Tom Raymond

I think it looks like fun, but unfortunately I am done with fun cars for a while. My six foot frame has to fit in the front seat and a car seat has to fit behind me, my boy is 5'4 and still growing 4-5" a year so he has to sit behind his mother or eat his knees.

I do. My wife has two print clients who can't send her email requests for quotes, all business is transacted via fax. Not surprising, they still want to buy print media.

My last gig, the buyer de-winterized the place. He was still there draining water lines when I left.

Kinda makes my Ferris sulky lawn monster look like a toy.

Uh, there aren't too many building materials more conductive than aluminum.

There's literally dozens of these products out there. Some will do exactly what Mr. O said, but many of them are perforated to be vapor permeable. They are electrically conductive and have relatively low flash points so I would be more concerned with fire than fungi. All of the technical data I have seen on these is bogus. The R-values are derived from simulations that don't jive with their intended application (E-Shield's published R-value of 11.4 was attained by a sandwich of '3/4" plywood, E-Shield, 6" dead airspace, 3/4" plywood at 70 degrees F) or calculated from extrapolations and unrealistic assumptions. Anecdotally, I have heard people swear they reduce cooling costs. I can't measure that because the foil renders my IR camera useless. Aluminum is expensive. They could have blown in a foot of cellulose for about half the cost. Lucky for you they didn't, it looks pretty close in there as it is.

Use it to buzz a realtor. It's a way more amusing business expense than toll receipts.

I'd wager that the watermarks are from condensation that formed just above the insulation. Cells settles as it ages, an R30 application is 10" fresh and 8.75 - 8.9" settled. Add a couple decades of wet/dry cycles (hi/low RH), and people disturbing it (3 CATV cables and a home inspector or two) and it settles more. That would explain the multiple water lines.

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to service life estimates. 10-15 years tops for a water heater. When I come across an aged piece of equipment like the OP I tend to use it as a benchmark, "the dishwasher is likely older than the water heater." Reinforces the message.

Just added one more toy tool to my christmas list.

The moisture is not from the cells. Loose fill is blown in dry. So is dense pack. The material is wetted at the nozzle in order to activate the adhesive so it will stick in open stud cavities.

Your head hurts too, huh?

The DWH at my mother-in-law's thrift store is from 1973. It looks brand new. I replaced my almost 11 year old DWH in September. It looked like it was pushing 40.

It's a terrarium. Every one of these I've ever been in is under 1000 SF and given optimal conditions, they're damp. Probably 15 years ago I replaced all of the doors and windows in 800 SF ranch of this vintage, brick veneer out and plaster in, 4" CMUs. The only way to keep the windows from fogging up in spring and fall was to leave them unlocked (roughly doubling the air infiltration rate). I still think she can paint the exterior and let vapor drive handle the moisture load just like it has for the last 60 years. If it's too musty for her comfort, timers to manage the exhaust fans should be enough to handle that and they're cheap. If she wants to cover it in an elastomer she will likely need to invest in an HRV. Personally, I'd be a lot more comfortable with 1952 building science than what passes for expertise today.

The level of perfection required to make that work is a good argument for enamel and ivy. If it's worked for 60 years does it really need to be fixed?

Yeah, not so much. Great, more folklore to unlearn.

Mike Holmes' sparky connects all conductors at both ends of the circuit with a wire nut marette and tape. The cable can't be energized without tracing the circuit and fixing it. It's not a bad plan if the cable can't be removed, but doesn't the NEC specifically state to "remove" abandoned wiring?

Now that the ivy is down do any pointing, caulking and painting needed. Then let the ivy grow back.

Shame on you John! You should have recycled it.

I use a cheesy Extech clamp-on meter. 99 bucks and accurate enough for home inspection. My Flukes stay safely in my tool box at home for the more demanding applications. I have a Craftsman DMM that has standard probes, a clamp, and a temp probe. It came in a nice zipper pouch the size of a Day Timer with a voltage sniffer and an IR thermometer. It was cheap and more than enough for this gig.

Since it was built in '89, at the time when pretty much everything was getting built wrong, I have reservations. The recent re-roof would have been an excellent time to open it up, see what science projects were there, and install SPF under the new sheathing. Since they missed that opportunity, I'd be leaning toward an injection foam like Applegate or Retrofoam. Yeah it's open cell but given the age there will be at least 2x10 rafters and that's plenty o' foam to avoid moisture issues. Yes, she needs to get into the attic to see what's going on. It sounds like there is access behind the knee walls since someone saw mold in there, but whatever area doesn't have a hatch needs one.

Is that 3/4 finished or 3/4 under construction?

Jimmy, what makes you think she's in Provincetown? I am amazed by how many inspectors here either missed the fact the house is a Cape Cod style, or don't know what that means. It's a 1 1/2 story house with the second floor tucked under a steep roof. The lower attic is the space behind the knee walls and the upper attic is the space above the collar ties. If it were mine, I'd insulate the roof deck and condition those lower attic spaces. Odds are they are being used as closets, built in dressers, and storage anyway making effective air sealing impossible. There are dozens of options for insulation that range in price from 'a nice dinner out' to 'an entry level commuter car'.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to flush the cat?

It won't matter. There is no head flashing visible. The whole thing will topple when the sill beneath the window rots and can't support the weight. Phillip, I am so glad you carry a camera.