AHI in AR

I am starting to do some relo inspections lately when I have time. I use Inspect Express for my regular reports but the relo company has a proprietary form they use. It's pretty basic and can be filled in quickly. That's the end of the good news. Unfortunately, it doesn't include any sort of photo managing software and they want a lot of pics. With my regular reports the photos are quickly and easily inserted into the body of the report. That can't be done with their software so I need some sort of software that allows me to take a batch of photos and quickly number them and add descriptions. Compatibility with Word would be a big plus. Frankly, these inspections don't pay what I'm used to getting and my main reason for pursuing them would be to fill in the slow times during the winter months. Considering that, I don't want to spend too much time diddling around with photos. Any recommendations?

It's immaterial except for my curiosity since it needs to be replaced anyway, but what's the age of this old girl? It predates my decoders. MN is 125-319. SN is LG 73190. (The LG might be part of model # since tag is vague) Judging by style and color it can't be newer than 1950's, right? Home was built in 1948 and enlarged around 1960 or so. Click to Enlarge 70.05 KB Click to Enlarge 68.21 KB

Well, if you're crawling along drunk it's the perfect height...

It's not 100% reliable but I have caught problems with mine. Most of the false positives I find occur in receptacles close to the service panel -- just as the owner's manual tells you will happen. I have found that mine doesn't find all true bootlegs either. If the Suretest doesn't alert to bootlegs and then you look inside the panel and find a lack of ground wires it's time to take off some receptacle covers.

It eats only block? What chemical reaction is this? Marc I've never researched the reaction, but I have to assume that something leaches out of the concrete block when salt and water are combined.

If you're in doubt just pull the plate off and look. BTW, those 3 light testers can't find a bootleg ground. Looking can. Or use a better tester such as a Suretest.

Salt can be brutal. A couple years ago I inspected a house on a well where the water treatment equipment was in a tall crawlspace directly against the back foundation wall. Spillage out of stored bags of salt had damn near eaten all the way through the concrete block.

I don't see how it's a moot question. Intended as a year-round installation or not, the fact is that is how it's being used. Hence my question. There is no way to disconnect the hose and protect it from exposure since there's no way to store it anywhere else. The grill was a built-in type completely encased in brick. So even if you disconnect the hose at the coupling it is still exposed to the elements.

This is one of those questions that doesn't fit neatly into any forum category, but I'm asking it here. I'd look up more info but I'm on a shortened timeline to get the report out. Today's two year old home had a built in gas grill. Natural gas service was provided through a quick disconnect flexible line. It isn't too different from what I have on my camper, but I question whether it is intended for permanent exposure to the elements. No visible brand name, but the material is dark gray plastic of some type. First one to answer correctly gets my undying gratitude. Click to Enlarge 52.9 KB

It's definitely not solid surface; it's not a homogeneous mix like Corian. There is a clear gel coat (like you see with fiberglass boats) sprayed onto the mold surface and then the semi-liquid "marble" material is poured into the mold and stirred with a stick to give it some appearance of graining. A catalytic reaction causes it to harden, just like fiberglass. And the backsplash was integral as was the bowl. Various bowl designs were available including a really cheesy (in my opinion) shell design with scalloped edges. The side splashes were separate.

Sounds exactly like cultured marble. It was stone dust and plastic resins mixed together and poured into a mold. Early stuff had gold glitter in it... presumably to complement the sparkly silver glitter in the textured ceilings coming into vogue then. Since there was only a thin clear gel coat on the top surface, thermal shock caused it to crack around the drain when hit with a lot of hot water quickly. Usually, one side of the vanity looks worse; that's the man's side where hot water used while shaving caused it to crack. Sort of. The stuff in your picture looks like a solid surface material. The thing I'm thinking of is all cast in a single piece, including the backsplash and it's never quite as subdued as the one in your picture. It also has a tendency to develop cracking around the drain flange.

You mean the "cultured marble" type?

Thanks Bill. After seeing that the post discussing these things was over 5 years old I don't feel so bad for not remembering what it was.

I vaguely remember seeing something like this show up once before here but I've slept since then. Today's 1928 home had several of these still in place. Company name on the front was Rodale. What's with the two slots opposite each other horizontally? Yes, there was power to these. Click to Enlarge 57.72 KB

I've seen more cases like this in the last 15 years or so than I care to think about where a one piece flashing was installed before the brick went on. (I'm not sure what good step flashing could possibly do if installed as described.) Almost invariably, there is no kickout at the bottom to divert water from behind the brick veneer. The roof deck is preserved, but the wall framing gets destroyed below the gutter line on the main floor. Without any kickout flashing, that's where the water drains. And when there is a kickout flashing, the masons damn near always defeat the purpose of it by packing the joint full of mortar.

I agree with Gary and Marc that sometimes you just gotta step up and help out your client. I've done it, and I'm sure a lot of you have also. In addition to simply feeling like the right thing to do, the time spent on things like this pays dividends multiple times over in additional business later down the road. People love it when they think you are really working only for them. As Marc mentioned, this was a young couple. Not only will they likely buy additional homes in the future, it's almost a given that they know other younger people who will be buying homes.

Then if the last 3 digits of SN are 304 as they appear to me I would think that '83 is correct also. Definitely an older style unit. (And by "overall photo" I meant the unit itself, not the tag.)

I can't tell much from the overall photo but GE sold out to Trane in the 80's. My guess is somewhere in the mid 80's based on what I can see. Was there an ANSI date? It was a pilot light unit, right? What's the age of the home?

This was new construction with a digital stat. Similar installations I've found didn't behave this way where a two degree bump triggered aux heat. In this case, a 1 degree bump on the stat didn't trigger the unit to come on at all. So how do you tell if the heat pump works solo w/o heat strips?

Bill, why would that be the case on a "warm" day? It certainly isn't what I normally see here. Normally I can bump up the temperature two or 3 degrees without the heat strips coming on. More than that, and they do. Less than a two degree bump and the system won't come on at all. With a relatively warm outside temperature and a scant 2? increase in interior temperature desired why would the auxiliary heat kick in?

I tested a heat pump today on a job where outside temperatures were in the mid-50's. When I set the thermostat to a desired temperature only 2 degrees higher than the interior temp shown on the t'stat, I was surprised to find that the heat strips kicked in also. In other words, I couldn't get the unit to kick on without the heat strips coming on also. Clearly there's a problem. Is this a wiring issue? Heat pumps only comprise about 5% of what I see so I am not thoroughly versed in the nuances of their operation. I realize that telling the client why this is happening isn't something I need to do but I want to know. What do you guys say about this?

3/4" T&G interior paneling was popular locally in the 1960's and early 70's that looked just like that. It was made of cypress and referred to as "pecky cypress" for reasons I never bothered to learn.

My guess is that it's used as a big ol' junction box. Not exactly lovely work, is it?

Perhaps they get paid per foot of tape they apply. Or they wanted to practice using a metal brake and 90 degree bends...

I think we have all seen conventional filter grills where there is a lot of residue on the inside edge of the grill behind the filter. Obviously a lot of dirt bypasses the filter itself because it fits loosely in the opening. I may be a little bit obsessive about it, but I have installed compressible peel and stick weatherstripping in this area to make sure that when I close the door on the filter it fits tightly into the opening, but not so tightly that the filter is crushed. If your intake ductwork is very leaky it won't make a huge difference. But if your return is fairly well sealed it really helps. But back to the original question: I know that many returns which I see are undersized if you go by the book. Adding an excessively restrictive filter can create other problems -- just like you have a dirty filter.