caryseidner

I just saw that thing a couple of days ago. It looks great, but it's $600.00+. To rich for my blood. Some nice improvements over the original version. Keep the image capture, Lion batt. and larger screen size. Get rid of the video capture, pan, zoom and expansion slot (for future use) and get this doggie below $350.00. Or you could try to be one of the lucky weekly contest winners: http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/microEXPLORER-Promo-Reg/

That's true....but they'll be back. Or at least a fresh batch of 'em will.

Thank you!

I was doing some googling on them last night, and I couldn't say for sure because I didn't have a manufacturer or model or much of anything, but it looked like these suckers are supposed to be installed at the first breaker in the panel. I guess that is going to protect the rest of the circuits. Seems to me like if that is how they are supposed to be installed - in the first breaker - then it would be difficult for anyone other than a good sparky to do it because everything would have to be shifted around.

I just blew up that diagram, and it looks like it is showing the surge suppressor is double tapped into the first breaker. Yes?

19,183 @ Sherry Meter 0 27,711 @ Sherry Meter 50% and an Assault Rifle

I found this device connected to the main disconnect in the main panel. There was some writing on the top of the it, but I couldn't read it with my mirror and flashlight. Anybody know what it is/what it's for? Image Insert: 72.88 KB Image Insert: 31.85 KB

Can't wait for Jerry to get a 15MP camera!

I saw Bosch makes one as well.

Whoa. Hold your horses! I think I remember hearing W. use that one a few years ago.

Interesting Bill. So based on the conditions shown in these photos, you don't think that a galvanic reaction will occur due to the pipe dope in photo 1, and size of the copper pipe in relation to the size of the steel pipe in photo 2. Correct? If the steel pipe was galvanized would dielectric unions be needed, or would these variables apply as well?

Are Dielectric Unions needed when joining copper to steel in a hydronic system? IRC P2904.17.1 requires them when joining copper to galvanized steel, but I could not find a reference for non-galvanized steel pipe. Image Insert: 135.19 KB Image Insert: 114.43 KB

Jim, My college roommate had a VCR that looked just like that one. It had a wired remote control. We were state-of-the-art!

I've cut 1/4" thick steel lintels with a sawzall before. Put a metal blade in and it works fine. Cold chisel works too. Just depends if you've got the room to swing a hammer.

The primary problems I've seen with T1-11 are at the perimeters. Buckling, bad nailing and missing Z-flashing. Even if the product was installed and fastened properly moisture still gets behind and into the siding because it is never sealed on all six sides. I would like to see how this stuff would hold up if it had a couple of real good coats of paint on all six sides, to keep moisture from penetrating into the material. Maybe it wouldn't buckle so much. But I have never seen that. I inspected a 1970's vintage commercial building a couple of months ago with T1-11 and no WRB. The insulation and framing were completely saturated at every visible location.

Squirrels don't have lower jaws? I found this one a couple of weeks ago. It was only a few inches long, but I didn't notice it until I was on top of it. Yikes! I think it's a rat. Image Insert: 75.68 KB Image Insert: 75.42 KB

Yea I'm sure they all do, as well as the NRCA.

Whenever I come across one of these in a home, my 30-something buyer always asks what they are for. Makes me feel old. Image Insert: 34.63 KB

Derbigum is (or at least was) considered a "premium" mod bit. I've toured their plant and it's pretty cool to see how that stuff is made. An earlier version of their product had a polyester/fiberglass scrim laid in the top third of the sheet and we used to see it coming through all the time. They always said it was normal and not an issue, and I don't remember ever observing a leaking condition due to the sheet. It does look sick as hell though. When I first saw Randy's photos that was the first thing I thought. Derbigum. But photo 3 looks more like a thinner base ply sheet, and not a mod bit, to me.

In my reports, I call out bathrooms without a grounded receptacle as a safety hazard, and of course recommend that they should be GFCI's. Curling irons, hairdryers, electric toothbrushes, electric razors and so on are all things that folks like to use in front of a bathroom mirror. If there is no receptacle they're going to run an extension cord, or worse try an tie something into the light or switch. I believe a GFCI protected receptacle is required in new construction. I don't really feel like hunting for the code right now, but it just doesn't matter. New or old, they should be there.

I couldn't tell what the duct material was, but if it's wood, that would sure be a good reason to wrap the interior of it with asbestos. Thanks Bill!

Thanks Jim. I wish those pics would have turned out better. I could see the familiar checkerboard pattern in the grayish paper inside the duct. Maybe this pic is clearer. Image Insert: 24.98 KB

I saw these high and low registers on either side of this old fireplace (the house was 100 years old). I am assuming that the high and low on the left-hand side, and the high and low on the right-hand side are connected by a duct creating a convection loop on both sides. Is that right? I peered into the high registers and saw they were lined with asbestos. Is that common? Was the temperature passing through the ducts high enough to necessitate this? If so why was the asbestos inside the duct and not outside the duct. Image Insert: 37.76 KB Image Insert: 33.9 KB

Everything seen in that photo is BUR. The UV coating looks fine. Typically you will see some alligatoring around a vertical penetration/curb.

Matthew - Can't see the photo but I'll assume you are talking about modified bitumen. The standard silver coating that most of us will come across in a residential inspection is a plain old non-fibrated UV coating, sometimes referred to as a silver coating. It has absolutely NO waterproofing abilities. It's purpose is to protect the membrane from the UV rays which breakdown the roofing materials. Proper application requires that new roofing material is cured (installed 30 or more days ago) and here's the rub....clean. Not broom clean, but washed from all the dirt that accumulates over 30+ days. So 99.999% of the time it is installed incorrectly and will not last as long as it should, which is about 5 years. If ponding is present it will erode even quicker. An approved UV coating will extend the manufacturer's warranty by 2 years (at least for mod bit), which should translate into more than 2 years of extended life. Recoat when you can see the surface. Cracking or crazing is not a big deal.