John Kogel

I always or always try to get a shot down the chimney or up from the cleanout. It is common for the older chimneys here to be brick-lined with just one terra cotta flue liner at the crown. So then it is a brick-lined chimney and the mortar is invariably falling out.

Nah, I just was fishing for some background. Already reported it too small for 4 bathrooms.I didn't know the volume of the jug so I calculated it from its approx size. Those guys in my pic are working on a sewage pump where there were septic fields originally. A sewer line was put in, and everybody below the road now pumps up to it.

Kurt, I don't deny the small tanks work. However, the pits are customarily much larger, holding tanks if you will? I have pics to illustrate my point. Also a pump that cycles frequently will expire sooner than one that kicks in only a couple of times a day. I am of the opinion that an undersized unit will be trouble down the road, so that is how I wrote it. Here is a larger tank, residential use. Click to Enlarge 53.62 KB Click to Enlarge 58.13 KB These lads have extracted the pump from an outdoor tank. It has a head of less than 10 feet to the sewer pipe, single family dwelling. Click to Enlarge 68.59 KB

Yes, thanks. I said the tub was too small without really knowing for sure. It just looks too small for a 4 bathroom house. And the lid needs to be repaired, so I said have a plumber repair the lid and check the capacity of the system. With the lid properly sealed, I suppose crap would just wait in the pipe for the power to come back on? Agreed. The couple that live there are probably good with what they've got. The guest suite is for occasional visitors. My clients, older couple, would probably be OK, but maybe they'll rent the house out to a big family, or have kids and grandkids over for two months in the summer.

The same dude probably installed them both.[:-graduat Thanks. I felt confident it was wrong the first time but when you see the same thing in another house you start to question, maybe there's something to this I don't know?

Since I forgot my snorkel and face mask, [:-party] I'm am going to try and determine from the pic if that is a 1/3 Hp or 1/2 Hp pump there between the floaters. A typical 1/3 hp grinder pump can blow 45 gpm for a head of 5 feet. The sewer line is maybe 20 feet up, maybe 25 depending where they buried the line. If it is a 1/2 hp it can pump 67 gallons/min for 5 foot head, xx gpm up to 30 feet. If the tank is 22" diam X 30" in height, how many gallons? Vol = Pie R square x Ht = (11 x 11 )x 3.14 x 30 = ? cubic " = ? gallons? Too slow, I got it - 47 US gallons. 39 Canadian. Less than a minute to empty that sump, because the float trips it at the half-full point, so maybe 30 gallons between cycles. I wish now I had found a piece of wire and pulled up on the float. But we had structure to look at, so now I'm trying to confirm if 4 toilets and four tub/showers, one DW and one clothes washer will fill that tub how fast. I see for a head of 20 feet, Gal/min drops to 10 gals for a 1/2 hp.

Ejector pump tank size? How big should the poop tank be for 4 full bathroms, 3500 Sq ft with a suite? The lid was loose, so i had to check out the piggy-back float valves. Viewer discretion is advised. [] Click to Enlarge 44.26 KB Click to Enlarge 71.77 KB

I had occasion to inspect 2 homes about one block apart. Same age, same floor plans, same furnaces. Texas Furnace Co high efficiency gas furnaces dated 2006. Both have the condensate hose pulled off so that the drip is corroding the cabinet. Why would the HVAC dude do this? Or do these hoses blow off on their own? Click to Enlarge 73.07 KB Click to Enlarge 68.3 KB Click to Enlarge 68.29 KB

I guess the $1000 difference is coming out of the labor end of the deal?

And capacitors used to be called condensors as in "points and condensor". That reminds me of a time the '52 Chev truck I was riding in died on the way to a job I had to get to. No spark. Hitched a ride to nearby hick town, found an old beater sedan in a guy's back yard, pulled a 'condensor' out of the distributor, hitched a ride back, put it in, off we went. []

Nope. Got more pics?

You passed the test that a 12-year-old can pass. No offense, but that is just a start, yes you have some intact brain cells.Join a local association and attend meetings. What can you offer that is not already available? Work on that.

Scott, that screw sure looks like it might fail to retard cabinet departure from the wall. Just trying to help. []

I'll be doing lighting and receptacles on the same circuit. The Canadian rule which is irrelevant to you/all but a good rule is that you can have up to 16 receptacles or light fixtures on one 20 amp circuit.You might need a radio controlled helicopter that delivers beer from the house. [] Yep, Nolan, that's the way.

I am with you there, John. In my area, a single 120 volt lighting circuit is allowed from the house panel to a simple junction box or light switch in the shed. I would simply go with direct burial of the correct cable with conduit where it exits and enters the buildings. In the future, it will be no major hardship to go 240 volts to a sub panel if you find the need for it.

Now ya done it, Scott. I started lookin and I don't like what I see. [] We got a round head sheet metal screw with a washer, a counter sink wood screw, and at the bottom a drywall screw. Oh well the cabinet is too close to the wall anyway. At least the screws are acessible. [] Click to Enlarge 15.08 KB Click to Enlarge 22.98 KB

Is the downturned section still considered part of the trap arm? I was thinking the arm is the horizontal section only. Then instead of an elbow pointing down, he should have a tee with one cheater valve, so simple.

I happened to snap this pic today, a note from the authority to the flunky? Click to Enlarge 44.36 KB No, it is not what you asked for, but it has relevance, I thought. []

Modular construction is very strong. The house sections are designed to be picked up and trucked around, so there is no real danger of sagging at the ends, I don't think. But, there is no diagonal bracing for those piers, which has me scratching my head too. Are the concrete blocks filled with rebar and concrete perhaps? I am picturing that foundation with a river running through, not a pleasant thought.

Yes it is a thing of beauty but .... the trap arms are not vented, so as a sink drain, the whole thing sucks big time.

Maybe he bills the job by the number of fittings he uses? In any case, the sinks drain rather nicely. [] Click to Enlarge 60.24 KB

I see lint trapped by cobwebs and creepy crawlys that haven't hatched yet.

BTW, it is sometimes often easier to move the baseboard heater than it is to move the receptacle. The supply cable enters one end of the heater, so move the heater down the wall and connect to the other end.

The stucco is dirty except where it has been washed by seepage from around the windows. (I think) Is there a busy road or highway close by? I've seen soot like that where it was coming from diesel engines and maybe brake pads.

Yeah that roof leaks, pass the vino. []