Tom Raymond

It won't, but the large volume of vapor that accumulates in the cumbustion chamber as it evaporates will. Ever see a salamander shoot a fire ball when it took a few extra seconds to light? Kinda the same but inside a closed combustion chamber. The sawmill I worked at right out of school used offroad diesel instead of kerosene, and a fire ball could be expected about the third or fourth time you tried to light it, loads of fun in room full of sawdust[:-dev3] Tom

I have had two projects with JH siding that had issues with defects, one as the installing contractor and the other as the dealer supplying material. On the installed project all of the JH trim boards delaminated. It took some time, but JH paid for the labor to replace the trim and even provided Azek molding to replace their own defective product. On the other project the builder botched several details and basically failed to follow the instructions, a JH rep inspected the building and said that there was no warranty, end of story. If the details are correct JH will go above and beyond, eat the instruction book and you are on your own. Tom

Page 1 in the Certainteed Installation Instructions (see link) recommends underlayment for all shingled roofs, but only requires underlayment for shallow pitches. http://www.certainteed.com/NR/rdonlyres ... l8Ch13.pdf Tom

The installation instructions only allow mixed nailing for replacing damaged claps, the only way to blind nail those is to tear off everything above the area to be repaired. Tom

Could also be undersized service from the street, but that would appear more like repeated brown outs than a constant flicker. If it's happening in both units it is definately at or before the main disconnect. Tom

I'd ask how often she has to top off the pool. If it's not that often then you can rule that out as the source of at least some of the water. If she adds water a little to frequently, you might guess that the pool is contributing to the problem. I would guess the latter, since running the pump causes ground water to move (you have at least a small leak there) and she called you instead of a pool company. Most people will know when their pool is leaking enough to flood their yard. Tom

As a fireman, I've done both. I've even seen a closed window used as an exit once. My brother-in-law is a volunteer fireman, and has gone pack first through a picture window. Fire fighters are trained to find their way out, egress is for the occupants. I think that the greater egress requirements for trailers is due to a couple of factors; one, they burn faster, and two, the doors are often on the same side limiting paths to exits. Tom

In my experience, they tend to be free with their axes. - Jim Katen, Oregon You would almost expect that from the volunteers, but the worst one I ever saw was the full timers that took out every door and window over a little grease fire. The repair cost on what was axed was ten times that of the fire damage. Tom

This is at least as wrong as what you've got, but if it were my house, I'd install a duplex receptacle in a plastic remodel box mounted in the ceiling tile, and wire it to an appliance cord that gets plugged into the receptacle on the rafter. That way if the tile ever had to be removed you just unplug it. A very similar arrangement is used in high end bath remodels to power a drawer for the lady's electric necessities. I can hear the cries already, but the NKBA apparently thinks it's ok to close a plugged in curling iron in a drawer, the idea came from one of the design mags they sponsor that I get at my day job. Tom

What I find most amusing about this concept is that when it might actually due some good there isn't any water to use it. Tom 'Bet that's why there isn't any science behind it[:-graduat

EMT is the equipment gound. Tom

I'll agree that the science behind ledgers is flawed, and even that the code needs to be revised, but adding columns and beams at the building is not always a viable or even desirable option. My prefered method is to protect the building with ice and water shield that starts well above and extends well below the ledger, and then install the ledger on standoffs at each through bolt. This provides plenty of room to manage run off and allows good air flow for drying. Is it just me, or does any one else have a problem with the catastrophic failure of a correctly built structure? Tom

Not my boy, he normally won't even use the urinal. He prefers the privacy of a stall with a closed door and only waters the lanscaping in extreme emergencies. Tom

Forget the trough, I particularly like the tiled bump over the tub filler. Tom

That is really funny, especially since I had my 6 year old son in a restroom at a very old drive in theater this summer, and the cast iron and pocelain urinal very closely resembled the 20's vintage kitchen sink we recycled in our laundry room. He was pretty grossed out about peeing in what he thought was a sink. Tom

I haven't had tons of luck phoning manufacturers. The person who answers the phone is normally clueless, and getting someone in-the-know on the line can take forever. I feel your pain. I call on several manufactureres regularly for my day job, and my go to Gal at one of them just retired. She knew more than the rest of the customer service department combined. The fact that everything looks DIY'ed is probably a good thing, it will be a lot easier to move the fence post if the homeowner failed to fill it with the requesite concrete and rebar. http://www.certainteed.com/NR/rdonlyres ... /0/201.pdf

My point is, and Mike O got it, that it is manufactured and so is subject to different standards than conventional buildings. If you are going to inspect manufactured housing it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with those standards. Most of the codes we are familiar with simply don't apply. Case in point, about 15 (maybe more) years ago there was a double wide placed on a permanent foundation on a building lot here. The AHJ would not grant a C of O because the double wide had plastic supply plumbing that was not allowed (by code) in new construction at the time. The Manufacturer would not replace the plumbing because it was allowable for manufactured housing. I have no idea what the outcome was, but the building was empty for over a year until a solution was found. Personally, I think the different standards are a huge disservice to the people who choose to live in/own manufactured housing, as well as the professionals that have to deal with them, and that they (the buildings, not the occupannts[]) should be held to the same minimum standards as any other housing unit. Tom

Good catch on the sash kits! Personally, I would prefer to see the sash before I'd guess the brand though[:-graduat Tom

Matthew, The low slopes and short stacks are to meet DOT regs, remember these things are pulled onto their lots with wheels under them. The cambered roof in the original post was very common on older units and are usually constructed of simple trusses (2x2 top and bottom chords with scrap paneling for gussets) that are rarely more than 6" from ceilling to roof and typically 24" on center. The EPDM must be a cold process, the heat required to bond a hot process distorts the metal roof deck something fierce. Tom

Really? Lucky Bastard![] Tom

I think he's referring to a grade beam on pier foundation. That makes sense, but, around here we would end the piers below the frost line, place the grade beam, and build stemwalls on top of that. The last one of these I worked on was 8' from the steel breakwall holding the lot back from Lake Erie. The post that bothers me is the one built up from 2x4's under/around the girder in the last picture in the first post. It's creative, but I don't like it. Tom

I still don't get it. If the soil is so unstable that the house needs to be constructed on caissons, why is there a perimeter stemwall? And how is paper fill supposed to carry it? Also, the support post in the last pic in your original post looks wrong in at least 3 different ways: too small, untreated wood, not anchored to the pier. Tom

Now those are cool.[:-thumbu] Tom

There were no less than a dozen different systems at the IBS last year, all designed to take the guess work out of sloping the pan. EPS foam wedges, modular plastic furring, custom one piece plastic pans, you name it. I think the reason we see so much crap out there is the proliferation of products designed to eliminate the "skill" from the skilled trades. A proper mud job ain't that hard to do. Tom

If it were my house, I'd yank the plastic and the strips of lath then I'd sheath the underside of the joists with plywood. This would keep out the critters, protect the insulation and reduce airborne moisture movement. It would increase the risk of condensation on the top side of the plywood, but I think that the risk would be small. Alternatively, I'd wall in the open side and turn it into a crawlspace. - Jim Katen, Oregon Plywood and OSB are vapor bariers, so besides the critters why is this any different than the poly? Tom