Tom Raymond

OK, so we've determined there are at lesat a half a dozen ways to correct the sump/lift/ejector pump. I was more concerned with the pipe on the left that is connected to the sanitary sewer and is open in the sump pit and at the top of the tee. I can't imagine what they were thinking there. Tom

I originally used that wording, but revised it to lift pump because it is handling grey water from the laundry (and DW) and not solid waste. It's pretty common around here for a basement laundry to have an enclosed float actuated lift pump under the utility tub. What ever you call it, it should have backflow and shut off valves in it. Besides, it has to be a voilation of something more than common sense to dump contaminated water into groundwater before pumping said groundwater to the sanitary sewer. Tom Oh yeah, the sheet steel cover on that pit is hardly sealed. That is enough to flunk it as a sewage ejector.

My clients asked yesterday if the paint on the second floor trim was lead paint. They have two children under 3, one of which has an elevated lead level already, and they are aware of the lead paint scenario I went through with my son. I am qualified to respond to their concerns through personal experience and professional certification. I am considering including the following in my report. Painted Interior Trim All of the wood trim on the second floor is painted. While I did not perform any specific testing to identify lead paint, there is some cracking that exhibits characteristics typical of lead paint. With young children in the home it is particularly important to understand the potential hazards related to lead paint and how to properly handle the material. Information regarding lead paint is available on the EPA website, and the Erie County Dept. of Health website. If you find it difficult to locate this information or have specific questions regarding dealing with lead paint, feel free to contact me. As a parent that has dealt with a lead hazard clean up, and as a Certified Lead Hazard Remodeler, I may be able to provide further assistance. What do you think? Thanks, Tom

Yesterdays inspection was a 1930ish single family with most of it's original charm intact, and all new plumbing and electrical work. The electrics had a sticker indicating the company that did the work, good thing since I now know who not to call. No such luck on the plumbing. Most of it looked to be professionally done, but the hack work used all the same material and looked to be about the same age. Someone decided that since there was a sump pump they didn't need a lift pump for the basement laundry, and since there using the sump pit they didn't need any traps. Then some dummy decides that it will be easier to drop the dishwasher drain through the floor and cob together a bunch of parts to drian it with the washing machine rather than get the correct tail piece and connect it properly. I wish I had a pic of this, but the RE distracted me with something else and I forgot to shoot it. As if this wasn't bad enough, take a look at the sump plumbing and tell me if you can figure out what the hell they where thinking. Click to Enlarge 85.05 KB Click to Enlarge 80.26 KB The open tee is about 3/4" from the subfloor, which is damp there. This pipe extends into the sump pit and stops about 2" above the high water mark in the pit. The line it connects to at the top is the drain from the kithchen sink. I reported "I cannot figure out any purpose for this arrangement other than to vent these (sewer) gases into the basement." The pipe on the right is the sump drain. It connects to the kitchen sink drain just out of the shot, with a similar configuration of elbows, but without the open tee. I reported it as being improperly supported, and incorrectly used as a lift pump, and that it is posible for sewage to back up into the sump pit. I know the sump is supposed to be drained to daylight or connected to the storm sewer, but I cannot find the reference the prevents it from being plumbed into the sanitary sewer. Thanks for looking. Tom I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Uhm, why do you need a moisture meter? On yesterdays inspection I found a stain that looked like an old leak. I put my palm on it and it felt damp, so I shot it with my IR thermometer. The surface temps varied 4.5 degrees F within the stain and just over 7 degrees from the coldest spot within the stain and the unstained wall a few inhes away. When I went in the attic the lowest visible plank of the skip sheathing was wet within a few feet of the stain. Problem spotted, identified, and verified in less time than it took me to get thru the stupid tiny attic hatch, and I didn't need a meter. Economical in terms of time, cash for tools, and less crap to cart around the house. For added effect I used the laser pointer so everyone could see what I was shooting, you should have heard the oohs and aahs! The RE volunteered to cary my tool bag down stairs while I toted my ladder, he grunted when he picked it up, I carry too much stuff as it is. Tom

Richard, Bring your muck gear, I'll bet it's still wet. Tom

The map is really cool, I didn't know we had one. I just made my mark. Tom

Evidently Mike is so busy keeping us all up to date on inspection related news that he hasn't seen or heard the coverage on the 11,000 square miles of wild fires and the thousands of homes, and in some cases entire towns, destroyed. Tom Mike, you need to take a break once in a while.

Goddammit!! I pick up my toolbelt for a couple of days to make a few bucks and I miss all the excitement. I can say that the comments from ES won't be missed, but I gotta admit his stubborn resolve was amusing sometimes. Tom

It was a simple fix but it's pretty annoying that what should be the simplest, most reliable part of the valve is what failed, and that two of the three failed simultaneously. Could have been worse though. Thanks again for all your help. Tom

Well, I have a few things figured out, the first of which is that I shouldn't try to remember a boat load of numbers while I'm still in my PJ's and before my morning cuppa Joe. The pressure at 160 F is 200 kpa, or about 28 psi, not the 60 psi I thought I remembered and not the 60 kpa I was guessing because I made Terry nervous, and he scared me into thinking the thing was a ticking bomb. My plumber finally called me back about 45 minutes ago, and asked "you have honeywell valves right?" he remebers all kinds of stuff about systems he hasn't seen in years. He told me that they are prone to stick in systems that have either high sediment city water (that's me) or anti freeze, and that the motors cannot open the valves far enough to trip the end switch and call for the burners to light. He was partly right. It is a problem with the motors. I removed one and the valve turned freely, but the motor couldn't trip the end switch even without the valve connected. What I have is 2 defective motors with stripped gears, that will only reach the end switch if I manually open the valves and the t-stats call for heat from there. So the good news is I know what is wrong, tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer than today (-5 F this morning), and the system will limp along ok until I can get new valves and swap out the motors tomorrow. The bad news is that out of the 3 valves, 2 are about 10 years old (put in when I did the radiators) and 1 is about 4 years old (done when I put in the pex) and the failed valves are one old and one new. Hopefully the last old valve will continue to function for at least another 48 hours or so, so I won't be running this thing manually until I can get the new motors and install them. Thanks for all the insight, Tom Terry, I'll try not to make you nervous any more. Or at least write down what I think I see next time.

OK. Terence, your concern over the pressure has me second guessing my memory. The guage on the boiler is in psi and kpa. 60 kpa would be about 8 or 9 psi. I could have mixed these up in the several hours between looking at the boiler and posting here, it is very frustrating trouble shouting anything in my PJ's and worse when I am late for work. In any event the guage is well within the normal range it has been operating in for the last ten years. It has been serviced twice in that time frame by a professional. If the pressure was dangerous I would think he would have caught it. Now, the lower pressure may change some of the thoughts on this thing.

I don't think it's a clog in the radiators. Thay are old, but not original to the house. I bought them from a salvage place, refurbed them and installed them about nine or ten years ago. I know there is sediment in the system though because I can see it in the pex tubing. I don't think the tubing is blocked because of the good temp differentials, but I could be getting some temp bleed from the mixing valve if they are. I am hoping it is something simple like a loose wire, or such. Still have'nt heard from my plumber, so I will be playing with it when I get home around 4pm. I'll post what I find if I can figure it out, otherwise I'll be looking for someplace warm to sleep tonight. Anybody got a spare room? Tom

Terence, the boiler always runs between 55 and 60 psi at temperature, I think the hi limit is 180 F. Chad, there is one transformer at the controler, the t-stats are wired to the zone valves, the zone valves all connected to the controler. If the transformer was bad, wouldn't all the valves be dead? Mike, the iron radiators burp really loudly when the need to be bled, and the tubing had good temp differentials and an integral air scoop so I think they are ok. Jim, the controler is mounted on the lower right corner of the boiler with the zone valves front and center about 18" higher than the top of the unit, the wiring from the controler to the valves is about 3' max. and appeared to be fine. I will test the T-stat lines when I get home. Thanks.

As long as we're on the topic of mishandling toxic waste, I thought some here might like to know the same is true for lead paint. Enough lead dust to present a serious health risk can be released from UV exposure with out any additional abraiding of the surfaces or chewing on window sills. I know this because I am a certified lead hazard remodeler, and despite my being careful with my own home, my son had a severe case of lead poisoning. He was only 2 micrograms below the threshold for hospitalization and painful medical treatment. His poisoning was not the result of careless work practices, but because nearly every surface in and on the house was covered in lead paint. As a parent I was mortified that I put my son at such risk, I was embarrased as a professional that should have known better. There was also the nightmare of dealing with the County Health Department and the requesite clean up. My point is that as a professional, one should understand the correct methods for handling toxic materials, and advise their clients of the risks of not handling them properly. Just like anything else we report on, they will make their own decision regarding what amount of risk is acceptable to them. Tom

I woke up to a cold house this morning, well half the house was cold anyway. I have a gas boiler about 12 to 15 years old, I do not know what make and I'm not there now to check. It has 3 zones each with it's own Honeywell thermostat (old school mercury switch) and zone valve ( I know because I installed them). All 3 zones were calling for heat, all 3 valves were open, the burners were running with clean flames, the system temp and pressure were normal (60 psi, 160 F). One of the 3 zones reached the set temp and the boiler shut down while the other 2 zones were still 6 and 8 degrees colder than the set temps. The satisfied zone vale closed, but the other 2 remained open. I manually opened the satisfied zone valve, but the system didn't refire and the circulator pump did not restart. There were good temp differentials on the supply and return lines when the system shut down. The only unusual set up is the mixing valve for the hydronic tubing on one zone, the other zones are cast iron radiators running at full temp. I keep the house cool, the in floor zone is set at 62 F, the downstairs radiator zone at 64 F and the upstairs zone (this is the zone that is functioning) between 64 and 66 F. All of the zones slightly overlap as there are only open archways and a stairwell between zones, none can be closed of from the next, and the slight difference in temp settings keeps all the zones firing independantly (if they are all set the same the system tries to run on the in floor loop only and I have cold spots). I think it highly unlikely that 2 zone valves failed simultaneously. I also think it unlikely that the controler is bad if one zone is still functioning. I only had about 15 minutes to mess with it this morning before I had to go to work. I have a very good plumber I call when I need help or can't fix it myself, but he has not returned my call yet today. Any ideas as to what is going on with this system? Thanks, Tom

Me too!

Glad I found someone who knows the rules. Would you mind telling me what the rule is about asbestos removal in Crystal Lake, IL. ? Thanks much. You already know the answer to that Gov. They impeach it! Tom

Walter, Doesn't the saying go "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach" ? Tom

A little off topic here, but...if there is a mitigation system present do you inspect it? How? I ask because there are several homes in my area that have have them, and I am sure that I will have to make that decision at some point. Tom

Sounds like a dangerous experiment to me, tell the builder to try it on his own house and let us know how it turns out. If they still insist on mixing systems, they would be better served with advanced framing and foam sheathing, and a little spray foam for added air sealing. I say let the manufactures and engineers do the experiments, they actually gain something from the money spent regardless of the outcome. Tom

It still worked fine too, water temp 110 F at the futhest fixture, and no sediment stink either. No evidence of backdraft issues. It came equiped with the patented "Flo-Thru" drain that still had the clean out instruction tag on it. I checked, it wasn't dated. I called it for improper TPRV install, no shutoffs, and the shell is rusting out along the bottom. It also has a ton of dents in it, like it fell over in shipping or something. Oh yeah, the fact that it's out lived it's service life twice had something to do with it. Tom

Thanks Mike, I did search Heil, and found out they where aquired by International Comfort Products in 1962. I called ICP tech support and they could not ID this unit either. Their system would not recognize either the model or serial numbers. They submitted a request for the information department to research this unit. I will forward what they send me. I'm guessing it is from the early 70's like the water heater, but it is possible it was built before 62. Actually, based on appearances only, things like the logos and colors, the water heater looks more like it was built in the 60's and the furnace in the 70's. In any event they both lived well beyond their service lives. Tom

Yesterdays inspection had old mechanicals. I checked the furnace age chart and can't find these units. Anybody got any ideas? Frunace is Heil model HUGB105AG01, serial HU3219044. On the data plate there was an ANSI date of 1978, is this the date of MFG? The serial does not follow the formula in the chart. Also had an A.O. Smith 50 gallon water heater model PGD 50 780, serial 780-M-73-19753. Both are natural gas. Both are being called out on multiple problems, but I would still like to have the ages. Thanks, Tom

Can I see a picture of the shovel you use to take a cover off an electric panel?[^] That said, I had the misfortune of having to open my tank last summer. After an hour of digging I discovered that I had the wrong cover. Another hour of digging got me to the second cover and a nasty filter to clean off. It stunk, but not as bad you would imagine, almost sweet smelling. Marinating is good. Tom