barlyhop

We are purchasing an existing home in Nevada. At the inspection we found that the showers only got mildly luke warm, all of the other fixtures in the home were hot. The owner replaced the mixing valves in the single handle fixtures. Still no hot water?? The home has plastic piping, no basement. All lines are visible in the attic. I do not know if there is a manifold in the home? Could there be a crimped plastic pipe on the hot water side? Totally baffled. Thanks Randy

Last time I ran into this, it turned out to be a damaged line from the street. Customer side of the curb stop, they paid to repair it, about $1500 or so. Only noticed the poor pressure on the second floor of the house in this case.

Could it be sawdust from a woodworker? You say dirt, but it looks quite fine and dry. Maybe mahogany? We don't have red dirt here, so just curious.

Hey John, as explained above. The disposers with galvanized housings are notorious for rusting through. This in turn freezes up the motor over time. They usually leak very slowly, but you can't miss it. I almost always find the drip coming directly out of the wiring housing of the unit. Kinda scary ehhh.

I am no electrician....but, I don't know that just because a tester doesn't pick-up the grounded condition that it isn't technically grounded. If there is no common neutral bus for the ground then would a tester really "see" it as a ground? I am in no way endorsing this wiring as correct but maybe it really is grounded? Just a thought.

Thanks Brandon, yes, I read that and some other web site info. After reading I would never consider a ventless fireplace for my home. Where does the combustion air come from? Sure, I would enjoy cracking my windows in the winter to alleviate condensation? Yeah, that's a great idea. Thanks Randy

No Pic of data plate, wasn't aware of any vent free gas fireplaces? How do they work? Sheeesh Randy

I ran it for over 10 minutes and it didn't clear up. My main concern is that the other fireplace is just below in a finished basement. I wonder how that lower unit vents below grade, they share the same vents? Did they install a chimney between the units or??? Confused. Randy

Yes, this is the small column between the two garage doors. So, you believe that this is a crushing condition due to poor end support of the lintel? Thanks Randy

2005 Heat N Glo gas fireplace insert. The glass front was wet on the inside with condensation and noticeable soot mixed with condensation. The intake and exhaust vents are through the wall just behind the unit. There is also a second gas fireplace insert in the basement directly below this unit. The unit with the condensation looked like it hadn't been operated for a long time, lots of dust and spider webs in the control area. Also both blowers were inoperable. What do you think caused this condensation and soot on the inside of the glass. I think the burners need adjustment but also believe we have inadequate venting of the unit as well. Any suggestions? Click to Enlarge 36.24 KB Click to Enlarge 48.06 KB

2005 Heat N Glo gas fireplace insert. The glass front was wet on the inside with condensation and noticeable soot mixed with condensation. The intake and exhaust vents are through the wall just behind the unit. There is also a second gas fireplace insert in the basement directly below this unit. The unit with the condensation looked like it hadn't been operated for a long time, lots of dust and spider webs in the control area. Also both blowers were inoperable. What do you think caused this condensation and soot on the inside of the glass. I think the burners need adjustment but also believe we have inadequate venting of the unit as well. Any suggestions? Click to Enlarge 36.24 KB Click to Enlarge 48.06 KB

I have yet to observe this condition. Inspected a 2005 home with masonry veneer wall. Iron lintel above the 2 car wide garage door. Brick veneer runs all the way to the roofline. There is spalling on the brick face just below one corner of the garage door. Weeps were present every 18 inches or so along the top of the lintel but none in the corners. Do we need weeps at the corners to prevent the spalling or is this related to a different issue? Thanks Click to Enlarge 48.07 KB Click to Enlarge 35.35 KB

Just above the ceiling, the metal pipe was connected to a heavy PVC pipe of the same diameter. The run had the one 90 there and then straight out through the wall about 8 feet. Maybe it was condensation damage and not heat? The plastic coating on the ceiling tile just looked distorted. Never saw a PVC pipe for a dryer run before. Thanks to all! Randy

It's a non draft assisted furnace and the chimney is masonry block exterior chimney. Yes, I also called out the galvanic corrosion at the vent pipe. Thanks guys!

I found this yesterday. Metal dryer vent ran through fiberglass flexible ceiling panel with no clearance. Ceiling panel was visibly distorted from heat. I called for removing the ceiling panel in this area. What else would you say about this? Thanks Click to Enlarge 43.42 KB

I inspected this ranch home yesterday. The basement was finished over the years and the gas furnace and water heater were relocated for floor plan reasons. The gas water heater vents into the furnace vent pipe on the horizontal about 10 inches from the furnace cabinet. The water heater vent pipe is about 6 feet long. I flame checked the draft at the water heater draft hood and barely found much of a draft at all but when the furnace burner kicks on, the draft is acceptable at that point. Also, there was a single wall stovepipe from the furnace through the drywalled wall, then ran across an open hall and then up above a suspended ceiling system to the chimney. I called out the combustible clearance of the vent pipe to wood structure. I recommended further evaluation of all of the venting system related to both appliances as it didn't appear to be all that safe to me. What else am I missing here? Click to Enlarge 37.81 KB Click to Enlarge 42.06 KB

Dryer vent area. Click to Enlarge 22.91 KB

Another siding pic. Click to Enlarge 19.9 KB

This siding job looked extremely amateur to me. Hardie Plank Select Cedarmill 7 1/4" lap siding. Many pieces were cut short at window openings and at eaves. 1/16" gaps between butt joints throughout. Existing caulk was opening up all over due to a 1/2" gap at end cuts, etc. I wonder if the installer had a dull sawblade and didn't want to recut short pieces? Does this stuff shrink?? Manufacture does not recommend caulking butt joints. The finish is flaking off at the lower course only on the south side of the house and peculiarly worse behind the gas service? I wonder if the material wasn't primed before painting or the siding was stained as opposed to painting? Hardie recommends 100% latex. The siding was not submerged in water but under snow at times. I now have doubts about using cement fiber siding. Thanks guys! Click to Enlarge 39.88 KB Click to Enlarge 48.69 KB Click to Enlarge 80.02 KB

I performed an inspection today on a 1940 rambling ranch, originally a farmhouse. I saw three of these pvc drainlines exiting the house and directed to below grade drain piping. Only one of these was visible in the basement area and was located near the water softener and well pressure tank,all newer equipment. T Click to Enlarge 62.83 KBhe pvc was terminated and abandoned and not connected to anything at this time. The other two were in a location of drywalled ceiling with no access to box sills. The seller was present, he grew up in the house and kept telling me how his father was very inventive and resourcefull when it came to cooling the house years ago. He thought the drain lines had something to do with a water cooling system? The house now has conventional air cooled split system with air handler, etc. The pvc indicates that this would not have been all that old of an installation such as predating conventional A/C systems? Any clue what the purpose of these drains were for?

Indeed, I had the same concerns! The house had a full basement, all of the box sills were filled with spray foam insulation so no I could not see up into the wall. The 13 year old garage sheathed in OSB was rotting along the lower edge of the walls, it's bottom edge was exposed behind the vinyl siding. The new concrete front porch was poured over old porch and finished even with the threshold with no step up whatsoever. The front facade stone was full thickness, not a thin veneer so I was unsure of it's origin, the pointing was all done recently and kind of sloppy. The grade was improved around the entire house, up over stone in front of home so I did not verify presence of weeps. Most of the improvements to the home were done well such as all new copper plumbing, new electrical panel and wiring, etc. I just had to scratch my head when I observed the exterior finishes, not knowing what is beneath them. Thanks alot everyone! Randy

Very good questions! I don't have any other photo's. The home was built in 1924, the stone veneer looks original with new pointing. No idea what the original siding was. I suspect that the original siding was removed to install insulation. Cannot figure out why the vinyl siding is flush with the end of the stone otherwise? Click to Enlarge 52.88 KB

This house was recently resided and tuckpointed. The homeowner decided to use spray foam insulation all over instead of caulk. This stuff was protruding everywhere, between masonry and vinyl siding, out from under the siding at lower edge, window frames and you name it. What would be the recommended repair? I just recommended trimming, scraping it out a bit and caulking over it. Kind of puzzled on this one. Thanks Randy Click to Enlarge 34.91 KB

Actually, our State (Wisconsin) SOP requires that certain areas of the home be "rated" either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory in some manner of reporting, ie: Roofing, Foundation and other major structural systems. Just another portion of the "Do Not Miss" area in basic Home Inspection here. I have found by doing this that I am continually using asterisks listing pending repairs to correct any defficiencies in these areas so buyers understand that it may or may not be a big deal. Randy

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