John Kogel

Here's the deal with the missing cover. It just doesn't fit. All those little black handles are getting in the way. [] Click to Enlarge 59.74 KB Click to Enlarge 57.33 KB

Bright purple lint? Possible, I guess, but I've never seen it. Click to Enlarge 87.29 KB Click to Enlarge 81.11 KB

Maybe not, but Jim and Mike have a good discussion started. [] In the end, it won't be up to the inspectors anyway. In BC, we were lucky to have at least some input, and the legislation is still in transition mode. The bureaucrats need to learn more about what they're trying to accomplish. To obtain a license, a BC HI needs to demonstrate a reasonable level of competency. One test of that is the peer review of a test inspection. We pick a house, the candidates inspect it and submit their reports to a board of home inspectors for review. I don't have a problem with it myself. There used to be handyman yard clean up guys here that would advertise home inspection along with reno and yard work. That faction is no longer inspecting houses in BC. That's consumer protection. If the costs keep going up, so will the cost to the consumer. Sorry about that.

It is purple stuff bleeding out of the white stuff. [] Bilie Jean dropped her lipstick while sneakin out one night? A racoon left a bag of berries up there? A wild Paintball shot?

One thing licensing has done is put part-time inspectors out of the game. Licensed inspectors must show proof of E&O coverage, GL insurance, experience and/or training and continuing education. It is simply too costly to do this job as a sideline now that we have licensing. The license fee in BC is going to jump to $475 next year. That's another story. It has also made it tougher for new inspectors to get started.

A full house with it looks like one spare breaker at the bottom left. Nice work.

If that was mine I'd just dig it out and build a concrete box or drop a concrete ring around it with a good solid lid.

The Georgia Straight used to be what we call a yellow journal. An underground hippie rag that is, but this is 40 years later. Mr. W. tells the yellow journalist that he is the most famous HI west of the Rockies. He is driving about 350 miles one way to do an inspection? Things are slow even for the famous. So he stirs up some publicity. Nothing will change, but he might get some calls. A couple of years ago, he told a reporter that any inspector that takes less than a full day to perform an inspection is ripping off the home buyer. Stuff like that rubs me wrong.

Good exercise program for the wrists? They do that to make it easy for a TV cop to kick the door open. []

Ben, you'll get an email from me soon. To Bill and the other woodworkers, I am jealous, I don't have space for a heavy bench.

I would have thought that was pretty cool if I had seen it first. Now it just looks like a sissy bench. I think the Stanley Power Planer has made all that old bench technology kind of redundant, no? The old workbench is a thing of beauty, but I wouldn't have much use for the new one. I have old planes collecting dust on a shelf. Anyone interested? Send me a PM. Click to Enlarge 56.44 KB Click to Enlarge 45.87 KB

It looks like recycled plastic lumber. It's amateur workmanship. I might point it out, but I don't know if it will get worse. If all the planks are tight, I don't think I'd worry too much about it.

Here's some pics of that deck. I wonder which part he was working on. It's a sad story. Click to Enlarge 35.43 KB Click to Enlarge 42.39 KB Click to Enlarge 54.55 KB

I have read that copper pipes over 10' in length need to be bonded, but don't quote me, maybe that's just somebody's rough guideline. A couple of copper stubs around the WH? Don't sweat it. That's a pun, BTW. [] I thought the purpose of the bond was to cause a breaker to trip in the event that the pipe becomes energized, no?

I agree. Try reading our Income Tax Code. You have a Tax Code? I thought it was code of the West down your way. The guys with the biggest guns call the shots. [] Re: the nail ends - If you asked the roofer not to ruin the underside of your roof deck, call him back. Otherwise, I would use a little grinder tool to nick the nails and then snap them off flush with a pair of big pliers.

Good luck, Brandon. Be sure to share some of your new found knowledge when you can. It isn't being a dropout, it is a career modification. Most people will have 3 or 4 of those in a lifetime.

Speaking of pee on a heater, sometimes, I just turn up the thermostat and wait for my olfactory detector to pick up the scent of cooking hair and sweat socks. "Yep, there's a working baseboard heater behind the bed". [] I save pics of the junk, too, just in case someone thinks I must have been blind to miss that vomit stain on the wall. On Thursday, I pushed some stuff from the washer to the dryer so I could have a clear workspace. If they have a porch, I set up out there sometimes on my step ladder/desk. Animals. Click to Enlarge 59.75?KB Click to Enlarge 50.55?KB Click to Enlarge 42.9 KB

I think if that was in my area, I would be calling for repair to the wood before it gets worse, because it would get worse in my climate. Rot fungus never sleeps out here. I would suggest digging out all the rot and stopping it from spreading 'somehow'. But BK knows best for what you've got there.

Does he want you to kill the cat, too? [] I will sometimes add a comment that I was unable to verify the function of all the baseboard heaters due to occupany's personal items. Maybe I should add that I was unable to sniff them as well.

It is a Square D MB4 (Multi Breaker with 4 positions) and it must be from or before the early 50's. Got all that off the label. []

I have read elsewhere that the contaminated Chinese drywall in the US could date back as far as 1999. Like you say, the garage walls may have been finished later. One clue to look for is the manufacturer's stamp on the back of the drywall sheets. I would take a look in the attic, pull back insulation and try to determine where the drywall came from. The other thing to do, I think, is to pull some switch and outlet covers in the living space and make see if the tarnish is isolated to the garage or not.

Thanks, Mike. No, I wouldn't endorse any hydronic system beyond, "It seems to be warming the place up, what do you think?" [] Speaking of variable efficiencies, I saw this in a house last year, state of the art boiler and multiple valves with digital sensors and zones everywhere. But the pipes were left hanging loose on clamps between the joists, not in contact with the subfloor anywhere. Big 10 ft tall uninsulated basement. [:-dunce]

Ideally, that heater can produce 64 gals of hot water/hour. It has a recovery rating of 64 gals of hot water/hour. 140 degrees is hot! How many gallons of water does your system hold? If it holds 16 gallons, you can have a hot floor in 15 mins. Or a warm floor in 12 minutes, agreed?

That's not just a doll. It's Howdy Doodee! Well, maybe it ain't Howdy Doodee, but I could test him for freckles if you like. [] It is a crying shame to see damage like that, with no shortage of skilled and knowledgeable people that could have prevented it, given the chance. All those evictions ended up costing the banks big time, IMO.

Some boxes need duct tape, some do not. Some wire nuts need black tape, some do not. I think the dust and the heat makes people go funny in the attic.