John Kogel

Hey John. Is that black tape or melted insulation, third wire up on the right side? Click to Enlarge 38.59 KB

It's a poor picture, but I believe it's a higher quality light. The globe is heavy glass with I assume a bulb inside. I applied reasonable counter-clockwise force on it with 2 hands, couldn't budge the globe.

Thanks for that. This luminaire is lacking in markings, so worst case, I've forced somebody to double check it.

Can anyone tell me if this light fixture could possibly be rated for this location above a shower? I don't recognize it. The home owner is an electrician, so I have to wonder. Click to Enlarge 18.84 KB

I had one of the very same nozzles on my hose til last week. It started spraying back at me while I was trying to wash my truck. Had it for 4 months. Garbage. Funny pics, Erby. Your logo is missing.

The guys here would fabricate something similar, kind of a cricket to steer the runoff out and away from the wall. But they'd use OSB sheathing and torch-on membrane, and it would cost a bit more than that copper thingy. []

Hopefully it will not cost your client that much. Just the cost of inspecting a better house. []

The Empire Electric company is still alive on 63rd St, in Brooklyn. I was looking for a history page, but no dice. http://www.empireelectric.com/

Ouch! That had to hurt. All those sharp edges should be banned. []

A Hoodie can be very dangerous if you wear it backwards. But there is a 50/50 chance you'll put it on right, so they're just as safe as a Stab-lok breaker. []

Amen. If every electrician did that, I wouldn't find that in new construction. But I do find that a lot. John, it sounds like that bath GFI was doing its job. Turning off power because of a wiring fault. Another GFCI headscratcher - you test, lose power but it does not trip, there's another GFCI somewhere upstream that has tripped. Push the button on the receptacle, it trips, but won't reset. It won't reset without power.[:-weepn] You have to go find the other breaker and reset that one first. [:-weepn]

You have 2 neutrals under one lug there. Pic #1. I believe that is wrong. The service conductors have a very thin insulation, while the feeders to the 125 amp device have a thick insulation. Those feeders are likely Aluminum, and there is an Al black wire taped with white in Pic 1. In my area (country), the branch circuit neutrals are not brought back to join the service neutrals. They would be attached with big lug connectors to the neutral bus. I see the wire taped with green going to the neutral/ground bus. If that is the ground, where is the service neutral? It must be one of those smaller whites that are doubled up. Sorry, I'm just describing what I see there. The main breaker should protect the service if the load goes over 200 A, I would think? Because we don't know what the actual loads are on those other breakers, we just have the defer it to an electrician if there is a suspicion of amateur work. I would call for an electrician to check that installation. There are a lot of wire nuts in there. The panel appears to be a replacement. Some jackets were not stripped back completely, and that is the mark of an amateur. JMO. I'm not sure if any of the above is an actual code violation.

Yes, I'm afraid so. Luckily the cat lovers came and collected their cat sooner than anticipated. BTW, that was their design. I trimmed it out so it would work. My bad. [:-paperba

Cats go for the Roman arch. It may date back to the Cleopatra/Mark Antony days, when cats decided humans could serve on them. My son moved into a rental apartment with a few conditions. One was that the home owners would leave their cat with him for a few months. The cat was refusing to use a litter box that was enclosed in a box with a square entry hole. I brought my Sawzall over and we cut a nice curved archway in the side of the box. This proved to be acceptable, and the cat went in and took a crap. [] Click to Enlarge 62.5 KB

Older condo, no duct work for an in suite laundry. This can be a problem, installing a vent so it isn't too close to someone's window.

I've never heard that detergents slow down bacterial action. Unless the occupants use a lot of bleach, I'd think that detergents might actually speed up bacterial action. One of the reasons we want to keep detergents out of bodies of water is that they increase algae growth. - Jim Katen, Oregon Thanks, Jim. My 'belief' is not based on scientific fact, so you may have a point.So, if there's no negative effect from dumping greywater into a septic tank, why go to the trouble of having a separate greywater system? My personal experience with graywater is that the smelliest materials come from the laundry and the kitchen sink. Septic systems with no greywater tends to need less frequent pumping and have a kind of organic, not too unpleasant odor when you lift the lid. Or am I just imagining all this? []

Jim, I mean "where the sump pump discharges to is unknown". I used the word Taboo here because one word is quicker to type, read and understand. I spoke at length about the greywater pros and cons with my clients. To type what I said here would draw flack. Repetitive boring drivel. [] I believe that the detergents in gray water slow down the bacterial action in the septic tank. But my message to them was that it is considered to be bad practice by the authorities. The main concern is contamination of ground water by neglected systems. I presented the subject here to see how you'all deal with it when you encounter it. Interesting range of thought.

I get a charge out of the way some old timers will rig things up to work, IF you always follow all the right steps. The basement sump pump empties into what is probably a pit full of rocks down in the orchard. I just put discharges to "unknown" in my report. When you do a wash, you open the valve so the machine can drain. He's got a check valve in there as well so I don't know if the shut off is needed. Maybe the check valve is clogged up with grey sludge and lint? Yes, I recommended a cover for the pit. Anyway. I told my young clients from the city that the grey water system for the laundry is taboo and will need to be changed. The risk of polluting the ground water is the reason I use. Our Health Authority people go rabid when you mention greywater to them. Are greywater systems allowed anywhere? The Ozarks, maybe? Click to Enlarge 48.04 KB Click to Enlarge 52.66 KB

I can see that symptom as clear as day in the photos. It's exactly that "cubical" look combined with the black that made me wonder if there might have been pretty heavy charring in places along with the moisture damage. Not sure if this is the cubical look you guys can see, but I see water streaks.The wood is water-soaked. There is some kind of fungi growing there, maybe several kinds. Rafters have been sistered and there's one new plank, also water-streaked. BTW, I'm not arguing to prove I'm right. I am just grateful this was not my inspection. Telling the clients to tear it all off is a good call - convince them to walk. There must be plenty of better places for them to choose from. Click to Enlarge 73.09 KB

Mark, I am not convinced it is Poria, as it seems to be growing on the surface. When those types of rots are advanced, the wood will crack across the grain, breaking into small cubes. I don't see that in your pics. It is an ugly mess, no doubt. http://www.novaguard.com/fungus.html

My WAG - a ham radio nut.

Whatever they were burrowing in, it doesn't look like wood dust, so it may just be superficial damage to ........ whatever that stuff is. Ceiling tile?

A lot of people like the Chevy HHR. I think they have less wind resistance than the Transit on the hiway, and you would not need a dropdown rack. That big rack loaded with ladders is going to hurt your mileage somewhat on hiway trips. I like my old Tacoma with the cap and the rack. For snow (yeah, we got some) I'm using my wife's Outback. No, I can't stand up in it, but I can curl up in the back for a snooze. []

If that is what I think it is - a Low voltage switch system - somewhere, probably in the attic, there is a large panel with a virtual rat's nest of wiring and connections. There may be transformers in that panel to drop 120 v down to the low voltage, and then wires from there to the various switches and outlets. To make additions or modifications now would probably require a lot of time spent figuring out what wires go where to do what. I suppose an advantage is that there are fewer 120 volt circuits in the house, so a lower potential for fire or shock.

Whole house flood kits for $433. Cheap insurance.