Inspectorjoe

Maybe there's a Campbell's soup can inside of it.

Good catch Jeremy. The slab overhung the stem wall by several inches. I don't know how far the brick extended under the slab because the mulch was heaped up at the sides. Thanks everybody.

I should have said "fix or replace". I'm not sure if it's likely to get worse over time. As for a fix, I was thinking something that would keep water out and make it look like it wasn't cracked. I've seen acrylic, urethane and epoxy coatings used and they look pretty decent and seem durable. Not that I would specify a repair, but I'm just not sure what to tell the buyer: It should be replaced; It can be sealed, but you still might want to have it replaced; It's not a problem, but if it bothers you, you might want to have it repaired or replaced. I don't really know, but the odds are that it's just a stem wall.

I could use some opinions about some cracks in a concrete porch slab. The house is four years old. It's currently the model home for an upscale development. The development isn't built out yet, but I suspect the builder is down to eating his seed corn. Overall, the quality and attention to detail was pretty good. There is a long crack that runs parallel to the front edge of the slab, and several that run perpendicular. At these, you can see that the cracks run close to the full depth of the slab. The slab has a roof over it, but it's still pretty much exposed. Does it need to be fixed? Is it possible to fix it without looking like crap (the buyer is buying a 'new' house)? Click to Enlarge 37.95 KB Click to Enlarge 40.9 KB Click to Enlarge 57.24 KB

Now what was that rule about which way the core of a block should be oriented? Well, it must not matter, since this installation has obviously stood the test of time. I guess I'll recommend just monitoring it. [:-shake] Click to Enlarge 77.56 KB

Click to Enlarge 74.23 KB

I was glad to see that you edited your post and removed the veiled threat WJ. Maybe no one but me saw it. I'm glad I did though. I'd comment further, but I'm probably already putting my business and other assets at risk ........ if you catch my drift.

I'm afraid the answer to what that thing is and what it was for may have died with the person who put it in and the people who owned the house at the time. It's very near the top of the foundation, so it couldn't be a plug in a sewer line. The frost line around here is over two feet. The probable height of the grade before the addition was added would have had the sewer line suspended in the air . Besides. the cast part inside is integral to the outer wall. If it was a compression plug, the plug, would have to have been on the other side. One possibility that I considered, was it being an old cistern feed pipe. The problem with that was there was no sign that area had ever been a cistern and every pipe passing through a foundation wall to feed a cistern that I have ever seen has been angled. If it's an anchor, I can't see how it ever had a deadman attached, again, because it would have exited the foundation above grade.Here's a picture of where it would have exited (at the rear). And I still can't understand why there is no sign of it on the other side. Maybe they put a thick parge coat on over it long ago. I mentioned that there were quite a few foundation cracks at the other end of the house, but there weren't any of these devices in that area. I did recommend that a structural engineer check it out, because they appeared to be relatively new (relative to the age of the house). I was a bit concerned about the settlement in the street and the sidewalk accross the street, because this is sinkhole country. I've seen some bad things happen. I just dug these slides out and scanned them. I took them July 1983. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/331 ... 57fd_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/331 ... a5f0_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/331 ... 1cdf_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/331 ... 2350_o.jpg On a grander scale, This building was located about three miles away from the one we're talking about. Sinkholes in Pennsylvania

The other side is an addition basement. There is no sign of it there. The grade at the front and side drops off pretty sharply, but it seems like the rear of the house, where this is located, has always been pretty much flat. There are quite a few cracks in the foundation, mostly at the outside front corner, where the drop off is the greatest, but there were few cracks back in the area where this pipe thing is located. There is also a bit of ground settlement at the exterior, along with a a big depression in the street and sidewalk settlement across the street, I normally don't comment on things that are off a property, but I included this in the report: Click to Enlarge 60.64 KB Settlement is visible in the street and the sidewalk on the other side of the street. There is also settlement of the steps, and some minor settlement of the sidewalk slabs on the property. When you have a structural engineer evaluate the foundation cracks, make him aware of this settlement, because the cracking may be related to it.

I found this protruding through the concrete foundation, about six and a half feet above the floor, in the basement of a c1920 brick twin. It seems to be heavy gauge steel pipe with a sheet metal cap on it. There is no sign of it on the other side of the foundation wall, which is the basement of a small addition that was added not too long after original construction. It looks vaguely familiar, like I've seen something like it before. And no, I didn't try to turn the nut. Click to Enlarge 67.2 KB Click to Enlarge 81.57 KB Click to Enlarge 98.01 KB

Who is this Mike Holmes, I wondered: [utube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwPC-YBHMI4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344">

I'll be the first to admit that I don't like walking roofs. Believe me, my aversion to heights is something that I thought long and hard about before getting into this. I decided I'd deal with it, and so that's what I do. I don't know why high roofs give me the willies, because I had an ultralight many years ago - a flimsy, underpowered weight shift ultralight, and I couldn't afford a parachute. Yet I was perfectly comfortable at 2,000 feet with nothing but a plastic kid's swing seat between me and the ground. Like I said, I deal with it, but sometimes I swear that it gives me optical delusions. Click to Enlarge 78.2 KB

Yeah, Flickr. I've been using it for several years. It's by far the best (and long-lived) photo site that I've used. There's a free version, but there are limits to how much you can upload every month. Usage is unlimited with a 'pro' account, and it's a bargain at $25 per year. You can choose whether a photo will be public, private or password protected. If you want to share a photo with someone, you can send them a link to a page where they can choose which size to download: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inspectorj ... 8/sizes/l/ When you are logged into flickr, that page will also have the HTML that you can paste into a web page, and it will also have the URL of just the photo: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/330 ... 4a52_o.jpg I use that when I want to post a large photo here or on another message board. Of course, you can organize photos into albums (sets): http://www.flickr.com/photos/inspectorj ... 071027450/ There are lots and lots of other features that I don't bother with. It's free, so give it a try.

Great photos! I saw lots of interesting things. That massive chimney was especially cool. You have an eye for detail and composition. Post more when you get to another old town.

Steven: Yeah, Flemington was a great track. I went a few times before they paved it. I remember my car would be covered with dirt afterward. I've never been to Wall Stadium and didn't know it closed. It's quite a ways away from me. I know a woman who worked there. She was telling me how great it was. Maybe I'll make a point of getting there this summer. You never know how long it will be around. The Nazareth One Mile closed in 2004. That was a shame. It was a beautiful, first class facility, but it was a difficult track to pass on. The races tended to be pretty boring, with few lead changes. Attendance kept dropping. Still, it was sad to see the final checkered flag.

Since I've had lots of time on my hands lately, I started transferring some of my old home videos to DVD. I put some clips of the final race at the Nazareth 1/2 mile speedway on Youtube. Ever see an enduro race? On the clip is more than 200 cars racing for 3 hours on a half mile dirt track. Even if you don't care for racing, you gotta see it. Driving in it had to be about the most legal fun to be found. This was the final race ever held at the Nazareth 1/2 mile. Automobile racing at this track began in 1921. It's the track where in 1959, 19 year old Italian immigrant twins Aldo & Mario Andretti began their racing careers. The site is now occupied by a strip mall. Yeah, there aren't enough strip malls around here. In the normal quality mode, the quality absolutely sucks. When the window opens, double-click on the start arrow and the Youtube page will open. Then click on Watch in high quality and wait til it downloads before watching.

Thanks Kevin, Bill & Rob. I'd better get my ass in gear if I want to finish the report before the race starts. .... No pun intended.

I'm not a heating guy, but it sounds like nonsense to me. I think it would have the opposite effect. Assuming that the burner is putting out a constant amount of heat, reducing the fan speed will cause the temperature of the air being delivered to the house to increase. So much for his "more even heat theory". And since a furnace has no way to store heat, the exhaust temperature will also increase, meaning more heat will be lost through the exhaust. I would have just LOVED to have heard EnergyStar's take on this. Dang!

No, it's definitely not efflorescence. Rubbing it had no effect. The only thing I had on the roof to wet it with was ..... was .... uh, oh never mind. The only residue on the roof was little bits that got slopped onto it during application. The only thing I can come up with is that maybe before the gutters were installed, roof runoff splashed up and the acidic rainwater reacted with the pigment in the fresh stucco. It seems to be just a cosmetic problem, but I'd like to know if it isn't. Anyway, from the picture below, you can see that it's not the biggest issue. Click to Enlarge 58.52 KB

The one year old stucco above the lower roofs is white in several areas. There are no other apparent differences between it and the tan stucco. I'm baffled. Click to Enlarge 96 KB Click to Enlarge 53.15 KB Click to Enlarge 57.97 KB

In Pennsylvania, home inspection is regulated, but there is no licensing. Since the regulations went into effect about seven years ago, the statute of limitations has been one year, but it was not tested in court until a few months ago. Until then, no one knew whether it would hold up or be thrown out. I know the inspector who was the 'guinea pig'. I thanked him profusely for ending seven years of uncertainty.

Click to Enlarge 40.67 KB Click to Enlarge 43.42 KB Click to Enlarge 28.25 KB This is what I put in the report: The exhaust vent, known as Ultravent, is made from a material that is subject to failure and is the subject of a recall. The pipe is leaking exhaust gas where it connects to the boiler. Combustion products are entering the building. The vent should be replaced as soon as possible. See Articles 6C.10,11 and go to http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/PRHTML98/98072.html for more information.

ASHI RADON MITIGATION SYSTEM INSPECTION CHECKLIST There's one thing about the checklist that I don't agree with: I. INSPECTION RESULTS (complete only one of A, B or C) A. This home has an active radon mitigation system* No. The system does not appear to meet recommended design/installation and operating standards. Test the home to verify that the radon level is below 4 pCi/L. Have a qualified radon mitigator verify that the system is operating properly, and to repair or upgrade the system (as needed). It makes sense to me to have a system that hasn't been designed or installed correctly fixed first, then have it tested.

How about lifting suspended ceiling panels? I normally pop a few up if they're not too tight. You never know what you're going to find. Click to View 93.65 KB

Using Firefox, when you open a picture in the gallery, only a portion of the picture displays, with a scroll bar. Click to View 49.37 KB