John Kogel

Thanks Jim and Dave. I was admiring that Amprobe unit, like a red Fluke with a 9 volt battery. I now know that I want a digital hygrometer, which uses capacitance measurements. The psycrometer measures evaporation using a wet wick. Don't want to walk around with a wet wick, do I. []

After reading through all the product descriptions, I still don't know which humidity meter I want. I've used the Fluke and liked it, but would be quite happy with a lower priced unit for just an occasional helper,, to measure relative humidity in a living space or attic. Any suggestions?

Yep, best fire starter you can have! That and the matches stuffed in the sock. []

She's got her facts wrong. A Mike Holmes home inspection is done by a contractor working for Mike's new company, for a price close to double the going rate (Guelph/Toronto, Ontario). Thermal imagery is optional and costs extra. So, sure, he may have said every home inspection should include IR, but he did not say, "we do this for you for free". He also said the HI should run around town and pull all the permits that were ever issued on the property. Well, where I work, that's the realtor's job, for which they are nicely reimbursed. Again, this is not something Mike will do for free. So the best defense is a good offense. Have your rebuttal ready. Mike Holmes does not do inspections. He hires inspectors. Few established inspector are going to sign up to work for him. So he has a crew of rookies, some with engineering and construction backgrounds, but new to home inspection, and word is, that some clients have been sadly disappointing.

Last year's ASHI president met with Holmes and/or his team toward the end of last year. Have no idea what the meeting was about or any result thereof. The Holmes Inspection Company is actively seeking inspectors in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver with plans to expand further until it explodes with pompous self-righteousness. Just kidding, there, Big Mike. [] Raising the standards is not a bad thing. The good, professional home inspectors have little to fear. But we do need to be clear about the limitations of a visual inspection. As I posted elsewhere, if you want your new house to appear on Mike Holmes's TV show, you don't want me to inspect it. Hire one of the new Holmes inspectors.

That would be "Marr nuts", eh?

Yes, the newer Canadian Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok panels and breakers are different from the dreaded Federal Pacific panels and breakers which were made in the US. Horizontal mounting is permitted, but not all that common. In new construction they are generally mounted vertically. The Canadian Electrical Code differs from the NEC in too many places to mention here. Canadian HI's need to be careful about what they learn from the internet. [] Federal Pioneer panels are still in production in Canada and other countries and are owned by Schneider Electric, who also own the Square D company. FP Stab-Lok panels are very common here possibly because they are a few $ cheaper that Square D. The Stab-Lok breakers may have better tension in the pins, because I remove covers from FP panels several times a week and don't worry about the breakers actually falling out, although they do move around a bit because they pivot on those stabs. If I come across a Federal Pacific panel, I know it is old (1960'S) and may have loose, unreliable breakers in it. I recommend replacement of those older units.

Ditto that. I often see the round base meter can on 100 amp service, but it is invariably an older home with an updated (probably from an original 60 amp fuse box) to 100 amp service. John, don't change that avatar. You've got the look there of the lead character in the "Walking Dead" TV series. He's a Highway Patrol type cop that goes around the Eastern States saving lives by blasting zombies. Perfect analogy. []

I think it is a "Main Lug Insulator". [] Looks like Billy Bob broke it with his wrench whilst installing those non-complying and dangerous double-taps.

Well, I am suitably impressed with your website, and I've browsed a lot of them. Good job. Want to fix mine? []www.allsafehome.ca

Prices too low, you'll get the wrong kind of clients, for sure. The ones that expect more for less. Prices too high, no that won't work until you get a track record. Your prices should be the local average which says your product is equal to what the others offer. Then demonstrate that you can do better. Answer questions like you know what you are talking about. That means you need to know your stuff, this is right, that is wrong. This is serious, that is not. If you don't know, say you need to double-check and will get back to them. You can get the answers here. [:-graduat

Electric works fine, and the types I'm familiar with only require a 15 amp 120 volt circuit. I had a thermostat sensor failure with a bathroom in my previous house. The sensor is a little nodule on the end of a wire that comes down from the thermostat and is embedded in the tile thinset. I drilled a hole between tiles near the wall and poked a new sensor in there, which worked OK. If you don't do the entire floor, you will feel a noticeable difference between the heated and unheated tiles. The heat does not spread sideways very far.

"There is greeny-black fuzzy stuff growing in the attic. It might not be mold. It could be some kind of alien life form, scheming to take over the planet". Click to Enlarge 63.25 KB Click to Enlarge 59.68 KB

That pic is of a display in a store or a gallery. There's no floor drain. Even if you put a drain in the floor, what happens when you get a clump of sludge and hair caught in the trap? [] Here's a well designed tiny bathroom in a loft in a converted commercial building. It's about 3 X 9. The tiny sink makes it all OK. Click to Enlarge 29.84 KB Click to Enlarge 45.81 KBAnd here's a house where my clients hated both bathrooms, and ended up walking. Notice the shower head and floor drain to the right of the sink. Sht, shave and a shower, while keeping an eye on the neighbors. [:-graduat Click to Enlarge 52.55 KB Click to Enlarge 70.77 KB

Europe - lots of brick construction. Plastered masonry walls, most likely. San Diego - wood frame and gypsum-based wallboard (drywall). You will not have an easy time with this when you go to get your permit. You can buy vinyl tub surround board in 5 foot and 8 foot lengths. Choose a familiar product. Like a 5 foot tub with a one piece tub surround. If you try to reinvent the American shower, it will fail. Even if it does not leak, it will still be hard to sell in the future.

I would call that a "temporary addition, that was probably built without a permit." I will point out that the wall is sitting on the slab and it will rot when people stop maintaining the caulk. And we know they will.

Not for heating, but way back when, I used a copper coil in a woodstove to heat water in a converted tank behind my stove. I kept the electric element in the upper section of the tank for a backup to keep the water hot overnight and such. Keep in mind that the water circulating in the coil cools the stove down to some extent, so you need to burn a hotter fire to prevent creosote buildup. The old woodburning cookstoves had a cast iron jacket that sat alongside the fire box for water heating and that worked real well, better than a thin coil. Here are some pics of a very well built woodburning boiler. The fellow who built this was a real craftsman. This system uses hot water radiators/convectors and was keeping a 2000 sq ft home warm in January on the electric backup heater alone. The chimney had some serious creosote problems. I suspect the old timer hadn't been there to make sure there was dry wood and a hot fire. Click to Enlarge 39.03 KB Click to Enlarge 34.07 KB Click to Enlarge 46.14 KB Click to Enlarge 50.21 KB

I had a treetop land on my service cable one time and it jerked the insulator (we call them Emily knobs) right off the house. The mast popped out of the clamp on top of the meter box. But there was no real damage done. One of the guys from the power Company said that was the way to go. A weak link there can prevent a break in the cable. As Charlie said, that appears to be a proper hookup, although the wire usually doubles back to the clamp on the ones I see.

What else can help prevent getting zapped? I don't know, but can suggest a few things. Wear shoes on concrete floor. Don't touch the panel with your other hand while removing the screw. I always do, but should learn not to. This increases the chance of a shock thru the heart, bad. Wear insulated gloves and eye pro. I wear readers, and always put my glasses on before I start on the panel. No, I don't have the gloves. Yet. How about this one. Use a smaller, low-powered screw driver? Could it be the 12 volts and higher have so much torque, they bite right thru the insulation, where a little 4 volt might not?

As you know, the correct way to feed a 125 amp subpanel is by way of a 125 amp breaker installed below the main breaker. If you tap the service above, it isn't really a sub, is it? Besides the double taps, the way the insulation was not stripped completely on those branch circuit cables coming in at the top suggest the work was done by a DIYer without a permit. I can't see if cable clamps were used. (In Canada, branch circuits are not permitted in that close proximity to the main conductors. It is allowed in the US, but why not keep them clear of the service conductors if possible?) Another thing, the drywall is brought in over the edges of the panel. That is wrong. The panel box should be flush with the surface of the wall so that the cover can fit tight. If there is ever a fire in there, it needs to be contained.

It is very creative and extremely impractical. Typical 70's hippie style, surprising to see in these modern times. For a kids room below, sharks teeth on the tub and bomber wings on the ceiling would look neat. Landing gear might be a good idea, actually. [] I'm imagining a stumble down that steep staircase and smacking one's head on that chimney, Ouch! I agree, spiral stairs for a slower, safer tumble. The buyers will be taking a bath on that place, haha.

If you add a lot of pics in your reports, check out Home Inspector Pro. You can load them all up in bulk, auto-resized 4 per page. Then you flip thru them, rotate if need be and click destinations for the ones you want. I can do up a folder of 130 pics and have 30 or 40 in my report in about 20 mins. You can type in comments with a pic or just let them speak for themselves, like 6 roof pics, no concerns. I don't do narrative, just blurt comments - Stone steps have settled, trip hazard - Repair* Average report - < 1 hr.

Besides the obvious stated by Richard, the supply cable is not permitted to be loose or exposed. That cable is not designed to flex. If I see something like that, it is "amateur workmanship", which means the work was done without a permit by a careless DIYer. There may be hidden issues, such as damaged insulation or a loose screw in the receptacle. All that without even bringing up the code violations. Call for an electrician to repair and check the installation.

I hope they pack a file as well as the tool. The cutting edges wouldn't last too long with all that digging they're doing in the clip. The wire cutter is a good innovation. But I'd pack a hacksaw blade if there was pipe to cut. [] I gave my son an army trench tool I had in the shed to carry in the trunk of his car. I made a collapsing metal handle for it from 2 piece of steel tubing, so it can be used to reach under the wheels of the car when it's stuck. Mine had a folding pick attachment.

Yes, that is also possible. Anywhere there is a drastic temp differential, there will be condensation. The warm air could be from a heater or an open door. I doubt that they'd leave the car engine running in there for very long, but they might plug in a block heater and along with melting snow, cause some moisture to rise. Is it normal to have uninsulated attached garages in Fargo?