kurt

It's inevitable. I'm not convinced on cost/time/risk v. value, though. Ladders are still fairly easy and probably about the same amount of time as going with a drone...maybe less time. I don't know. What's the general time allotment for a drone roof inspection? The technology is seductive, that's for sure. Who doesn't want one?

I don't even care. I tell 100% of everyone to put in new alarms. Battery powered, whatever. Just put in new photoelectric devices.

Yeah, info. The new stuff has squeezed out the old stuff. I find it shoved into corners in my house. I'm toast. Astute observations. I especially like the BR supply/no return theory. West may be, and probably is, a coincidence, and nothing more.

I used smoke in a can (or some equivalent) many years ago until one day as I was spraying, a seller looked at me, horrified. Seems he had some affliction where he was extremely allergic to all sorts of airborn particulates. Started in with shaking and progressed on to near seizure condition. Ambulance, epi pen, the whole bag. That ended my smoke in a can methodology.

Proof I've lost it.....

I'm behind on acronyms. What's RO? Them's some cheap ass wood boxes with big holes masquerading as windows.

And they probably did 6 day weeks @ 12-18 hours per day. Processing stone by hand without benefit of modern machinery....those guys were latter day vulcans, hammering at mountains of stone.

I do. I got tuned up on shower glass some years back....people don't like it when it's floppy or it hits stuff, and they call to tell you. I know a little bit more about glass showers now.

That's nice hardware. I've never seen it in any shower. The installation guidelines are good, but they don't make any reference to safety. It's all the usual stuff. Curious.... If shower glass is now a major safety concern, why don't we write up all shower doors, including those ubiquitous 3/16" cheap sliding shower doors? Those seem a heck of a lot more fragile than 3/8" or 1/2" material.

I know. I see them like that all the time. How is it different than commercial doors or anything else that is similar? Go to an Apple Store. They're nothing but huge glass panels hung into space with a million people bumping into them. The first time I saw this kind of shower door, I didn't like it. I've googled the heck out of it for a couple years, and I can't find anything that says it's dangerous or wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired of worrying about every permutation of possible danger.

OK, you're talking about loose hinges or hardware, or otherwise inadequately secured components. That's a problem. If the door sags, it can hit the adjacent panel or tile. Tempered glass impacting other pieces of tempered material can "explode", similar to if you set a large tempered panel down on concrete or similar hard surface. Few contractors put the necessary blocking in the wall. Some of these are only secured with drywall type anchors. That's bad. I used to question these things when I first saw them. I've seen dozens or hundreds by now. If they're secure, they're OK imho.

The ones I see have been solidly secure. Glass flexes (maybe) a 1/4". If the whole thing isn't secure, why wouldn't the recommendation be to secure or reinstall the panel? What about doors? All the doors I see are no frame, 2 pin hinges, no bracing, no nothing, and it moves. Why would a panel need reinforcement but not a door? I think if it's a solidly installed panel, they're fine.

Nice idea, but what does that mean? I'm not aware of any specification to refer to. Is there one? Lacking a spec, do we recommend reinforcement without any idea how to do it?

Badly leaking house repaired, but still some leaks in other locations. Sounds like a mess of lousy construction. Sorry to hear. OK, could be mold after all. I'd ask Bill Kibbel; he works PA and NJ. He's in here and will probably read this. He might be able to help. If not, he probably knows someone who can.

We had a customer a while back that repeatedly claimed mold was making her sick. She'd had $40,000 (yes, that's 40k) of remedial work done, 3 different well known HVAC contractors checked the systems, and various other trades look into paint toxins, or other possibilities. She was still sick with bad respiratory issues. She got our name from someone and wondered if we could figure anything out. We went out and in <5 minutes found an air return in the attic that was broken in half and sucking fiberglass insulation and blowing it through the house. Point of story...... Until there is a bullet proof and valid examination of the entire house by someone looking for any and all possibilities, who knows? Are you getting your health advice from mold people and home inspectors, or are you getting your advice from a trained allergist/medical professional that's looked into all the possible issues in your house and/or life? Having been through this general storyline too many times over the last several years, I've become highly cynical and suspicious of all claims relating to mold. Everyone thinks what's bothering them is mold. Maybe. Maybe not. Every house is full of mold. The keyboard you're typing on has a few million spores on it. So does every other surface in your house. Every "mold test" I've reviewed, and I've reviewed a lot of them, shows more mold outside in the ambient air than mold inside the house, yet the reports all point to indoor mold being the problem. The idea that you can get "100% free of mold" is a fallacy. Maybe you do in fact have extreme mold sensitivities. I don't know. But until I had a chance to check the house out myself, or by someone that I know and trust, I'm skeptical that mold in your very clean and remediated house is a problem.

I seem 'em all the time. I don't mention anything unless it's loose or otherwise defective. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

I go to that site a couple times a day. Lately, I've been getting up in the middle of the night to go there.

Oh, if were the same here.......[:-banghea The depth of my cynicism and disgust with all things CCBD is boundless.

Same here. The paper trail goes back to the architect or engineer. AHJ's are intended to provide quality assurance by checking the plans and quality control that the work conforms to the plans. I see them blow it on both counts all the time.

Don't remind me. I recall running behind the trucks spraying for Dutch Elm disease. By the time mosquito fogging came around, we had some mild sense to stay out of it.

That doesn't necessarily stop after approvals depending on a lot of stuff. I've never met a planning, zoning, or building dept. that didn't reserve the right to change their mind. Going through zoning and use changes resulting in structural & egress alterations can get really goofy. Did I say "can get"? I should have said does get.

Focusing on HVAC technology as the center concept of a building is idiotic. Building envelope design and construction should drive the process. If one has an appropriate envelope, one does not need 6 figure complicated heating and cooling systems.

What about those draft inducer fans?

Referred to as "the good stuff" around here.

It's a ground source heat pump. It's good to use the right terms. Geothermal is like Iceland or Yellowstone where you're taking heat directly from the Earth. I've looked at enough of them to know I don't want to pass judgment on any of them. Someday, maybe, but for now.....no way. I'd recommend getting the best engineer in your area that's intimately familiar with these systems. There's too much to consider and look at to begin getting into it here. I did a big job a couple weeks ago with a 3 zone system. Water Furnace brand. I thought it looked pretty good until the engineer I hired went through it all and determined there wasn't enough flow rate for one of the zones. The installer had cheesed on a zone, and now they have to tweak and fiddle with the refrigerant and cycling to get it to work somewhere close to right, but it will never be right until major work is done. This all came out in disclosures after the fact where they allowed as to how it "wasn't quite right". Typical realtor bullshit and obfuscation. It's one thing when someone lies about a roof, and quite another when it's a >6 figure heating system. This was on a $4 million home with a supposedly good engineering firm. And they screwed it up. I'd have never known. These things are kind of like radiant in the early days....guys kinda making stuff up. Be really careful and get an engineer to help.