John Kogel

Marc, if it is was done to clean up ham radio reception, I would just call it quackery. [] If it was needed for one of Jim's X-10 remote control systems, it couples the two phases, right? In 1939, Philco came out with a remote controller that looked like a telephone base. It used a vacuum tube to transmit to a radio to change stations, but it could be adapted to control other devices as well (and even your neighbor's radio). On the same page, the Toastalator! I can't invent one now, cuz it's been done already. Click to Enlarge 77.48?KB

That was a huge rot hole in that wall. It is amazing how insects can find these things. They must send scouts out all over the neighborhood, "Go find us a water leak".

A Chevy van makes a good septic tank, (I hear). A Chevy II would be a little small, but he could have doubled them up, eh? Way better than two steel barrels. My brother rented a cabin and had some trouble with the crapper backing up. The owner's son came by to relieve the pressure on the tank, which was a big old fuel drum buried behind the shack. When he touched the top of the tank with his cutting torch, the blast sent him flying. It took a couple of weeks of rain to clear the TP and sludge out of the trees around there. []

If there's a capacitor in there, someone was trying to make their own phase coupler. That crossed my mind- why isn't it blowing up now? The cap is there. It is a shiny red square between the yellow wire nuts. He's wrapped the leads with black tape, too. If the cap is rated for 400 volts or so, it can easily handle 240 vac. Thanks, Jim. Now, can you tell us why?

I sometimes see the older "nickel-plated brass" ones in good shape but there are the thinner "chrome" traps that don't hold up so well. This sink had a big leaking crack in it, so the whole unit is crap. Click to Enlarge 33.18 KB I had a leaky brass one the other day, but it just needs a new seal at the transition. I think. I just said "repair or replace it" but I'd say it's a keeper. This 1960's house had most of its original soldered copper drain pipes intact. Click to Enlarge 41.16 KB

Must have been sandy soil. Not so sandy now. [] There are cases where the authority will call for new fill, if perc tests show the drainage is too good. The logic is that the effluent will just flow through gravel or sand into the nearest creek. The soil needs a bit of clay and organics to allow the bacteria to clean things up. Anyway, new septic is always an expensive proposition these days. No doubt those realtors do some homework on future transactions.

Besides the black line which could be sealer, that sill and those joists have a greyish tint that could be mould. No doubt there is work to do in that crawlspace.

I will echo some of Mike's and others' comments as follow: The blue text is not easy on the eyes, and too many big blues arrows. The check marks sometimes indicate a problem, sometimes indicate something was inspected or not inspected. The additional comments are down below, go search for them. Sometimes the comment section starts with a disclaimer that we have to read, then the defect is down the page somewhere. The disclaimer section that starts the report says the report is not to be copied or other, then another sentence saying the report is only for the Client is a bit redundant. Then the bottom provides a spot for additional copies to be sent. I know why, but it could all be confusing to the uninitiated. I personally don't mind the checkbox format, but comments, as Mike said, should be directly below or to the side of the check for clarity. Somehow, the defects should to be easier to pick out from the general info. Some people don't like a summary page, but this report I think would benefit from one.

Yep, Japanese Tea House, thanks Richard. It does suggest a Polynesian war canoe, maybe which inspired the original tea house look. The chimney spoils the effect. I think one of the roofers carved that eye with a nail. There is a more subtle variation which doesn't have the raised ridge. Someone put a lot of effort into this one. Click to Enlarge 85.77 KB

Built in 1966. I've seen a few examples of this style with the radical ridge extension. Does anybody know what inspired this style? Click to Enlarge 61.59?KB Click to Enlarge 63.04 KB

You do understand that this is a probe only. It requires a multimeter or scope to actually display measurements. Also lacks any voltage functions ('course if you need a scope or DMM to use you already have that). Thanks, Bob. I couldn't make out the tiny thumbnail.

Tom Cruise plays Big Mike. Looking old, ain't he? []

Thanks, Bob. That is exactly what I want. Got to use my POS meter this AM. Condo with underground service, 3-phase confirmed. Click to Enlarge 44.19?KB

What will you use all that resolution for (0.010 A)? Looking for minor current on water pipes or grounding conductors. Why would I need a meter that reads 400, 600 or 1000 amps? I wouldn't care so much about the actual value, but I want the meter to be more sensitive than the cheap one I bought.

I looked at all the Sperry clamp meters and this model is the only one on their website that shows a picture of a display where the measurement is down to 2 decimal points. (10 mA) http://www.sperryinstruments.com/product/dsa500a $60 seems like a fair price, too. I like this one, but it uses those little button batteries that go dead pretty fast I think. http://www.valuetesters.com/Amprobe-ACD ... r-600A.php

It doesn't have a clamp, so you can't use it to measure amperage (not practically, anyway). It'll only be useful for voltage. I think you'd get more use out of a combination multi-meter, clamp-on meter. It doesn't have to be expensive. Look at the UEI D49 or the Sperry DSA 400. But don't waste your money on too cheap of a clamp meter. Mine only measures current down to 0.0 Amps. That is pretty useless. My 1950's vacuum tube meter is good for aligning radios. And it is fun. Here, I'm measuring the current draw of the big meter, which is only about 0.01 amps, still enough to stop your heart, but my meter reads 00.0 [] When I put a big 1500 watt load on the cord, we get a reading of 6 amps. OK the meter works. Notice how the voltage has been pulled down to 109 vac, by the heater. You want a clamp meter that reads milliamps. In the third pic, there could be current flowing thru the pipes. We still don't know for sure. Also the wires need to be separated to read amperage. You can't measure amps in a multistrand cord with a clamp meter, unless they're all carrying current from the same source. If one strand is hot and the other is neutral, the clamp reads 00.0. Click to Enlarge 55.02?KB Click to Enlarge 54.22?KB Click to Enlarge 33.21?KB

Mike, I remember when Windows XP came out, it took me a couple of years to find a driver for my flat bed scanner. We use fax a lot to send and receive booking sheets and info, so I took a chance and bought a new multifunction machine, Samsung SCX, in 2008 and it is still performing well. In scan, copy, or fax mode, you can feed multiple sheets into it. The top hinges up so you can scan a book the old way. You can scan to a HD or to a flash drive. It was about $200. Cartridges are $75. It has its own brain, so you don't need a driver. In fact, I keep mine in the other office, and plug a laptop into it if I can't use a flash drive.

Nice work. Do you always pull a receptacle when you see Al in the panel? Or only when you see new receptacles have been installed?

To use the Eico vacuum tube voltmeter (VTVM) to check a circuit, simply plug it in and wait a couple of minutes. If the tubes warm up, the circuit is good. [] Click to Enlarge 57.94 KB

I have a relatively inexpensive clamp meter that I bought to measure current, (so I can be just like Jim. [] ) But I don't use it much, if ever. One restriction I have here is that I'm not permitted to "perform work" inside a breaker panel without an electrician's license. So we must be careful where we stick our meter probes, eh? One example of where I would like to take a voltage measurement in the breaker panel, but can't, is in a small multi-unit residence with underground service and no access to the meter cabinet. The only way then to determine if the service is 3-phase or single phase would be to take a measurement between the two hot conductors somewhere in the apartment. If one of the major appliances is missing, great, I can measure the voltage there. In Canada, 3-phase service means 120/208 volts for the residence. This is only significant info to some worrywart types, so I just report it as a possibility and move on in most cases.

Only an idjit would chop the end off of a perfectly good dryer cord. He can install a receptacle for the price of one T-shirt.

Maybe, but the cleanout cap was sitting on the vapor barrier nearby. Perhaps it hasn't caused an issue because nobody is living in the house yet. I'd have just unscrewed it for a looksee inside. . . Jim, would you recommend locking out the toilets upstairs before taking a look? []

If you haven't quit smoking cigarettes, that is one thing you can do to save your lungs. Exercise is another. Get a chest X-ray. There's 3 things you can do.

Congratulations, Marc. Re: framing the document. Is there any concern for the ink fading from exposure to the light?

Will the deck have overhangs? That is, will the joists overhang the walls at each end? They should have about 2 feet to keep your walls dry. I often see perforated soffit covers installed under those overhangs. Good or bad, that is what we see here. A bit of air can flow through the joist cavities that way. However, if you take Kurt's advice and use spray foam, there is no movement of air, no cavity, and therefore, no moisture.. unless the deck develops a leak. Also, it is best to give that deck just enough slope to prevent puddles on your nice new Duradeck. Puddles leave dark spots when they dry and puddles at a seam are bad news. Finally, you might want to install gutters, so consider that when you install the deck cover. if you don't add gutters, water will drip off the deck at random places and you end up with green slime growing there.