Bill Kibbel

I only had a few moments to look at the attic pics with the extensive condensation/frost. We've all seen many, many homes with inadequate insulation/ventilation/vapor barriers, thermal bypasses and leaky windows. Yes, they can often cause some moisture to condense and become frost. The condition shown in your pics however, show that there are bucket fulls of moisture in your home. You need to find and fix the source of moisture first. My first thought is the vent from gas-fired heating equipment or a gas fireplace isn't connected properly, spilling into the home and/or attic.

I regularly come across concrete roofs original to buildings built between 1910 and the late 1930s. A large majority are the French style tile. Click to Enlarge 67.97 KB They've all had completely exposed aggregate. It's usually large-grain coarse sand or really small stream pebbles. Some cracked, broken, loose, tar patched and missing tiles needed replacement, but I've never had a concern that the entire roof system is going to fail anytime soon. The only major issue is really cosmetic - the wear after 80-100 years has significantly eroded the original surface pigments. Click to Enlarge 88.69 KB

I've never heard of a building material called Fir-tex. What is it?

It looks like a single-walled pipe in the pic, not a double-walled B-vent. That would certainly be a major cause of the rust (condensing of the exhaust). It also looks like an improper transition from oval to round pipe. It's likely the whole vent needs replacement. It's breached through in one visible location and will at many others, if not already. Condensation has also probably been draining back into the furnace/boiler as well. Regarding the inspector, who was "we". Were there 2 inspectors, a 2-headed inspector or is the inspector suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

Is the remaining B-vent oversized now for the single system?

Many, many three story. If two story: -Foundation extends well above grade - 4 to 7 steps up to the entrance. -Tall ceilings. -Mansard roof on the facade that extends well above the flat roof behind. A 28 just gets you to the bottom edge of the mansard. -Most have no access to rear of property. -If there is an alley behind, the electric utility cables run across the rear roof edges of all the homes. I don't miss going down there at all.

For about 17 years, I'd be headin' down to Philadelphia for 2-4 appointments each week. A 32' was absolutely necessary. I was starting to hurt myself standing it up in tight places. I'm your height but thinner. On windy days, I have to put bricks in my pockets when going 30' up. I never set up a ladder like you described. I set the side of one foot on the ground while holding one rail, like it's a pole-vault Since moving 7 years ago, I no longer go to that city. I'll occasionally be in some local smaller cities, but there's usually access to rear additions to pull up a smaller ladder so I carry a 28' now for the "big" ladder. There has only been 2 roofs that I couldn't reach since switching.

Those water heater vent systems rely on moving a large volume of air that dilutes the exhaust to reduce the temp. If it's not the size of the pipe, then it's something restricting the dilution air.

1985. They made it simple back then. You can also confirm the date 'cuz it's stamped on the side of the gas valve and also on the tag of the TPRV.

Was the crack inside the TC flue?

I've been doing this quite a while and no one has ever asked me to do an inspection without preparing a report. I wouldn't be interested in doing half-a-job anyway.

Non-contact voltage detectors frequently give false positives. I personally have never had a false negative on K&T with mine. But, Jim is right. If I can't trace what appears to be a dead circuit to where it's disconnected, then a meter is used to confirm.

That's not knob & tube - it's antenna wire. It never had insulation. What did you use to determine that it still has "power to it"? Did you actually measure voltage?

Nah. I already checked the "Permission to Reproduce" requirements at the NRCC. I feel it meets the criteria for not requiring further permission.

What industry standard are you referring to? Is there something you can show us that requires PVC vents have field-applied "UV protection" in our jurisdictions? Are you familiar with the required formulations for pipe grade PVC? When would it ever be acceptable to apply mastics containing bitumen to a plumbing vent penetration?

I don't have time to look stuff up this morning. I think American says to drain every 6 months. I think Bradford White says to drain 1-2 gallons each month.

Why not recommend/follow the manufacturers' maintenance instructions instead of makin' stuff up?

No, no lime - just the light brown color of dried mud from that area of NJ. You can see the formed shape from the clapboards that were removed from that wall.

Mud and rye straw. Installed exactly 240 years ago.

Here's a spot where the wall insulation was exposed in the house I inspected yesterday. Click to Enlarge 46.2 KB

NJ ain't sunny California.

From today: Click to Enlarge 50.59 KB

I might know a lot about very, very little.

It's Miraflex by Owens Corning. It was discontinued several years ago. It's made from fiberglass, but the fibers were twisted to make it "cottony soft". It was also encapsulated in a perforated polyethylene jacket.

It's an insulation blanket made from flax fibre. Flaxlinum and Linofelt were popular brands of that era.