Scottpat

Yesterday I had the pleasure of inspecting a home that is around 200 years old. In the attic I found just a few rat poison containers. Then I found a bird nest/pile that was a couple feet tall! Click to Enlarge 42.24 KB Click to Enlarge 48.75 KB Click to Enlarge 70.77 KB

I don't think Jim had much to say about it! []

If you are in Germantown TN (near Memphis) you have a great deal of clay in your soil; it retains water like a sponge. My vote is moisture from the crawlspaces, either from groundwater or from condensation. Is the subfloor insulated? I have seen many homes in the South that have insulated sub floors and cupping wood floors. The insulation is holding water like a sponge and keeps the subfloor damp and this then makes the wood floors cup.

Termites do not know the difference between 2 feet or 20 feet.

I'm sure those are two possible outcomes!

I'm having a tad bit of trouble trying to understand what you are asking? Any pictures?

I don't think it is HomeSafe, they are or were out of Oxford Mississippi.

We have a local inspector that uses this for his inspection vehicle! He also wears a bowling shirt and black horn rim glasses! Click to Enlarge 41.43 KB

One of the largest problems I find with PEX installs is that it is installed taut with little room for movement. Next would be poor support of the pipe. Seldom do I find it installed to the manufacturers specs.

Lot's of ifs!!! Turn off the fan and do the peppermint oil test or cinnamon oil for the holidays! If all else fails call in a fireplace specialist to figure it out. If this is the first time that they have had a fire in the fireplace, it might be that that the fireplace itself has a problem and does not draw properly. Chimney might be too low, wind might be deflected off another roof or wall near the chimney just a bunch of stuff that can mess with a fireplace drawing properly.

As Jim said that is some large hail! If was hard and large enough to gouge concrete it surely would have put holes in the roof. Take a few pictures and share them with us. It is hard to give an opinion without photos. You can also subscribe to forensic weather services that will provide you with detailed weather for your area on the day in question. It is not inexpensive but it holds up in court if it ever comes to that.

Did you know that the New Mexico license plate is the only license plate in the US that along with the states name it has USA printed on it as well!

I guess it is possible, but I would not say that the mitigation system is the cause. Does the basement have a window in it? One way to tell would be to turn the fan off on the radon system. Light a fire in the fireplace and see what happens. Then if it still does it you know that the radon system is not the problem. Is this a new construction home?

I have an old Abby Hoffman smoke bomb recipe from my youthful days of chemical exploration! It produces a very dense cloud of white smoke, but it also burns a hot 4" flame! Not very useful for HVAC work.....

That stuff will also screw up a smoke alarm. It is really not smoke, it just looks like an aerosol. Anyone can buy it, I have even seen it sold at Lowe's and HD.

A good smoke product is called Froggys Fog. It is what the majority of the professional singers use for their show. Low to no odor, leaves no residue, non toxic, environmentally friendly, etc... and I think it works in all fog machines. http://www.froggysfog.com/

How about a little Christmas Cheer! Up on the house top click clack click, down through the chimney comes good Ole Saint Nick!

Ya know, I would just tell them that is is against my company policy to sign such forms. I would not elaborate any more on that statement. End of discussion...........

Yesterday I came across an condensation pump discharge line that was plugged directly into the main sewer line. This is a concrete basement setting that is a good 12" below the city street level. In the mechanical room they also had a drain pump (small lift pump) for the wetbar sink. The picture shows the condensation pump and the drain pump next to each other. Is there any reason that the condensation pump could not empty into the same line as the wetbar sink and then let the drain pump discharge both up into the main line? Click to Enlarge 47.25 KB Condensation line stuck into main line. Click to Enlarge 28.56 KB

3D software has a office management/scheduling program built into the software, it works pretty darn well. On the other hand since I'm a solo company I find that Outlook works best for me. I simply download my schedule to my iPhone and away I go.

You register your company and sit back and wait for a client that uses Angie's list to recommend you.

Ugly comes to mind! I have always called that a recessed dormer or an inset dormer.

You need to check and see what your local requirements are. You do not have to use drywall, the wall covering just needs to meet flame and smoke requirements, but many areas have different requirements.

Ya, I did it to my foot one time just resting the dang thing and I hit the button. Most everyone I know that has messed with a Hotshot has hit themselves with it, either by accident or just to see what it was like! The feed in a can works with a couple of critters, but when you are dealing with a few hundred it is a different story! Most of the time we used them to move the cows through the squeeze pen or to load them into trailers and trucks.

I was told that you will get a shock but it "should" not be lethal! I just can't help to recall my days working on my in-laws ranch. We had a little device that was called a "Hotshot" imagine an electric fence on a 4' stick! They raised mostly cattle, but also had a few hogs that they kept for the grandkids, and eventually for the Easter dinner! One day I had the job of moving the hogs from pen A to pen B! On old sow would not move so I hit her with the Hotshot. She fell over dead! I killed a 700lb pig with a Hotshot! Later I was told by one of the "paid" ranch hands that Hotshots have a warning on them not to use with swine! Anyway, it goes to show you that it does not take much to shock the hell out of ya!