. Maybe they had a run of waste news print (white) rather than printed newspapers (black ink and white paper makes gray). Cellulose that is ground finely would have a powder like texture but still clump. If you look on the rafters, some is stuck up there that has the traditional look of cellulose.