AHI in AR

You can easily see through the really cheap filters. It doesn't take too much thinking to realize that they don't trap much more than the relatively large chunks of stuff passing through them. By going to a pleated design, the surface area can be expanded and filtration effectiveness increased without reducing flow too much--but only up to a point. The really dense medium used in some filters is problematic with regard to air flow. I happen to think that some of the Filtrete filters are too restrictive unless you oversize your return(s) to allow for the reduced airflow.

Some expensive types designed to be ultra effective at micro particle filtration are. But your inexpensive $3 types are effective without being too restrictive. I wouldn't use the cheapo fiberglass types unless there's no other option available.

Yeah it is, but is it possible that the wiring has a grounding conductor but the electrician simply installed ungrounded-type receptacles for his own goofy reasons? In either case I'd go with the GFCI protection.

I received notice that I could elect to keep my existing policy thru the end of 2014 or choose the closest ACA compliant one with a corresponding premium increase of exactly 47%. The only "benefit" to choosing the ACA policy would be a decrease of $500 in my annual deductible. Oh yeah...I also got maternity coverage for my 54 year-old male and single self. I was decidedly not impressed.

Whatsamatter? You don't know what a yacusy is? Or a fornes? Seriously though, if we assume that the electrician actually DID label the panel and is truly that illiterate we can also only assume that understanding something as complex as code books is WAY out of his reach. Is it possible that a non-native speaker of English owned the home and labeled the panel?

I suggest that you ask everyone in the home to quit breathing for half an hour out of every 2 hours or so. Repeat as needed. See if that diminishes the moisture in the home enough to help...[]

I found a drain line coming off of a temperature relief valve on a tankless unit today which ran uphill. I know this would be a problem with a conventional tank with a temp and pressure relief valve, and I can't for the life of me see why it wouldn't be a problem with a tankless unit also. But before I wrote it up I wanted to get some mo' input. What say y'all?

The high efficiency furnaces gain their efficiency because they recover waste heat which normally goes up and out the exhaust vent. In doing so, the moisture generated during burning of natural gas is too cold to stay in a vapor state so it condenses back out. That explains the drain. It also explains the use of a plastic exhaust vent.

The breakers may be different internally, but the same crappy connection exists where they "stab" into the bus at an angle so the problem still exists where they can loosen/arc over time. I'd write it up.

Wow. You don't realize the height of that stack until you notice the guy standing about a third of the way up. I know that people were marginally shorter then, but still...

Geez, people... Isn't it obvious? These were found in the DC area! This is simply the first generation of receptacles designed using "equality based design practices" as demanded by a changing world. Note that the hot or neutral side no longer always slavishly has to be on the right or left. Now there's no bias or assigned (and presumably preferential) order...they're equal! And the grounds no longer always have to be top or bottom. They can be side-by-side. Again, they're perfectly equal! Now we just need to eliminate that pesky neutral is the larger slot thing and we can achieve real equality. []

That's a firestop and a section of metal chimney in it. It would appear that they installed a second chimney system to allow for a future installation of another fireplace in the basement. The plywood is to stop drafts, I assume.

I inspected a home today built in 1999. There were multiple straight-line cracks at butt joints in the ceiling, and a few on the walls. Some of these approached an eighth of an inch in width. No signs of any settling/ movement or other contributing factors. The locations were the typical places where a hairline crack wouldn't necessarily be unexpected such as at 90? intersections in the hallways. However, there were a lot of them and they were much larger than hairline width. I suspected either defective drywall or defective mud. When I went into the attic I was surprised to see "Thai gypsum products" stamped on the backside of the drywall. I was building here during that period and I was not aware of a single local supplier selling any imported drywall. I'm wondering if perhaps the drywall shrank because it had an excessive moisture content when installed. Does anyone know anything about this product in general or any problems with it? If not, what about defective mud used in 1999?

On every one I've seen there are two galvanized walls. We are seeing the inner one; there's an outer one behind that and the air from the home flows between the two. That forms a sealed area separate from the firebox itself. The firebrick panels aren't airtight around the edges. They're really there more to protect the galvanized panels from excessive heat.

On the sides. Never the back.

That's odd. Irregular hole that isn't from factory. Smoke stain above hole and apparently unaffected galvanized liner behind it. Probably won't cause huge problem with gas logs, but weird nonetheless.

I assumed that soap dispensers mounted above lavatories or kitchen sinks were a fairly recent innovation. it appears that I was wrong. The sink in a circa 1903 home I did today was made in July of 1929. I believe the soap dispenser was installed with the sink. The lettering is clearly Art Deco, and while the dispenser itself was chrome plated, the reservoir was nickel plated. Period appropriate based on my admittedly limited knowledge. I've done a lot of homes from this time period and I have never seen one of these. Pretty cool in any case. Click to Enlarge 51.93 KB

Thanks. So is there an O-ring in that ridged area?

I found these 90 degree fittings today on a replacement water heater which was installed earlier this year. They were crimped on, and rather crudely at that. They didn't leak but the overall install didn't look likely to have been done by a pro. The fittings were used on inlet and outlet lines as well as the TPR drain. Ten minutes on Google and I can't find out what they are. Anyone know? And are they done properly? Click to Enlarge 31.99 KB

Just to be clear, there was a light fixture on the deck post to the right of the damaged area. Nobody set up wires to electrocute Sammy the squirrel. I cropped the pic so it would be easier to see the damage to the wire. This was about 10' above the ground so the pic wasn't perfectly clear. Notice the heavy damage to the adjacent wiring and the post. These guys had been, uhhh, flossing their teeth here for a long time.

Does anyone else wonder if the rodent inflicting this damage perished while doing so? Click to Enlarge 66.51 KB

The last photo, in particular, looks to me like condensation is forming on the window. Look at the gray coloration on the lower part of the interior frame. If it's solid under the window I can't see how there's a big problem with internal rot. Every metal-clad rot damaged window I've seen is soft on the bottom.

Looks totally realistic to me. Unfortunately they logged the last perforated trees around here in the in the 1920's so they're just sort of a legend... Seriously, though, I've never seen logs like that either.

Synthetic fibers are routinely placed in concrete to minimize cracking. Perhaps someone thought it would help with stucco. Not exactly attractive though.

Jim, it's possible but doubtful. As I recall, these fireplaces started showing up around here about a dozen years ago. I was still building homes then as well as inspecting them. In new neighborhoods I can say with all certainty that the standard practice I saw was to build a wood-framed enclosure for the fireplace assembly and simply lay brick on the waferboard used to enclose the top. The home in the photo is 10 years old. With inspections, I have seen ONE home where I felt sure that a problem existed. It was on a concrete slab, and the MDF used as the "legs" for the mantel surround were puffy from moisture absorption. There was no other explanation other than leaks thru the brick that were allowing water to reach the slab.