Rob Amaral

Jim .. IS RIGHT...

Geepizz.. it never ends..

You have to have something to burn in order for the oven to 'catch fire'.. so.. I had a gas oven's 'overhead broiler' burner catch fire a few weeks ago during an inspection... it was a matter of grease build-up... Made for an interesting show..

Wait till you see three..!

Just have it painted.. why waste your dough.. A commercial painter that routinely paints masonry commercial buildings could probably help you..

Cognitive dissonance.. I like that! Sounds like a simple problem.. I see a lot of bad ventilation issues from houses of that period around Boston and on the Cape.. Did they use 'drip-edge flashing vents' as low-intake vents? They tend to get clogged up with organic debris from the trees and not work over time (and get blocked by snow in winter and get totally blocked).. There is a nice guy up here in the Boston area that may be the answer for you.. he's helped a lot of my clients.. www.ventmasterinc.com You don't need an international team of experts.. ! The cross-flow thing can work both ways.. not always a good thing. 'depends'.. Low-intake/high outlet systems tend to work fine in my experience .. The Cape is misty often and what with all the conifer trees... you get a lot of problems...

Funny that you show this.. I just saw one 'out of commision' in a house in Boston the other day.. First time..

Honey can you crank up the cold... I'm hot.. !

Steven Hockstein is right.. Just recommend a professional engineer review and advise on the situation...

Not one of you mentioned 'why' this is a problem... Our entire profession should be aware of 'why' something should be the way it is 'supposed to be'.. So.. who knows 'the why' of this?

Great job on the Video, Rob! Makes a difference!

The claims-guy up here at the roofing manufacturing plant in the next town over calls that 'cracking in the applique' (versus "cracking thru the fiberglass-mat") and says 'it's not a defect that leads to leakage.. ".. Some kind of crazing/shrinkage in the asphalt on the reinforcement .. I guess...

Nice photo.. Reminds me of my days slappin paint in dorms in Boston's Back Bay... we'd be doing the ceilings over these wells that were 5 stories high.. Not fun...

I think very carefully before entering spaces like that these days.. (And I have entered many since I started in 1995).... One time, I suited-up (Tyvek 100%, the face mask, gloves, the whole show) and entered a similarly-constricted crawl space through a standard 1950's vintage rectangular cellar window... I'm inside and proceed to systematically probe the sills/joist-ends and rim joist areas (the rims were insulated) and BANG... right into a freakin' bee's nest that 'blew up' with bees.. I skedaddled my keister out that window at super-high speed and ended up bruising the **** out of my hips in the process.. Morale of story: When entering extremely constricted space, ask yourself, "Can I get out of here relatively fast or not and safely". Often it's the 'fast exit' that cannot be accomplished well.. The Tyvek kept the bees away thankfully... but the injury on the hips lasted for a week..

What was the name of the manufacturer? Rube Goldberg Industries?

Wow..naasSSSSSSTY... so bad.. gosh.. Thanks for the post Bill..!

This was a house for a 'captain of industry' guys....... This was grand dame of a place... I wish I knew the history... BTW, Woonsocket, RI is like an HO train-set lay-out... It's got every imaginable 'thing' you'd see on a train-set.. 1880's train station included... old factories, a gorge with a huge dam and falls... It's basically the 'end' of the Blackstone Valley that is the drainage for the Worcester, MA area.. there was a canal from Worcester south to that region... It really is a classic place... ... but.. it is not doing very well and has not been doing so for a long time..

Here's a side view... Download Attachment: IMG_0183.JPG 72.47 KB and another close-view Download Attachment: IMG_0182.JPG 55.21 KB

Good point.. I should "Solid, Man"! The thing was in perfect shape...

Woonsocket, RI

Solid laminated handrail... 1885... all parts 100% solid-condition and present.. no loose or missing parts.. My gosh.. Download Attachment: IMG_0180.JPG 61.16 KB

Looks like a gas valve at top so... coal-starter? Flame involved...and you turn the thing manually... Was it to light coal.. for a furnace? Need more info man..

Nice... that looks like my area..

Great detailed info in that mag.. R

A good article about this in the recent issue of "The Journal of Light Construction"... You should grab a copy... (Mr. Owner) ... Sorry to see this has occurred..