Tom Raymond

So how do any of them really modulate? Wouldn't true modulation require an outdoor thermal reset to know which one of Jim's magic coat scenarios to run? Tom

You really have to shop around before you plunk down any coin on a netbook. I was seriously looking at netbooks last year for my son at Christmas time and ended up with a laptop instead. I got a very nicely equipped Compaq, with the "throw it on the floor and jump on it" replacement plan and sales tax for under $400. It even came with MS Office. Tom

Thanks, I will have to remember that. Tom

Mike, do your kids shed?[] Tom

Man, that is pretty sad. And I thought that this was going to be about poorly written instructions that have been even more poorly translated into english that are unfortunately becoming all to common. Damn the lawyers! Tom

My handwriting is awful. I take photos of the serial numbers. Less chance to screw them up. Do you have a specific camera setting for this? Every time I try to rely on pictures only for data plates they are unreadable. I use an 8 mega pixel camera to capture a ton of detail, and give me bunch of crop and zoom potential. I resize all the pics that make the report way down to like 3 or 400 pixels along the long axis preserving the aspect ratio. I very seldom have to fidget with the picture format this way. I know it sounds like a bunch of work but with Photoscape I can enhance, insert arrows, resize and insert a pic faster than I can type my comments in the report. Tom

I have very mixed feelings about retrofit applications for foam insulation. I think if the application is part of a more comprehensive renovation (ie an interior gut job, or a complete exterior cladding replacement) there will be far less opportunity for disastrous outcomes. I have opened up several houses with urea formaldehyde foam insulation that had sever rot issues, in fact it is the only thing I've seen that will cause Homasote sheathing to rot. For my own home I seriously considered foaming the roof deck from the interior. The pros are considerable; the rigidity it would add to the structure, the thermal cushion of a partially conditioned attic, and energy conservation. The cons were pretty much just the costs, in order for me to be confident that I wasn't creating a potential moisture issue I would have to insulate after I replaced the roof cover and corrected the flashing errors that are present but not currently a problem. Considering that my roof is very close to the end of it's service life, it would also be a bit foolish to tear off a roof over a fresh foam job. Fiberglass insulation and a radiant barrier are far less costly and can be installed without concern about the roof deck and covering. Ultimately I think there needs to be alot more study before I'd be comfortable injecting foam into the unseen cavities of an old house. Let me know how yours is fairing in say ten years [:-angel] Tom

Ain't it grand that we have the largest hydro electric facility in the East, and the NYPA sees fit to to charge us such exorbitant rates? There are a few small towns in my area that have their own muni electic systems (most are purchasing through coops rather than producing these days) where electric heat makes sense, outside these areas even electric stoves are rare. Gas and propane rule here. Tom

I use a check list to make my notes, but I take a fair amount of pictures too. Alot of my report content comes from the pictures, but I still don't seem to take enough of them to lose the checklist. That said, I'll porbably never go totally paperless; I just can't seem to get decent images of data plates, even when they're right out in the open. Google "PDFCreator" and start emailling reports. I might hand deliver a report if the gig was in my neighborhood, but not until I had sent one via email. Tom

You got that right. Just fill a glass from the tap and you can watch the minerals swirl around for 30 or 45 seconds, and that's after the filter. With out a filter you should see the mud the muni's have the nerve to charge for. I have a well but I wouldn't dare drink from it, it's exactly centered between two closely spaced septic tanks[:-yuck] Tom

I still don't get why you'd want to flush a 12 year old tank, would you pop the TPR? It's at the end of it's service life, and big surprise, it doesn't work right. I say tell 'em it's old and broken, and it's time to replace it. Tom

Uhm, before I cracked open a 12 year old water heater, I'd be damned sure I had a replacement tank on hand. If the dip tube is polypropylene the drain valve probably is too. Tom

That's probably a pretty good conservative estimate, but I've never seen a building up close that's been vacant for over 60 years. That's only like 5 or 6 hours from here, I might have to go and tour that one someday. Last time I was in the Thousand Islands I was young and dumb enough to water ski in 3' swells, the only other boats on the seaway were freighters. Tom

I love that website, though it's been a while since I've visited. I like this building better, much more interesting and at least twice as logistically challenging. http://www.historicproperties.com/detai ... y=Necar006 It's been listed for several years now, so the special rules must be pretty intense. Tom I just noticed the reduced price, last time I looked at this place it 105k more.

I know we live in a litigous society but, if someone has the proclivity to to seek a legal remedy, wouldn't that someone be more likely to hire service providers that have assets worth seizing? Personaly, I think the big franchise, or the guy who advertises " Fully Insured" is a much better target than the little independent guy. Hopefully I'll never have to find out if I'm wrong. Tom

I agree with Brandon; tear open a sample to see how broken it is, then fix it right. Besides, if the stucco leaks how in the world is it going to function properly in a rain screen assembly? The short answer is it won't. It will continue to leak, just a bit more slowly. Tom

Well that's just swell. It sure did make a harmless post look like a nasty one. Tom

Hey, when do we get our Official TIJ Smoking Jackets? A little jazz, a fine cigar, and a nice cognac would go very well with the new decor. Tom EDIT: Hey, who moderated s...w...a...n...k...y out of my last post? What's wrong with s****y?

Pictures, we need pictures. One video of Fabry shearing sheep is enough[] Tom

S****y new digs! [:-thumbu][:-thumbu] Tom

I'm not so sure that "good and workmanlike" is appropriate for that installation. Actually might be kind of insulting. Tom

The width is cool with me, I thought the color change was one of your seasonal decorative things, and FYI the "active" counter is still broken. Oh, and since we're all complaining; just thought someone should thank you for your efforts. Tom PS Let us know when your done fiddling so I can get back to explaining to JG how to hook up a water heater backwards.[:-paperba

Here is the short answer, proper detailing is required no matter what the siding is. Tom

The gnomes are at it again. The "active topic" counter is off. It read "5" earlier today while displaying 3 threads, and again just now it displays "1" and there are none. Tom