Inspectorjoe

Two years ago I was short of CE's so I went with Mckissock. It was cheap, easy and pain-free. It was absolutely worthless as far as educational value, but did get my needed CE's. As I recall. I got 23 credits for around that price. I completed the courses on my laptop while watching TV. Each 1 hour module took about 10 minutes, because I didn't actually read the material, but just skimmed over it (amazed at how dumb, irrelevant and just plain wrong most of it was), then took the test. After you pass the test, you print your CE certificate. When you finish, they ask for feedback. I i left a fairly detailed list of shortcomings. I never heard back from them. Would I use them again? Sure I would. I've sat though in-person courses that were just as irrelevant. Those cost me my time as well as more money. Back in my early years, I used to get more than twice the credits I needed per year. Not any more. Really useful education seminars are few and far between. My favorite, the Hudson Valley ASHI Old House Seminar doesn't seem to be held any more. I now get much more real education on my own, through this board and to a lesser extant, from other online sources. I look at ASHI's CE requirements as a necessary evil. This year I'll be satisfying it with Certainteed courses. I'm looking forward to actually learning from them.

I know I'm always appreciative when sellers take the time to call attention to those little things that I might otherwise not know about. If they can take the time to spell it out, I figure the least I can do is to include a picture of it in the report.[:-slaphap Click to Enlarge 27.17 KB

Tuesday (yeah, still working on the report) among the many HVAC systems in a trashed commercial building was a heat pump system and and an air conditioning system, both Chinese made by Hear Controller Inc. I can't figure out how to get the manufacture dates from the serial numbers. My guess would be 2000 and 2002, but the systems were almost certainly installed at the same time, so that doesn't make much sense. Also, the serial numbers on the indoor units don't correspond with those on the outdoor units. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 36.77 KB Click to Enlarge 42.04 KB Click to Enlarge 49.9 KB Click to Enlarge 50.67 KB

About a year and a half ago, I ran across a somewhat similar device that I'd never seen before. As luck would have it, the buyer spotted it first and asked what it was. "Uh, I dunno. I've never seen anything like it" I admitted. "I'll have to research it." He then pulled out his cell phone, Googled it and in less than a minute we were reading this Click to Enlarge 41.25 KB

It's a multi-inspector firm. Looks like he has 7 guys in the picture on his web site. That solves that mystery. Then I guess he ought to change "I have bee[sic] peforming[sic] Home Inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 14 years performing 23,458 home inspections" to "We have been performing Home Inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 14 years, performing 23,458 home inspections." Small point, but it makes a difference.

I liked the second one. What a great idea! As a guy, I hate to use this word too often, but it was cute. On another note ..... From your Youtube profile: About Me: I have bee peforming Home Inspections in the Charlotte NC area for over 14 years performing 23,458 home inspections. Holy cow! That's well over 1,500 inspections per year. Where do you find the time to make videos? Seeing the amount of business you have, I guess it pays to ensure that "Goldie gets her sale". Me, I'm happy doing 1/6 the volume you do and not having to give a thought to satisfying Goldie. Edit I see you deleted the post with the first video. How come?

This is what I get when I click on the link. You can't view this post: You do not have access to view this blog post. Some common causes are: * The post is Members Only and you are not a member or not logged in. * The post is in a Private Group and you are not a member. * The post has since been moved to Draft Mode by the poster. * The poster's account has been disabled. * The post no longer exists.

Pinus contorta AKA Lodgepole Pine http://extension.usu.edu/range/woody/lodgepolepine.htm http://www.albertabound.com/History/Tree.htm Another one of life's great mysteries solved!

Holy crap! Or maybe that should be wholly crap.

From what I understand, concrete is most vulnerable to freeze related damage in it first year and overuse of de-icing materials can make it even more susceptible. You can see examples of that where you have damage at the driveway apron at the street, but little or none on the rest of the walk. That said, properly mixed and installed concrete still shouldn't spall. Spalling usually originates with problems with the mix or improper installation.

Ah, all is well in the world again. I tend to jump to conclusions. Not a good trait for an inspector!

I guess the unnecessarily peevish reply was mine. Actually, I considered it a kind of public service, aimed at the unenlightened. Recognizing patterns can be very enlightening.

Be careful how hard you push, Terry - you might end up with deputy Connell accusing you of having multiple DUI's. http://www.agentsonline.net/forums/ubbt ... 232/7.html

Whatever it is, it has the potential to get hot. Those fins are to dissipate heat.

Aw, jeez! My heart was in my throat when I read the title. Glad things turned out well.

I'd never heard of John Finn before and I'd guess that no one else here has either. He died Thursday at the age of 100. Rachel Maddow told his story the other night. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#37390386 Makes me wonder how many other John Finn's I've met in life, but never realized it.

Look for it it the ASHI Reporter's Postcards from the Field.

Slight correction. The straw passes through the bottom of the panel. The I guess the sponge is to soak up what gets by the 'collection system. Want some more fun? This was on another wall in the same basement. The yellow circles are the two hots and the neutral of the grey cable, which is feeding something in the detached garage. It's not feeding the panel in the garage (fuses of course, and using ABS water line as conduit to it). This line ends up in the garage attic, but there was a Corvette under the scuttle, so I couldn't do more than peek. I can't imagine what the genius who did it was trying to accomplish. Click to Enlarge 61.07 KB

Hey Phillip, I thought of you today when I opened this panel. The water drips off the SE cable into a trough, down through a straw, ending up on a sponge, where it magically evaporates. Pretty ingenious, eh? Click to Enlarge 59.82 KB Yeah, why do people do the things they do?

Phillip: What the hell are you doing? Don't stick your metal tape into a panel! I'd really hate to see someone post a link to your obituary. Besides, we'd all miss your pictures. [:-weepn]

Things haven't dropped off all that much after the tax credit deadline. I consider six a week as being a full week. I have 5 scheduled this week. Two are big old houses and one was a nice size commercial job. Next week is still bare though.

You've got to be kidding! I'm waiting for the day when I discover a tunnel. My town has some, but so far, the few I've seen were bricked up. I've heard them referred to as Indian tunnels, their purpose supposedly being a means of escape from marauding Indians. I don't put much stock in that, because although there were Indian attacks around here, I've never read of any occurring in a town. Nazareth tunnels

That was the setup. Click to Enlarge 49.12 KB Click to Enlarge 63.49 KB

Thanks John, that's it. I didn't do a search here, because I read every post and have a pretty good memory for what's been discussed ..... at least I thought I did. Brandon, thanks for the Inspectapedia link. A Google search had already taken me there, but I couldn't tie what I saw to the info there. Mike, the roof was original, as well as the sheathing of course. Seeing no upper vents while I was outside, I was certain when I got into the attic, I was going to find lots of mold on the north side sheathing. I couldn't believe it - nothing. The only moisture signs were slightly rusty roofing nails. The 22 year old 3 tab roof was in remarkably good shape too. I was actually really uneasy coming up with a recommendation for the roof. Common sense said that it's time to replace it, but aside from a few nail pops, it was perfectly fine. I did of course, recommend adding upper vents. Thanks everybody.

Yes, 1.5 tons or 18,000 BTU's as shown by the 18 in the middle of the model number. You can double check (ballpark range) it against the RLA, but the formula has been changing as the efficiency has been increasing. An RLA of 8 seems about right for a unit that age. An older one of the same size would be somewhat higher, a newer unit would be somewhat lower. That would be undersized here in eastern PA, but I don't know how hot it gets in your neck of the woods.