John Kogel

Did anyone pee their pants? We gotta know. [:-party]

Propane gas could be a serious hazard. A construction worker blew up a metal storage container here about a months ago. There was a leaky propane cylinder in the container. When he opened the door, the blast sent him flying and windows were blown out all over the block. Click to Enlarge 58.36 KB http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... osion.html Methane gas is also explosive to a lesser extent. But the smell would be obvious, I would think. Sorry, Stephen, you want to stick to noxious gases. Yes, utility workers crawl into sewers and pass out quite often.

You didn't say it was in the living room, but we think it was. Yes it is for a radio in all likelihood, antenna and/or possibly a ground for the chassis to improve reception.

Thanks, all. My concern is how to approach a deficiency, a safety hazard such as Bill's lack of fencing, without stepping across the line and becoming an inspector of pools, which many of us are not. I will write a comment about the pool then as an observation, but wonder if it could be twisted into something more?

Maybe we could have a poll on this subject? Do you inspect a swimming pool? I perform a visual exam of the pool and pumps if I have access to them, but I don't inspect them. I tell my clients I don't inspect the pool and I am not trained to inspect the pool, but then I will take a look and call out a problem if I perceive that there is one. For the written report, I am not sure whether I should be silent on the subject of the swimming pool, or should I include a comment that I either saw or did not see a problem? I have followed my instincts before, but am curious as to how you'all approach pools. How about water features? Hot tubs?

Giants are some of the best water heaters. Label is down low on the older ones.

Yes it is probably a wallboard type of material, which is how I would describe it if I had to, wallboard-type of material.

I shoulda known it was for tumbling kids. Thanks, Joe. That's a fun video, too.

You got a good eye for the fly, big guy. []

I don't know of any rule that says you can't improve access to a cleanout. The cleanout doesn't vent sewer gas, except when the system is being worked on. In this area, we never see a sewer pipe cleanout outside, always inside. Nobody worries about sewer gas coming from the cleanout. The air supply pipe could have been installed at the wall, and it would be better there. There's no way of knowing from those pics if there ever was a septic tank.

It's a giant tumbler like they would use to separate lime to make cement. But the cylinder has wooden sides.

I would decline payment until they can show you where all that water went. Ask to see what they did when they were out the last time. I have been there myself, leak at the meter, was told to fix it. Had a valve replaced and with new clamps, still leaking, 2 weeks later the muni people fixed their end. I forget who paid for the missing water but I did not.

Astro-turf it! I like old folks, way older than me, because they don't ask "How long will it last?" They want 10 years with minimal grief, that's it. The kitchen is small and old? "No problem, so are we, and we don't eat much." Click to Enlarge 46.16 KB A 90 year old lady's AstroTurf yard. The handrail gets a big thumbs-up, too. Click to Enlarge 51.79 KB

Denny, you left your client's name on the pic. Oh, well, you told her the deck was kaka. [] Down your way, that's a termite freeway, I imagine.

Lover's Lane and Animal Farm Road are two roads I know where the engineers couldn't rename the road. People tore the signs down until the officials gave in. You been to Bear Creek? It's over by Beaver Lake there past Rock Creek. [] Uptown suburbs, it's Englewood, off Hazelwood and Thistlewood.[:-crazy]

He left that there for you to tighten the loose screws in the metal roof, don't you know? [] When I had more property and more going on, I had tools everywhere, but I'd keep them out of the weather. Tools in the truck, tools in the boat, tools to make the tractor go, tools in every shed, etc.

Right. The old wood-burning cookstoves would smoke like hill sometimes until the pipes were warmed up. There were gaps everywhere, the firebox, the lids, the seams between all the cast iron plates. The tin pipes would have gaps at all the seams too. Once you got the thing hot, no more smoke, unless something was burning on top of the stove. [] There was a damper you could close to direct the smoke around the oven and out the bottom. The stove had to be warmed up first.

I fourth the motion, an aggressive sprinkler head, maybe on wet paint. Tell them the head needs to be straighter so it shoots a straight pattern on the hardiplank. [] Click to Enlarge 10.35 KB

Here you go. It looks like a line of caulk, but I can't tell you how it got there. Click to Enlarge 64.42 KB

Call for "further evaluation by a competent and qualified psychiatrist". Those dimmers don't work with low voltage wiring, so that is all 120 vac we're looking at. I don't see any grounding. Speaker wire and zip cord, no grommets or cable clamps, he is a crazyman and somebody should take his tools away.

Because she signed the disclosure stating no Al, the judge found her guilty. Folks, pay attention to what you are signing. If you don't know, say "I don't know". Yes, we know there's no useful info in the PDS, but it is a signed legal document when it goes to court.

An inspector's opinion seems like an unreliable guideline to me.We are required to describe the wiring method, why not the material too? Add the plumbing material and the foundation materials if you must. My relative in Ontario sold a house and signed a disclosure form. She was not aware of Al wiring in the home, having never worked on it in 6 years or so. So realtor said just answer No then. The buyer's home inspector missed the Al branch circuit wiring and the buyers moved in. They had a spark show in the garage and discovered the Al about 3 months later, went to court and won a cash settlement from my relative, who was completely bewildered by the whole mess. Realtor and home inspector were never implicated. She had a crappy lawyer, no doubt. But the point is, Al wiring is serious, and whether it is a problem or not, the home owners need to know about it. Home inspectors open the panel and see it, and they are the only people who know it is there sometimes.

Thanks, Jim. The bimetal heat strip would hold the horn on until it cooled, I imagine. It could very well be in working order, but naturally I called for new alarms everywhere. I avoid the temptation to test smoke alarms that may be tied into whole house alarm systems. Ever since the day I triggered an alarm nobody could tell us how to turn off. The lady in the house had never in 9 years reprogrammed the keypad. I clipped a wire to the bell, after 20 minutes of hysteria in the house. No, thanks. [] Question, is 'bimetal' synonymous with 'dielectric'?

The presence of Al wiring is a red flag to insurance providers and is one of the items they will ask the HO about before providing the insurance coverage. Ignoring it in a home inspection report and leaving the client unable to answer this NB question would be poor service, no? I will sometimes make a distinction for the sake of my clients between the larger gauge stranded Al, which is common, and the solid Al branch circuits. The insurance people rarely never make that important distinction.

Actually I'm here for the bullshit and whining, but there's something for everybody. [] Give Stephen the Quebecer a pat on the head too. He nailed it first.