John Dirks Jr

The house in question had been converted from electric furnace to gas furnace. The large furnace cable was utilized to feed the air handler for the new furnace. They spliced #14 and fed it to a 15amp breaker and the other to the neutral bar. What I don't like is the way the splices are positioned in the panel. They are squashed against the cover. When I took the cover off, the splices protruded beyond the edge. I could see marks on the cover where the splices rested against. I guess we're counting on a few wraps of tape to keep the splice lug from energizing the panel cover. I wrote this up considering the risk of components getting jammed together and what not. What do you think of this condition and what specific rules or reasoning against can you add about it? Click to Enlarge 24.86 KB Click to Enlarge 35.8 KB Click to Enlarge 17.15 KB

I have not, as I don't increase my fee when it is more difficult or time consuming then planned. Only time I reduce it on site is if I show up, and it is actually smaller in square footage then I was led to believe, dropping it to a lower spot in my fee schedule. That is an exact example of my experiences.

Have you ever got a job that after you did the inspection it was way easier than you though it would be? It's happened to me twice in 5 years and both times I reduced the fee on site.

I like email inquires. I have a contact page on my site that asks for the property address to be inspected. Also, in my phone message I ask that the property address be included in the voice mail. With the address, I can usually look up most of what I need to know about the house before I respond. To streamline things, I suggest that you ask for the property address on web based contact forms and voice mail messages. Ben, I like the looks of your website. Who put that together? What program or web design / template was used?

Marc Yup, with the proper connector and as long as the single conductor that connects to the buss is not smaller than any of the individual ones in the bundle, it would be acceptable by code, correct?

If a charge needs to find ground I doubt the electricity itself would know the difference. I'd like to hear the response from the gurus as well. I'd be uncomfortable just saying it's fine as is.

I'm finding that filling appointments for simple and easy type inspections are no problem in the $350 range. When things get bigger and more complicated and my fee quotes get to $500 and beyond, I begin to loose some to price shoppers. I'm not budging. Time consumption costs money. If some other person is willing to do it for less, have at it. They're either working too cheap or not spending the time they should be.

I agree the cut cross section of the conductor can be a conclusive way to identify AL branch. However, when it comes to the shiny silver jacket, that can go either way. The pic below is cables in my house. The 12/2 in the shiny silver cloth jacket is copper all the way. Either way, prior to this thread, I would not have expected to find AL conductors inside a cloth jacket. All that I have found were plastic insulators plastic jackets. Download Attachment: P1230904.JPG 1600.14 KB

That's sort of what threw me.

I have to admit, every time I've found tin coated copper it had cloth conductor insulation rather than plastic as shown in John's pictures. What about the jackets on tinned copper, that's usually metal armor, correct?

Are you positive it wasn't tin coated copper instead of AL? Tin coated copper would fit the mid 50's.

That's pretty much how I handled it.

I'm getting it mixed up with NEC 210.52©(5). That reference has to do with required counter top receptacles. In this case, the counter top has it's required receptacles on the other side and this one is actually serving the dining room, and not intended to be a service for the counter top space. Ben, I'm not sure why a restriction was put on locating receptacles beneath counter top overhangs greater than 6". Perhaps its a case where the overhang portion of the counter top space would be a position for seating (breakfast bar stools). A person might get their leg entangled in an appliance power cord which could pull a hot appliance from the counter top. Again, I think the argument would be made that the receptacle in question is not intended to be serving the counter top space, therefore NEC 210.52©(5) (which includes the restriction of receptacles beneath counter top overhangs greater than 6") does not apply.

The island countertop overhangs the wall by 11" directly above the receptacle. The receptacle is 24" below the overhang. Is it correct to say this is not in compliance with NEC, or is there an exception that would allow it in the circumstance pictured. Click to Enlarge 42.76 KB Click to Enlarge 26.3 KB

Expansion tank? Obviously, that's a guess.

Looks like heat burned the paint which exposed the metal to rust.

Yeah, mold is a people problem, not a mold problem. Fix the moisture condition, replace or clean effected materials and move on with life. I do my best to talk people out of it. Some respond well and others I never hear from. That's just as well I suppose. Working for someone who is paranoid about mold is not a comfortable position for me.

That's a new one on me. Thanks for sharing.

Flashing that stone veneer chimney is a common place to find substandard work too. My '62 ranch has a hip roof like that and the original roof had no ridge vent. There were only 6 half ass vents at various places in the eave overhangs. Needless to say, until I put a ridge vent and full length vents at the eaves, my attic was rotting from the inside out. Although dry and intact now, the sheathing is still stained dark from the previous condition.

Is that an absolute rule? I had heard of a rating standard that might allow such an arrangement in certain circumstances. Something about an AHRI listing.

I'd have checked the area with a moisture meter. If excessive moisture was there, I would report on it. If it were dry, it's hard to say without being there and seeing more than what the picture you posted shows.

I'd say stained and moisture damaged. Is that screws driven up into the sheathing? If so, that's messed up. What is it venting and is there a hood on the exterior side?

Wait....the 48 in the comp # makes it a 4 ton. So, I stand corrected by myself.

I think the numbers indicate a 2 ton compressor unit and a 3 1/2 ton evap core. The 42 at the end in the evap # indicates 3 1/2 ton. That would make the evap significantly larger than the comp, not smaller. Of course I could be wrong. Furthermore, I don't know the effect of an over sized evap so I'm interested in hearing for experts as well.

Some of the trim kits form a shroud around and above the bulb. This type of trim which shrouds the bulb reflects heat downward away from the fixture. Bulb type has an affect the same way. Some bulbs (spots / floods) have built in reflectors which direct heat and light down away from the fixture.