Bill Kibbel

Then why do folks consistently pay inspection fees into 4 figures? Those clients have enough brain cells to understand value. Then you don't get it. From your reaction to criticism from experienced professionals, I'm guessing you probably never will. You're right, we don't know you. Maybe you know what your services are worth. If I did know you, I'd tell you the same thing the same way. Folks here have actually tried to give you advice to help you succeed.

Hi Don, Rutland, a company that supplies all types of fireplace and wood stove repair products, has a fiber-reinforced refractory cement. It is intended to be used for repairs to damaged firebricks and for setting firebricks. I've used it to repair firebricks in my wood stoves. I don't recall any information about the ability to use it as a coating. It looks like the product in your pictures, but I'm thinking it's a misapplication. If it's a "colonial" style home, I guess it's possible they were just trying to imitate old plaster coated fireboxes of earlier times.

You trying to make a point beyond the topic?

No, VP - 25th year.

Today: a 13,500 square foot elementary school built in 1917. My time spent during inspection preparing the report = 0 minutes. My time spent dictating the report after the inspection = 35 minutes. My time reviewing after a professional typist prepared the report = maybe 20 minutes. Final result: a custom narrative report with perfect spelling, proper grammar and no canned BS comments.

Vented floor furnaces are permitted by the IRC (national code) if manufactured to UL standards and installed per the manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturer's label also likely has a warning about keeping kids and pets off of the hot floor register. With wood stoves, space heaters and floor furnaces, kids have less sense and learn slower than dogs.

Look up "Securing and supporting". It will probably include "boxes" should be fastened securely. Appliance receptacle outlets are installed in boxes.

That document doesn't state that isolation is the only reason. It even states: "Also, the neutral assemblies are not evaluated with multiple neutral conductors in the same terminal".

Ask your doctor, not a bunch of home inspectors.

Yes. Perlite is a volcanic rock that when heated, the trapped water turns to steam and expands. It then easily crumbles to powder.

They fell off the truck on the way to the jobsite.

In Wales, the appearance of an owl in or between houses indicates an unmarried girl lost her virginity.

There's no right or wrong when evaluating a condition from a tiny image on the interwebs. Mark's very clear larger pics in my email show that it is paint. Hopefully they used a chemical stripper although, it may have been painted for a reason: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advic ... uses.shtml

If it's frost or salts, I've never seen or heard of anything like it on old bricks. yes, I think it's original brick. "OK, here's my suspicion: That is an added brick veneer. Why?" 1. "The chimneys are on the outer walls, but don't appear to be flush with the outer brick work". I think they line up with the walls perfectly. Look at the width of the overhang at the gable end. 2. "The white flashed brick on the right half of the home aren't consistent with old bricks". Why? How can you tell? 3. "There definitely aren't header courses". It's certainly hard to tell from that small photo, but I think I'm seeing courses that contain headers. It's not very common, but it looks like Flemish stretcher bond (different from Flemish bond). Mark, If you have the original, larger sized pick, you can send it to whk3(at)entermail.net.

I'm thinkin' it's just a lime-wash or paint that they started to remove. If they did it with sand-blasting or pressure sprayer, the glazed surface of the bricks is compromised.

I don't like any member here that makes posts while hiding behind a fake name.

If you look long enough, you'll likely find what you need in writing somewhere. I've been able to find requirements for flat roof systems (Mod Bit, EPDM, TPO & PVC) that indicate a minimum slope of 1/4:12 and/or no standing water after 48 hours. If you can determine the manufacturer (there are many brands, but few manufacturers), and it's not clear in the installation instructions, look for the ICC Evaluation Service report. I recently documented issues with a "Mule Hide" EPDM roof installation as part of an expert witness assignment. I obtained the ICC-ES report for the actual manufacturer (Carlisle). The design and installation section clearly states that their EPDM and TPO products must be installed with a minimum 1/4:12 slope. Why the heck didn't they fix the slope with tapered insulation?

Oh, now I get it. Thanks for the explanation.

I agree with you, Will and have had similar situations. The label on the vent indicates it has been tested and approved for something other than a natural draft appliance. It also doesn't properly connect to the new water heater draft hood and it doesn't appear that the termination is 5' above the appliance draft hood. I'll bet the manufacturer's instruction also require a "vent connector" between the draft hood and an approved chimney or approved gas vent.

I'm guessing this is the "new thread". It started at another discussion.

I'm familiar with sizing heat pumps and balance points. I've lived with them for over 20 years and installed them in 2 of my homes. I'm just questioning the 38° cut-off. There's a whole lot of dual-fuel systems here with the balance point in the mid 20°s. Mine is sized perfectly for cooling and the QuadraFire stove on winter nights keeps the heat pump running well down below 20°. The staged electric back-up rarely kicks in. I would never consider LP back-up here.

Clothesline.

Why 38°? Is it to avoid including a defrost cycle?

Probably a heat pump with gas for back-up, instead of electric elements. They're very common here. You can always confirm it's a heat pump by finding the reversing valve at the outdoor unit. At 30°, you should have been able to operate it on the heat pump mode and even check the defrost cycle.

Requested poll here: https://inspectorsjournal.com/forum/top ... C_ID=13330