kurt

Yes. Absolutely. If you're making rational considerations about radon, factor this in. Don't turn off the fan. Leave it on. Read Jim's post again. It's about pressure differentials, not windows being opened or closed. Depending on broad ranges of variables, it's possible to increase radon with windows open, or not. Pressure gradients drive radon into and out of houses, not drafts. Install a system and run it continuously to maintain a negative pressure under and around the house. It's as close as you can get. The noise part.... If it's a Panasonic or similar quality inline fan, they're silent. Really. I suppose if you stayed up late on a dead still winter night and laid awake trying really hard to hear it, you possibly could imagine a slight hum....but I doubt it. They're really quiet. Disclosure? I have no idea. Any marginally competent inspector is going to note the presence of a radon mitigation system, so any buyer would be notified during an inspection. Personally, I'd tell them. It's a feature, not a negative imho.

The fans are so quiet, they approach being noiseless. On occasion, I'll have to touch them or place my ear against the exhaust to see if they're running. Standard filters, event the pleated ones, don't do much to improve indoor air quality. If you're hyper sensitive, you may want a HEPA bypass filter system.

OK. Standard in China is cord and plug. I guess we can do this. Click to Enlarge 21.48 KB

We need a like button....

There's no foundation element to it and the life of brick and mortar will hold on just fine. This is lintels and "tuck pointing" that's atrociously bad. In 1925 there were still real Mason's and they understood mortar. These poor houses have bad lintels and they've been abused, that's all.

I'd call it another day on the job looking at simple stuff that no one is repairing correctly. My only trepidation would be if I perceived a total lack of interest in the individuals I was "investing with" to fix stuff. I wouldn't want someone else's lack of interest to reflect on my investment. Houses are simple and repairs are easy. It's people that are the problem.

Yeah. Kelly and me. Except I'm in China and Kelly's about to head to Arizona for a couple weeks on one of the railing gigs. There isn't anyone that "specializes" in it because it's all new. And complicated. Meaning expensive. Kelly's the only one with enough experience to get it right.

Yes, they all come with that foam sleeve. The last dozen I've bought all had the little foam sleeve.

Same as Meiland, more or less. Never seen an interior disconnect, and imho, it doesn't need one. I always check the presence or absence of an exterior disconnect. So far, in Chicago, there's always been one.

Wrong......a house with a shop is so Boomer. You need a shop with a house.

Here in China, electric baseboard heat is advertised as "American Style Electric Heating!". It's a feature. No one turns it on. That would cost money.

Radiant electric with individual t-stats, and hard wired electric baseboards are definitely not portable. The radiant ceiling stuff, surprisingly, works OK. The baseboard stuff always smells like burnt dirt, but at least it's a heat source.

I've used the stuff to repair damp/icy canvas boat covers in the middle of winter; it worked.

I was just curious. If there's not a heat source tied to central heating equipment, I describe it in the report and (almost always) can it....and let the client inform me how they feel about it. If they want something more (usually do), I'll get into a brief discussion of options. Which usually means get a ****ing heat source in the room.

Is there anything still in the CODE that sez no using individual heating units/space heaters as central heating equipment?

Bukiqe.

Cool. You would be amazed at what all of us witness on a daily basis; ham fisted jack legged idiocies perpetrated on innocent houses, and the perps walk free to do it all again tomorrow, aided and abetted by HGTV sponsored architectural crime scenes. You're always welcome here and tell all your friends....Wei Renmin Fuwu!

In Chicago, $500 would cover the cost of the material, handling, and delivery. Replacement cost, usually based on a minimum of 10 lintels (to get some economy of scale going)...is $1K minimum for a hack, and more like $1300-1500 for someone that knows what they're doing. A single lintel can get kinda expensive ($2k-3K) because of the logistics involved. If you're doing lintels, do every one of them on the house; it's way cheaper in the long run. Based on the single close up I could open (I'm in China and internet is goofy), you don't need repointing of the whole house; it would ruin everything. My house and apartment building, both built in the early 1920's, show what happens with repointing.....the areas that have never been touched are fine, excellent in fact, and the areas that were repointed (before I got to there and of course with the wrong mortar) are damaged. The pic here is my house...the section in the middle is original, the areas around it "repointed" (slathered) with the wrong mortar. Shows what happens with the wrong mortar. Also, what Jerry said about aluminum wrap on the lintels...... read this. If your guy didn't call out the aluminum wrap as a problem, he probably doesn't know much about lintels or mortar. Lintels are real simple. There is a single option. Take out the bad lintel and replace it. After a lot of years of me and a couple of my friends trying out all sorts of grinding and anti-corrosive applications in the hope of finding a previously unknown path to the New World, I've determined there isn't one. Replacement is the option. Opinions will vary.

Sounds like the usual realtor listing fluff. They do this all the time in Chicago....calling a closet a BR. Arguing with a realtor is like taking up a dispute with a camel, it'll never go anywhere, so I don't bother. I tell people there's no heat, cite the issue of noncompliance, and let them argue it if they want to.

Maybe. It's hard to know without seeing it. Your HI's advice sounds like generalized boilerplate blather to me. If they couldn't walk you around and explain specific conditions, discuss mortar types, or otherwise display knowledge of mortar conditions, I'd be skeptical of their advice. Put up a picture or 4. Establishing shot, then some close ups.

Just curious..... How is one relieved of responsibility by a group of people....none of whom have power of attorney or any legal authority for anything other than unlocking a door and showing a house...and who on any and all occasions throughout my entire career have shown themselves to be motivated by self interest alone....how do these people....verbally no less....relieve anyone of responsibility for a disaster in a house? "I'll turn the water on, but only if you say it's your fault and not mine." Yeah...uh huh....

How about...."The door is scratched"....(?). If the door didn't work...."The door is scratched and it doesn't open/close/latch/knobs busted/whatever". Include a picture of the scratches so the reader has context for how bad the scratches are. "Traditional" ideas about how to write reports are completely screwed up; it's about time folks understood this. It's not necessary to say 2/3's of the crap everyone talks about.

If the inlaid gutters were shot and leaking (which they usually are) into the rafter tails and soffits, chimneys were rebuilt, and all sorts of other stuff...I still don't see how it could get to a million bucks. There's more to the story than just a roof replacement. Regardless, cool joint.

Clarify....just the coach house roof, or the entire place? If it's the entire place, more in line with Ghent.

Did they replace all the inlaid gutters? Cost on that puppy is more about the copper than the cedar. I got no idea but $60k seems realistic. Maybe.