AHI in AR

I don't see hail damage. At least not just hail damage. In the last photo with the heavy damage, is that in an area where it was likely that someone would set up a ladder and routinely access the roof? For Christmas lights, routine maintenance, or other reasons?

There is never a need for a trap on the "inlet line". All condensate drains out of the collector box. The only trap should be connected to the collector box. I have never seen a sanitary tee on a furnace exhaust - I'd remember something that odd. I found a similar unit's installation instructions online. The trap is listed by the MFR as an "optional combustion air inlet trap" and the tee goes ahead of the trap. Definitely not on the exhaust.

The "white thingy" is part of the condensate drain--it's a condensing furnace. And the cover isn't louvered. It's solid. Combustion air should come in through the non-removed knockout to the left of the exhaust. The furnace can be installed horizontally or vertically, and with a left or right side orientation. The appropriate inlet needs to be knocked out. And if installed inside conditioned space or a closed area (this wasn't) you may need a separate pipe to bring combustion air in directly. The exhaust vent should pitch upward. The condensation that occurs in the vent drains out through a rubber hose in the fan housing, and from there it ties into the pvc drain system shared with the evaporator coil.

Okay boys and girls, today's question relates to the installation of a Heil high efficiency gas furnace. It was located in a well ventilated attic. First of all, since we are in primarily a cooling climate here I don't see a whole lot of high efficiency furnaces. Secondly, the installation instructions are a bit confusing, especially when sitting in a 130? attic. Lastly, I'm under a severe time crunch since these folks thoughtfully informed me that they had to have the report tonight instead of tomorrow as I originally promised when booking the job. Anyway, the exhaust vent on this thing looks to be AFU. I think they used the condensate trap intended to go on the inlet line and installed it on the exhaust. And then there's the fact that the exhaust slopes the wrong way, and ties into a tee which is oriented improperly. I think the installer confused the inlet and outlet pipe configurations. And he didn't remove the knockout for combustion air. What do y'all think? edit: Sorry, forgot to attach pic. It's been a long day. Click to Enlarge 49.82 KB

Back when I was a homebuilder the average subcontractor had the mindset that real men didn't need/ read instructions. It's obvious that same attitude prevails elsewhere also.

Looks like insect droppings to me.

I collect old tools also. But after having been mildly chastised by a much older gentleman -- and I'm 53 -- for using the term "ruler" I quit using the term. What he told me is that what you are holding is a folding rule. His point was that a ruler -- antique or otherwise -- was a member of some governing body. But they built them well back then, huh?

Well, since no one else has said it, I will. I didn't even look at the picture, but putting all of the kitchen and bathroom circuits on one breaker is just stupid, regardless of whether or not the particular wire nut used is designed for that many wires. I think adding a sub panel would be a good idea given the scenario you outlined where there aren't available slots. But then again, that wasn't your question, was it?

My dad was a home builder and I cleaned thousands of brick like that as a kid in the summers of the late 60's and very early 70's as old buildings were torn down. Sittin' in the sun with a trowel and a mason's hammer. What fun! The brick was simply called "used" back then and it was cheap; now it's highly sought after. I'm pretty real sure that's used brick you've got. Look closely and you can see old mortar still on it. You will probably find some old splotches of paint and roofing tar elsewhere on the house. In a Southern climate it deteriorates pretty slowly. You can find any number of houses around here that are 40 years old or more that look just like that. Honestly, what concerns me most is the last photo of the horizontal crack. Looks like the wall is buckling outward.

I found this in a home built in 1925. The item on the right appears to be some sort of jack for an antenna, but it was hard to tell because the center of it was full of paint. There were two terminals on the back of it with very light gauge wiring attached. Probably about an 18 gauge or so. So what is it? Click to Enlarge 37.85 KB

It's from an amusement park--you walk through it while it spins

You mentioned that there had been a flood, so I'm going to jump to the conclusion that it is near water. Are there slots that we can't see where smaller materials would fall out of the cylinder? Is it to mine minerals from a stream bed? Is it a huge industrial washing machine? Was Jimmy Hoffa in there? Are the ring and pinion gears from a '28 model A? As you can guess, I don't have a clue. In any case, the halogen lights are an anachronism.

Les-- The water swirled around and drained as is normal. But instead of simply filling back up it filled up quickly and then flushed again just as soon as it was through filling. The bowl then refilled as it should with no more flushing. All 3 toilets in the home were identical. This was the only one doing this so it wasn't a mismatched bowl/tank issue.

I dunno. By my admittedly unscientific approach of simply watching all three toilets flush I'd have to say that the amount of water that went out with the first flush matched that of the other 2 toilets in the home.

I came across a toilet in a home today which would flush twice with one flip of the handle. The water would swirl and drain, looking normal, then refill again quickly and drain again. Two other toilets of similar design in the home didn't do this. Unfortunately, the sellers came home with a sick baby and I wasn't able to pull the cover off the tank and run it through a few cycles to try to figure out what was happening. It was a conventional toilet, not anything exotic. Anyone know what's going on?

That panel looks amazingly fresh to be old enough to have aluminum branch circuit wiring.

Condensation. North-facing side stays colder. Coldest areas are low near eaves.

The responses confirm what I suspected. It's just a junction in need of a box... Thanks guys. So on a lighter note, here's a pic from the job with a note I added. Be sure to look at the bottom of the photo. Click to Enlarge 271.83 KB

Thanks, Marc, but I'm not sure what single conductors have to do with anything. We're looking at a splice here. And yes, I know neutrals and grounds shouldn't be connected together, but if you'll notice the two neutrals share the inner two openings, (out of four) and the two grounds sure the outer two. Similarly, the two hots are connected in the two outer openings in the connector. So for all I know the inner two openings may be one connection and the outer two a separate one.

I found these exposed connectors in the attic of a new home today. In fact, there were two other instances where the same type of connectors were just hanging out of the wall. They didn't have any brand name on them or other identifying markings for me to research them. The house had a certificate of occupancy on site so presumably the city electrical inspector passed this. Then again, it was in the attic and he may never have set foot there. But regardless of that issue I'm trying to figure out if this is allowable or if they should be boxed the same as a conventional junction with wire nuts. I am leaning towards thinking that a junction box would still be required but I don't want to misspeak. Has anybody seen these things, and should they be in a junction box? Click to Enlarge 65.83 KB

Is it typical there to build homes (especially high dollar ones) out of concrete block in Chicago? I thought that was strictly a coastal sort of thing, especially older low buck construction. Admittedly, I've never been to Chicago but I haven't seen it in other large cities where I have been. At least not since I've been old enough to notice.

John's right. The panel is simply an earlier version of the StabLok type. I've seen them just a few times. (edit) Why did this double post?

John's right. The panel is simply an earlier version of the StabLok type. I've seen them just a few times.

Thanks for the info guys. I just couldn't see that 4" was adequate on the ceilings. Yes, Tom, water heaters are routinely installed in attics. It just doesn't get that cold or stay cold here for long. In the summer tank-types barely have to run since the attics stay so hot!

I came across this insulation in a house today which was built in 2006. The insulation was used on the back side of the second-story walls common to the attic as well as on the ceilings exposed to the attic. It was also used on the foundation stem walls above the concrete block. It looks like icynene, but because it is extremely rare here I don't know for sure. In 14 years of doing inspections here this is the first home I've seen with this product. My questions concern appropriate thickness and whether there are any known problems with this. It was not sprayed on the underside of the roof deck. What is the R value per inch? It was only about 4 inches thick on the ceilings on average, and the thickness varied significantly. Click to Enlarge 62.46 KB