Tom Raymond

Most likely the original wasn't functioning well so someone added another, this didn't help so they added another. This is wrong. Mixing vent systems has consequences, usually bad. One attic space should have one vent system, one roof system with multiple attics each with a different system would be OK and may even be preferable given the right circumstances. Tom

Joe & Bill, It looks like both of your chases are flanked by stairs. Were they both townhouses, and did any of the neighboring units have elevators? I feel sorry for the dudue that's gonna end up installing fire blocking in there, I've had the misfortune of a similar task. Tom

6 & 8 looks like powder post beetles to me. #4 has got me stumped, termites are rare here, especially ones big enough to leave pellets like that.

"The internet is both an amazing tool and a place where tools are amazing." That is the funniest thing I've seen all day. Tom

I agree with Jim, looking at everything else in those pictures I can imagine a house from '62, that type of duct wrap around here would be in a house from at least 40 years earlier. Anybody else notice how clean that stuff looks? How bad did they contaminate the basement when they hit that with the shop vac? Tom

Some one had a bunch of extra fittings laying around, but none of them were what they needed. No problem, just burn up $20 bucks worth of fittings instead of going to get a $8 trap set. More of the benefits of HGTV. Tom PS. Brandon types really fast. He's jumped ahead of me on all three of these posts. I...can't...catch...my....breath.

"I found out yesterday that the seller has agreed to completely rewire the entire house for the buyer." Um, I hope not. He's probably the one that made the mess in the first place. Tom

Troy, I don't pay particularly close attention to appliances, there's a reason the seller is leaving them behind. I look for proper connections, anti tip brackets and such, but beyond that a just give a basic description of what was there, like "the fridge is in fair condition, the door seals are cracked and the handles are missing. When I opened the door the light came on, the fridge was cold and the freezer was colder." I have a disclaimer at the begining of the appliance section of my report stating I do not test how well they perform, and I close the section with a similar statement. Any appliance that has reached the legal drinking age gets a statement that it should be replaced for improved performance, safety and efficiency. Tom

"Someone else already high jacked this thread." No, more like it's undergone a few Elective Modifications[:-angel] Tom

Ezra is mostly right. The vinyl clad casement series was called permashield, while the double hung series was called narrowline, sometime in the 90's when Andersen introduced the tilt double hung they started using model number dsignations, 200 for what you have and 400 for the tilt series. Watch the date codes, sometimes they vary wildly. I did a replacement job on a $500K house in a ski resort where there where two odd combination windows each made up of a picture, a casement and two awnings that varied in age seven years from newest to oldest, and the newest unit was four years older than the building. These weren't repairs or upgrades, the units were built from stuff laying around in someone's warehouse. Around here, up until around 2003, Andersen was so widely distributed it seemed like you could buy them at any corner gas station. Tom

For those in WNY, I thought I would share this. I don't have any info beyond what is cut and pasted below from an email I received from a local code official. Hello, I have been informed that New York Board of Fire Underwriters has stopped accepting applications for electric inspections. They will be closing their doors 10-16-09. This is not as a big deal for the Village of Springville as it is in other Municipalities. Some Municipalities by code will only accept NYBFU. Here in the Village our code does not. I currently accept two other inspection services. Besides, one of the inspectors for the NYBFU, Bob Smith, switched to Commonwealth about a year ago. He was our area inspector and many contractors switch when he switched. Current permit holders that have started with NYBFU may want to get their final inspection done soon. Just so you know, Tom

Come on Tom, I expected more than that from you. LOL Further development in this circus. I was informed this morning that the other inspector is now the home owner/flipper. My understanding is that he also owns a flipping business. Tom, Chad, In regards to working on a home within five years of inspecting it, how does our licensing law work with this scenario? The law prohibits an inspector form working on a home in another capacity for 5 years after inspecting it. The only exception is to perform a new inspection for a subsequent buyer. I don't think that this portion of the law applies here. I believe there is a section regarding inspecting a property in which the inspector has a financial interest, but I would have to look it up. Go to DOS site and read it, or look it up in your text book, you did keep those didn't you? Tom

I don't see what you gripe is, that definately is a boiler.[:-banghea Tom

Just say NO to on site delivery. Quality takes time, way too much time to deliver on site with the RE and the client looking over your shoulder. Any one willing to pay for quality should be willing to wait a day or to to get it. Bruce, what version of Windows are you using? There are numerous differences in how those features work between versions and even between the same versions from different sources. There are significant functional variations between say the preloaded stuff, a discount student version, and the full package software purchased without a machine. Tom

The breakers are properly sized, what more do you want? Jeesh! Tom

"What's with Page X - Part:1 and Page X - Part:2, that makes no sense. Every page should be numbered sequentially. " I never number my report pages. My document is converted into a PDF that numbers the pages for me, that way there is never any confusion between report page numbers and PDF page numbers. Automation is good. Tom

How many circuits did it take to power that thing? At my day job we recently were looking at an electric on demand domestic water heater for an apartment conversion for the owner's son (we like to call him the CE Uh-O). To supply adequate hot water the unit needed three 60 amp 220 circuits, one for each element. Even with the subsidized small muni electric this thing would have cost a fortune to run. Tom

OK, dumb question but here goes... wouldn't it make sense to inform your client that by insulating the space they could improve the efficiency of the equipment? This type of improvement qualifies for a 30% tax credit up to $1500, would correct the vent pipe deficiency, reduce their anual operating costs and increase the service life of the equipment. Makes a hell of alot more sense to me. Tom

I'd start with the utility, but if they put there they probably think it's fine. Heck, my gas meter is in the basement and there is no external vent. There's hundreds of them like that around here and the utility won't change 'em. Tim, how many decades did you tell them it would take for that shrub to provide adequate crash protection for those meters? That is something the utility should be responsible for; if they pick a really dumb location they should be responsible for the barriers. Tom

Uhm, no one mentioned that a hot tub installation requires a disconnect within sight of the tub. There is also a specific distance requirement for that disconnect that I don't recall at the moment, but it's been about a decade since I installed one. Hire an electrician. If you don't hire an electrician at the very least pull a permit and get it inspected, that way you have a shot at getting right sooner or later. Besides, doing it yourself 3 or 4 times before it passes should only cost you 1 1/2 times what a decent sparky would have charged. Tom

If there are six breakers in the top split with a disconnect in the bottom split then it will take seven throws to sut off all the power. This is broken. The disconnect for the bottm split should be moved into the top split and one of the appliance circuits should be moved to the bottom split. That would fix it. I would fix it myself if it were my house, but I wouldn't advise my client to do so. Tom

Where's the CF stamp? Cary, if that is in fact a purlin it is very broken. If you look closely at the picture you can see what looks like damage from where the bottom angle brace was removed, and the rotation down and away from the gable sure does look to me like the "beam" is just nailed onto the gable. Besides, the high quality of the workmanship seen in that pic just begs the conclusion that someone hacked off the angle brace. Tom

I think several of the problems are with the report software, look at the end of page 13 and the start of page 14 (PDF page #'s). Why is the comment about electrical systems needing anual maintenance in the middle of the description of GFCI's? There are several instances of really ugly formating and other disconnects in the flow that all appear to be software driven. Why is there a narrative report, a photo report, and a summary? It' the crummy format of the software. The boiler plate also jumps of the page at you, it tends to be only loosely connected to the inspectors actual observations. Serious edits or complete rewrites are needed almost every time a canned comment appears. This guy needs a new system. Personally, I think if he wrote his report in Word, his grammer would improve with all the automated spelling and grammer checks. Besides, it takes a lot of effort to build a document that ugly in word and his report would benefit from some simplicity in form. Tom

I didn't have a clue what you where talking about, so I looked them up. The only reference I could find was regarding the Pacifc Southwest, are they common that far north? For those similarly puzzled by the concept, check out this PDF. There are really good diagrams and descriptions of the way they built on the left coast in the 70's. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/d ... _rp073.pdf Brandon, the plenum diagram shows the vapor barrier extending well up onto the first floor walls, not just to the sill. It is conceptually brilliant, but I think it would be difficult and expensive to pull off with today's materials, and virtually imposible to repair. It's no wonder they are being abandoned. Tom Tom

First you need to get your nomenclature correct; those are not rafters, they're trusses. Second, you cannot cut any web or chord section of a truss. With that said, what you have there probably won't cause any problems because the gable truss is not under the same loads as the rest of the trusses, but it's still wrong. The gable truss is usually 3 1/2" shorter than the others and the dutchmen (or purlins, look outs, whatever your local vernacular) should be on edge to provide adequate support for the overhang. Typically the overhang can extend as far as the truss spacing without any additional support if it's framed as I described it. With the truss framing as it is in your pictures the overhang should have been ladder frames nailed to the exterior of the gable and supported by the roof sheathing. Ladder frame overhangs typically extend no more than half the truss spacing. One more thing, when you see OSB sheathing on the roof, it is supposed to be smooth side down, be installed with clips like you can see in the second pic, and it must be approved for roof sheathing. But you knew that already, right[] Tom