resqman

Per NEC - 210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets. - - This section provides requirements for 125-volt, 15- and 20-ampere receptacle outlets. The receptacles required by this section shall be in addition to any receptacle that is: - - (1) Part of a luminaire or appliance, or - - (2) Controlled by a wall switch in accordance with 210.70(A)(1), Exception No. 1, or - - (3) Located within cabinets or cupboards, or - - (4) Located more than 1.7 m (5 1/2 ft) above the floor - - Permanently installed electric baseboard heaters equipped with factory-installed receptacle outlets or outlets provided as a separate assembly by the manufacturer shall be permitted as the required outlet or outlets for the wall space utilized by such permanently installed heaters. Such receptacle outlets shall not be connected to the heater circuits. - - - FPN: Listed baseboard heaters include instructions that may not permit their installation below receptacle outlets (underlining and emphasis added by me) So it looks like receptacles can be installed at any height BUT the receptalces installed more than 5.5 feet high don't count towards the minimum required for habitable spaces. The so called "6/12" rule.

Commonly recetpacles are installed 12-18 inches above floor height. In basements, garages and workshops it is often common to see them installed about 48 inches above the floor. Todays inspection had receptacles installed about 48 inches above the floor in a bedroom. Seemed out of place. Is there a code reference that sets the min or max height of receptacles above floor height? I can find a reference for set back from flush etc. but no min/max height above floors.

Dont have to move it, just swap it for an exterior grade panel box.

If an interior wall, just turn the box around so it opens on the other side of the wall. The back of the panel now faces inside the closet. Patch the drywall in the closet with the drywall cut out from the other side. No need to move wires.

Ocean Isle is just a sand bar on the coast. At most a mile or two long and few hunderd yards wide. Nothing but beach homes, most available for rent. Decks nailed to the structure. 20 years of salt air and surf spray. Every spring people, all the Carolina people head to the beach to celebrate A)spring B)graduation C)any and everything. Rent a house for the week or weekend. 20+ people get on aging deck with loud music, swaying, dancing and drinking. Deck falls off. Happens couple a times a year on the Carolina coast.

I have taken to carrying a Sharpie. Read the data plate, then write on the unit the Year and Capacity. Then I take the pic. The two pieces of information I need for the report are visible in the pic. The rest of the data plate may be readable in the pic. Take a second pic of the name plate so I know the manufacturer.

I agree. Renov was only 100K. You think the electrician would have somehow got a bit of the 100K to add a subpanel. Nope went to a bunch of carrera marble for countertops and shiny appliances in the kitchen.

30 yr old. Home. Recent 100K renov. All the bathroom and kitchen circuits were joined with a single wire nut to a pigtail so they could all use a single GFCI breaker. Panel is full. Can anyone tell from looking at the pic if 6 wires is ok with a single wirenut? I am thinking probably not. Picture may show 5 but I counted 5 in and 1 out while on site. Click to Enlarge 60.73 KB

Ga. is still running under 2006 IRC with LOTS of amendments and exceptions. Planning on adopting 2012 in 2014 and skip over 2009. Then when 15 comes out a year later, they will still be behind... But if you pay attention you will notice the American Wood Council document Prescriptive Residential Deck Construction Guide http://www.awc.org/publications/dca/dca6/dca6-09.pdf was authored in Gwinett Co., in metro Atlanta. The capital of Ga. Of course it is a Yankee plot. All the Yankees come South and complain about how its not like up North. Yep. If the North is so great, then go back and stop bitching about the South. Ya never hear of Southeners retiring to the North. Carpet baggers, bah humbug.

Neighbor came by to greet me while doing my outside inspection this morning. He explained that the seller, 90 yr old Marge, had him install exterior lights on all four sides with motion detectors. Occasionally one motion sensor would go out and make all the lights stay on. He had put a relay in the attic to join the lights together. He was obviously very proud of his work but wanted to warn me that he could not find a junction box for the relay switch so improvised. He said the only thing he could find that was the right size was a plastic index file box. When I was packing up to leave he came by to mention that Marge's husband (dead 20 years) had wired up a subpanel somewhere in the basement that used power from one leg of the 240 stove circuit. He wasnt quite sure where the subpanel was but he wanted me to know anyway. It might be the light fixture being used as a impromptu fuse panel. I only found 5 double taps in the fuse panel before I stopped looking. Some one had removed all the 30 amp fuses and replaced them with 15 and 20 amp as part of getting ready to sell. Handful of 30 amp fuses in the bottom of the panel. Then he offered to sell me Marge's 94 Camry. Runs real good! He mentioned he had just fixed/rebuilt some part of his 80's station wagon that only has 350K miles on it. Click to Enlarge 46.56 KB Click to Enlarge 57.61 KB Click to Enlarge 63.25 KB Click to Enlarge 47.25 KB Click to Enlarge 50.44 KB Agent stopped by to tell me not to be scared/shocked/upset if I find any dead rats/mice. The pest guy said there were some in the crawlspace. Yep, I found at least 2 corpses. Otherwise this 1960, 53 year old, one owner home was a beautiful place. Marge kept a nice home.

Was a member of a confined rescue team for about a decade. Held national certifications in confined space rescue, trench rescue and hazard materials. Regularly trained in permited confined spaces in full rescue gear. Commerical and Industry hired the rescue team to standby fully suited up while union workers modified vats, tanks, silos, etc. Respirators, SCBA, full harness, backup systems, gas monitors, etc. All of us were at least EMT with several being Paramedics. I have thought about writing a class for home inspectors regarding entering confined spaces, potential injuries, self-rescue, hazards, etc. Just never get around to it. NIOSH prints a book of confined space deathes. Most common death after the inital victim is the first "rescuer" The first person to see their co-worker, family member, or just fellow human lying unconcious in a confined space rushes in to help. They fall victim to what ever overcame the first victim. There are many stories of a a pile of bodies in a confined space as more and more well intentioned but inadequately equipped people rush into help. Are crawlspaces and attics unpermitted confined spaces? You betcha. And full of hazards with explosive gases being just one of them. So, Yes I have thought about confined spaces and the assoicated danagers... Here is the webpage for the rescue team I was a member of. www.redsteam.com Confined Space Information http://redsteam.com/team/?page_id=76

Neighborhood in Raleigh NC used to be a Boy Scout Camp. Street names reflect its history. Tenderfoot Lane Bowline Court Cub Scout Trail etc. There are only 44 streets in Metro Atlanta with the Peachtree as part of the name. The hard part of Atlanta street names is they change every couple miles when you cross thru an intersection. One of the larger Peachtrees is Peachtree Industrial Bouelvard, Peachtree Parkway, and Peachtree Street depending on how far you have traveled.

The homeowner wanted undercabinet lighting so took it upon himself to design, build and install some "can lights" for his kitchen. And he added a dimmer for easy control. Click to Enlarge 34.81 KB Click to Enlarge 25.37 KB Click to Enlarge 22.82 KB

I don't kill the deal, the house commits suicide. It is not the inspectors fault, it is the sellers fault and agents fault. Seller for not maintaining and the agents fault for not having any negoiation skills.

If you are going to all the trouble of replacing the fittings, wouldn't you just replace all of it? Seems like a poor suggestion to just replace the fittings.

Finally saw my own occurance of this first hand. Been waiting 7 years. Now I am a member of the club. Yeah [:-party] Click to Enlarge 51.11 KB

Agreed. A visual inspection tells almost nothing about the functioning of an appliance and 'visual' is basically what we do. Marc Hogwash. You operate light switchs, furnaces, A/Cs, faucets, etc. Operating a dishwasher is no different. Simiarly for garbage disposal, ranges, ovens, microwaves, and exhaust fans. Flip the switch or turn the dial to basic normal operation. Does the appliance turn on when the switch is operated, Yes or No? OPERATING an appliance thru a normal Off/On sequence is all that is being asked of you. No different than during on a furnace. Set the thermostat, felt air rushing that was warm. Moving on to next item. You didnt test the temperature, air flow, or capacity.

The alarm is part of the detector, is it not? Nope. Other way round. There are smoke detectors inside smoke alrams. NFPA 72

The Realtors and HBA lobbied the NC legislators 2 years ago pushing the citeing of code issue. At the time there were only about 1500 inspectors statewide. Only about 1/3 to 1/2 belong to associations. Even when all the associations play nicely and work together, there is/was not enough money and pull to completely sway the legislators when compared to the RE and HBA lobbying money. The licensing law actually states inspectors cannot cite NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTIAL CODE without posting the code in effect at the time the defective part was installed. Does not say anything about citing IRC, UPC, UMC, or NEC. So technically you could cite the IRC and there is no legal basis for them to complain or attack you. A simple loophole in the law. Yeah, all the inspectors complained at the time. The associations did pay two different lobbist and did succeed in watering down a whole lot of silliness being proposed at the time by RE and HBA. Citeing code stayed.

Looks like it has been repaired at least once in the past due to different tiles.

retrofit blown in insulation in walls? But usually that is only done on exterior walls

Wood self combusts at 451 degrees. If there was a fire, it was hotter than 451. Your sealant is toast, litteraly.

Texas Pete is manufactured in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It aint from Texas.

This morning drove up and the dormer had a sheet of plywood bolted over it. The rear door had been removed and "stored" in the kitchen with another plywood bolt resolution. Both the attic and crawlspace HVAC systems had been removed/stolen/recycled. Every light fixture was either dangling from wires or missing altogether. The dryer outlet had been pulled out of the wall createing a hole in they drywall about foot long and 2-3 inches wide. Most of the supply plumbing had been removed. Missing a toilet. Closet doors, door handles missing. List goes on and on. Why bother? $40K and when you are all thru you have a 25 year old house will all new everything in a basic neighborhood. Client is an investor so will rent or flip to some unsuspecting first time buyer.

Well if you are going to backfeed your portable generator via the dryer outlet, I dont see any reason not to use a garden hose. Depression era thinking, throw nothing away, reuse everything.