AHI in AR

Well, call me the odd one. I like #3. It's seems highly evocative, perhaps a bit forlorn.

I prefer the first two.

Looks like Tectum to me. I've seen it used on exposed commercial vaulted ceilings. Roof deck and insulation in one panel.

Stone??? Where the hell would anyone put stone in a water heater?

On the plus side, it's much less likely to clog. And if it does, it has the patented "EZ Squeezy" cleaning feature unique to the rubber construction.

Amazing. My summer cottage looks JUST like that.

Full disclaimer: I suspect that I have virtually NO artistic sensibilities. Formal artistic training of any sort absolutely isn't part of my background. But with that said, I must say that I like it as it is. It seems natural; if the ladder were equally balanced relative to the side walls I would likely sense that it was staged.

Yeah. I damn near did a spit take.

I agree. Well, not about the alligator part since they are decidedly not the norm around here. But I'd rather face a snake in a crawlspace than a rat any day. King snakes, rat snakes and their ilk are no threat. And honestly, there have been very few snakes. In fact, I see more shed snake skins in attics than crawlspaces yet nobody ever asks me if there are snakes in the attic. As I told a client who DID have a snake-in-residence in the crawlspace: A snake in your crawlspace is there most likely because he feeds on the rodents living there. Rodents do a LOT of damage. Snakes don't. Your choice. Oh yeah...always look up! Click to Enlarge 34 KB

In response to Tim, I have to say that I'd like to know the whole story. I suspect a remodeling with significant DIY involvement. Or it could be a "low bidder" remodeling job. Either way is just as bad. I was a homebuilder for 24 years and while part of the reason I walked away is that subs do dumb stuff, I have never known an electrician that would choose to place a panel high on a side wall. It's wrong and stupid, but if we assume that it was done during initial construction it's not likely if for no other reason than the simple fact that it would have to have been done while on a ladder. Who would CHOOSE to do that and make the job harder? Judging from the patched drywall around the box, all the twistouts removed without breakers in place, and the fact that it's a surface mount box instead of a recessed one, I have to assume it's some sort of remodeling job, not a panel placed during construction of a new home. I also would bet that it wasn't likely done by a real electrician. What were conditions inside of the box and what did the rest of the job look like?

The plumbing vent flashings that are the all black type plastic/rubber units often have the year, month and day of their birth stamped on them. They're usually a good clue IF there are no indications that they are older or newer than the shingles. They don't last as long as most shingles, though, so that isn't an infallible method. In other words, the shingles may be older but it's less likely that the shingles are newer since common practice is to install all new flashings when reroofing.

Now that many of you have weighed in, here's the rest of the story. Over two years ago I inspected a home with a very tall crawlspace. HVAC equipment and ductwork were in the crawlspace. The equipment had been replaced about two years prior to my inspection. The system was performing properly, but I did note that the condensate drain coming off of the evaporator coil had a section with a "belly" in it that would likely clog up. I recommended having that repaired. I did see that the evaporator coil and the plenum didn't mate perfectly. However, they were attached together with an adequate amount of screws and the joints were sealed with mastic tape which was attached as it should be. I did not mention it since it didn't appear to be on the verge of failure. Besides, if the tape DID fail later a scrap piece of sheet metal could fix the problem. The total cost including a service call would be less than $200. For the record, I always have the blower running when checking out attics or crawlspaces so I can check for duct leakage. So now, over two years later, I get a demand letter requesting almost $114,000. It seems that the tape loosened, and they believe that cold air escaping caused condensation to form and mold to grow. Included in that amount was $55,800 for replacing the heating and cooling system. Yeah. And it was just a run-of-the-mill Carrier heat pump. One with exposed ductwork, no less. There was also a figure of $8000 to replace the existing Visqueen. The total square footage under the house was probably about 2500 square ft. Apparently they were using some form of Visqueen that's infused with titanium. There was a figure of $15K plus for treatment of mold. (The photos they claim show mold almost universally don't.) And so on. Wanna know the REALLY "funny" thing? They invested the princely sum of $350 for mold testing.

*Hypothetically* speaking, what (if anything) would you say about a case where the coil and duct are not equally sized and tape has been applied to close up a 2" or so gap on one side. If the tape is in place and there's no significant leakage, that is? The coil opening was larger, for the record.

Thanks guys. I already knew about 401.3. The info was helpful, but in this case the best additional ammo/info I found was 403.1.7.3 which specified a minimum floor height above the drainage ditch. This allowed us to "back into" a minimum floor height requirement.

OK...I just gotta ask something. What does an overgrown violin have to do with gas pipe? []

Marc, that would be a negative number; the brick extends below grade. There's no exposed foundation anywhere. There were several other issues that I wrote up since I assumed that litigation was forthcoming, and it is. The plans were actually pretty well done but the builder seemingly didn't read them. Compounding the problem is the fact that it is approximately 130 feet from the house to the drainage ditch out by the street and there's only 21 inches of fall at best between the floor height and the ditch. That's about one percent slope! Trying to simply regrade the yard won't work.

I inspected a newer home built in the middle of of a former farm field. It is out in the middle of nowhere with no municipal inspections, constructed on a monolithic slab with brick veneer. No weep holes, no flashing. The exterior grade is virtually even with the top of the slab, and there is no slope away from the home. I'm aware of the 6 inches in 10 foot slope rule adjacent to the foundation, but I can't find any specific information indicating a minimum height differential between the grade immediately adjacent to the home and the floor line inside the home. 6 inches is the minimum number I've always used but I'm wondering if there is any actual code section which deals with it. If so, I haven't found it yet. Anyone know the answer of have an IRC code# for me? The builder is not cooperating with the owners and I need some back up info to help my clients.

I can't say that there's any "clearly' missing part allowing leaks but I can say that the "self flashing" vinyl trim as shown always allows water to drain below/behind it.

The uncertainty in this business can drive me a little nuts at times. Overall, 2014 was a bit down compared to 2013, but not a bad year at all regarding inspections. Some additional litigation support work helped though. December is typically pretty slow here, but I was able to visit family in Denver for the first time and go snowmobiling in the Rockies. Then again, when my phone literally didn't ring for the first six days of this year I was getting a bit really panicky. (I got the garage beautifully organized, however!) Then, magically, it started ringing again yesterday morning and I've scheduled six jobs since then. I KNOW it's like this every year but I still can't help getting nervous when it's slow around the holidays. On a semi-related note, I'm going on a cruise early next month. Do you guys also find that going on a vacation -- forcing you have to turn down jobs -- always seems to make the phone ring more?

The thread that won't die...

A cousin of mine recently told me that kids used to run behind the mosquito foggers dragged through his small town in the 60's. The main ingredient was DDT but it seems there was an additive used in the mix to make the fog smell better. Upon more reflection, that may explain a LOT of things...

I see caulked sash all the time. My bet is that the homeowner requested it to slow down air leaks and reduce heating /cooling bills. I don't make an issue of the upper sash, but the lower sash should be operational for emergency egress reasons.

The white coloration comes from the same thing already suggested: dissolved mineral salts that leach out.

Well, I'd venture a different guess. The staining looks to me like a LOT of water (and waterborne stuff) flowed out those holes. There are even signs of seepage out in places other than the weeps. I suspect that rain hit this wall before the mortar had set up fully. It's possible also that the brick was only a few feet high before the rain hit, increasing the likelihood that water would get behind it. The OP said that other walls weren't affected. Maybe they were finished prior to the rain?

As indicated in previous comments, it is a given that water will get behind the vinyl siding. Properly done flashing is the critical factor in preventing water from causing problems. Caulking the crack where the kickout flashing and the vinyl siding meet won't help much. Vinyl siding moves around with temperature changes like a Moroccan belly dancer. You can't rely on caulk to stop water leaks. None of us can see what flashing may ? or may not ? be present behind the vinyl siding. But it's clearly not working. But as Chad said, correcting the problem will require removing some siding so that proper flashing can be installed. You you need a competent contractor who truly understands how water moves.