Rob Amaral

Sans-boot: "Fixing the flashing" will require 'removal of the siding' of course...

Looks more like 'cleat and cleat'..

21' LG and 13' LG. I'm all set. (Plus a 32' Werner ladder, chicken-hook ladder (13'). The Little Giants are 'mil-spec'..... Riveting is awesome. I bet the knock-offs are OK though.

First thing that comes to mind is Bette Davis (in ?) saying, "...what a DUMP..!" Nothing like an inspection on a huge dilapidated farm.

Some of that stuff is really cool to get a handle on. (Electromagnetic fields, etc). Being an electric guitar player, I was interested many, many years ago in the concept of the electric guitar pickup (a moving steel wire, aka 'the string' thru an electromagnetic field in the pickup 'coil'). Kind of like a 'flat' electric motor in a way. Tiny electrical signal generated gets amplified by 'the amp'. There is a lot of voo-doo in electrical stuff that can boggle your head. Same for radio. Gets hairy. Check out "FM" generation sometime. Brilliant concept. Stolen by a rat from a genius (Edwin Armstrong). Thread drift. CU Later

Mutual inductance theory... Transformers, etc. La-la. 120V is a 'tap' that sort of makes the transformer on the secondary-side of the transformer 'shorter', thus lower voltage. The neutral is the return path for that 120V 'circuit'. The 240V's two legs 'are' the return path for this mutually induction-caused 'circuit' on the 'residential' side of the nearby transformer. Brain hurts. Gotta go.

A new steam boiler is very common around Boston. Jack A is correct. You can have a 'home inspection training school' in one house around here very, very often. Not kidding. In fact that is a phrase I use weekly up here. ("Look's like an inspection-training school.."). That goes for structure, electrical and plumbing. Many converted old 'gravity' hot water systems around here as well. The one thing we don't have are 'swamp coolers' (a la AZ/NM). I believe we have everything else. We also have different types of steam systems. To be expected when you are inspecting in all of New England (and a lot of the entire Northeast for that matter).

I've seen a few that have been charred. That was the kicker for me. I've also had breakers fall out. My own observations and reading posts/web pages and so forth confirms the issue enough for me. Also, keep in mind that the FP panels that show no signs of problems may have never been in systems that experienced ground faults or short-circuit conditions. Kind of like looking at a car with intact air-bags that never had to be deployed. Think of the cases that may be out there where cars had accidents and airbags did not deploy 'properly' or 'optimally' (if there are any). This FP issue is something like that to me. In other words, 'when things go wrong', they can 'fail'. When nothing goes wrong with the system, all is cool. That goes for any other brand panel or system that has breakers corroded from water penetration (say). They might be fine under optimal circuit conditions but fail to operate during 'ground faults' or short-circuit conditions which is where the rubber meets the road in these systems.

Either Hausdok's 'church remnant' (probably not)or some sort of 'ladies rail' so she wouldn't have to hang over and show her bust... Never seen anything like that before..

Jim K is on the simplest path. I too was befuddled by this years ago when I started out. What I did was go to the MIT bookstore and bought an Electrical Engineering 101 type of book. It helped. The book brought me there slowly. This issue you've asked is in the section on power transmission (from high voltage to low) and then on down into a user's place. ("the Load"). What is cool is how electricity in one part of the transformer causes an effect in the other part, and they don't touch. The whole thing is pretty cool anyway. ("Rotating machines" that generate electricity by cutting magnetic fields...). As in most things, it is more complex than usual. My ham-radio brother used to bother me because he always had a hard time explaining radio waves (despite constantly 'being on them'). It took home inspection for me to try and figure it out. Kind of gnawed at me. I think one of the most important things to 'own' with electricity and home inspection is what can happen 'when things go wrong'. Understanding ground faults, paths of least resistance and short circuit currents is key to understand why things must be installed properly and 'optimally'. Done wrong, a piece of the system can fail before it 'clears' a fault. Then we have the tiger out of the cage. Not cool. A lot of the 'bad things' we see are problems that can occur under specific circumstances that may not be occurring when you look into a system. No matter, you don't mess around with it.

Weird disconnect operated by that solenoid gizmo at left. Single movement causes all the guys at right to disconnect. But... ? A low-voltage remote control? Because?

Smells like an antique elevator control relay system? (Call buttons?)

What else can you tell us about that place with the stains and Hardiplank? Weird.. Moisture issue indoors? Were you able to get at the gable ends (if any)?

Kurt---What's your typing speed?

Check the lumber stamp (S-GRN? Surfaced 'green', i.e., not kiln-dried). Also check other things that could pump moisture up to the attic (water penetration into basements, perimeter drains that are open at perimeter, high water table, humidifiers, a lot of shower use, dryer exhaust terminus). Sounds like tannins leaching out. How about the paint...was it peeling off?

Mr. 18" Midlothian... that practice of yours is gonna cause you a problem some day... Go for more ladder above the roof. "Three point' grab/footing works.

Candles oui... See it a lot. That soot goes places. Neutral plane/stack effect could be the driver of the incoming air, could be HVAC stuff as well. Basically though, it is probably 'the candles' and 'differentials in air movement' or the like leading to soot deposition on slightly-damper areas of walls or deposited at areas where there is greater flow across a surface (or something like that). Interesting because it looks odd at those outlets.

That is indeed the Corrigan shingle defect. He's right. The shadow profile confirms the relative age, the diagonal cracking is a classic evidence of the 'fiberglass mat shingle defect' very common in this type of shingle. Looks like multiple layers as well. May just be occurring at certain poorly-ventilated areas, like vaulted-ceiling areas. "Tear-off/replace". Could start showing up at other areas. Very well documented problem. Absent other info in this inspector's post, this is what is looks like to me.

Kevin: How old is the house? That is an interesting question. Give me a buzz on the landline on Monday if you want. Call US Inspect HQ and they can give you my cell phone #. That looks like either air infiltation coupled with more indoor 'soot' of some kind. Air infiltration at outlets/switches occurs on lower levels, less on higher levels. (Stack effect and neutral pressure plane issues). I'd like to discuss it with you. US Inspect HQ # is 888 874-6773. Tell them I ok'd for them to give out my cell #.

I walk many. But the more I do this, the more I ask "..is it worth the trip?". In other words, could this all have been figured out easier without having had to get on that roof? Roof mount does help you with referrals (new guys). Many chimney issues are only verifiable from the top looking down and if you have a digital cam shot in your report of that stuff, you are a notch-up on the guys who won't go up there and don't use the cam.

did-o

ay-man..

You-fee..

I did a partial inspection on The Fairbanks House (Dedham,MA). 1636. Oldest wood frame bldg in the US. I did a full inspection on the Caretaker's house next door as well. (Sears Kit House). The 'partial' was in the cellar/crawl of the old bomber. The upper portions were 'toured' with just me and one person (a volunteer). I 'inspected' it but they are very picky about poking around in it of course. Did carefully review the exterior as well. They had hired a structural engineer so that they could factor exactly how many people can enter the home at a time. His report was interesting. (Huge binder, very thick). I believe the next oldest house was in Attleboro, MA (1640 or something). The Boston-area boys and New England boys routinely hit old houses. Routinely we hit houses from mid 1800's, many from late 1800's, turn-of-the-century. You get into 'bents', 'summer beams', round-stone vs flatter-stone foundations, frost-heave effects from a couple of hundred years, Rumford fireplaces (dime a dozen around here), clapboards from the date of construction, chimney issues. This is a fun area to inspect in. Did the Parson's house here in Walpole (United Church) and it had rafters from an original church building that had been torn down. Interesting. Another great place to inspect is New Bedford, MA. You can run into some odd stuff in the attics, basements in this former whaling capital of the US. I also inspected a house in Plainfield, NJ that was revolutionary-war era. The older I get the more I appreciate a nice small 60's ranch inspection....vacant and no one home..

Good point on the fused FPE panels. I saw one a while back where the fuse holder assemblies that plug in (like the CBs) had high-heat damage due to the poor-grade plug-in connection. Observation lead to a replacement.