Jerry Simon

Back in about 1990 or so, the government told paint/stain manufacturers that if they put a mildewcide in their exterior paint or stain, they had to start jumping through a gazillion EPA hoops not present prior to that time. So, the manufacturers simply quit putting the mildewcide in their products. What you're seeing is a result of that. Oddly enough, the paint stores were still allowed to sell packets of mildewcide right next to the new-formula paint/stain; all the customer had to do was pour it in the paint/stain. I suspect that's why you say the staining recurs even after re-painting; no mildewcide in the paint/stain you used. The *mildew* on the house is feeding off organics in the paint/stain; you need to apply a mildewcide.

You got it, although not crude. Followup with client found out a water-powered back-up pump was once installed.

Just so ya'll know, most all Chicagoland contractors don't have their heads up their asses. There's a smug-ass inspector out this way, though, that belittles most every single tradesperson around on a fairly regular basis, mistakenly thinking he knows far more than they do. Heck, he even told Doug Hansen that Doug didn't know what he was talking about re: bonding/grounding. If you ever come across one of his posts, ignore it.

Those aren't elderberry. I have a close, evil relationship with such, and would know one from a mile away.

Be-leaf it or not, I was told those are actually some sort of weed.

Third time in last 20 years I have ever seen this; a copper water supply line ran over and just down into the ground water sump pit, with a shut-off valve at the end of the feed. For some reason, these three folk wanted to be able to run water into their ground water sump pit. Why?

"But" Nothing. End of story. WTF? You want to hear both barrels blasting? Goad me into it. You realize he's kidding. . .

This is in this subject area specifically to piss-off Kibble. Anyhoo. . . House with a detached barn. Inside the main electrical panelboard, the 240-volt wiring feeds for the barn exit the main panelboard back-through the raceway that contains the main service entrance cables, then some how/some way out to the barn. That's a Bozo No-No, isn't it (using the SEC raceway for lower branch circuit wiring)?

To piss you off. Thanks for the info.

How do you report a 100 year old rubble/stone foundation where the mortar has turned to sand?

So, can anyone answer my original question with any authority?

I think she was "flooding" the pilot area with gas and there wasn't enough oxygen to support combustion. Wait a minute or blow into the area to air it out and it'll light right away. That seems to fit. TY

One of those barbeque-like spark igniters to light the pilot, then rotate valve for flame-on. Showed my client how to light pilot & flames; no problem doing so. Turned unit off, then she tried, and pilot would not light. Waited a few minutes, then it lit. Shut off, tried again right away, and pilot would not light again, but it did light after waiting again for a few minutes. Normal? Some sort of safety device?

The only useful sentence in that Wikipedia page is this: "Subsequent and extensive reanalysis of the cases by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have failed to find any link between the deaths and the mold exposure.[6]" The only reason why anyone thinks that Stachy is a "bad" mold is because of the speculation of the CCD researchers who proposed that there might be a link between it and those infant deaths. Subsequent investigation revealed that there was no link. In a world of thinking people, no one would give a damn about Stachy anymore. But we don't live in a world of thinking people. We live in a world informed by functioning morons who work in the media and by rapacious mold testers who can profit from fear. Why are you insulting morons?

Because it's off? No current, no heat; cold lugs promoted condensation. ???

I still disagree. There are various methods for flashing these details. What's deemed "best" today might be deemed "crap" tomorrow. If you use a method that involves a flashing product that comes with a built-in bevel, then you should install it that way. Such products are exceedingly rare in single family construction. (By the way, I work with them regularly in some of my outside gigs on multifamily jobs. The drip edges are also bevelled and hemmed and we include end dams that extend both above and below bevel at each end - each one is painstakingly custom fabbed in the field. If we're taking "best practices, I'd say that the JLC specs are crap and, therefore, "wrong.") The stuff off the shelf comes preformed with 90 degree angles. Are you proposing altering it in the field? When you buy and install pre-made flashing with 90-degree angles, there will be some that slope one way and some that slope another after they're installed. This is reality, not a drawing in a book. The installation will contain discrepancies. While that might make it "imperfect," it doesn't follow that it's, "wrong." Maybe what's "best" today will be "crap" tomorrow. Maybe not. I'll go with best practices at the time of construction. (Standards change, I know that. I said it here a few weeks ago.) If I'm a builder and the flashing comes with a 90-degree angle then I'm going to slap it up as fast as I can and then move on to the next house and not lose a minute of sleep. I run a business too, and I understand that you can't worry about every little detail, especially on something that has a very low chance of making a difference. But if it's my house, then I want to find one of the exceedingly rare pieces of flashing with the bevel built in, because I think that's best practice. And while I repeat that I'm not going to condone your local inspector's reporting methods, I'm not going to fault someone on the technical side for wanting to see best practices, especially when it comes to water resistance detailing. I deleted my prior post referring to your rants/ramblings as being wishy-washy. Wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. Consider my opinion re-stated. ('Course, this may be a completely wrong opinion, but it's my opinion. And, even if it's only a little wrong, I consider it okay. But, if my opinion isn't perfect, it might still be a little correct. In a real world, though, it's okay, though in *my* world, a "perfect" world, it's both wrong AND okay.) Just so you're clear on where I stand. . .

I don't know if the message was posted on the ASHI discussion board, but if so, I bet he'll get myriad suggestions from the 2-3 folk that frequent that "bored". And, if anyone there says a bad word like *poop*, the high & mighty Eric ****** will delete their post. What a frickin' joke of a forum.

From my 1925 American Radiator Book . . . The *tray* radiator is called a Pantry Radiator. All made by Peerless. Click to Enlarge 62.07 KB Click to Enlarge 55.21 KB

I resemble that remark. . .

Gothic Hidden gutters

After I scare the crap out of clients about the history of split-face block, and after they search the web re: same per my recommendation, I've NEVER had a client buy the condo. No, I don't recommend an IR that might sell false piece of mind.

You poor dear. . .

The remark does not bother me. I frequently do this. Too often clients needlessly go off the deep end due to a lack of adequate information. I view my responsibility as providing my clients the knowledge necessary to make sound decisions and this often saves the sale. Of course there are also the times when the client runs screaming out of the house and for good reason.I'm kind of the opposite. I'll often stop partway through a job and say to the client, "Oh, you're still here? I thought you'd burned rubber out of here long ago." It seems to break the tension. We all chuckle and they seem to loosen up once they realize that I'm not trying to sell the house to them. Different strokes for different folks. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike I agree, Mike. Although, the other approach probably makes the r-zoid happy. . .

In CT the local water company insists that all you need is to run the water for a few seconds before you drink and there will be no lead. And, they are probably correct. Evergreen Park people are stupid, so. . . Actually, I heard they worried about toddlers getting up in the middle of the night for a drinkie of wa wa.