John Dirks Jr

Its a conductivity issue.

It works for me. Sad story all together and that 10.75% ARM cant help. Ouch!!!

That was a good read. I don't know which one I am yet. I do hope that over time I can build my reputation to be hated by agents and builders.

I made a mistake and you caught it. I will be honest. I had to look up the meaning of both malapropism and writhing. It was a simple spelling mistake, not a malapropism. You knew that. You called it what you knew it was not. Is that what happens in court? There are probably enough different angles of approach to destroy just about any writing. It just depends on what choice of action the attacker wants to take. Many writings can be improved but that does not mean they are mis-leading or insufficient. My writing can use improvement and I don't mind being criticized. If its worthy of criticism than its at least worthy of something. Les, I went to Building Specs in Stevensville MD. I don't want to mention names but do you know anybody over there? The instructor was a great guy and I learned a great deal from him about inspecting homes. Walter is correct in that passive voice were the examples that were projected upon us with regard to writing things up. I did not call it out but just went along with the program. When I had chances to give examples I used what I had learned here and tried not to speak or write in passive voice.

Sometimes the same credible sources contradict themselves. They almost never admit it. The problem with this is when they believe they are always right, they are no longer learning. WJ, I think you are jumping to conclusions when you suggest that instructors at my HI school crammed passive voice inspector speak down my throat. I had been hanging out here for over a month before I set foot in that class. With the advice I got here, perhaps it was I who taught them a few things about report writhing. But wait, I suppose you believe that is impossible. Think again bud......

Will rats tend to pick a spot where they like to deposit their droppings or will it be randomly spread about? Yesterday I was walking up a sidewalk to a front door and saw what looked like rat droppings on the sidewalk. There was at least 20-30 pieces within a 2 sq ft area. I figured, why all right here? I looked up above the pile and about 6 ft high there is a corner trim piece for vinyl siding that is open on the bottom. This trim piece went all the way up and thru the vinyl soffit material. I suppose it terminated with an open end above the soffit. This pile of droppings was directly underneath this trim piece. I am wondering if there is vermin in the attic that has decided to use the open end of the corner trim as a "toilet" so to speak. What about squirrel droppings? Do they look anything like rat droppings?

If one uses four short sentences to describe something that could be described in 2 longer ones, then could that be cited as fragmentation? I suppose there is a fine line for "perfect" writing. I would like mine to be perfect all the time but I know that is not realistic. Its a nice goal to set but if I don't always meet it I wont be slamming head against the wall over it. Please continue with the constructive criticism Walter. I think it can be helpful to some of us. I will say that it can be confusing for a new guy who is gathering advice and information on how to operate. Quite frequently there is conflicting advice from equally credible sources.

O.C.A. Observe, Concern, Action..... Its a 3 step process to writing up a problem. I am just mentioning this known method since Chris asked for opinions on examples how to write something up. 1. Observe; describe the problem 2. Concern; say why it is a problem 3. Action; say what should be done to correct it It is a 3 stage process but that does not mean you need 3 separate sentences to do it. Sometimes it reads better if done in one or two sentences. The whatzit is damaged which can cause a problem with______. The whatzit should be repaired or replaced by a qualified contractor. Observation > The whatzit is damaged...Concern > which can cause a problem with______....Action > The whatzit should be repaired or replaced by a qualified contractor.

Clue; its a model to help construct narratives to describe problems. Now, what does the O.C.A. stand for? Somebody has got to know this so I will let it roll for a while before I spill it.

O.C.A. Anybody know what it stands for?

If the wire is in a location that gets wet it should not be romex. It should be UF cable at least.

It is'nt that "magic" fungus is it? Oh no...here come the flashbacks[:-bigeyes

I would think that if the asphalt is thick enough and the compaction is good enough you should'nt have problems like this. By looking at the picture the material looks rather coarse also. The material that is more coarse will usually come apart easier. Coarse is good for a base layer. Then a top layer with finer aggregate for better durability.

Im glad the flexible couplings are ok since I have one in my house. I will keep my eye out for plastic supporting iron.

Are those rubber boots that connect the plastic and cast iron pipes together acceptable?

Dang..now im tryin to figure out who's the smartest person in the room and I know it aint me. Lotta good competition in here. I do know this; Spankin to teach a lesson=good Personal attacks and condescension=bad no matter how you slice it.....

Maybe a piece of trim to cover the gap and sealed with caulk. Done neatly it would look good. It does look incomplete as it is.

Actually my statement does have a flaw that nobody mentioned specifically. I said "I recognized what appears to be...." Is'nt that an oxymoron? It should be "I saw what appears to be...." There is a difference. To recognize something suggests that you know what it is. Thanks for for not chopping me into little pieces Walter. You are good at doing that when you want to. You are a very good writer and I will continue to read your posts. I will say that you are far more appealing to me when you are being positive and constructive in your messages. I am sure others think the same too. Be carefull when you describe others as people can identify that as you describing yourself. Stay on the high road man. Your work looks much much better up there. Kudos to Brian with another slam dunk post[]

The intent of this above post makes sense to me. For those that dis agree, please try and read this again and take it as a whole for what it was intended to mean. You are all smart enough to know exactly what the intent was. You dont have to like it or agree with it but you know damn well you understand it. To dis-agree is perfectly fine and we need to get used to it as it makes for good debate which is educational for everyone. Chopping up a post and commenting on it line for line blows everything out of context. It is a waste of time and serves no purpose to this group here. Just read the friggin piece as a whole and if you dis-agree, respond as a whole. It to friggin easy to abuse the method of communication on these message boards. Its also easy to point out that abuse. Danm............I get so sick of all this quote quote quote quote crap. You have all the time in the world to respond. Take some time to think, then cough up a decent contribution to the group. Its easy but you all know that anyway.[]

When the seal goes bad in the double pane windows you can get condensation between the panes. Is there a suitable repair method for an otherwise good window or is the recommendation to replace it?

Just for the record, my recent training institute suggested that we write it up as follows; I recognized what appears to be asbestos like material as insulation on pipes in the_____. I recommend that a qualified asbestos abatement contractor be contacted to further investigate and determine an appropriate coarse of action. Does a response like this sound ok?

One possible problem with a packed mess like that is the screws that hold the panel cover on. If the screws protrude into that mess they can chafe and puncture the wire insulation. Then the next person to touch the panel...el zappo!!! It could happen but I suppose its pretty rare.

I love your one liners after every post. I follow you around just to see what the next one will be. Do you think them up before you post or struggle at the last second to come up with something?

Here is one possible explanation; The water had leaked previously so its supply was turned off and its tank drained to stop the leaking. You come alone and attempt to operate appliances that use hot water and other faucets. By doing so you release a vacuum that was holding water in the lines up stream from the water heater. The water in the lines backflows or siphons back into the water heater and it begins to leak again.

I thought I had heard somewhere that the one situation where tapping in an extra wire to the main lug is when it is part of wiring for a lightning arrestor system. Can anyone confirm if this is correct?