Denray

One more try at the picture. Click to Enlarge 42.33 KB

Click to Enlarge 42.33 KB My wife does home owner losses for insurance companies. I was helping her today look for possible water damage in the attic and pointing out to her that K&T can sometimes still have power to it. Which it did. And that all of the insulation was rotted off. There were galvanized plumbing vents nearby too, for easy grounding of one hand. Always have to be careful opening hatches that there isn't any electrical conductors for your hands to contact.

That's what I always thought. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't having a senior moment.

Thanks guys. Erik, is the 2mm still fairly tough to tear?

Yes, I felt pretty confident about it till my wife who does independent adjusting looked at wind damaged roofing belonging to a contractor. She brought a piece of the roofing home and it tore fairly easily and was on the thin side. The contractor said it was MB. Since my wife uses a different last name he does not know she is married to me. I told her no way. So she took the only sample she had and left it with the roofer that the contractor wants to use and he also said it was MB. So I thought maybe I don't know for sure how to I.D. it. So I sent the email to JM. They don't seem very confident in their reply? I'm betting that the contractor is just trying to put one by on the ignorant female adjuster. She gave up the fight after the roofer said it was MB. This contractor does a lot of work for insurance companies that my wife works for. She didn't want to rock the boat too much. P.S. I used to be an insurance adjuster and it is just par trying to rip off the insurance company as much as you can get away with.

I check to see if roll roofing is MB by tearing on a piece of it. If it tears like cardboard or easier I figure its not. A responce to my email to Johns Manville suggests it may be more difficult than that. There is not a very good way of telling the difference between Modified Rolls vs Unmodified Rolls but there are a couple things one can look at such as thickness and tensile strength. Modified rolls are typically thicker than unmodified rolls. Also, because the modified rolls may have different reinforcements, in some case they may have more stretch than an unmodified roll. These types of in field analysis can be very subjective though. To get a definitive answer, there are independent testing labs out there that can investigate the type of material in the asphalt of the roll to determine if it is modified asphalt or not. Followed by The ease of tear could be due to the difference in thickness of the sheet. Ease of tear may be due to the reinforcement of the material in combination with the thickness of the material. Modified rolls are reinforced with fiberglass, polyester, or a combination. What are your folks ways of knowing?

I've seen grout at the tub a few times on some home inspections. And I know it can be bad. The studs showed no water damage. The dry wall was ok other than the stains creeping up the bottom 2 inches. The grout between the tiles has not cracked. I'm sure I will be doing it the right way as soon as it starts to fail. I look up every once in a while thru the P-trap access in the sub floor and all looks dry. I was ignant when I ok'd it being installed that way. We had the house built and I did a lot of finish work on it during my ignant days.[:-paperba

A couple of weeks after getting out of HI school 10-05 my wife says "What's this black stuff on the floor of our towel closet"? The wall just opposite the shower fixtures. Click to Enlarge 25.56 KB Previous to all this we were getting tired of the silicone seal around the tub getting all ugly looking so I had the bright idea of grouting it. After all I was uncle Buck on the tile installation. The grout was easy to clean. Looked good. The shaving mirror above the tub corner dripped hot water down on top of the horizontal corner surface of the tub. Click to Enlarge 21.54 KB Capillary action along with some water pressure had water being drawn over the inner lip of the tub and down onto the subfloor. The fly in termites had a health spa going on. With the dry wall removed you can see little white vertical stripes all along the tub rim where water was being sucked over elsewhere as well. Click to Enlarge 37.84 KB So, grout works just like stucco at the weep screed. Look for it around tubs cause it could be causing a big mess. Click to Enlarge 48.72 KB

When I got out of HS I was going to be a ski racer. Not. Then, a couple of years later, got suckered into going to college to become a doggie doctor. Not. But, I had to start out taking bonehead math at college cause I forgot it all. I busted my ass and got a lot of A's, only to forget it all 3 weeks later into the next semesters teachings. Inappropriate hang glider landing got me into an insurance claims investigation job for 25 years that resulted in downsizing me out. Went to take a test for getting on with CalTrans that had a ton of 9th grade level algebra in it. I ate it big time and got a speeding ticket on the way home. It's turned out that it has all been the Lords way of telling me I am supposed to be a starving home inspector. And the tradition continues. My son only got one B the entire time he was in HS and that was in woodshop. Oh well. He will graduate from Davis with one of the worthless degrees in mechanical engineering. Ah, the rest of his HS grades were all A's. Poor guy.

Installation manuals alway say keep clear of laundry chemicals: The following types of furnace installations may require OUTDOOR AIR for combustion due to chemical exposures: • Commercial buildings • Buildings with indoor pools • Laundry rooms Sometimes the laundry equipment is nearby in garages?

I used to carry hang gliders on roof racks. They are quite long. The trick is to have 4 independent lines coming up from each corner of your bumper areas. Independent, not up, over, and down to the other side. Worked very well. And of coures, have the ladder tied to the rack for braking, etc. Tied to the bumper corners keeps the wind from messing with it.

Looks like a LG extended in the A-frame position would get you up there off the balcony. Very vertical. Could use a safety rope tied off to the railing then unhook once comfortably onto the roof. Re-hook when decending.

My Father, who art in Utah, used many methods. He's an engineer. The one that seems to have prevailed is a large size spider that drops down about 6 ft or so when activated by the birds presence or the wind sometimes. Problem with it is that it runs on batteries that don't shut off till it goes all the way back up to the top. So, once the batteries loose power, to the point it does not reach the top, it sits there and burns battery power till the batteries leak. So, you have to be around to look for it. Can't leave property for 6 months. Also, he found out that if he lets the magpie population be around they seem to keep the woodpeckers away. He found the devise by searching (spider woodpecker).

Why would the venting have been necessary? Plants and lights produce heat and moisture. The vents get rid of that.

I opened an attic hatch the other day and got a neck full of it. A bunch in my hair. Pile on the carpet. Picked it up bare handed with vacuum final. Took my shirt off and dusted myself. No itch at all. Cleaned up well from the carpet.

When using clear plastic sheeting and caulking that sticks to plastic and concrete you can see exactly wherer the bead has made full contact or not. Squash it down so it is about 1 inch wide and there will be no voids. Lots of wrinkles happen and with the clear plastic you can see the caulk inside and spread it as necessary. And it is a bitch to do in a house that is already up. Hire some kids or some yahoo's and they will probably hack it.