AHI in AR

Here's my guess as a former builder: The mason's laborer mixed a batch of mortar very quickly/poorly. The material at the edges of the batch wasn't well integrated. In other words, you had a crappy batch of mortar. The mason using the mortar didn't care enough to have the mortar mixed more thoroughly...after all, the problem wouldn't show up until long after he had been paid and gone home.

Not that anyone asked, exactly, but... I have used IE for about 3 years and I like the program also. Customer service has been very quick, attentive, and personal. It produces an attractive, user-friendly report. My main problem with it? The sections are too small on screen. There's a good 60% of the monitor size unused. That's a lot of wasted screen real estate and it makes for a lot of time-wasting scrolling when it comes to selecting and inserting both comments and photos. Especially photos. Even with low-res photos, on those homes where I've got a lot of them I waste a lot of time scrolling since only 6 display at a time. I could generate a report a lot faster if the sections were larger and less time was spent scrolling and more time simply clicking. A fairly distant second best would be if individual thumbnail photos were removed off the screen after insertion. At least that way the photo scrolling would get progressively faster. I think creating larger sections with more comments and thumbnails displayed could easily shave 15 minutes off a simple report and twice that time off a larger one. Who wouldn't like that time savings? A few other things on my wish list: (I could add more) 1. The ability to create a database of client names/addresses/email addresses that I could use to easily send emails at regular intervals. 2.The ability to create a database of new home jobs to send follow up emails as their warranty nears expiration. 3. The ability to more easily move comments from one section to another (not just within a section) to create more customized reports -- this may be partly what Chad's getting at also. 4. The ability to choose a custom default folder to save reports in outside of IE. It takes a lot of time telling it what folder to send a file to every time since I don't use the default folder in IE.

I see that style of brick from that period and a little earlier occasionally. Almost always, the same spalling issues are present. That type of brick appears to be rather "flaky", leading to greater water penetration. I would have to disagree that it is due to a lack of flashing and weep holes, however, since the damage occurs from the outside. It is due to freeze/thaw damage due to splash back and water absorption from the exterior. As for cures, I have seen people clean it off and stucco over the outside of it. I have never gone back later to see how effective this is. My general recommendation is to clean it carefully, and apply a breathable water resistant sealer. If the damage is severe enough, however, the more porous interior of the brick is exposed, and it's all downhill from there. If that's the case, I recommend replacement of the brick in the affected areas. Typically, this is worst for the first 2 feet or so above grade and the portions of the chimney with the most severe exposure.

I really wanted to ask the seller why it was done that way. But to put it bluntly, he was hostile. The home was out in the sticks so the agent declined to show up and unlock the home, preferring to let the seller give me access. I love those! Actually, I suspect that it was just an issue related to ignorance. After all, the same owner/self-contractor also did the following: Click to Enlarge 46.36 KB Click to Enlarge 104.5 KB Apparently, electrical tape fixes everything...not duct tape!

Obviously, capping a plumbing vent and drilling holes isn't easier than just leaving the pipe open. And it certainly doesn't work better. There was nothing around that looked like a likely source of debris that might fall in the pipe and block it. Lastly, there are no plumbing-vent-nesting birds around here. So why would anyone do this? Click to Enlarge 70.75 KB

That's why I included that info; it's the same here. There was no date visible inside the tank. If there had been, it was obscured by rust and gook. The home had been vacant two years. The toilet was a Crane. Still worked great! It's not required that I list the exact age of the home; it just got my curiosity up. I just keep thinking 1938... It was NOT a typical post-war GI special.

I inspected a 3300 s.f. house yesterday and I'm trying to determine its age. It had been so heavily remodeled that most normal clues were not there. There was one original bathroom, and the tile was black and white. The commode had a wall mounted porcelainized cast iron tank, with a metal pipe connecting it to the bowl. The seller claims 1946; I think it has to be older than that, as in 20's or 30's. What do you guys think? Anyone know when they got away from wall mounted iron tanks and went to all china tank-on-bowl construction?

Yup, but they all looked like typical off the big box shelf doors to me. I never knew the manufacturers farmed that out. I must have missed that episode of How it's made. " Next the WORKERS apply sealant to the windows of some of the doors." Seriously, that's probably a good guess Kevin. Silicone based sealants don't last a really long time even when properly applied do they? Actually, they don't usually use silicone; it's not paintable and since some of the goo squeezes out most shops use a paintable material. I don't know what it is. It's not latex, it's not urethane, but it IS sticky as all hell and it remains that way. It's unbelievably hard to remove the excess when they get sloppy, although it makes a dandy fly trap when they get really sloppy. Tom's right about how small shops work, but even if Stanley doors from a big box were used, they still had to have the goo squeezed into place by a human being...likely making minimum wage and possibly nursing a hangover or a grudge against the boss. If the damage is primarily near the bottom of the door, I'd suspect leakage or poor paint work allowing splash to do a number on them.

Did they have glass in them? Around here, the doors arrive at the door shop as blanks. If glass is desired, the door shop cuts the hole out and inserts the glass. If they don't get the sealant right, water seeps into the interior of the door (by leaking between the plastic frame and the glass) and they rust from the inside out.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the tips you post.

I was there only on a quickie insurance job to describe the type of wiring and plumbing present. Honestly, I don't remember much about how the breakers looked. I can say with certainty that they weren't Zinsco type. The house was built in 1946. The main was outside, and I kept telling the owner that there had to be another panel inside somewhere -- most likely in a closet. After a couple minutes of discussion/thought, she brightens up and says "Ya mean like this?" and shows me a lovely FPE panel in the coat closet. She said her inspector didn't mention it when she bought the home 2 years ago...

I looked at a house this morning which had been "updated" years ago with a panel and circuit breakers made by a company called American Switch. This is not a brand I can recall ever having seen before. Apparently, they didn't sell much around here, if anywhere. Based on looks, my guess is that it's circa early 1960-ish, but that's strictly a guess. I have no pressing reason to know other than curiosity, but I'd like to know if any of you guys know anything about the company or the product.

Based on the chart that I have, York changed their coding system in late 2004. The 2nd and 4th digits indicate year of manufacture; the 3rd digit is month. Therefore, your units were made in 2005. One in May and one in June.

NM cable is the rule around here in detached garages also. Then again, they are generally outside areas where there's any muni inspections. Honestly, I didn't know it was wrong. Ironically, the few UF installations I remember were typically found in cases where there were enough other problems that they were obviously done by someone other than an electrician. Damn. I learned something else today despite my efforts not to.[]

Thanks for the reply Jim, but I am needing info only from areas around Dallas TX. Anyone else care to reply?

Let's see..."Attic Access from Hell" If Hell has an attic...couldn't it possibly be, ummm, Earth?[?]

Hi guys -- I have a very quick question that I would greatly appreciate any replies to. As a percentage, how many of the homes that you look at are on a suspended floor as compared to a concrete slab? I realize this seems like an odd question, but I have a good reason for wanting to know. I don't need long responses, just a quick guesstimate as to percentages. Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, GFCI protected.

Not to make light of things, but if all it took was an afternoon, I'd say your advance work backing stuff up worked. It could have been waaaaaayyyyy worse.

In cases like this, and especially with anything more than about 30 years old, I recommend having the sewer lines inspected with a video camera. A brief explanation as to the sort of things that can happen is also in my report. The better equipped rooter services can do this. Typically, I suspect they would only do the main and not the smaller lines, but at least you made the buyer aware of the potential for additional problems.

I'm familiar with carpenter ants, though I've never seen them build tubes. In any case, these are way too small to be carpenter ants. The reading I've done on moisture ants would seem to indicate that they are not found this far south. Also, there is no indication that there is any wet damp, or decayed wood anywhere near where this tube was seen. Or anywhere in the home at all, for that matter. (2 years old, no leaks) Guess I will just have to do some more research. It's something that I can't report on directly anyway, but I'm curious about it now.

I came across this Saturday on the foundation of a 2 year old home. I am used to seeing the typical termite tubes, but this was about 3-4 times as wide, and rather loosely constructed compared to termite tubes I normally see. The best way I could describe it was to say it had a more granular look to it and it was not tightly packed. The soil around the home was a rather unusual light grayish looking stuff. All I saw inside the tube was a stream of ants, no termites. Under state standards, pest identification by home inspectors is forbidden so I am not an expert on insects. However, I do know what subterranean termites look like, I know what ants look like, and I've never seen ants build tubes like this. We have a large problem here with fire ants, and I'm wondering if they prey on termites and are using the termite tubes to access the ants. Anybody know for sure what's happening here? Click to Enlarge 99.94 KB

Total brain fart on my part. I'm so used to folks mistakenly writing CO2 when they mean carbon monoxide (CO) that it looked wrong to me with a quick reading. Maybe I should have used some of that dihydrogen monoxide that flows from my tap to make some coffee so I could focus![:-paperba

...Walking the dog got a little O2 to my brain ... Kyle-- O2 is carbon dioxide, not oxygen. Unless you want to suffocate, that's not what you wanna inhale![]

Looking at the mesh in the 2nd photo, I'd say EIFS. And you're right...the installation details aren't good, no matter what it is.