Bill Kibbel

That's an amazing find. I would've made an offer. I have a 1916 publication with a full page ad for that exact model. It's the original on-demand water heater (cast iron too). "Can you imagine... turn on any hot water faucet at any time and hot water gushes forth until you turn the faucet off again".

The best flashing for tree trunk-thru-roof joints is made from tire inner tubes. They're available for many diameters - from lawn tractor to earth mover tires. I've seen/heard that, Bill. Is this from personal experience? Inspecting, not installing. I've seen a handful of additions to old buildings constructed around tree trunks. The 2 that leaked the least had tire inner tubes fabricated into collars.

The best flashing for tree trunk-thru-roof joints is made from tire inner tubes. They're available for many diameters - from lawn tractor to earth mover tires.

I wouldn't move to where they are my competition!

The model number of that Ducane furnace starts with MPG... multi-position gas. That's the old numbering system. I have have their new one. I'll try to find it.

The first picture is of the 15.5' Type I Xtend & Climb. The following 2 pics are of a product I don't recognize. Some time ago, Xtend & Climb issued a warning about purchasing inexpensive copies from auction sites. If it seems to good to be true...

GE costs just a bit more but has the longest warranty.

That's Peanut, my wifes Yorki-Poo. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike So, changing your avatar is supposed to make us think of you as a cute puppy and not a big ass? Thanks for posting the chart - it be handy.

Short fuse! I was clean-jerkin' the big ladder off the top of vans and SUVs for 24 years. I finally got severe tendinosis in one shoulder, so I thought switching to a lower roofed car would solve the problem. I now slide it off the back before lifting and the torn tendons are finally starting to repair.

http://necn.platformicstaging.com/09/16 ... kID=312293

I mentioned steam only in regards to the primary systems they're most often asked to speak about at conferences. There's a mechanical engineer that designs rather complicated hydronic systems for commercial and industrial applications that also has spec'ed many conversions on historically significant buildings. There's also an experienced mechanic that I met at an historic hotel restoration project. We were both brought in as consultants to troubleshoot some issues. He's a top expert in hydronic systems and also an experienced expert witness. Adding 12, 18 or 24 psi of pressure in a typical residential system has absolutely no significant effect on head pressure in this application. In fact it was found by closing the system, the temperature of the water could be increased. If you studied these systems and researched this topic, you'd know that the hotter the water, the faster it circulates. I've met Tom a few times and know of his plumbing and inspection experience. Do you have anything that he, or anyone else that is credible in this area, has written to back up your original statement? Well, I've only been at it for 24 years, but my experience (inspecting over 11,000 buildings built before 1900 also in a wet heat area) has never shown that in a gravity system "The natural flow of water, (cold to hot) on an open system worked/works better than the same system closed". If I'm wrong, I'd sure like to know. Please show us something from a credible source.

Could you show us something from a credible source stating that the flow of water "worked/works better" in an open system? This has been discussed by some of the top steam heating gurus in my area and they think it's folklore. The only changes to the system are installing a compression tank in place of the expansion tank and a relief valve is installed in place of an overflow pipe. How does this have any effect on the rise/fall of hot/cold water, that quickly become a convective current.

The report is very well written and the technical information is excellent. It has an incredible amount of detail - to much detail, in my opinion. I'm pretty sure most of your clients are only skimming through the body of the report, just like I did after a while. I just have a few questions for you to consider: 1. What's the purpose of the "glamor shot" of the house? I think it's unnecessary since this ain't a sales brochure. 2. Is the lengthy disclaimer needed because you don't have this stuff in the pre-inspection agreement? 3. Do you think it would be easier to read without wrapping text around pictures. I would prefer a larger image below the text describing the issue. 4. Can something be missing if it never existed? 5. Wouldn't it be easier to comprehend if multiple defects (electrical) were in a simple numbered list? I can't imagine a buyer following or understanding the very specific details described in the report. 6. No advice about electric baseboards? 7. Does insulating pipes really prevent them from freezing? 8. Almost every farmhouse built here before 1860 has 2-3 of those "dangerous" winders for the entire flight of each stairway. They fit nicely at the end of the home between the fireplaces and exterior wall. Would you always recommend rebuilding all stairways "to a safe, modern standard", considering it would require relocating the stairwell, altering the structure and original historic character? PS. I've significantly improved my report writing since participating here at TIJ. Many of the changes I've made are directly from Jim K.

I put it in the TIJ library 2 months ago. https://inspectorsjournal.com/forum/Lin ... +Roof+(BUR)+Covers

I have the Sony ICD-P17. It's probably at least 8 years old and has had a LOT of use. It's never missed a syllable.

It took a long time for me to completely eliminate the passive voice. You couldn't do anything to make me read my old reports.

Specific to mod bit: Click to Enlarge 36.2 KB

That's sure looks like tile-board, a water-resistant. hardboard paneling used for (cheap) tub walls. It certainly isn't original to the house. That gas/propane log set should really only be installed in listed enclosures. That home-made goofiness isn't a listed enclosure. It was probably built for the 'flickering light" electric fireplace. You can also verify that the log set is manufactured for unvented installations. I just noticed you mentioned it's in a bedroom. Many do not allow them to be installed in bedrooms.

A coworker just sent me this detailed article: www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept ... nyl-siding

"The roofer is offering to repair the rafters..." Tell the homeowner that the roofer has already demonstrated his skill with tools.

Levittown, PA, built in the early through mid '50s. Each house had to be built in one day and 40 houses were completed every day.

If you can get to it, you can quickly determine if it's NOT converted for LP by looking at the flames. The gas control valve should be labeled as well.

No, no, no, no. Please don't spend money on this book. It's got incorrect information. Real architectural historians have said it's got stuff in there that's made up. I literally threw my copy away. You want to start with Identifying American Architecture by John Blumenson (one of the top architectural historians in North America). Next, read American Houses by Gerald Foster, a professor of architectural history at Harvard Grad School of design, UMass & Boston Architectural center. Mike, did you get my reply to your email?

Mueller was probably the top manufacturer of a variety of early check valves.