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mjr6550

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Everything posted by mjr6550

  1. mjr6550
    I reread the original post. I see that they hired the engineer. I suggest that you get a second opinion. The problem you may run into is that there are few engineers who are good at evaluating residential construction problems. I am a structural engineer and think that I am very good at this. The reason for that is that I have also performed over 10,000 home inspections, so I have learned a lot along the way. If you can find a structural engineer with home inspection or significant residential experience, or a home inspector who has an engineering background and is a P.E. that would probably be best.
  2. mjr6550
    With continuing sagging I would be concerned about possible foundation settlement. The idea that secondary beams or girders were installed too high does not make much sense (is is hard enough just to jack a floor back to level). It seems like the inspector paid more attention to what was wrong with the repairs and not enough to why the repairs were needed.
  3. mjr6550
    A certified Indoor Air expert. Certified by who? You may want to try an industrial hygienist. They have real qualifications, which the certified Indoor Air expert may not have. When you say bleach it makes me think that some mold remediation may have been done (not professionally). Have you tried to find if the smell is stronger at carpet, walls, etc.?
  4. mjr6550
    Are the paint problems mostly at areas where there is joint compound? If they did a lot of sanding and did not blow or wipe off the dust the original paint would have poor adhesion. I would look into some type of sealer or primer. It may or may not help. If not, sanding and cleaning. Yea-a lot of work.
  5. mjr6550
    Anyone have experience with bamboo flooring. My daughter picked nailed down strand bamboo from Lumber Liquidators. She has had bad experience with first installmerna and several others who will not install it. Looking at reviews it seems like there are plenty of complaints and not just nail down, strand, or LL.
  6. mjr6550
    If it did enter the back of the meter socket, then I doubt that it would have been sealed properly. It seems like the only advantage for installing the circuit this was was to avoid drilling through the brick, so entering the back of the meter socket seems unlikely. Bottom line-more likely wrong than not.
  7. mjr6550
    I don't see many manufactured houses and have not seen this. One thought for the registers is jump ducts for return air. As for the fan, no idea.
  8. mjr6550
    I come across some old houses built on fill that have settled an excessive amount. The one I looked at yesterday has settled a little over 10 inches more at the front than the rear. Despite this movement the house is generally very sound-just not very level. Click to Enlarge 36.28 KB Click to Enlarge 23.49 KB Click to Enlarge 21.94 KB
  9. mjr6550
    I assume they mean that the water service is disconnected or not in service. What do you want for 400K?
  10. mjr6550
    I drove past this building today, as I have many times. Just noticed that it is for sale. http://hiddencityphila.org/germantown-town-hall/
  11. mjr6550
    I seen thousands of old shutters, but I never saw or noticed this before. Click to Enlarge 70.33 KB Click to Enlarge 43.56 KB
  12. mjr6550
    The HI always get blamed. I had the same thing happen to me many years ago, except in my case the freezer was plugged into an extension cord connected to a garage light fixture. Someone turned off the switch. I did not think it was me. The buyer and Realtor were in the garage after me. I suggested that the owner file a claim on the insurance policy, which I think they did. I ended up doing a free HI for the owner to cover the deductible.
  13. mjr6550
    I agree with what Kurt said. You often can find damage opening drywall, but not always. I do prefer to remove some stucco when the purpose of the investigation is to prove what is wrong. If litigation is involved you need to have that evidence. Assuming remediation is not needed it is possible to patch the stucco. Usually when I am opening up stucco it is almost a given that remediation will be needed.
  14. mjr6550
    I had rough electrical inspection today on a house I am remodeling for my daughter. I mentioned that I would be putting the small appliance circuits on AFCI breakers since I believe that is required by the 2014 NEC. The inspector said it is not required because PA uses the 2008 NEC. I knew that, but figured I would use the latest code. The inspector said this caused problems having an AFCI and a GFCI on the same circuit. Anybody aware of any issues with this?
  15. mjr6550
    I agree with you about the spacing, but it does seem to be a pattern.
  16. mjr6550
    Kitchen countertops should be served by at least two separate circuits. Each should be GFCI protected. 1988 house typically only required GFCI protection in the kitchen within 6' of the sink. Also, all those other receptacles should not be on the kitchen circuit. Before the code required a separate circuit for bathroom receptacles most builders in my area put the garage, exterior, basement, and bathroom receptacles on the same circuit and used one GFCI receptacle to protect everything downstream.
  17. mjr6550
    Some stud sensors also locate live wires. You could turn off all power except the one circuit and then try to trace the wire to where the GFCI would be located. I assume it is a two-story house. If not, wires may run through the attic and could be checked there with a non-contact voltage tester.
  18. mjr6550
    A good point, but I don't think he is going to be performing home inspections for a while.
  19. mjr6550
    I was waiting to find out more about this. I talked to a contractor about a month ago who had used this inspector. He said he was contacted by the DA's office and asked to send copies of all his inspection paperwork. He was told what the investigation was about. I felt like sharing the info, but did not find anything on the web to back it up.
  20. mjr6550
    The pattern looks like it could match sheathing nails. I can't explain why it happened. Download Attachment: rust on vinyl siding.pdf 99.69 KB
  21. mjr6550
    The positioning of the nails is too even for it to be something that was leaning against the siding, especially since the siding is not a flat surface. I once saw vinyl siding where you could seen marks on the siding from nails behind the siding. It was all over at least one side of the house. The stains were not from rust. I never did figure out the cause (or I forgot).
  22. mjr6550
    I would be very concerned with that. From the mortar patching at the side of the window you can see that the wall is significantly out of plumb near the bottom, and it appears that a gap has developed.
  23. mjr6550
    The first set of photos is not very clear. From your description and some of the other photos it does look like you have concerns. A structural engineer would be your best choice.
  24. mjr6550
    Top and bottom both look like pine (probably SYP). I have probably seen this floor construction somewhere in the past, but cannot recall. It is common for roof framing in old mill buildings, etc. How old is the building?
  25. mjr6550
    The sensors may be almost aligned so that they work intermittently.
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