chrisprickett

Now THAT would make a good ad picture!

I don't know if it's a rule. AO Smith and Rheem, don't require it from the manuals I've seen, Ruud is now part of Rheem (not sure when that happened)so I don't know if they still even require it. Out here in AZ, virtually every house is the same (form say, 90' on) the WH is in the Garage. The gas stub is at around two feet off the floor. The valve is attached to the stub, the flex to the valve, and the controls to the flex. I've NEVER seen the gas at 5'! Could it be a regional thing?

It's a great way to shed those troublesome pounds and inches![:-eyebrows]

The boiler kind of reminds me of the ones I worked on in the Navy. I was stationed on a 43' Destroyer (USS Southerland DD-743) 600 PSI 850 degree super-heated steam. Took 10 guys working just about 24/7 to keep them and their support systems working. Frankly, if I never see another one, it'll be about a year too soon!

Konrad, Who's the manufacturer? What the model? I'll try to find out why.

Scott, From the AO Smith gas water heater instructions: The Discharge Pipe: • Shall not be smaller in size than the outlet pipe size of the valve, or have any reducing couplings or other restrictions. • Shall not be plugged or blocked. • Shall be of material listed for hot water distribution. • Shall be installed so as to allow complete drainage of both the temperature-pressure relief valve, and the discharge pipe. • Shall terminate at an adequate drain. • Shall not have any valve between the relief valve and tank. If the CPVC is rated to carry hot water, then barring any local code, I would say it's ok. If the house is plumbed with CPVC, it carrying the same temp water (give or take) that would be coming out of the t&p valve.

Ellen, I'm not sure that what your saying is correct. If so, then just about ALL of the 5000+ gas water heaters I've seen are wrong. I just went through several installation manuals (AO Smith, Rheem, Ruud, etc..), and NONE of them specify that the gas shut off should be 5' off the ground. The diagrams all show them (give or take) about 3' of the ground. I attached an example. If you have a reference that you can upload, please do so. I would hate to see a bunch of inspectors calling out a defect that doesen't exist. Download Attachment: AO Smith Instruction Manual.pdf 551.42 KB

To echo Dan: Go out and make mistakes. Lose money, screw up! I'm serious. You can't get the answers from a message board, a book, or a Quija board. When I got started, I did pretty much everything wrong. I have half a mind to return my first 200 inspection fees. It's a wonder that I didn't get sued 200 times. What most people do not get (I'm prepared to take a bunch of grief for this) is that your ATTITUDE is more important than your experience! Go out and make mistakes! BUT... be honest, be realistic, and be humble! Make sure that mistakes you make are new ones, not the same ones over and over. Take pictures of things that perplex you, and post them on this and other inspector boards. There is a lesson to be learned EVERY DAY! Keep your eyes open, and your mouth shut! Don't talk like you're an expert, until you can back it up!

It's about time, Jim! The ol' "wet finger and paperclip" method is gonna get ya sooner or later[:-hot]

When I had my construction company in Greenwich CT, the best architects always spec'ed Marvin. You can customize them pretty much any way you like, and they are the Cadillac of windows. When I remodeled my house back east, I had a friend who managed one of the bigger Marvin wholesalers (Interstate Lumber). He would tell me when they got in an order that was made wrong, or when a contractor skipped on his order, and I would get them for cents on a dollar. I put an 8x6, dual pane, true divided light, picture window in the gable end of my cape, for $150! I cantilevered the area out about 16" and put a window seat under it. Sorry, I'm rambling, but it was so freaking kewl, and soooo cheap to build!

A lttle more info: The units are York, that's all the builder uses out here. All info I have comes from the homeowner, via a phone conversation. Having not seen the "coil" myself, he could be talking about a wire, clip, chip, or anything else. I've never heard of a "13.5" SEER unit, I've only seen them with even numbers. Checking the serial numbers is a good idea. Any more info is appreciated!

Sir George (or anybody else who knows what they're talking about)[] I have a warranty inspection next week. The owner is suspicious because he paid for two upgraded 14 SEER units. The units SAY they are 13.5. the HVAC guy (according to the owner) said they add a "coil" to the units bringing them up to 14. He described the "coil" as something small enough to fit in your hand. It sounds like it might be BS, whatcha think?[:-bigeyes]

Pete, Along with what George said, it doesn't look as though the flue pipe has enough (if any) support.

I do a lot of relo's and about 20% of my resale inspections, have no owner present. Often, the Realtor just gives me the CBS code for the lockbox, and I do my thing. I've never had any issues regarding this. I guess it's a matter of comfort level, geographic custom, and personal preference. It has taught me, however, to be very clear and descriptive in my reports. I rarely get a callback for further explanation of my findings.

I'm also an affiliate, but we get super key access. That's the only reason I joined.

Rob, You need to hire an assistant!

Rolland, that stat' was off and the air handler wasn't running.

I charge extra for pools, but that doesn't make me an expert. I charge extra for older houses too, does that mean I'm an "old house" expert? Some guys charge more if there are two heat/ac systems, for pools or spas, for extra sq foootage, travel time, etc... it's all about time. It takes me longer to inspect a pool than if I don't, so I charge more. The water analogy doesn't work, unless you test the drinking water as SOP. My contract states that I don't test water. Just my opinion, shoot me if you must!

Chad, Where'd you get it for 80 bucks? I love mine, but it's about two years old, and I'm in the market for a back up. BTW, I've had nothing but good luck with mine, and only change bulbs when I drop the light!

Paul, I thought that's what you meant, I was just clarifying[:-apple]

Yeah, I do it. I use a sign that is similar to a real estate sign, and leave it up for a week or less (I have two). I only do it on warranty inspections. I think (hard to tell, because I combine it with other marketing) it gets me about 50-60 inspections a year. I see no ethics issue with it, whatsoever. I don't see how you could really do it on resales, without pissing people off.

No fair Mike! We can't swim after dark because it dips to 50! Ya' know, we suffer too!

Thanks for the input guys. NOT a heat pump. Gas fired furnace, split system- furnace, coil, air handler in attic, condensor in yard. The icing was at the condensor and the t-stat was OFF. The blower wasn't operating. If you want to come out and trouble shoot the problem, I have to warn you: Temps dipped to 72 today, could be as low as 70 tomorrow[]

I went to look at a potential rental property yesterday (for me) and when I looked in the side yard, the condenser was running, and had iced over. I asked the seller why she had the a/c on (it was about 60 out) and she said she didn't. Sure enough, the thermostat was off and the air handler wasn't running. I shut off the power to the disconnect, and told her to get an HVAC guy out there to look at it. She aked me if that would cause her electric bill to be high And said it bill had been very high the last 4 months[!] The house is only 11 months old, split system heat/ a/c. I'm thinking a condenser that has been running non-stop for 4 months is pretty much toast. Questions: What would cause the condenser to run when it's set to be off, and also, is the condenser worth fixing?[:-football]

Great job Mike! I just need to read the tutorial[:-scared] Some cool new stuff to figure out...