John Kogel

Nice catch, Brandon. That's an area we tend to take for granted. Maybe Billy Bob installed a dryer receptacle by mistake? I can't see a logical reason for that haywire connection.

In my area where it can rain any day of the year, and it can snow a bit too, a skylight has to have a curb or it is a leaker. With a curb, it will still leak, but not as easily. In my youth, I laid the side windows from a 1951 GMC flat on a plank roof with some roll roofing and tar and they didn't leak, but it was still a bad, temporary design. A high curb will stay dry longer and come out of the snow faster. Also, when I see caulking smeared everywhere, it doesn't mean he found the leak. It means he didn't find the leak. []

A low pitched shingle roof skylight with no curb sounds like a perpetual leaker. They really should look to raising the skylight so the water can run around on flashing - curb it.

Certainly, there are times when a major clean up is called for. This crawlspace had many of the fiberglass batts pulled down from between the floor joists, either by the rats or by a cat going after them. Click to Enlarge 72.8 KB Click to Enlarge 47.4 KB

There are guys here that would drool all over themselves at the sight of that backyard hoist. I know cranckcase oil is a carcinogen, but these are guys that coat themselves in oil and can never get it out from under their nails.

Got Hanta virus in Quebec yet? It is in Washington state and spreading, mostly by way of deer mice, from what I've read. If I can smell it, it is bad enough to be a problem, but a lot of people will just ignore the stink in a crawlspace or attic, so who am I to tell them what to do? BTW, it is Norway rats here, and they are 10 times smarter than mice. If they were born in that house, they will be back. That's their home.

At least it is well supported. Those puddles look like a washing machine drain might have been leaking.

Mind if I stick that pick in my library? It's a hoot. []

If the ductwork has not been installed, why not go with electric baseboard heat, or wallmount electric fan heat? Installation is easy, so many watts/ sq ft. I know, they will need to burn more coal to generate more electricity, but the big dams on the Yellow River are in the works. In the meantime, my province has coal for sale, and we ship most of it to China. Sorry about the smog, eh? []

Marc, the newer 36" models call for a 16" hearth in front. You might want to take a look thru a couple of those newer manuals yourself. A mantel shelf needs to have a foot of clearance but I don't know about the brick veneer without a mantel. Even so, the newer models won't be this model, so best to have it confirmed by an expert.

Phillip, I see you used your level on that thing. I think the big hammer would have been the correct tool to use there. []

Bananas, Leopard slugs, Tiny slugs, Black Panthers, we've got them all here. We got them with shells on their backs too, but then they become snails. We got Moon snails that live only in the ocean and can drill a hole in a clam shell. Jim, you know the poem "the Elephant is Slow to Mate" DH Lawrence or EE Cummings? Ever see slugs mate? [] They go head to head, hermaphrodites. I'm not kidding.

Thanks for sharing. []

Jim, you've got to spend a month in the stud cavity to really experience a fungal attack. We can stream the Dr. Who's to your virtual reality glasses. You'll come out looking like Steve McQueen in 'Papillon'.

That looks like something a moonshiner would build. In the dark. With an open jar of shine at his side. []

I'm in the 'live and let live' camp as well, but .... we need to keep up with changes in the fungal world. They may be out to get rid of us, and why not? Here's what I know about Paecilomyces. It is everywhere. Wikipedia lists about 50 species and says this: Paecilomyces is a genus of nematophagous fungus which kills harmful nematodes by pathogenesis, causing disease in the nematodes. Therefore the fungus can be used as a bio-nematicide to control nematodes by applying it to soil. Dr Fungus says: Pathogenicity and Clinical Significance Paecilomyces species can cause various infections in humans. These infections are occasionally referred to as paecilomycosis. Corneal ulcer, keratitis, and endophthalmitis [908]. Direct cutaneous inoculation may lead to these infections [2437], pulmonary [1695, 1110], onychomycosis [923, 585], endocarditis [1476, 2274], osteomyelitis [482, 1928], and catheter-related fungemia [2221] have all been reported. Paecilomyces species can also cause allergic disorders, such as allergic alveolitis [663], laboratory rats [1833], and goats [ THE US NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE HAS THIS TO SAY: ABSTRACT The MICs and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) of amphotericin B, miconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, and flucytosine for 52 isolates of Paecilomyces species were evaluated by the broth microdilution method, largely based on the recommendations of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (document M27-A). The fungal isolates tested included 16 P. variotii, 11 P. lilacinus, 9 P. marquandii, 6 P. fumosoroseus, 4 P. javanicus, and 2 P. viridis isolates and 1 isolate of each of the following species: P. carneus, P. farinosus, P. fulvus, and P. niveus. The MFCs and the MICs at which 90% of isolates were inhibited (MIC90s) for the six antifungal agents were remarkably high; the MIC50s indicated that amphotericin B, miconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole had good activities, while fluconazole and flucytosine demonstrated poor efficacy. The ranges of the MICs were generally wider and lower than those of the MFCs. There were significant susceptibility differences among the species. All species with the exception of P. variotii were highly resistant to fluconazole and flucytosine; P. variotii was susceptible to flucytosine. Amphotericin B and the rest of the azoles [] showed good activity against P. variotii, while all the antifungal agents assayed showed low efficacy against P. lilacinus. In recent years, opportunistic fungal infections have increased substantially, and the species of the genus Paecilomyces are emerging as the cause of a variety of infections in humans (4, 5, 14). Paecilomyces comprises numerous saprobic species, which are regularly isolated from soil and air and some of which are also rather common in food, paper, and other materials. P. variotii, a thermotolerant species often isolated from hay, is probably the most common. Apart from this species, five more species have been reported as producing opportunistic infections in humans (18). Nowadays, the number of reported cases of illness caused by the members of this genus has passed 60, ranging in severity from nail infections to fatal endocarditis. In approximately 90% of the patients some predisposing factor to infection was found: transplants, cardiac surgery, diabetes, trauma, prosthetic implants, leukemia, peritoneal dialysis, corticosteroid treatments, etc. The proper treatment for such infections is not yet well established; amphotericin B is the drug that has been mostly used for the treatment of Paecilomyces infections in humans and has been used alone or in combination with other drugs, although it has a failure rate of about 40%. There is very little information about the in vitro activities of antifungal agents against the Paecilomyces species. The widest-ranging study evaluated the susceptibilities of four strains of P. lilacinus to five antifungal drugs (13), while all the others tested the susceptibility of only one strain. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibilities of a certain number of Paecilomyces sp. strains in order to obtain consistent data which could be used as a guide for in vivo treatments. The influence of incubation time on the MICs was also evaluated. Lucky for us, azoles are plentiful. But this is food for thought, IMO.

Myc, Marc and John all get a pat on the head. [] Mike, Mark and John were the Rhythm Pals on the Tommy Hunter Show (Canadian C+W trivia).

Right, have the blower checked out. Bearings (or the belt, maybe).

More info, please. Chirps only when running, or all the time? Chirps only when the blower is running or before the blower starts up? Chirp comes from what area of the furnace? Or is it coming from the ductwork? Chirps like a bird or chirps like a tire on pavement?

I'm disappointed, Kurt, no bamboo anywhere on the construction site? Maybe the scaffolding goes up later. Is that a bamboo ladder maybe? What is that, your bottom dollar?[]

My 'heart' bleeds for you, Mike. I wouldn't wish that on anybody, but we spread it around without realizing it. My whole family had something not as intense but bad enough to destroy the week of Xmas. First my son was puking sick for two days, then my daughter caught it, son and his fiancee headed home when he felt better, sure enough, a whole day in the car, she caught it too, then my wife was sick for a couple of days as my daughter got well enough to head home. Somehow I stayed aloof and washed my hands a lot and it skipped over me this time. No, I'm not a good nurse. [] Norovirus is like a Norwalk virus, "stomach flu", but it is not the real flu that is going around. That one gets into your lungs and knocks you off your feet for a week or more. I'm not shaking hands a whole lot these days. I have surgical gloves but can never seem to remember to put them on. I suspect the virus is in the living space, door knobs, faucets, etc. A few years back I inspected a basement suite where a guy was sick in bed. I wore gloves, but then had to go back in to show the client some bad stuff. Next day, I was sick, sure enough. I could be wrong, but I don't think these viruses can just lay dormant in a crawlspace. They are jumping off of people that are carriers, IMO.

Marc. if your water is radioactive, you can use the radiometer to not find lead pipes. []

You can and if you didn't bring a saw with you, you will. []

I think that might be the way to go. I don't think it will be easy tho, because the mud will shrink and sag. It will take a lot of layers to fill, and then it might be prone to cracking. But with tape, might work OK. Cutting the backer board flush with the tiles is not going to be easy, but then you could fill the gaps with strips of drywall and only have to mud a seam. Cut the existing drywall corner away, shim out a new drywall strip that goes from the tiles to the corner. That's a messy job, but eliminates that tricky seam. You then would have a corner bead to do. If you can find some of that white hardboard, it might bring those gaps up flush to the existing drywall. I've has decent success taping and plastering drywall to wood transitions on corners of closet openings if the wood is clean. Why didn't you figure this out before you got the tiles up? []

I'm thinking that the installer of the compressor sweated a joint next to the siding. I second that thought. A clueless installer got paid to make that mess.