John Kogel

They can rebuild that floor if they really have to have that house. If your clients can't see that, then they are not competent to fix it either. But what is there needs joists under it. Maybe best to cut the subfloor out so a proper build can be done. That place is built like a tree fort or a hippy shack, so maybe priced accordingly. I just tell them what is needed to make it correct.

Bulldog Pushmatics were generally considered to be a good quality breaker in their time. You can still buy the breakers on eBay. Be aware that old used breakers will not give you the same protection that new breakers do. Breaker technology has advanced a lot since the 50's. You should get an electrician to check out that panel and the rest of your wiring.

I had a furnace do that to me last week. Failed to start after I messed with the cover. Took the cover off and installed it again, off she went.

What Jerry linked is a heat detector.

That looks like the type of fungus that only attacks wood. We talk about it a lot - poria species. It may have been already in the wood when it was put in the attic. It is pretty common here to find it growing out in the lumber yard, stacks left uncovered. It won't usually attack dry wood in a house. It gets started when wood is wet for prolonged periods of time. It spreads by spores and some species by direct contact by growing a hairy web. The spores need moisture to start on another piece. Get those 2 pieces out of there and the rest will probably be fine, except that spot on the ridge plank. If that is an older house, there was a recent moisture issue up there, and there could be rot elsewhere.

Trap a zoid? Who you call a zoid, bitch? []

It's mine. []Oh who markets it? That was Palm-tech. If the client prints himself a paper copy from the pdf, Palm-tech picture quality is poor sometimes. I use HI Pro, which I bought in 2007 and has cost me nothing since. and when I inspect with my affiliates, now it's Horizon. They all have their pros and plenty of cons. []

Dead rat in the wall or the crawlspace.

Interesting. I take a high rez non-MSX pic, load it into my report software, the software reduces the pic to a thumbnail and the pic now looks like a red smudge with a few yellow or blue specs. Not always but fairly often, the clarity is lost by the downsizing. Even moreso if you print a paper copy. Is moreso not a word? It should be.

Middle o' Tennessee, Scott. And he plays a '62 Telecaster. That crawlspace is not too bad. You are fixing it to make it better. I would pull some insulation out and see if it is even damp before paying this guy to replace it. Deal with the gutter and the grading and keep ventilating the crawlspace for now.

Yeah, voided the warranty, not so smart but for $299, it's a throw-a-way item anyway. Typing is a joy again. [:-party]

Beginning of Feb I bought a new laptop and learned to deal with Windows 8. Middle of March my Asus POC has a keyboard issue. These keys have stopped working properly-N, M, H, J, Y, U, 6, 7. Notice they are all in a diagonal row. N, H, and M are inspection letters, man. I couldn't keep pounding on the keys 10 times to write a word. Spellcheck accepts words like 'ad' 'i' and 'te' so that was not much help. I can't take it back to the store because they will just ship to a geek factory somewhere. I can't wait. It is an obsolete model so they will not give me another one, of this I am certain. Then they may ask me if I dropped it, yes, of course I dropped it, it's a tool, eh? So here is what I did: Took out the ten screws and unzipped the top from the bottom. Click to Enlarge 67.6 KB Click to Enlarge 73.5 KB The ribbon is intact, but connection on the keyboard side flexes in the middle, where the bad keys are. I cut a little pad from a chunk of dense foam, out of some appliance, I think. Click to Enlarge 52.66 KB Attached it to the keyboard ribbon connection with some tape so it cushions the connection. Fixed it! What a POC, tho.

[:-weepn] Click to Enlarge 77.53 KB

You are looking after your client, nothing wrong with that. There is enough doubt with the tandems in there, plus the other items you mention. Usually 200 amps is plenty enough service for residential, but that doesn't mean all the add-ons are compliant or safe. Yesterday I witnessed a bad feeder install for a Heat pump. The panel has had some recent additions done properly by an electrician and he obviously chose to ignore the existing fault. Maybe his attitude is that he wasn't hired to fix what was there already. That doesn't mean it was approved, but the owners will interpret it that way.

Tiny little pest control guys running around up there? []

Rats. Mice are more discreet. But maybe they've had both at different times. [] I am amazed at how ignorant some pest control guys are. At least from the comments they make to my clients, some of them are truly clueless.

I've seen this and repaired one with mortar once. The masonry flue is supporting the concrete crown. The chimney is straight and on a concrete footing. Bit of a creek behind the house, but a dry crawl. This is an extreme case, and I would like to understand better what has happened. Built in '88. Click to Enlarge 87.77 KB Click to Enlarge 75.77 KB Click to Enlarge 69.5 KB Click to Enlarge 50.82 KB Click to Enlarge 62.23 KB

I like #4. []

I guess wood is permanent for some people. It will last a very long time submerged in a lake. Out of the lake, you better dry it out quick. Tom, good luck, and I wish your clients all the best.

Pic 2 sink is behind the wall of pic 1 sink. The Tee joining them is in the trap arm of sink 1.

Buddy did some bathroom renos. Two sinks back to back, each with a trap connected by a Tee and then a third trap connected to a vent stack. I think he felt the lower trap was needed to keep sewer gas out of the sink drains. Would it be acceptable to just have elbows under the sinks connecting to the lower trap? Or would that be too simple? Click to Enlarge 31.95 KB Click to Enlarge 28.13 KB

All these years you've been climbing ladders under the watchful eyes of your clients and their realtors. [:-sour] Then finally you come here for an honest ass sessment. []

To the OP, that siding contractor needs to be more aware of what he is doing. Maybe a few callbacks will smarten him up, if he survives at all. Contractors here have learned to get it right if they want repeat business. If they are slow to learn, gone in a year. [:-thumbd]

I see it a few times a month, energized after tripping. Like Tom said it could be wiring or it could be a faulty GFCI. I've never pulled one to see. I just say replace it and have the installer read the instructions.

If a drain tube is visible at the back, and if there is an air gap, and if a blob of lint has dropped in there, you can poke it out with a piece of stiff wire and move on. Did that once, back in the 90's.