Brian G

Pete, That box on the right with the sealtite running to it, that's the disconnect? It looks like just an exterior outlet with a stay-dry-when-plugged-in cover. What's in there, a light switch? The installation specs might speak to that as well. Rated for it or not, I see this as another bone-headed set-up. Just plain dumb, really. But what the hell, if you're gonna stick 'em in the attic where one bad accident can do maximum damage, why not this too. [:-dunce] George, these puppys took about 3 1/2 minutes each to load. Seems like 10. Nobody has DSL here for less than $40, and I don't have an extra phone line. One of these days.... Brian G. Give Up a Little Space, It's Worth It

Kurt, why would you not want silicone used? This may be another climate thing, but I always recommend polyurethane or silicone caulk for this. Roofing tar won't last more than 2 - 3 years down here. It dries, cracks, and in small thin patches like those over nailheads, will simply fall off in time. I've seen silicone up to 10 - 12 years old, still flexible and holding. I've also seen it curling-up a few times....don't know why. You know how we're told that our kids are ignorant in geography? Well I find adults to be little better. If you take out a globe, put your finger in the middle of the South, then turn the globe so that your finger tracks across the Atlantic Ocean, where does your finger make landfall again? Most people say "Europe". Wrong...North Africa. We never think of it as such, but the American South is basically a sub-tropical region. The native trees are Pines instead of Palms, but the weather is the same. Brian G. Looking Forward to Sweating a Little [:-cold]

Man, somebody trim dim photos! There aren't enough hours in the day to downloads those on my wimpy dial-up. [:-turtle] [:-indifferent] Brian G. Hoping DSL Will Get Cheaper Soon

Down here in the land of high heat and humidity, I've never seen a bath exhaust fan properly vented to the exterior. They all vent into the attic, but are almost never ducted over to the soffit. Normally I see them with a 2 or 3 foot dryer vent hose, nailed to a nearby 2 x 4 to keep it out of the insulation. The humidity in a hot attic in the dead of summer in Mississippi is such that whatever is being exhausted from the bathroom is meaningless...rain falling on the ocean. I've never seen anything like Jeff's photo, and never expect to. Sure is ugly though. Brian G. In the Steamy South [:-crazy]

I would assume the set-up in Jim's photos is what Chad was describing, more or less. Forgive me all, but that arrangement looks purely bone-headed to me. Why in the world wouldn't you simply install a weatherhead and a drip loop to keep the rain out? If done at installation the extra labor and expense would be minor, at worst. Douglas, I have no desire to pester you, so I promise to not belabor the point beyond this post about the PVC. But I must say that I think you're letting the electricians off too easy by conceding out-of-hand that water-tightness is not possible. Isn't it reasonable assume that it is more difficult to keep water "In" under typical household pressures than to keep it "Out" under any naturally occuring pressures? If asked before this discussion, I would have said that water-tight PVC lines were not only possible, but a relatively minor and common accomplishment. I can see where you might have unavoidable condensation, and the inherent wisdom of planning for a leak by requiring water-resistant wiring, but beyond that I'm puzzled. My apologies, I'm hard-headed. Brian G. I Blame It on My Genes, My 5 Year-Old is Even Worse

I'm seeing the aluminum more and more on this as well, though I haven't thought to check the type (new item on my list now). How do you feel about the AL for this use? I must admit it makes me a bit nervous to see AL anywhere in a house, even though I know there's a significant difference between the little soild wire that cause so many problems and the larger stranded types. I assume you would always recommend paste at the connections, but do you see any other potential problems with this set-up? By the way, if you found a service like this with wiring NOT rated for wet use, how much would you make of it in the report? Would you recommend changing it out? Brian G.

I ran this across the other forum once, but I thought I would do it again here since we have some alternate brains to pick. What do you say or write, if anything, about finding exposed / uncaulked nails on composition shingle roofs? I see them on virtually every inspection in ridge caps, metal and rubber vent pipe flashings, and different (mostly metal) flashings here and there. Is it nothing? A minor item? An outright defect? Something else? Brian G. Trolling for Opinions

All but one of the breakers is ITE / Gould, now owned by / known as Seimens, so that's probably the brand of the panel. The one odd breaker is GE (I think). The meter base just looks smoked-up, I don't think it had anything to do with the fire. The conduit carried the smoke and heat around to it, but I don't see any damage to the hardware. It seems obvious that the problem was with the main buss bars somehow. The lug ends of the breakers are mostly intact, whereas the ends that grab the buss bars are a burnt mess. Brian G. Seen a Few Breakers like That, Never a Whole Panel

Very odd, never seen that one before. I'm pretty sure the insulation over the old wires is okay, but someone else should chime-in on that. The only system I'm aware of that won't allow insulation is knob & tube. Brian G.

I stand corrected, if somewhat mystified. Plumbers can glue PVC together without leaks every day of the week, but electricians can't???? Douglas, the ratings info is interesting. Is a "U" indicative of an underground rating then? As in USE? Wouldn't "underground" automatically assume wet location and be acceptable for this purpose as well? I would assume also that regular THHN is not acceptable, which is most of what we see here. Brian G.

That's just off the top of my head, but I can't imagine they used anything rated for immersion or even wet locations. I'm sure Douglas will weigh in soon. Brian G. Thinkin' Out Loud

You'll definitley want to wait on a second opinion on this, but I don't think allowing the water to drain out of the pipe is really a good answer to the overall problem. There isn't supposed to be any water in that pipe in the first place, so I would say this water should be eliminated, not managed. The wires are almost certainly not rated for such wet use, and the jackets may break down over time and cause a much more serious incident. PVC just isn't that difficult to put together properly. I'd love to know what the whole story is on this.... Brian G. Wait for the Gurus Bro'

Boy, if that's true I've missed it on virtually every inspection I've done. That's about all anyone uses here, gas or electric. Brian G. Sounds Silly to Me [:-clown]

Now gentlemen, surely there is good sense in asking questions and gathering information beforehand, at least to a point. In the end, yes, you have to take the plunge and make your share of mistakes, just as all of us have. Experience is definitely the best teacher, and the painful lessons are well-remembered...that's just the way of human beings. I can certainly agree with what Chris said about not repeating the same ones, that's important. Brian G. Attending the School of Hard Knocks [:-fight]

I was clicking around 2 weeks ago and hit that show, already in progress. A lady had called the HI out to see if she could add another full story to her house....say what?! He notes a long, slow dip across the top of the garage door opening, climbs onto the roof, and from there declares it sound (the roof)! While up there he sees that a few other houses in the neighborhood have added another floor, so it looks good for the moment! Then he checks the main panel...it's overloaded, and must be repaired! He never mentioned that it was an FPE panel. In the end, he reffered her to an engineer (what a novel concept under the circumstances). That's what I would have done when she called me. And this guy was on TV representing all of us, like it or not. [:-banghead] Brian G. I'd Pay to See Jim's Episode [:-bonc01]

I think that vent pipe has to run straight up a little before turning, but I can't really remember. Damn, I asked that on the ASHI forum once, now I don't remember the answer...BRAIN CRAMP! [:-headache] Brian G. It'll Come to Me...Next Week [:-indifferent]