kurt

These things are a nightmare in ice dam conditions. They got some initial use around here, and then everyone backed off because of water flowing into eaves.

So, it's OK to point them anywhere but your head. Got it.

I don't care, I was just maintaining the asshole puckered insistence on technically accurate and precise terminology use on the forum. Someone was going to point out they weren't rifles, so I figured I would. Just move the stupid guns. Any moron that would leave his weaponry in that casual a manner won't notice if they've been moved a couple inches. Theeennnnn shoot your way in, set up a perimeter, blow the panel cover, etc.....

They're not rifles.

I'd shoot my way in, set up a defensive perimeter, blow the panel cover with C-4, check for double taps, then disappear into the jungle covering my tracks with booby traps.

And I wouldn't want it.

We have a few 'hoods where brilliant minds decided 115 years ago to fill in creek beds and drainage slough so they could build more houses. Kinda like these places.

That's a pretty cool rotunda for $400k.

That post could hold up several 2 story chimneys. Folks think there's some form of atomic entropy wherein wood frame buildings just fly apart, collapse, or otherwise disassemble themselves. Uh uh. They're probably among the most resilient structures ever built. Back in the 'early-mid '80's when Lake Michigan was at record highs, there were a lot of houses over in Michigan washing into the lake. Waves would undercut the bluffs until the whole dune would slide into the lake. I'd see old farmhouses cantilevered out over the abyss...1/3, sometimes ever 1/2 the house just hanging there completely unsupported. Of course they were sagging, but still hanging there. Then, it was into the lake. Sometimes they'd hang there for months.

I agree. Photo record of appliances working, or not working, with a time and date stamp on them.

It's not hard or complicated to test and rest a gfci. It's not like walking away while waiting for a tub to fill and flooding the house. You probably did just what you thought you did. If I thought I reset it, I'd stick with my thought. Like Reinmiller said, the HI always gets blamed.

Or.... "These custom registers drastically reduce air flow; the room may not heat or cool adequately. If that's the case, replace these registers with conventional models." Take a picture and have an arrow pointing at a register. Please don't write stuff like you wrote. Next thing, you'll be using words like "imbricated". You're one of my last hopes in this gig for a shot at making things move forward. Everyone thinks the opposite of the way the world's moved, and they're proud of it. You seem to pay attention. Write like it. Please. With sprinkles on top. In my entire career I've seen a Manual J about twice. Maybe 3 times. No one's going to do a Manual J for a home inspection. Put your hand over the register; if you can't tell if the air flow is sufficient, keep practicing until you can. When it's not, say so. It's just a house. It's not complicated.

They absolutely restrict air flow, sometimes as much as 2/3's reduction. We tested them a few years back with a hood; they suck. They look good, that's it.

Get rid of walls. Problem solved.

I guess that's what I'm saying. There's so much literature and credible reference about this topic, it's hard to move in any direction without stepping in it. How can anyone in the biz not know at this point? Get a contractor that knows how to fix this stuff. The architects are just another layer that gets in the way.

Marc.... -16 year old wood frame building/peak of building boom mania -Stucco -leaks around aluminum frame windows If those 3 things are present, what would you think? Peacock.... I admit to being premature in my dismissal of the forensic guys, but I wouldn't waste money on forensic architects taking stucco off the building to figure out what nearly any good carpenter or contractor could tell you. I'd find a building envelope guy that would open a few small select areas to verify what anyone that's done work on these things already knows. Few stucco applications are done correctly. Cramer's got a couple really good articles on stucco failures in the ASHI Reporter. Read these..... http://www.ashireporter.org/HomeInspect ... rt-1/14847 http://www.ashireporter.org/HomeInspect ... rt-2/14877 After that, look into window installation details for stucco. You probably don't have any. If all you find is caulk, you're onto something. Save your money for the repairs that you're very likely going to need. We see dozens of homeowner's associations spending huge dollars on forensic guys, then more money pushed into repair options, then more money to the contractors that are going to do the work. Your problem can only be a limited number of things. Find a contractor that understands those things. Get them to help you figure out a plan. After getting a plan, double check with a few other guys, just like you'd get a second opinion from another doctor to make sure your surgery is necessary. I said it would be cheaper and better to fly someone like Cramer in (or Parlett) because they're boots on the ground types; they've done the work. There's gotta be someone (or several someone's) in Seattle. It's Seattle for God's sake....call Meiland, he's out there isn't he? My premature take on this is predicated on seeing dozens of building associations go through unnecessary motions and waste a lot of dough that could be spent wisely on repairs. The forensic guys complicate relatively simple operations. If litigation is in the wind, yes, forensic guys have their place in developing an argument for the plaintiff. On a 16 unit building (relatively small) they usually get in the way.

True. There's only a couple good reasons for going the full forensic procedure, and litigation support it one of them. It's the main one. Maybe the only one. (Yes, I'm being cranky.)

Yes, it will. I'd just not start that way to satisfy a couple individuals that are behaving like this is a mystery. If they have a clue about what seems to be a building tsunami wave in this business, they'd at least be talking about the likelihoods and cut to the chase. Most of the forensic guys I've worked with are nerds. We had a leaking vinyl siding job one time, and when I said it's probably the WRB and flashing, it's always about the WRB and flashing (what else can it be...?), they actually got downright snippy w/comments along the lines of "one can't know that without doing step by step invasive etc., etc...." Of course, it took them a week to figure out it was the WRB and the (lack of) flashing.

They're going at it like forensic architects, which is to say, like someone that doesn't know what they're doing. Let's see....stucco, aluminum windows, leaks.....hmmmm....gee, what could it possibly be....(?).... If someone isn't able to get right at the main issues in about 11 minutes by just looking and poking a few places, I wouldn't let them anywhere near my building. In short, the stucco is wrong, the windows lack flashing, the drainage plane, if there is one, isn't integrated into the flashing that isn't there, etc., etc. These things are always wrong in all the same ways. It's like choose one from column A and two from Column B, or vice versa. It's always the same half dozen defects in different calibrations and configurations, but it's always the same stuff. How do I know this? We started a "leak repair" business back in '08 trying to keep revenue flowing. We've opened up more crap than anyone I know. It's always the same stuff. Over and over. Don't take stucco off the building. It's be cheaper to fly Cramer in to give an analysis that to dink around with a couple goofy architects that can't see the nose on their own face.

Awesome tool. Thanx for the tip.

This can't be complicated. Flues draft and work when installed correctly and they're not blocked. That much corrosion means something was/is wrong for a while. Agreed on the punt. It shouldn't be hard for someone to figure it out.

Upstate NY is one of the more beautiful corners of our country. It'd be a good trip.

Sheesh.....what a dweeb.

Did they place a whole 'nuther foundation outside the original?

Did you get a look under the siding anywhere?