John Kogel

I had an electric range, stovetop burner not working. My clients were late arriving, so I went and got a multi meter and tested the socket. It was good. That was once, some time ago, 2010. Since then, I have thrown that meter out, display quit working. Used it once at work, once or twice at home. [] Multi meters are cheap to buy, so yes have one in the truck, for 240 volt circuits, sniffing abandoned wiring, etc.

I think the attached photo came from Joe Tedesco and that it was staged. Click to Enlarge 16.23 KB That looks like it was propped up so that he could safely heat it with a propane torch. Fake, alright.

Hot-dipped galvanized is fine IMO. I would agree that electroplated stuff is crappy.

Right, old growth Cedar out this way is 500 years old. Ok some is younger and some is 800+. These are the giant trees that are maybe 14 feet in diameter at the butt. That is the wood those totem poles were carved from and those poles are over 100 years old mostly. The big old trees get a root rot that rots the heart out while they are still standing. So that fungi can be in the sawn lumber, but rarely keeps growing after logging. Cedar fence posts rot at the ground level. Moisture and air. Buried Cedar lasts a very long time but it does rot slowly. Logs in the lake are amazing. Here they have salvaged Western Hemlock logs that were submerged near the old sawmills. Hemlock is heavy and has a high water content, so it would sink before Douglas Fir or Spruce. Cedar would not sink so there are none of those logs to be salvaged. Click to Enlarge 108.37 KB My daughter, the tree-hugger.

Only if it is constantly wet, such as posts in the ground. We have depleted most of the old growth, but I still see an occasional load of Cedar logs heading to the shingle mill.

Elementary, my dear Mycroft. Click to Enlarge 78.93 KB

Red Cedar is fine for that. Naturally durable all the way thru, which is not true for PT wood. Re: those corroded brackets, I don't see that here in the land of Cedar, in 10 or even 20 year construction. Acid rain, maybe? I would not blame the wood for that. If Cedar was that corrosive to galvanized metal, there'd be no Cedar roofing industry. If that is White Cedar, it is said to be not as strong, but still very durable.

Thanks. I thought it looked burnt but pics can be deceiving. And I realize the cracks like this one can be pretty minor, not a major threat to the occupants. Down low, it might even draw air in to the firebox.

I suppose that could be determined by probing with a thin wire. Thanks.

Does this look like there was a fire in this chimney? The creosote has a glazed look, besides being kinda thick. [] Click to Enlarge 108.8 KB Another question - To repair a crack in the back of a heatilator-type fireplace, would it be possible to weld this? Vee it out with a grinder and braze it? Or fill it with fireclay? Click to Enlarge 73.69 KB

Give it a fresh battery? No kidding, a new battery can sometimes do the trick. I have a 2007 model Proto and it is very reliable. It has the pins under the cap, and that is the handiest model if you get a new one. There is a remote set of pins that can extend your reach that can be used with it, never have tried that accessory, but it could be used with an extension pole.

Could become a problem in the future.

Slow drainage and clogs. #3) Confusion []

Thanks to you and everyone else for your response. You're right about the over-thinking part. I'm usually not like this, but for some reason this job got to me. The buyer is a single 20-something year old woman, 1st time buyer, buying a 110 year old flip, which was kind of a mess. She had no idea what she was getting into. I'm not sure what the RE agent was thinking, showing her this place. Tony Yep That question has passed thru my mind a few times as well, why this place? Probably because of the new kitchen. But we don't know what the circumstances are, sometimes the single lady turns out to have 3 boyfriends that are builders. [] I had a similar house a few months back, and just labored away at describing everything without putting prejudice or judgement in there. They had laid new flooring right over the ugly return air ducts. The new siding stopped at the ground level, but the rotten skirting carried on down for another 2 feet. They had shoveled vermiculite into piles on top of fiberglass to get access for pot lights. She walked, but I never said she shouldn't buy it and fix it.

We shed skin everywhere as well. That's how dogs can follow our trails. If I was a dog owner, he'd be trained to sniff mould and he/she would make me rich.

I have a picture of an unlined concrete block chimney with creosote bleeding out thru the concrete. I remember a guy in the '70's, yep I do recall, [] he installed a concrete block chimney, no liner, and hooked up a woodburning heater. In less than one year, that chimney was black with creosote, bleeding thru the concrete. A few years later, I built a similar chimney but installed the masonry flue liner. It is still in use, wood heat, AFAIK no problems whatsoever in 30 yrs.

Assuming they used copper fittings I tell people what they've got and that this info should be passed on to their insurance people. The general consensus with insurance providers in my area at least is that PolyB with metal connectors is no worse than any other water pipe. After all it is 25 to 35 years old and not leaking. Even so it is good policy for a home inspector to caution people that leaks can occur at any time. Because agents can be wrong but a home inspector can never be wrong.

Yeah, and David, thanks for sharing that with the rest of the dum-ass world. [] And BTW, trees don't burn down, they burn UP. But Houses burn down and flaky wiring is a prime cause of that. []

We'd just sit on the back porch and wait for them to traverse the yard. That was 'pit-lamping' back in the day. People had spotlights mounted on the car for hunting deer in the dark.

Nope. That was in a house I inspected. I did forestry for over 20 years and saw more than my share of wildlife on foot with no weapon but maybe bear spray. Never shot anything. That ferret, I would have shot. []

They always go for the head. Or the neck. Click to Enlarge 24.9 KB Click to Enlarge 45.4 KB Denny, had a similar fright once, crouched down between the WH and the furnace. That one was a stinking Ferret, out of its cage.

Since you are selling, you are looking for a solution for the buyers, as well as for you. This can be done by obtaining a quote and then splitting the cost 50/50 with your buyers. So the $10G could be an option if you come down $5G on the asking price. Your crawlspace probably needs a sump pit for the odd times that flooding happens. If your property is really low, pumping might not be a solution. The pump has to have a drain far enough away from the crawlspace, out to a ditch or storm drain preferably. You should be able to get a sump pit dug for less than the quote above, but there is more to it. The pump needs wiring and that requires a professional electrician. The sump pump poses a shock hazard because it is a wet location. The access is difficult so you pay more for that too. Wiring, excavation, plumbing and then some remedial work to the crawlspace to control dampness, that is going to add up. Here's another approach. If repairs to downspouts don't help or there is a seasonal high water table at your property, consider raising the floor of the crawlspace with soil and capping it off with some polyethylene. Posts will need to be protected from contact with the soil.

Good call. I did not mention that, but I thought someone might point it out. The deck actually dropped very little at the house. It looks like the footings heaved out of the ground. Click to Enlarge 80.41 KB Click to Enlarge 77.16 KB I think it's time to celebrate the life of that deck with a dance and a BBQ. []

Those creases in the metal are ridges. So maybe tell them to bend ridges in the cap.?

What is that standard? Marc When an electrician installs a ground rod, he often installs two because one does not provide a low enough resistance to earth. You will correct me if I got that twisted. []