Tom Raymond

Funny they're not on the website, I have them in stock. I went back and looked, they're on page 16 of the pdf catalog. Tom

It's broken. Here's why. Don't hire the guy that installed it to fix it. I like adhesed, and frequently use 'adhese' to describe the act of adhesing. Tom

Check out these: http://www.midamericacomponents.com/_ho ... p#original They are available with plastic workboxes already installed for around $10 each. You'll need to find a specialty dealer, these won't be at a lumber yard or big box mart. Tom

Was the work box grounded? There has to be a conection to ground somewhere in order for your tester to show a ground, either an auxilary ground wire, conduit or armored cable. That still doesn't mean it's a grounded system, with the number of bootlegs you described it could be connected to one of them somewhere along the circuit. There may be some protection from low level surges, but there will be very little for a big surge, and nil for something like lightening. He should run a dedicated, grounded circuit for that equipment. A whole house lightening supressor couldn't hurt either. Tom

The price is reasonable. I can understand being reluctant to rely on multifunction tools but... as HIs we need qualitative measurements more than quantitative measurements, wouldn't consistant results be just as good as precision results in the context of a home inspection? We need to know if building materials are wet or not, if the RH is too high or low, and be able to calculate temperature differantials; not record specific values for those measurements with any significant accuracy. I think that functionally it should perform just fine, the down side is that when you drop it in the toilet you've lost the sum of all the functions not just one device. If your prone to loosing, dropping, or flushing your tools then maybe it's not for you. I just might add one to my kit though. Tom

What's sad is that it won't work. That subculture will simply adopt it and turn it to into a tee shirt, "This is your brain on drugs, this is your brain with a side of bacon." Tom

John, what's the pitch on that thing? It looks awfully shallow. If I'm right there is likely additional detailing for low slope configurations that you should be looking for, if the manufacturer even allows that panel on a low slope application. The Z flashing where the roof pitch changes will leak too, never seen one that didn't. I don't get horse folk. They'll spend a fortune on their animals but cheap out on building materials. If that were my building the roof would be standing seam, bent to follow the change in pitch, with soldered flat locks at the valley. Tom

I have used several Ryobi tools and the only one that actually performed as expected was a battery powered caulk gun. I have pretty low expectations for the performance of a caulk gun. I traded it and $80 for a bosch compressor and 3 nail guns. Tom

Oops! And after my proof reading rant the other day too[:-dunce][b)]

Perhaps it was done by someone who was aware that there's no rule against it. - Jim Katen, Oregon And had not the slightest measure of common sense. Marc On the other hand, maybe the problem is that the installer did have the "slightest" measure of common sense. - Jim Katen, Oregon Symantics[:-dev3]

That isn't settling. Count the courses and it will be very obvious what happened. Below and to the left of that mess there are 11 courses, within the mess there's only 9, to the right there looks to be 10, but the detail makes it hard to tell for sure. Furthermore, the courses above and to the right appear to run down hill to the right. The story poles got out of whack at that funky bump out and they ran off by 2 to 2 1/2 courses and had no idea how to fix it. Either that, or someone ran into it with a skidsteer and thought no one would notice. "Dude! My dad's a TV repair man! He's got a totally awesome set of tools! We can fix it!" Tom

Your second question gave me a good chuckle, thanks. Now that I've regained my composure; there should be a data plate on your kiln that specifies its power needs, it'll read something like 240v AC 60hz 40amps. Your breaker needs to match the amperage listed on that plate. If it says 40amps then you have the correct breaker, but we just had a discussion about electric ranges needing a 50amp circuit and I suspect that your kiln will draw at least as much as a range, maybe more. Check the data plate or google the specifications for your specific kiln if you don't have it in front of you to look at. Tom

"I told my wife to get me a seersucker suit from Sap's, but she got me a sapsucker suit from Sears." I wish I could remember the comedian, but I can't forget the line. Tom

I don't have any documentation to support my opinion but... 1. I've seen enough valleys with scabs, cut offs and otherwise improprly affixed pieces to know that it makes far better sense to work your way out of a valley (as this approach demands) than it does to work towards one (which is what happens most of the time). 2. Double cut valleys only appear when the materials demand them. Nobody does woven valleys because...well because roofers just aren't smart enough to weave them right, if they were they wouldn't be roofers. Closed cut valleys have become the norm, been that way for decades. If the industry can accept dumbing down the detail this far than the next logical step is to eliminate the cut altogether. 3. If the valley is properly built up with IWS and felt underlay, you'd have to try damned hard to make it leak, and with the extra layers of this (or the closed cut method) even more so. 4. Nobody reads directions anyway. Tom

I like it. It makes a really nice tight line that looks good. Cut valleys end up leaving a fat black line that draws the eye, especially on lighter colored shingles, and looks irregular on highly dimensional architectural shingles. Then there's the cuts that end up less than straight. This is fast and easy, looks better, and works as well as a cut valley. The only drawback is that the corners of the shingles lapping the valley course should be glued down with mastic, they won't seal themselves. Tom

He put the switch right next to the door on the far side of the room. Leads me to think there is an obstacle in the wall cavity, like a structural column, duct work, or plumbing stack, that made him place it like that. Or it was a handy homeowner project. Tom

Concrete continues to cure for a long time (the Hoover dam is still curing) so your driveway is going to be a whole lot harder than one poured more recently. Concrete is a lot more complex than most people think and there are dozens of variables that affect the charecteristics of the finished product, from air entrainment to aggregate size to even the speed and number of turns in the drum. Then you need to consider variables at placement such as weather conditions, site prep, whether the mix was hot or not, the time between placement and finishing, and the finish technique. I'd wager there are millions of yards placed every year that should have been rejected, for some reason contractors would rather tear out a few failed jobs than wait an hour or two for a fresh load when they should. Tom

Matt, you're talking about a tribal territory where the rules are different, if there are any at all. That said, there is a large production builder here doing that stuff on $2-300k homes, and another that did in the late 70s and early 80s trying to make a come back. Tom

Are you sure there isn't another bus? I see a boat load of breakers in there but only a couple of grounded conductors at the top right and just the one equipment ground for the range. Where are the rest of the GCs & EGCs? Tom

You have a larger problem than just a little water leaking out of your window casing. The details on that EIFS installation are all wrong. You need to hire an EIFS Inspector to figure out just how screwed up the siding is and what needs to be corrected. He should be able to find the source of the water intrusion as well. Tom

Mike beat me to it, but check out the links here: http://www.bing.com/search?q=bilco+scap ... NH14&qs=AS. If you end up with a deep window well you will also need to consider gaurd rails or a cover. If you choose the latter, make sure it is an approved cover or you could be creating a condition as dangerous as ignoring the egress opening altogether. Tom

Thanks Ramon, that looks very much like what I'm after. I want to draw a very simple scheme, red lines for supply pipes and blue for returns, with graphic representations of the collectors, the storage tanks, the heat dump, and the various pumps in there approximate locations. I then need to save this as some type of an image file (not sure what file type the controller software needs) so that it can be set as a background and then the control fields can be dragged and dropped onto the diagram. That way my client won't have to remember that S1 is the temp sensor on collector bank 1, it's data field will be in that position on the scheme and be very intuitive to interpret. It will also show him in real time what changing parameters at one control point does to the rest of the system. This graphic interface is only one of the many tricks this controller and data logger combo will do; it monitors every part of the system creating charts, graphs and spread sheets of the performance data, post it to the internet so he can monitor it from anywhere, and can text or email updates and alerts to his cell if he wants it too. He's already blown a bleeder valve by noodling with the storage temps. He raised the primary tank's target above the trigger temp for the heat dump and didn't reset the collector targets which allowed the collectors to approach stagnation temps before the pumps turned on, thus melting the inards of the bleeder/air scoop valve and showering his roof with glycol at nearly 300 degrees. When I install my DHW system later this year the conrols will be far simpler requiring only occasional (5-7 years) monitoring and refreshing of the glycol. Just set it and forget it. Tom

I like it, and the workmanship is way above board for such an inventive solution. Plus if Broan/Nutone had designed that bucket it would have cost 3 to 4 times more. Tom

I've been meaning to play with sketch up. I have two graphics intense design programs, but one is product driven (cabinets) and only renders in 3D. The other is Cadsoft Envisioneer, and I don't have a machine big enough to run it with out major glitches. Most of it's rendering capabilities are also in 3D, and I have no idea if I can save the images in a format other than DWG. I have a trial version of AutoCad that might be what I need if I have to create all the drawings, but I haven't played with that in a few years. Tom

Does anyone have or know of a source for graphics that can be used to create an HVAC or plumbing schematic? I have a client with a complex solar thermal heat and domestic water system, and his interface has the ability to place control fields for the various temperature sensors and pump controls onto a graphic representation of the system, problem is there are no tools to create that image. The manufacturer of the system doesn't have anything available, and the system is so complex that the control board was custom built in Germany so support from them is challenging at best. I can create a scheme, but I need something a little more dumbed down with easy to identify graphic representations of the collectors, storage tanks, pumps, and heat dumps so my retired science teacher client can play with his new toy without actually learning anything about it. Thanks, Tom