Brian G

This is just one of those tangled, thorny topics that has no good or fair answer. Training may or may not be meaningful. The number of inspections may or may not be meaningful. The years in the field may or may not be meaningful. Everything depends, and there's no way to write a law for that. Then you add the fact that the laws usually are written by politicians who only know what they've been told by whomever has access to them. It's a miracle there are any decent licensing laws at all, and even that's debateable. Fair to the incoming guys almost requires unfair the established guys. Vice-versa, same thing. The thing I'm most sure of is that there should be no such thing as pure grandfathering. That is to say that no matter how long you've been in business or how many inspections you've done, you should have to prove minimum competency by passing a standardized exam. A guy with umpteen years and thousands of inspections ought to be able to breeze through one. If he can't pass it, go the same route as everyone else. I'm also personally convinced that mentoring is virtually unworkable in the open market, particularly when legislated. My opinion. Brian G.

I'm sure the bare neutral is against code, but I can't give you the why's and wherefore's of the reasoning behind it. If the code says it has to be a jacket conductor, I'd have to base my recommendation on that. I gotta get a book. Brian G.

Pure genius. Brian G.

I'm at the point where I'm reassessing most of my equipment and methods, simply because I know so much more about what's available, what the job is really about, and how I want to approach it, than I did when I started. I'm looking at software and hardware, and how I can put together a system that will do the job at the level I want, as time-efficiently as possible. I'm waiting on a demo CD for I.E. because I think I would prefer a full narrative in the long run, especially if I can couple it with voice recognition software somewhere down the line. I want to cut my report time down without sacrificing quality, if I can. My current software (Borealis) lacks all of the "Word" tools I'd like to have, like cut & paste, copy, etc. And on houses where you have the same issue in 6 locations (like lack of GFCI's) I don't want to have to report it in 6 different places. Report it once and list the 6 places with 1 recommendation, much easier for me and less confusing for the client, I think. Little things can add up to less aggravation and time over the length of a report. Good luck with the addition Chris. Brian G. Gotta Keep Refining It All [:-magnify]

Darren, Let's start a support group for the poor souls who can't get a damn photo to post. You know, a 12 stepper. The first step is to admit that you can't get it to work, and you're powerless over it.... Brian G. Image Posters Anonymous []

Oh yeah, I also subscibed to The Old-House Journal for a year, just to check it out and see how useful it might be. Didn't Walter Jowers work there for a while? Bill, what's your opinion of that magazine as an inspector? Are there any other mags out there you would recommend? Brian G.

Snazzy Victorian. My wife would love it, I'm sure. All of those Victorians make the ladies weak in the knees for some reason. I think it's that "doll house" look, plus the gingerbread, of course. Brian G.

Thanks Mike. Are you gonna move that thread over? Brian G.

This is a Rheem unit by the way, with no visible controls other than 2 knobs on the gas valve and what appeared to be a thermostat bulb. No label or plate to be found. I didn't try to operate it, I was afraid I might lose my eyebrows in the attempt. I am strongly recommending CO testing before the client moves forward. I'd bet money it won't reflect well on this baby. Brian G.

Brother Kibbel, Just so I know, what do you like to be called? There must be a dozen variations on "William", at least. Your bio says you've written several articles on this subject. Where could I find them? I tried some of the links at the website, a few of them didn't work (expired, moved, whatever). My fabulous library find Historic Architecture In Mississippi says there are approximately 100 antebellum homes in Columbus / Lowndes county. I would guess about that many more in the neighboring counties, plus all of the slightly post-antebellum ones and everything since. Keep making the circle bigger and the number grows rapidly, I'm sure. I seem to fairly well located. [:-thumbu] Brian G.

Hey Mike, Why not combine your profession with your passion and put up a "Historic / Old House" conference for us. You can start it by moving this thread over. I'm sure some of the visitors would be interested in it too, if they knew it was here. Generate interest, spread the preservation gospel, facilitate the learning process...Win, Win, Win deal! I promise it won't lie dormant. Brian "Post or Die" Goodman

I recieved the three historic reprints I ordered, the ones I mentioned a few posts back. I've been meaning to post about them, but I've just been too busy to get a good long look at them. First off, as promised, they're not puny (9 x 11-ish, all). The quality is pretty good too, especially for about $10. I did have the very center page come out of one, but so what, I'll fix it. At first look, the best of the bunch for my purposes is definitely Old House Measured And Scaled Detail Drawings For Builders And Carpenters by William A. Radford, originally published in 1911. This is 200 pages of detailed drawings of every imaginable part of a house, from the simplest corner moulding to timber framing and back. Some of it is so detailed it can be difficult to tell exactly what you're looking at. Common items like windows, columns, sills, cabinets, doorways, etc., and things that no longer exist like wooden garage doors, ice houses, silos, you name it. If it was a useable architectural item of the era there's probably a drawing of one in here. I love the cornice drawings with the built-in gutters...trippy! The framing stuff is my favorite though, just the kind of thing I was hoping for. Man, they weren't kidding when they did it. Less useful but very interesting is A Victorian Housebuilder's Guide by George E. Woodward & Edward G. Thompson, originally published in 1869. No meaty frame details here, but some incredible ornate trim designs for all kinds of woodwork. Stairs, rails, brackets, doorways, windows, etc., etc., etc. One page shows 8 different lattice patterns, and they ain't squares brother. Beautiful! One of those is gonna wind-up around my front porch when I get to the re-do project. The third is a "pattern" book, or what we would call a house plan book, Turn-of-the-Century House Designs by William T. Comstock, originally published in 1893. It's pretty much what it says it is, with some price estimates that will make any modern homeowner shake his head in disbelief and envy. If this kind of thing interests you and you're a blank slate like I am, these reprints aren't a bad place to start for the money. If I get my image-posting problems worked out I'll scan a few pages for the curious. Brian G.

Tell M.B. I've got nude photos of Elle McPherson I'll post if he gets it working for me. [:-bigeyes] [:-eyebrows] Brian G. Amatuer Female Anatomy Researcher [-crzwom] (avert your eyes Ellen)

In the same 50 year old house with the drum vent I found an odd ancient natural gas heating unit. I'd love to post a photo, but...well, I've had enough of that for one day. It has a vent pipe connected to a chimney I suspect is single wall, and it's painted. Is it generally permissable to paint a vent pipe? I wouldn't think so, but I thought I'd ask. It's white, by the way, not silver or some other possible "galvanized coating" color. Hey Mike, if I email you the photo can you insert it? Brian G. Download Attachment: oldie.jpg 49.74 KB

It took a minute for it come in on my dial-up, but there it is in all of its glory. Thanks Gerry. Thanks for the advice Dennis, but I use Explorer as well. Yo Mike, maybe it ain't me. Brian G.

Well, that's the second time it said it was successfully posted but then gives you the "page not available" thing. I'm done for now. Thanks guys. Brian G.

I haven't been using the quick reply or any of that stuff. The instructions look exactly like what I'm doing, but I'll go around again. Could it be something with my computer, settings, etc.? Gerry, Thanks for the diagram, I'll look as if I know what I'm talking about, even if I don't. Say, is that pronounced like Jerry or Gary, old chap? Brian G. Here goes again. Download Attachment: thing.jpg 106.92 KB

Nope. I'm not sure I'm following you Mike. I changed the name ok, that time it didn't give me the error message, but when I tried the link on my post I got the "page cannot be found" page. Jeez. Brian G.

Still didn't work. What all is it that can't be included in the file name (numbers, symbols, etc.)? Brian G.

I tried it twice. Both times it said the photo had up-loaded, but when I tell it to post I get an error message from Microsoft and it kicks me off the site. Any suggestions? Please note that I am still on a wimpy dial-up. Brian G.

I did a 50 year old house the other day, with some of the original plumbing still in use. Under the bathroom I found something about the diameter of a coffee can (but taller) with the drain lines from the sink and tub run into it. It looks like cast iron and has a flat steel lid on it. Anybody know what this thing is? P.S. Where do you find instructions for posting photos here? Brian G.

My first suggestion would be to get the wiring checked out by someone who knows their stuff. If that doesn't turn up anything, try the pump. If you have 2 consecutive GFCI's tripping in the same location something is probably wrong there. Be careful, this is water and electricity in very close proximity. Bad combination. [:-skull] Brian G.