AHI in AR

... If a grammar checker could be brought to life, it would come in the form of the crabby old baggy-stockinged grade school teacher that you still hate after 40-something years. WJ Walter... Got some old hurts you want to talk about?[]

Jerry-- The manual that came with my Sure Test states that a properly grounded receptacle within 15' of the service panel may incorrectly show as having a false ground.

Used a toothpick. I don't recall ever needing to patch a radiator hose with anything unusual, but I can tell you from experience that a properly sized sheet metal screw makes a dandy quick patch for a nail puncture that's allowing leakage in a tire. In fact, I drove around with that screw in place for a year or so until it was time for new tires. The head wore off, but it never leaked. I've actually done it a couple of times since. When you do a lot of new construction jobs, nail attacks seem to be unavoidable.

It magically becomes a section of B vent, right? Thanks to Kevin Barre of Little Rock, AR

I just had the pleasure of seeing a guy named Phil Keaggy. Never heard of him before my guitar playing son-in-law invited me to go see him. He played some church stuff but the secular music was literally astounding. I'm out of my element commenting on music, but I'm pretty sure this guy is a world class guitarist. That name is familiar. There's a kid form Utica that I met a couple of times when he played here by the name of Joe Bonamassa. Gibson thought enough of him to build a signature LP and Guitar player said, he's one of the best of all time. Check him out on Utube or better yet, go see him if you get the chance. This was fun. Got to mill a bunch of walnut for for my kitchen cabinets. I'll never get this place done. Joe Bonamassa is on eMusic.com. Great contemporary blues/rock. For a quickie, check out his Shepherds Bush album. I downloaded some of his stuff a couple months ago. If you've never heard of eMusic, and you like music -- especially varied genres -- I'd recommend looking into it. It's great for people who wanna check out new, less publicized artists. Just don't expect to find top-40 tunes on it. For the record, I am not employed by eMusic or ANY music-related company. Let's just say that I'm semi-schizophrenic in my tastes and I like varied forms of music.

It shouldn't shrink anymore since it's through curing. Also, I suspect that the dip in the floor has likely been there all along unless there are other cracks running basically front-to-back, indicating settlement.

Technically, what you have there is not a corbel. A corbel is where the lower courses of brick support an area of masonry (or other part of the structure) that gets wider as it goes up. You have a reverse corbel. I'm sure it has a proper name, but I'm too lazy at the moment to look it up. Structurally, (and others may disagree) I think what's happening is that the outer ends of the "corbelled" brick are being restrained (clamped, in effect) by the front and rear walls of the chimney. While the exposure of the brick exceeds a properly done corbel, keep in mind that we're not seeing a corbel here. I believe that the interior edges aren't likely to fail due to what minimal load they carry. Admittedly, the adhesive strength of mortar is minimal, but the brick load is cantilevered to such a degree that I don't foresee any real structural problems -- assuming that all other factors remain the same. That said, if you introduce any water intrusion into the chimney and you have to deal with freeze damage, all bets are off. Lastly, the brick should be parged....

I can understand wanting to be thorough, and trying to "protect" your clients...to a degree. But if they're so dense that they can't recognize the hazard presented by a light fixture hanging in front of their heads they probably can't learn from anything but experience. Let 'em bump their heads.

I've never seen a Republic furnace, but based on the style of it, I would not doubt that it was from the 1950's or very early 60's. What was the age of the home? As for why it was done that way...I'd guess the name says it all. It was an attempt to smooth out the fan vibrations. Kinda cool, even if it didn't work anymore. Realistically, it's inefficient; put it out to pasture.

My issue with that installation is that there would be less heat dissipating capability if the outer jacket remains. I assume there's a code prohibition against it, but, frankly, I don't know what it is. I've never seen anyone leave it in place. However, I think that given the fact that the breakers give off heat in an enclosed space it shouldn't be there.

When I looked at the pic initially, I didn't enlarge it and I assumed it was the rafter to chimney joint that I was seeing. After enlarging it, it does appear to be the side of the gable, In that case, caulking is all that's expected.

Yes, there should be flashing there now -- and there was originally. Unfortunately, in the 70-odd intervening years, several roofers have been up there replacing the shingles. The original flashing likely rusted out (if it was galvanized) or was damaged during one of the reroofs if it was copper. Usually, the roofers remove the old flashing and goop the area up with tar. That's faster and it lasts long enough for them to get paid -- and out of warranty on workmanship.

Don't you recognize a gutter defroster when you see one?

Personally, I like the concept of the mobile deck. When not in use, you can park it near the street to show off your ingenuity. For maximum effect, you'll want to place it in the vicinity of your immobile '84 Camaro and the boat with the shredded tarp on it. Doing this allows everyone driving by to admire all your luxury goods with one quick look. Most importantly, when you get evicted from your current place, you can simply hitch it up and take it with you to the new one! No sense doing home improvements that are bolted to a home you may not stay in long, right? (The playhouse right by the road is a nice touch also. Let's be sure to encourage the little crumb-snatchers to play by the street.) Click to Enlarge 86.88 KB

Rapping on it can tell you if you have a cementitious base or a foam one, but I would think the presence of vertical control joints would be a better clue. Stucco systems use them, but I'm not aware of any true EIFS product that does.

I've never seen any faux stone installed like that -- or recommended to be installed like that -- so I can't say it is or isn't per the manufacturer's recommendations. While I give the builder credit for recognizing a potential moisture problem, I would have concerns about the stability of the stone applied over the plastic layers. I can't tell how thick the scratch coat is, or how rigid the plastic components are, so I'd question whether the stone will want to move around on top of a (possibly) flexy plastic substrate. Obviously, if it moves around much there is the prospect of it coming loose, but also the potential that cracks will develop in the mortar joints that would test the effectiveness of the drainage plane.

Seems to me, the more gap between the edge of the shingles and the flashing, the greater the chance that water will hit the flashing and seep under the shingles, rather than run off on top of them.

As a builder, all I used were Velux products after I discovered them. Prior to that, I built curbs and had a sheet metal shop make custom flashing that did what Velux flashing kits did right out of the box. I consider Velux products as virtually foolproof if you read the instructions. Unfortunately, not all installers do. Check out the photo below from the home of a retired "builder". This mess was easily visible from the deck even w/o walking the roof, and it was about a ten year old installation. Yes, there were waterstains on the ceiling. But it could be worse. I went on a roof of a home I was building exactly 20 years ago where I was checking out the work of a roofer I hadn't used before. On the positive side, he had used the step flashing, and it was under the shingles as it should have been. Unfortunately, he had installed it where the top edge of the lower sections was to the outside of the lower edge of the upper ones. In other words, water would be guaranteed to get where it didn't belong. I attempted to educate him in a courteous manner; strangely enough, he wasn't interested in learning anything from me that day. When I started learning the home building business, my dad told me that roofers were the lowest rung on the construction ladder. For years, I considered one with all his teeth and a working telephone as almost a godsend. Seems a shame that something that important is left largely in the hands of guys who often don't have two functioning brain cells working in concert. Click to Enlarge 95.94 KB

My question would be why there was aluminum branch wiring on a dwelling from 1979. I've never seen it on anything past 1973 or so. Then again, it wasn't ever too popular around here, maybe because we didn't (and still don't) have tract builders who literally watch every penny. Was aluminum wiring used as recently as 1979?

While I can understand the rationale for not offering a discount, I can also understand the human element. Your clients are aware that you may have saved them thousands in return for the hundreds they paid you. On one level, they are appreciative. But with human nature being what it is, a substantial number of them will still look at the first fee as "wasted" money after the decision to bail out of the deal is made. In these cases, I give a relatively small (but meaningful) discount, but I ask for something in return. I let them know I appreciate their loyalty; in return, I ask the same of them. I let them know that I would be very grateful if they pass my name on to others they hear about who are about to buy a home. Seems to work out for me.

Thanks for the replies. My first thought was lightning, but the only lightning hit I have ever seen on a chimney did far more dramatic damage. It was about 20 years ago, on a house about half a block from my parents. The top of the chimney literally exploded, sending brick chunks up to 75' into the yard. The big sections landed on the deck. It also sent a lot of current through the home, blowing out the dishwasher, tv, and surely a lot of other things I don't remember. I do remember that it also caused the garage door opener to open the door. Shortly afterward, the owners arrived back from being out of town without a clue as to what happened.

Single unit as originally built. No modifications whatsoever that I can see. The fireplace did seem pretty well used. Jim--Those termites with a taste for fired clay must be a Yankee curse!

Mike-- Your # 2 guess isn't it. Artsy-fartsy it ain't. You can barely see the chimney from way back in the rear, and not from the front at all. No one would have done it deliberately. Your # 1 guess, freeze damage, doesn't make sense to me either. I just can't reconcile the pattern of the damage. There's no overall surface spalling. Furthermore, the neighborhood that this is in requires full caps, even on masonry fireplaces. Given that, there would not have been much of a chance of any water entry and freeze damage. The sheet metal guys usually hustle and put the caps on using the mason's scaffolding anyway.

I've never seen anything like this. Here's a couple pics from a home built in 1994 with a site-built masonry fireplace. It was a two story with a 10 in 12 pitch so I didn't get up on it. The back side of the fireplace had a roughly "v" shaped, vertical cleft in it straight down the center from the band to the top of the cricket. The room it was in was a two story family room so there was no attic access. Since I couldn't get close on the roof, I couldn't get a good, up-close look. I am at a loss as to what happened. These are modern, hard-fired bricks so I can't see it being freeze damage. The pattern doesn't fit that scenario anyway. I can come up with two possibilities: 1. There was a chimney fire and the brick was forced outward from the inside, possibly due to inadequate masonry mass between the tiles and the exterior brick. It seems to me that pressure from the inside might explain the "V" shape damage to the brick. 2. A lightning strike. However, I saw no evidence of this otherwise. Anyone ever see anything like this or have a better guess? And now for something completely different...can someone with magical powers please change the incorrect spelling of received which you see after uploading a photo:The following file has been successfully recieved Click to Enlarge 73.01 KB Click to Enlarge 162.26 KB

I suspect that if Walter had any sort of special day reading that, it would be a "field day."