John Kogel

This reminds me of my youth, dropping a match into the burner pot of an oil-fired cookstove in the kitchen. Occasionally there'd be too much oil in the pot and it would blow soot for a while. Eventually there'd be piles of carbon from all those matches. Unfortunately, gas refuses to stay in one place, so there is a hazard if the flame is not there to ignite the gas right away. It looks like those things can be fitted with a pilot light for improved safety, so there's your recommendation.

I think you are right, no mention of pressure treatment in those stamps. HT stands for heat treated.

Yes, it would be difficult to prove that a modern breaker panel would be an improvement. Except that a breaker can be reset, and that there is a lot of exposed metal there for someone fumbling with fuses.

I would say Keep them visible and keep an eye out for drips. Have a plumber check the connectors, maybe if you see any reason to suspect them. If you could name the contractor who did the work, you could give that info to your client. It could be a reputable outfit that did the work, and they will stand behind their work, stuff like that.

Hi Trent. If only the grounding wires went to that extra bus, it would be good to go. That is how it is done here, ground wires to the back of the panel. However, I'd prefer to see all the neutrals going only to the neutral bus, the most direct route back to the source.

Marc, be careful up there. Us older guys can't survive a fall from that far up. Good luck with it.

It looks like a hazard, so I'd at least talk about it and probably include it in my written report. Then offer a solution, such as changing it to a walk-in shower stall. Or they could spin the toilet 90 degrees and add a wider step, maybe.

A telegraph office would be possible if the location seems right. If it is just a residence, it is probably as mentioned by Rob, nothing more than an antenna connector for the big console radio. They didn't start having internal loop antennas until the early 30's. And for short wave, they'd add a long wire antenna, maybe strung up in the attic.

Needs a big firepit and some Vikings on benches. Skoal!

That's right, the edges are painted. Green means one thing, orange another. A look at sheathing seams in the attic might show something.

That is good practice, but doesn't leave a hump.

Are those ribs 4 feet apart, I think so. OSB with swollen lips. The stack sat out in the rain without a cover, and the edges all swelled up? I imagine that would do it.

Back in the day, someone, such as Mycroft, would take a torch to one of those covers to see if they burn. Maybe they don't.

I'd call it out, because chances are good it doesn't comply with Marc's rule.

Include that you want a termite inspection. A home inspector might include that, but if he doen't inspect for termites, you want that as well. If the property has a septic tank, that needs to be pumped, and the system inspected as well as possible. If the property has a well, not likely in that location, but if so, you want water testing for basic chloroforms at least.

There is another issue there which is the proximity to the soffit covers which are obviously open. Exhaust fumes are going up into the attic space. How bad is that if the attic is vented? Well, it just ain't right. I had some issues with a similar installation, but a direct vented WH, and the conclusion was that the builder sealed the soffit covers and my client went ahead and bought the place. Just saying, because the proper repair of course is a straight pipe up through the attic to a jack on the roof. For the best answer we need the manufacturer and model number of the heater to get the specs for the exhaust termination.

They're on guard duty, not planning anything past the coming weekend.

That's a hoot, thanks, Bill.

Right, location is everything. At least this place is not on the bank of the Missouri, but is there a creek or stream bed nearby? Then you look at your elevation above the flood plain, and find out what the historical flood regions are. If you have slope between your place and the nearest bodies of water, then you can install drainage to keep your foundations dry. Cover bare dirt with poly, as that will make a world of difference. Termite inspection is mandatory.

Are we supposed to guess where it is, too? Better drainage around the perimeter will improve the dampness in the crawlspace. Lots of good info here if you have any questions.

I think the frayed material increases the chance of having open flames rather than just melting and dripping plastic. It should be not that hard to trim away the hairy stuff, altho it would be best the replace the old wire.

The small burg we live in now has the 3 types of trash pickup, while our previous abode had two, either recycling or garbage. Previous to that, recycling was voluntary with no pickup. Yes we know all about coons digging in the yard. Also have you noticed that they prefer to leave their feces in a pile somewhere? We had a big plastic composter that they would tip over to get at rotten fruit and such. I wrapped a chain around it with some rebar jammed in the ground to make it harder. Our new place is too sterile for them maybe and heavily populated with little dogs..

I think meat in the compost heap will attract coons and bears to your backyard, so sure, keep it plant waste only and you get those big clusters of worms, healthy compost. I've noticed our worms like a layer of sawdust, as long as it is moist. They congregate there, or maybe that's where they give birth? These high production composting facilities take everything, in fact the slogan is 'beans to bones in the bins'. It is all about reducing volume going into the landfill. One of the products they sell is fish compost, which consists of wood chips and fish farm morts, dead salmon. Plants grow like stink. I actually returned a batch when they loaded my trailer from the wrong pile. It was so fresh you could smell it all over the neighborhood, and it was a sour, rotten meat smell. That wasn't the well rotted fish compost I asked for, which has no strong smell.

Family of 5 kids, my parents never saw the need for a motor.

My son's dryer is below ground level, so his dryer vent goes to an elbow and then vertical rise for 6 or 7 feet. When he bought the place I told him to pull the vent pipe and clean it. He got around to it about 3 years later, and found no lint. Lint accumulates at the top on the mesh cap where the pipe exits the basement. I imagine the lint is dry enough and the blower is strong enough to work in that case. A weaker dryer might not do as well. So I think the trap is not a bad addition, providing it is airtight. Lint Trap