John Kogel

She sounds like a greener, never heard of an engineer getting paid for a housecall?? Huh?? Talking directly to you rather than through the buyer's agent?? It's all too goofy, but as others have said, your client rules. I don't know for sure how I would handle that one. Maybe ask the buyer's agent to set her straight on how things are done.

Is it just me or are we overworking this item? Condensation is normal, warm exhaust hits a cold pipe. The vent should be angled back to the furnace, seems to be. A connection has leaked a bit over the 6 years. It possibly has been repaired or maybe the clamp or flange is still loose. Call for the furnace to be serviced, always a good idea when someone buys a new house. But I would not be removing furnace components during a home inspection. Especially if you are not familiar with it. Let the repair guy see it in its untampered-with condition. What if you drop a screw, tear the gasket, strip threads in the housing, etc, etc.

I guess you could call that 'dung plaster'? [] They do know how to build a roof tho.

I think your concern should be the history of flooding in the basement.If there is any suspicion that it could happen again, then you should investigate possible causes of the flooding, and determine what it will cost to repair the problem. It was not just kids splashing in the bathroom. Check for water stains. You say some stucco is coming loose off the foundation. That sounds like a concrete block wall that was parged to cover the mortar joints? In that case the 4 foot level can help as a straight edge to find basement walls that are bowed in. Find out if the basement work was done under permit. No permit, more likelihood of substandard work. Good luck.

Solving the mystery adds a bit of fun to the job, eh? Hopefully the yellow gas line got changed out before the final inspection, so its a long gone daddy. []

A couple of ideas here. 1) Install a humidistat to control the fan. It will run that fan until the humidity finally comes down. 2) An electric wall-mount fan heater, or simply a baseboard heater, can make a big difference. In our climate, cool and moist, bathroom heat is mandatory, and electric is dry.

Most people should close the bathroom door when they shower. [] So the fan will work fine when needed most. Install a digital timer switch on it, hit 20 mins and leave the door partly closed when you head out. I think it will be fine as is. Code toadys might protest that you need a fan in the toilet enclosure as well, separate room. Moisture is not an issue in there, so that is more a lifestyles issue. If someone raises the issue of venting the crapper room, cut the door off top and bottom like a public washroom. Or take the door off.

Steven Turetsky, Where R U?

I suspect there is a problem with the flashings where the roof meets the wall above the gutter. Step flashings should be in there, one for each course of shingles, and a couple of inches of metal step flshings should be visible between the shingles and the siding.

I found one like that not long ago. It was like a dream come true. Joe and Mike, I said 300. 295 with a spring in your step, no problemo. []

I will leave a few discreet footprints on the trusses. That is breaking trail for the repair guy. [] Manufactured trusses have been standard here since about 1970. It can be a challenging obstacle course to get to the back end. I wouldn't hire a 300 lb inspector.

Does it look like the picture below? This was posted for sale on Kijiji in July in Toronto. Click to Enlarge 13.24 KB If your holder is usable, the 40 amp fuse cartridges should be available where you are. And for a range you need 40 amp. The ones in this ad are too large, 60 amps.

He made it swivel in case something tall bumps into it, like Andre the Giant packing a canoe. [] I give him points for that but if he put the switch on the wall where it is supposed to be, nobody would bump into it. Too clever, not allowed. Solid strand wire is not designed to be flexed, but what if he used stranded? I guess the switch would have to be in an insulated box, like the controlds for a hoist.

What was said to be the problem with one wearing out before the other? Marc The problem was plumbing leaks from rotating them twice a year. [] David, my apologies. I read it too fast, I guess.

That's a resourceful solution, but I think you should emphasis that a new circuit needs to be added all the way from the breaker panel. Wiring the two elements to the one supply circuit would be a serious fire hazard if it doesn't trip the breaker. Also assuming it is an electric water heater. Most of the mainlanders burn gas, eh? []

See what I mean? Parallel is better for what reason? We need more data. Re: size of the second tank. You will see that the standard size tanks are cheaper than the odd sizes, bigger or smaller. I had to fit a smaller tank into a closet and ended up paying almost $200 more for it. I would go series because I don't think you will always need 2 tanks. If you put the new tank downstream from the old one, you can shut power off to the old one and it will temper the well water, bringing it up to room temp. That alone will save you energy. When your teen is around, turn it on at a lower temp setting to preheat the water to the new tank. If you find you run out of hot water, slap kid up the head turn up the temp on the first tank and have about 60 gals of stored hot water. If you can figure out a timer arrangement, one tank could shut itself off for half of the day. For parallel, you need to equalize the pipe lengths and restrictions so that both tanks supply equally. Advantage is one tank can be shut completely off, like when it springs a leak.

I think they need to be stainless steel and maybe you need to bolt a ledger board to the block wall.

Tim, you like to play around with parts and tools. Install a second tank and plumb it series/parallel with hookup valves. Then you can pre-wram your water, or run one tank to each bathroom. Then you can report back here which is best. [:-graduat

Nah, 99% of the plumbers here use PVC. Pay the $10 and screw it in by hand. That piece of PEX is a non-issue in my book, but PVC is stiffer and stiffer is better. []

Yikes, that thing doesn't blow until the water hits 195 degrees, that's cutting it pretty fine for a residential water heater, no? It is haywire. Look at the elbow and the missing discharge tube. Mr Handy strikes again with a haywire safety device.

I'll bring mah squirrel gun, Davy. [] Maybe a cable guy. They hang out in attics a lot. Update: It turns out to be just bad installation. 5/8" drywall hung crossways but I think they textured over the seams with no tape. [:-thumbd]

Thanks, that is all helpful. So there could be sag in a bone dry ceiling, that's what I was pondering. I hadn't thought of them running the sheets parallel, but the edges do stiffen the sheets a bit, you're right. Of course, I may get there and see something totally different than what I was describing. Just formulating some possibilities in advance.

A 1980's house has a textured ceiling in the living room. I will grace this place with my presence next week. The client reports that the seams are visible, but not stained. The ceiling joists are likely the bottom chords of maufactured trusses. I think they mean the drywall has sagged around the fasteners, or maybe the tape has let go. That would indicate a past moisture event (AKA a leaky roof, eh?). Is there another possible cause, such as bad fasteners or texture too wet when applied? Is the only repair to drop the bad drywall and install new? Yes, I'll have to warn them about asbestos.

Maybe it's not finished. Glue rubber mat up to the nosing from here to here and be gone with the trip hazard. []

If you could crop the picture down to just some of the yellow patches, I think we would be looking at fiberglass insulation. The wall on the left is clean and dry and there is no visible sign of moisture on the ceiling tiles, right? Bare concrete does not provide any food for mould to grow.