John Kogel

Why does she have 3 conductors coming down from the meter if she only has 120 volt service?

Thanks, John. The test button shorts the hot pin to ground thru an 18 k resistor on the GB tester I have here. I just checked it with a DMM. It does not short the neutral to ground, so if hot and neutral are reversed, the 3-light tester will not trip the GFCI. One thing the 3 light tester can do is test for grounding. Sorry, Marc. That fuzzy pic is all I got, copied from some website and blew it up. I posted it so you can redraw the blurry parts for us. []

You can try to figure it all out from this schematic. I know I'm going cross-eyed from looking at it. [] It looks like a transistor is used as a switch. I'm not sure if the test button closes more than one switch on that diagram. Click to Enlarge 22.5 KB I believe the GFCI should trip for the tester, assuming the tester is working well, no matter where you plug it in to the circuit.

I'm no expert, but if the external tester does not trip the GFCI, I call for a repair. It stands to reason that the same condition would occur in an actual ground fault. In your garage scenario, the downstream outlets don't trip the upstream GFCI, maybe a poor ground to those outlets? Thirdly, I don't trust the little cheapo 3-light testers, so even tho I use them, I will check with another one if I get strange results.

I recommend they install coils of razor wire around the perimeter of the property to keep the lawyers out. [] There are creative ways to keep people away from the edge of that thing, but I think I would just point the hazard out in the report, doesn't meet the code rule, and let the client decide.

I don't touch them as a rule and have never heard a beef from a buyer over them. Everybody knows they are crappy valves. I fixed one under my own sink recently by just replacing the valve and handle assembly with one from another valve out of my junk box. FYI, easy fix.

Thanks to all. Good advice I can pass on. The new drain pipes are 3 and 4 " solid plastic. But for some reason on that one house, pic 1, they let that one downspout dump right there. [:-dunce] All the runoff from a large roof area, addition, runs out there. That's a leak under the slab, for sure. And yes, the sidewalk comes up too close to the stucco on pic 2.

Same problem, two 50's houses, the perimeter drains have been dug up and replaced. New sidewalks were poured. The soft disturbed ground at the perimeters sank, so now the sidewalks are dumping rainwater against the foundation. I know the downspout needs to be changed in the first pic. Has anyone here repaired this problem? Did you simply pour new concrete on top? Break up the old concrete first? Try to raise the slabs individually, and prop them up? Mud jacking? Click to Enlarge 73.7 KB Click to Enlarge 61.85 KB Click to Enlarge 109.12 KB

I sometimes see creosote stains like that when the chimney flashing has been leaking and the crud from around the top of the chimney leaks down the outside past the flashing. Most older brick chimneys I see have a brick liner, with a space between the inner and the outer courses. The mortar is usually falling out, and they can't be trusted. This '57 chimney must be saturated with creosote. It looks like it was oozing out thru the mortar joints. It now has a metal liner and is being used for gas appliances. But the flammable crud is still there. [:-thumbd] Click to Enlarge 63.21 KB Click to Enlarge 68.87 KB

Mr. Mouse. Whoever it was had to be smart enough to turn the breaker off first. []

That's a good one, Erby. What's missing now is the full size pic of you with your big screwdriver. [] Testimonials are positive responses from satisfied clients, and that is a good thing. Like most people, I wish I would get more e-mail replies, just a simple "Thanks, I got it." would be cool.

That is some scary old junk you found there, John. Is there a fuse in that main disconnect, or is it just what it says, a switch? If it is just a switch, the wire that leaves the fuse panel and feeds that transformer on the right is not protected by any fuse. It is tapped off the main service conductor. Good thing it stops there and doesn't go off into the wall somewhere. They fried a fuse or two with the triple-tap on the left. Too much load for a 15 amp fuse. A 30 amp fuse was not the way to 'fix' that mess. [:-thumbd]

Thanks. Marc. If you called the main breaker a service disconnect, it would be less confusing. I know we are just hashing over different terms for the same thing. I knew what you meant, but it could be interpreted wrong if someone confused the main breaker in a service panel with a 'main' breaker in a subpanel. In a condo or a mobile home, we generally in my area will call the feeder breaker a main.

I see you found a water leak, but where was the gold? []

"technically" correct, but practically........... a home served by a (sub)panel with a 200A breaker, fed from a 100A breaker at a meter bank..........that 200A breaker will be considered the "main". I see this exact set-up in manufactured home communities often. The community operator generally will not allow "their" breaker to be used as a disconnect by the homeowner/service folks. ..........Greg I wish the electrician would write the true service size on those panels. I don't know how many times I've seen undersized wiring coming into a mobile home panel. The buyer sees a 100 amp breaker and doesn't realize the service is only 50 or 60 amps.I had to break the bad news to an older lady who was planning to replace the old oil furnace in the mobile with an new electric unit. Sorry, this is not really a 100 amp service. "But it says it is". [:-bigeyes

Jerry, I think you got your answer. It is OK if we assume load calcs were done and the total does not exceed the rating for those service conductors. But I see why you would question it. The hazard there is if the load is increased, there is no safety built in to protect the conductors. So if there have been recent additions to the house, I think it would be wise to have that service checked out. BTW, that setup is not permitted in Canada. The CEC allows only one main disconnect. Say what?If there happens to be a 200 amp main breaker in your panel, but it is fed by a 100 amp breaker from another panel, then how do you rate the panel?

Yes, I think it was a mistake not to install roof vents near the ridge or a ridge vent. It's not a simple uninsulated attic anymore, and the cedar shingles on strapping have been replaced with solid sheathing. A good roofer would have known it needs venting. Did you find access to the cavity behind those kneewalls? I would look in there for insulation. Good places to find vermiculite, rat poop, live K&T, wasp nests and so on. I'm not saying it is, but that could have been a Sears kit house, although I just searched a couple of websites and didn't find that particular design. I like those old houses, but the work is never done on them, it seems.

It looks like the first pour was a disaster. They took a day or two to regroup. [] They added to the forms and poured again to fill a few low spots, and the new forms bulged and shifted a bit. What Jim said.

That thing is evil! Click to Enlarge 129.57 KB

But it is the wrong cable for direct burial, so the outside portion needs to be replaced anyway. Nice catch, Mark.

I saw them and I saw the comment "but I didn't smell anything", and then I wisely chose to keep a lid on it. []

"Them fuses never blow, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I've never seen a 30 amp service. But the natural gas pipeline didn't reach us 'til the 90's, so we've always been heavy consumers of hydro electric. I imagine this place had gas for heat?

Can't blame the ants. They found a perfect location. Now if we could train them to pay rent and taxes, it would take some of the pressure off of the rest of us. []

It appears to be almost certainly mold, one of the hundreds of varieties. Jim is right, a cold corner allows moisture from the room, people breathing and respiring, to condense on the wall. Nicotine stains would be high on the wall and on the ceiling, following the path of a smoke cloud. Here's a couple of mould patterns I've collected. Fascinating stuff. Click to Enlarge 56.14 KB Click to Enlarge 42.91 KB

Well of course you do, you're both Canadians, eh.[:-monkeyd A nation of woodcutters. Brandon, you are right about that. Blocking is OK. I'll have to drive by that place and see how the repair turned out.