Ken Meyer

If your HVAC system has a condensate pump, how about running the dehumidifier drain line(s) into that?

There was a good article on inspection photography written by Jay Hensleigh in the ASHI Reporter a while back. http://www.ashireporter.org/HomeInspection/Articles/Inspection-Photos-Worth-One-Thousand-Words/9619

We see a fair number of mini split systems here, especially in new construction. Some homes use mini splits exclusively. The most common brands are Daikin, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic. We just had a Daikin single zone system installed at our house this past summer, we love it. As far as I can tell, the build quality is quite good.

Photocell, probably controls an exterior light.

KEH Camera and Adorama are a couple more good choices. Service is great, prices too.

Some do have zero clearance to combustibles, but as you have found, the label is sometimes missing. Click to Enlarge 44.72 KB

The type of Square D breakers that can accept two conductors have a plate with two raised areas. When the set screw is tightened, the plate exerts equal pressure on both conductors. Click to Enlarge 70.28 KB

Broken link fixed.

Thanks Brandon and Patt, I was able to find the 2000 and 2005 instructions, but nothing older. The 2000 does not show the uncaulked gap. What made me wonder is that above the windows in the photos you can see the gap, but it has been re caulked by the homeowner. Other windows on the house look like they have original caulk, or at least someone did a neater job. There are 2 west facing second story windows that had problems likely from weather exposure; rain and baking late afternoon sun, and from lack of maintenance. The fix that was done on both windows was a heavy application of caulk, including covering the weep holes for good measure. There was some rot on vertical trim, I scanned the interior wall adjacent to one of the windows with a moisture meter but didn't find anything. The other room had a bed blocking the window. So my question is: what would your recommendation be for caulking above these windows when repairs are done; leave the gap above the windows uncaulked as current installation instructions say, or follow the guidelines from when the siding was originally installed? Click to Enlarge 36.03 KB Click to Enlarge 43.53 KB Click to Enlarge 42.54 KB

1996

Reviving an old thread here. Brandon, were you ever able to find any older Hardie Plank installation instructions? The oldest ones I have are from 2007. I'd like to know how if a 1/4" uncaulked gap between siding and horizontal flashing was required back then. Thanks

Yeah, I called the main roof out for replacement and said in the report that whoever does bids on replacement should evaluate the low slope one. I wondered if there might be a membrane under it, but wouldn't it have a whole bunch of nails through it even if there was one?

Is there any way the installation on the low slope roof would not be a problem? I thought the minimum for shakes was 4:12. It's too bad they spent all the money on new windows and skylights throughout the house but didn't just go ahead and replace the roof. Look at the old vs. new shakes next to the brand new skylights. Click to Enlarge 70.98 KB Click to Enlarge 60.57 KB Click to Enlarge 83.74 KB Click to Enlarge 77.94 KB

There will be a concentric vent like this one on the roof, but pointing straight up. Click to Enlarge 54.45 KB

At a one year warranty inspection a while back, the homeowner told me that shortly after they moved in, the toilet on the first floor backed up and made a huge mess, ruining the flooring among other things. Turns out the drywall guys had dumped leftover mud down the toilet and it solidified in the waste line. The builder had to dig up the front yard to fix the waste line plus replace flooring and clean up the mess. It's a possibility.

Thanks Jim, I wanted to be sure.

No known issues with FP fused disconnects like this one I found today? Click to Enlarge 22.05 KB

You could hire another inspector to help you and split the fee any way that works equitably for both of you, but you should get the bigger share since you booked the job and have all the liability. I did a 9,000 + sq. ft. house around 100 yrs. old a couple of months ago and hired a fellow inspector to help me. I had been assisting him on a number of his inspections through the summer and fall (he was recovering from an injury and needed help), so we were used to working together as a team. The house had 2 kitchens, 5 baths, 3 furnaces, 3 A/C units, solar PV, & solar hot water, and a back up generator. We each did separate areas and spent about 6 to 7 hours on site, including the presentation to the client. It would have gone faster but he was not used to using my reporting software and how I have it organized. My job was then to put it all together in the report. The key is to organize the report software ahead of time, not unlike how you would do it for a multi family inspection. It does take more time to write, to be sure. Scott and Robert are close to what I would charge, but I think I'd be even higher, maybe around $1800. I don't understand the reason to sub out the mechanicals unless it's something you're not familiar with, but if you've inspected a lot of old houses, that shouldn't be an issue.

Scott, First install all your programs on the new machine. Then move all your data and settings using Windows Easy Transfer via your home network (the easiest and fastest way) or a USB drive, external drive, etc. Easy Transfer is built into Windows 7 and Vista, and you can download it for XP. There is a wizard that guides you through the process and you select what gets transferred. Here's one trick: when it asks you to start the transfer, click OK on both machines almost simultaneously, otherwise you may get an error message and have to start all over. The great thing about it is your desktop settings, file structure, etc. will be exactly the same as on your old machine. It takes a long time, though, hours and hours depending on how much you are moving. I just used this procedure to move all my stuff to a new machine, there were just a few things that didn't get moved like email contacts, mailboxes, etc., maybe I didn't select those during the setup.

Try this http://hisearch.web.officelive.com/hvac.aspx

Thanks for the updated chart. Since tankless water heaters are becoming more common, can you add Takagi and Rinnai? Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but this how I think it works: Takagi: format 01020000 First 2 digits are the month, 3rd and 4th are the year. Rinnai: format 00.05-000000 First 2 digits are the year, 3rd and 4th are the month

This was odd. The kitchen sink had a Studor vent, but it already is vented through the roof. 100 year old house, it has the smaller vents running up the exterior and through the eaves. The exterior vent was wonky, the Fernco coupler is distorted because of the angle and the fact that there's nothing else holding the 2" cast iron vent up. You can see how the boot of the roof jack is distorted from the weight of the vent pipe pulling it down. It makes me wonder if the exterior vent was not functioning and the work around was to install the AAV. What do you guys think? Click to Enlarge 30.56 KB Click to Enlarge 22.09 KB Click to Enlarge 54.68 KB

The plumbing was all done with a permit, but the permit is still open, they never got the final. So I recommended having a plumber come out & support the section of cast iron, and advised the home buyer to get the work inspected and a final permit issued.

It's a roof anchor, to attach safety lines. It's connected to the roof framing.

Yes