John Kogel

So where are all your former roofs now? [] I agree, that roofer was in a rush and did it the quick and easy way. There could be hidden problems, like missing underlay, missing nails, nails too short, poor flashing, etc. All we can do now is warn the client of possible future problems.

Nice work, Richard. I thought I was looking at Marc's pic, then I flipped back to his post. Wow. You've fixed the attic venting, too. Click to Enlarge 3.77 KB

You say it is a subpanel, so that bare grounding wire to the neutral bus is wrong. It should just go to the panel housing. I can't speak for the breakers, as they don't look familiar to me. They appear to be antiques from the 50's, so just as unreliable as any breaker past its prime.

Equal length - You start by cutting to produce a pattern. The instructions may be supplied, they were with the last batch I installed. I chose a random pattern and used the offcuts to start rows going the other way. Minimal waste.Unequal lengths - toss aside the shorts and use them in the closets and on the ends. The last floor I did, we had to open several boxes at a time to get a random mix

I was picturing the flooring contractor trying to repair the improper installation. It may be possible to pull the planks up, you say it is oak under the maple. I would ask for new planks.

Hand scraped and hand sanded, according to their website. http://www.andersonfloors.com/FloorResu ... aped+Maple I would be upset about both the lack of underlay and the poorly staggered joints. I think I would ask for rework. Was the flooring nailed down?

I'm picturing that thing on its side with wheels on it, with Robert's little water heater for a smoke stack. []

You got kind of attached to that beast, huh Jim? I think the word is 'mottled'.

Yes, peeing in the corner can cause mold to grow there, but isn't it usually a kind of green algae? At least that's what I remember seeing out behind the shed. [] Lack of heat and poor air circulation would be my guess. The moisture levels are probably close to equal in the two units, but the old lady keeps her heat on and the dry electric heat keeps her walls from getting damp. Someone could write a book - a study of air quality comparisons in duplex housing.

The city I live 30 miles west of was a bush camp until about 1890. Anything built before 1970 is a old house. I enjoy inspecting them but no thanks, I can't afford to try to heat one. Most of the brass I see are fittings which are soldered to copper pipe. The copper in this 100 year old house is "Anaconda 3". Click to Enlarge 28.05 KB

I see studs nailed in upside down all the time. They fit better that way. []

Needs more glass in it. This is 1940's stucco on a 1910 wood frame house. Is there a band called 'Pebbledash'? There should be. Click to Enlarge 110.91 KB Click to Enlarge 112.5 KB

I wouldn't say it could not have been a small Franklin fireplace. Most likely a stove with a door, or, in the 50's, could have been an oil-burning space heater? I found a poor quality pic of a Franklin stove that an old guy had in his shop, but that looks like an 8" pipe. I believe there was a smaller model than this one. As Bill mentioned, the coal burners also used a small pipe. Some had mica windows in the doors, and you could burn wood if you cut it up small. If you got a hot fire going, you could run them with the doors open, so That would be a kind of a fireplace, wouldn't it. Marc, I'm surprised you don't know this stuff. Thought you were an old-timer. [] Click to Enlarge 71.55 KB

No, but I just did. Thanks, Gary. Thanks, Mike. [:-thumbu]

This illustrates again the downside of learning from internet blogs. Anyone can express an opinion and broadcast it to the world as fact. I recommend that this rant be further evaluated by a qualified and reputably opinionated professional. [] He does have a valid point, in that the clients need definite answers from the inspector. I try to give them those answers by being as knowledgeable as possible in all of the fields. I will call for a repair by a professional, but the client at least knows the nature of that repair, and can use that to arrive at a cost. If they can make a decision on the house when I'm done, I feel they've gotten the service they paid for.

I recall 6" stove pipes being the standard size for wood heaters and cook stoves. For something like a potbelly stove, no problem. Nevertheless, that relic you found should now be replaced. If there is to be a wood heater in that house, it should have a certifiable chimney installed. At least in my area, it would be impossible to get fire insurance with that thing.

I am suggesting ( not insisting, it doesn't matter that much to me [] ) that that 50 amp feeds the two bus bars and that the bus bars are not split. The top breakers would not stay energized. It is certainly set up as a main disconnect, with the neutral bonding screw in place and the bare grounding wires on the neutral bus. So the conduit coming in at the top must be coming directly from the meter can. The conduit is grounding the equipment. It appears then to be a simple 50 amp service panel. So if that's the case, reversed hot and neutral looks suspicious and needs correction, but what else is wrong? Damaged panel box and a missing knockout. The 50 amp (main?) breaker needs to be mechanically attached to the bus bars. We can't tell if it is.

The power to the panel can be turned off at that 50 amp breaker (which should be secured with a clamp or screw for safety).But I would not call that panel a main. The main breaker will be just downstream from the meter, where ever that is. That is why the rules for condo panels appear to be different, it is because they are usually subpanels. So for example, the 6 throw rule does not apply. There is a single main breaker elsewhere. To me, it does not appear to be a split bus panel, bent maybe, but not split. []

nave Thank you, sir. Thanks, Bill. We pray the nuts and rods can handle the task for a few more years.

First of all, I'm not a trained electrician and I only know a smattering of the NEC rules, but ..Jim K will correct me if I flub this.... The grounding conductor should go only to the panel containing the main disconnect. The arrangement you describe results in parallel paths the earth, and that is to be avoided. Easily fixed. No, it is fine to keep it as a disconnect for the subpanel, as long as the other mistakes are corrected. It would be good to label that panel as a subpanel, but I don't think that is required, just helpful info for a confused homeowner. Right, when I said branch circuit ground wires, I meant the bare grounding wires. []

Hello Bill. Is there a vaulted ceiling in the main hall? Sorry, can't think of the church term for the main room. The roof has a pretty good sway to it. Are the walls bowed out at all? PS, sheep keep the grass nice and short. I'm sure the Welsh spirits would approve.

The simple answer is yes there can only be one main disconnect, the one closest to the meter. The indoor panel has become a sub, so the rules for subpanels apply. No bonding of the neutral bus to the panel and no branch circuit ground wires to the neutral bus. The grounding from the ground rods sounds wrong. There should be a 4 wire feeder coming from the outdoor panel going to the indoor panel, and that would include the grounding conductor. In my mind, the ground rod(s) should only be connected to that main disconnect. Was the work approved by an authority? I would call for it to be checked out regardless. The transfer switch grounding is also something to be checked.

Dump it? I thought it was a drinking bowl for field mice. []

Mark, the nick in the bare part of the Al wire is a potential hot spot , so that wire should be trimmed. (The sparky is not going to like laying on his gut in a crawlspace as much as you do - $$$). If that is not the main disconnect for the house, those grounds should be separated from the neutrals, neutral buses isolated. OK only if that's the main(, in the USA). (Never OK in my country) If that is the main, it is not properly accessible. $$$ The breaker at the top is backfeeding the panel. I think I see a screw holding it in place? It needs to have a screw holding it in place. Tinned copper will have old-fashioned black rubber insulation. That was the primary reason for tinning it, to prevent corrosive action from the rubber on the copper, I think. What Jim said, any older vintage house can have had Al wiring added during a 70's reno. Only a circuit or two, I would call for replacing it $$$. You were right about the realtor. []

I'm not sure how to report this one. A blow dryer on I think a timer(or is it a thermostat, rectangular grey box?) plugged in to a GFCI. A. The dumbest thing I ever saw in a pump house B. The smartest thing I ever saw in a pump house C. Sorry, you need to get a pump guy for that. Click to Enlarge 65.53 KB Click to Enlarge 73.11 KB