John Kogel

Hey Rob. You plug your guitar into a vintage Fender that carries voltages in the range of 425 volts DC. Please switch to transistors, much safer. [] I appreciate your words of caution but can't give up the telescoping ladder completely. Will keep it at 8 feet or less though.

As usual, getting back down without breaking something was harder than getting up.

I scared myself, imagining a full collapse, always possible. That is why I posted the pics. It would have taken 2 minutes to go for my tall ladder. Then today, 8 foot ceiling, the Telly was ladder of choice once again. Click to Enlarge 36.1 KB Click to Enlarge 49.91 KB

That is the answer to the question. Yes there is so a disconnect. In the case of an emergency, all the subs can be turned off at the meter cabinet.

Nice proportions. Windows in the attics? Is that normal? All our attics here are criss-crossed with truss webs.

I had a hatch about 11 feet above the garage floor. I could have done it with my folding ladder. Yeah probably shoulda. Click to Enlarge 37.39 KB Click to Enlarge 49.02 KB This other one was very mysterious, hidden by the light fixture. Click to Enlarge 28.65 KB Click to Enlarge 24.76 KB

I have bought a few submersibles and they came pre-wired with over 100 feet of wire attached.

OK, I thought he was describing a crawlspace with some kind of sprayed-on insulation under the floor. He does say it is vented to the basement, so he thought it is a crawlspace. That's scary.

I don't really care to comment. Did they ask you to evaluate the mold specks that are not visible in the pic? [][:-magnify

What about moving the closet instead of the panel? That is, remove the front wall of the closet so the panel is in a corner of the room with plenty of clear space around. Then have all connections cleaned and tightened. Easy enough to build a new closet or buy a prefab cabinet.

What is a typical pressure for a system that age?

How does he know the drain tile is laid on the footing? Where do your downspouts drain to? What if you elevated the basement floor? Probably no head room. But you will want a raised subfloor. A curtain drain would be dug behind the house, down to the hardpan or clay layer because that is where the water is. Poke a probe in the ground to find the hard layer. Put sump pits at the two corners? Then if they don't fill you know the ground is draining.

The middle of Tennessee would be termite country. Don't let anyone pile more dirt against your house. That landscaper guy needs to get some education. You might be wise to get some termite treatment but I would not know about that, maybe was done when the house was built. You can't see behind the bricks, which could be providing a highway for termies into your house. If you have vents to your crawlspace. make sure they are open and measure the humidity down there. You can buy a cheap meter for about $20. The swale just controls surface runoff so doesn't need to be deep.

Thanks, I said 'header' then thought that sounded wrong. Yes they can rest on a sill plate on top of the foundation wall.

They need to box in around this plumbing drain with perpendicular joist sections known as ........? Click to Enlarge 58.71 KB

1930 building, yes there have been leaks. You need to know what the roof is now and how long before it needs to be replaced again.

I can see that in the picture of the second panel that he posted, but in the picture of the first panel, it looks like it would be kind of sketchy to get such a cover in place without touching the bus tab under the backfed main. Yes some designs are scarier than others. But I think that Westinghouse panel has a plastic divider. One Federal panel has the divider on an angle between two slits, so the cover flips the main breaker off when you try to pull the cover. I've had some funny things happen when I've turned power off to the whole house that way. One inspector I know has done some arc welding with that same panel design. Most of them have clearance and/or some kind of bus bar protection there. The new panels have a second cover under the main one-piece cover.

No, you are right. These old panels have separation when the deadfront is installed. The section over the service side has a 90 degree bend in it that forms a wall in the panel. Then the other half of the deadfront covers the circuit breaker section. Like this Federal panel, for example. Branch circuits are not allowed in the service section. Click to Enlarge 67.82 KB

Here's pics from the other place, left in the same unsafe condition. The seller was so proud of his new water shutoff valve from the Super Plumber. Click to Enlarge 53.2 KB Click to Enlarge 64.2 KB Click to Enlarge 68.2 KB

Why? Shouldn't bully somebody just because they like to crochet. [] I crochet insulation out from behind electrical outlets, old house with plastered walls. My favorite hook is a Chunka Waar. A chunk of wire.

Yes. This one was a solid copper undersized by today's standards.

Who hasn't seen this? I had two last week, widely separated towns so two dum-ass plumbers. They see the grounding strap on the water line, 1950's basement. They cut the pipe, hook up the new plastic and leave. I check the panels for an added grounding conductor, nope, just the one. Is there no CE for plumbers? Are they all this stupid? Click to Enlarge 31.46 KB Click to Enlarge 66.96 KB

Easy clean. Right, better into a bucket than having to siphon it out. [:-sour]

The stone lining is actually a "cement-like slurry", but who wants a slurried tank? They built a tank that wouldn't fail and quietly went bankrupt ..... [] .

I don't know when that happened. It might be interesting to find out, but from a need-to-know perspective, there'd be little point. As Ken pointed out, the ones that do accept two wires are readily identifiable in the field. I disagree about the doorbell transformer double tap being acceptable. It was wrong in '59 and it's wrong today. The breakers I question are SquareD with two grooves in the bottom plate but a round washer for a top plate. I am calling those out for repair that is. Doorbell double tap - I do not disagree. The doorbell works fine though and has caused no obvious problem riding along on the breaker.