John Kogel

When men were men, hubcaps were hubcaps. Great ideas, Jim. Plumbing stack caps and a mallet. Might fit. Chrome bearing buddy trailer caps? Hmmm. Click to Enlarge 36.41?KB

In the garage, no problemo, anywhere else call it out.

Thanks, I just don't find rusted threads very attractive or correct. I'll grease them and seek out some little hubcaps. The 50's Chrysler products had rear brake drums on tapered axles with a nut on the end. The trick to getting those drums off was to crack the nuts loose a turn, slip the cotter pins back in, and then go for a drive around the block. If that didn't pop the hubs loose, you went for a longer drive and hit a few potholes. [] But the hub caps fit tight and kept nuts and hubs relatively clean.

Y'all realize you are corresponding with a robotic brain? [:-bigeyes

Our Ford Ranger was getting old so I sold it and bought this Ford Escape from a guy in his 80's who has kept it in a parking garage for 5 years. It is AWD, good on gas and a decent inspect-mobile. Sirius radio is a bonus. [:-party] When I went to put winter rims on it I was a bit chagrined to see how rusty the axle ends are. The factory mags have center caps but they don't seal the hubs in any way. How should I protect the threads? Paint was my 1st thought, might make the nuts hard to remove? Plus it is too cold and wet now. Then grease but it will spray onto the rims, wipe with an oily rag? silcone, never-sieze? Shoe-goop? Has anyone tried liquid tape? Click to Enlarge 68.46 KB Click to Enlarge 69.29 KB

I disagree for a few reasons. 1. wire nuts are bulky-adding three nuts and the extra wire plus a device, crams things in the box- just the act of installing the device worries the connections in the wire nut. GFCI's and dimmers make it that much worse. 2. Even on builder grade receptacles, a wire properly secured below a screw is a more dependable connection than nuts. I use spec grade receptacles and switches and there is no doubt that the connections provided through the crushing action of the articulated platen are very, very secure. I wire my devices in series. They're designed to be wired in series. Just because it takes longer to wire in parallel, doesn't mean it's a higher quality method. 3. Anecdotally, my failure experience is #1 back-stabbed receptacles #2 defective connections at wire nuts #3 a failure within the device itself OK, I'll go with that. Pigtails is what the muni inspectors here wanted to see in the past but maybe they need to be 'disabused' a bit. [].

A turntable is used to carve new grooves in your priceless LP's. Hey could that pipe be for fishing AV cables in from below? Usually a smaller pipe like 1 1/2". I have never seen anyone provide ventilation to a TV niche, but I've never been to Jim's place either. [] Years ago our Toshiba stereo was acting up, loud distrotion after about an hour of play. When I pulled it out of the cabinet under the TV and set it on the work bench, it played perfect. I cut new vent holes in the sides of the stereo cabinet with a jig saw. No more overheated power transistors. It is still good, a 1980's unit in a wooden cabinet.

The wires were stabbed in to holes in the back? The little jaws in there don't make good contact. Google 'back-stabbed connection'. There is a resistance in the wire at those connections when there is current flowing through the circuit. Resistance draws energy and releases it as heat. It is a fairly common failure and could actually lead to fire, if the wire insulation gets hot enough to ignite. If you find old back-stabbed connections in your house, change them to screw connections. A properly made screw connection should never get hot like that. The proper and safest way to wire thru connections is with wire nuts. The receptacles are all on pigtails so that they are on their own little branch circuits.

Jeez. I'd disabuse them of that notion right quick. Disabuse definition, to free (a person) from deception or error. Poeple come here for disabuse, and they get plenty. []

That might have been a real head-scratcher without the saws there. Can the beam be fixed with wood plugs and glue?

A real inspector will see that is old damage. If you choose not to reroof, disclose it and state that this is reflected in your price. Disclose everything that you don't want to negotiate. You can offer to patch the sheathing if it becomes an issue. That puts you up one notch.

House built in 1990. A bit of moisture got in to the sheetrock. It is good that you are getting it fixed. That is not enough mould to fill your house with spores. There are more air-borne spores carried in thru windows than there is coming from those small patches.

That way, the wind will blow it shut. [:-graduat

I found the Nikon Coolpix S32, after I got sick of the jamming lens syndrome of the last generation of standard L30 Nikons. It has been good. The lens does move inside the waterproof housing, but I find I can just put it in my belt pouch without having to turn it off and it is ready to go a minute later. That saves me tons of milliseconds every day, but it also uses less battery power and there is less grinding of tiny gears. $145 or less if you shop. The battery is only good for about 160 pics, so you have to shop for a spare. Batteries cost about $30. The batteries take too long to charge, over 2 hours. A big button on the left starts a video. I delete several videos everyday. They are mostly boring videos of my feet and the sky. But that video feature would be great under water. Click to Enlarge 23.22 KB

With my satellite laser vision, I see an old perimeter drain system plugged full of silt and debris. If they fix the drainage around the house, they will be able have a few controlled vents, and heat that space to dry it out. I think a treatment to kill the mold is in order because a wood-eating fungus could be getting established in there. My laser vision can't pick out the spore prints yet. []

It is abnormal shrinkage for Hardie plank. Could it possibly be from another manufacturere?

Sumo wrestlers were moving furniture up there? [] That is worse than I've ever seen, interesting indeed.

The builder installs a sump and a grate. Warning #1. He says no room to change the grading. What, is the property line that close? He tells buyer no problem, drain is working. Should be no moisture if that's the case. I suggest buyer needs help from someone that can take a good look, not just these pics.

Standard practice is lock the door first, then do the bidet thing. No, we don't have those here either. []

My E&O currently does not cover me for commercial inspections. I can get the extra coverage, but have chosen not to. You need to justify the extra costs with a decent volume of work. Price the work for what it is worth. Plan to call in a structural engineer, and maybe HVAC or electrical consultants. If you don't need them, fine, but you should price the job accordingly. You collect from the client, but you pay for the extra consulting if needed. Plan to walk a lot of flat roofs. What's under the gravel? How old is that top layer and what's under that? I am hearing of commercial inspections done for slightly more than a residential. That is ludircrous and may not be giving the client what he needs to know. It is a huge investment and the client will pay accordingly. Commercial clients will not sweat the minor details, but you had better know your stuff dealing with the majors.

We discussed this recently. But a black screw with a Phillips head doesn't positively make it a drywall screw.

Cedar can last a long long time with a bit of care. There are washes that make it look bright and new again. But maybe it is time for some good old paint. They will need to repair above those windows, yes with some flashing. The woodpecker was after something in the deck joist. I wonder if there could be some termies in there? []

I had AC come on a couple of days ago. It was chilly out but sunny, about high 40's F. Mini-split Heat pump set to AC. I had laid the remote thermostat on top of the gas fireplace which I ran for a while. Heated up the thermostat, I think. []

The fan will blow the heat farther. So if there is a room adjacent, that room will catch a bit of the heat. I don't think the test results will prove much, but I am waiting wit bait in my mout, as our Prime Minister used to say.

Right, the fan will blow more air into the room, but that draws more cool air in off the floor, creating a draft. If the air flow exceeds the heat potential, you are going to get cooler air out of the top vent. Not likely, but it could happen if the fan was incorrectly sized for the unit. Re: fireplace testing, some use a single squirrel cage fan, some have two or four windmill fans, and some have fan speed controls to complicate things. Which fan to use, at what speed? Robert, look at all the trouble and head scratching you have saved your client up to now, two winters worth at least. []