Bill Kibbel

I hope no one is using an infrared thermometer for measuring the temperature difference between return and supply air. I use something like this: http://mannix-inst.com/index.php?sectio ... tegory=all So what are the acceptable temperatures with that method?

John Arnold - I know that name from somewhere. How's things down there? Between '86 and '02, I did an average of 2-3 inspections a week in Philly. Since I moved up here, I haven't been back. I guess It was just too much fun for me to handle anymore. []

I like to be able to view a posters location and background. It helps me understand where comments and advice are coming from. Just be advised that detailed profiles are subject to e-mails from someone, say in a town between Buffalo and Syracuse, pointing out minor spelling errors. []

I don't know of any clearance requirement for electric water heaters, except manufacturers' instructions for repair & maintenance access. I've seen "approved" installations of tanks crammed in anywhere they'll fit, in multi-family conversions.

One out of 250-300 request a hard copy (in addition to the e-mailed pdf). Quite a few of my reports will have a couple links to additional info. Hard to click on them in a hard copy. Don't forget this poll about report delivery: https://inspectorsjournal.com/forum/top ... &results=1

I just open the access panel and have a look (where possible).

This is Mike O's screwdriver: If you see a horse-drawn cart, with a wooden ladder tied on with hemp, that's Mike.

Da code says clearances needed for maintenance, servicing and replacement. The tag, inside the furnace cabinet, will list all clearances required.

John, I had to deal with stuff like that a handful of times in the early years. I always requested a meeting with the engineer and the client. I always enjoyed it. I felt that the clients came away with a better understanding, and appreciation for, the early building materials and traditional construction techniques and saw that there’s no sense in trying to apply today’s rules to the old (proven) methods. BTW, this only occurred with clients that did not attend the inspection and had no experience with old homes. I know and respect several engineers. Some of their responsibilities and knowledge are beyond my comprehension. Most understand that what I do is completely outside of their education and field of experience and there are no black and white reference sources to make the right calls. There seems to be a few that don’t get it. There’s some that are livid that HIs are evaluating and giving opinions about structures of any age . My job requires judgements based on research and extensive field experience. You can’t measure the span and dimensions of a 100 year old rafter, look at a chart and claim it to be undersized and unsafe. - Did he even identify the species? - Does he know the grade of the lumber? Around here, most lumber that age would be graded as “select structuralâ€

Correct. I was told, by a respected code official who attended a conference addressing the changes, that this was suggested for the north west coast and never intended to be applied to every jurisdiction. We don't have sliding and expanding soil, or extreme water and wind that the old anchor spacing requirement couldn't handle. There is at least one east coast state that struck R404.1 and the tables and there's movement in PA to do the same. I understand that part of the function of anchor bolts is to "pin the top" of the foundation to resist lateral force against the foundation. How well does that function with a full walk-out on a hillside? I hope not - I hate new construction crap. I was only there because we have 2 guys on vacation during the busiest time we've had in years.

I read about the change for '06. I thought it was a mistake. I can understand it would help in extreme areas where the earth shakes or slides and where wind or water lifts buildings, but it seems pretty silly around here. Am I the only one with these thoughts? I saw this on Friday:

Michael, I appreciate the new layout - it displays almost full screen in Firefox now!

I don't go up and over that far, but I know Slatington was a little pocket of Welshmen (amongst the Germans) who discovered and worked the quarries. Not great slate though - S2 grade w/29% absorption. Nope. I've only seen a handful in the PA slate belt and in Wales. I've seen slate for other items like dry-laid field walls, tombstones and a clock.

Just chill out, Melanie. [-crzwom]

O.C.'s Miraflex was targeted at homeowners adding additional insulation. J.M.'s Comfort Therm has 2 types; one has the plastic wrap that does not act as a vapor retarder.

White sleeve: Comfort Therm by J.M. Pink sleeve: Miraflex by O.C. It's not just the sleeve that reduces the itchy, it has longer glass fibers.

They're asphalt blisters (don't scratch, it'll spread and get infected). Air bubbles were present in the asphalt that was applied to the mat. When exposed to the sun on a roof, the tiny bubbles expand into the blisters. My personal experience is that it doesn't significantly reduce the life of the roof, unless traffic or other abrasion has punctured the blisters.

I guess that would make sense, if your burning bituminous (soft) coal or worse. I've never seen it here, and I've looked at thousands of chimneys that were used for venting coalcat one time. We have real coal (anthracite) here that doesn't seem to have "nasty goo" byproducts.

I agree that dating a building by foundation type alone would be sketchy. Really good building stone is plentiful in these parts. No reason to buy and transport manufactured products when your tripping over a very durable natural product on site (fieldstone). Even quarried stone is within a mile or 2 of each old stone building. Regular use of concrete and CMU came very late to this area. I've seen many homes from the 50s and even a few from the early 60s with stone foundations. In another thread I posted what I know about concrete (I know more about pre-1900 materials than recent stuff). I also have a few notes about concrete block. First, the names concrete blocks, cinder blocks and clinker blocks do not determine age, it just indicates the aggregate content. In the UK, they're called breezeblocks. 1882 is the first well known process of forming hollow core concrete blocks. Although there was one manufacturer at that time, most were molded individually, on site. But they are still very rare this early. A rather simple machine was developed for on site use, manufactured and sold from about 1900. What eventually became the American Concrete Institute (ACI) was a group that met in 1904 to "form an association of manufac­turers of concrete block machines to educate the users of such machines in the proper methods of making good block". There are many published building design guides for concrete block buildings dating from 1906 to 1917. It seems that around 1910 is when concrete blocks were commercially manufactured and distributed widely. The early 20s is about when rusticated blocks became popular on some late foursquares and many commercial buildings. They lost their popularity by the end of the 1930's for decorative use, but continued on until the end of the 20th century as the primary foundation material.

I'm hoping the NJ Assoc. of Realtors has a plan to kill this bill. NJ HIs are tired of fighting bad legislation.

It passed out of the The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee w/amendments. "As amended, this bill requires, within 18 months after the date of enactment of the bill into law, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and the Home Inspection Advisory Committee within the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, to adopt an energy inspection code to be used by licensed home inspectors in the preparation of an energy analysis for a house inspected for a buyer in contemplation of its purchase. The energy inspection code is to incorporate aspects of the New Jersey Energy Star Home Program. This bill further requires licensed home inspectors to include, for every home inspection performed during the course of an inspection in contemplation of the purchase of a residential property, a report containing an energy analysis for the home, prepared in accordance with the energy inspection code adopted by the Commissioner of Community Affairs pursuant to section 1 of the bill". The committee amendments: 1) specify that the Commission of Community Affairs is to adopt an “energy inspection code,â€

If you can prove that date, the house should get an historical marker planted out front. 1867 - Kurt's inspection house. 1868 - First shipment of Portland cement to the US. 1871 - First production of Portland cement in the US, about 20 miles from my home. 1871 - Construction began on the first documented formed concrete house. 1908 - Dr. Henry Mercer encapsulates an historic PA farmhouse and carriage house in concrete, now considered "historically significant architecture". (He should have been convicted of crimes against architecture)

Kurt and I were interviewed by a paid freelance writer for an article in the ASHI Reporter. Maybe the policy changed. Maybe that's why I don't read it any more.

Chad nailed it. The earliest use of wire nails for construction here was 1895 and not commonly used 'till after 1900. Cast iron columns, not steel, would be more common before 1910.

I don't know anything specific about your pink bricks. In fact, I have very limited knowledge of building materials after 1900. There's a good possibility the bricks came from the Glen-Gery Brick Co., probably called the United States Brick Co. during those years. With plants in Reading and Wyomissing, it was the largest manufacturer of building bricks in the country between 1898 and 1950. Any suppliers near the Reading RR had easy access to their products. They have since bought out many other manufacturers in several states, but they might have some historical info about their products in PA during that time. Their main office might still be in Wyomissing.