Jim Baird

I have, over a dozen yrs or so, appreciated the sense of humor of all participants here.

...too close to political post for me.

...often the realtor/seller team have said about my reports, "This is just too "technical", or "so complicated". Funny that the buyer can read it fine but they can't.

A friend of mine opened a wall during some repair work and found a note in a jar from three carpenters. They listed their names and the date (1939) on a brown paper bag, and rolled the paper and wound it with string before sealing the top and stashing it in the cavity.

...I guess I am a sidecar rider. What is important for me is to step down, even if sideways, onto that roof plane.

When I was a kid, I loved rolly-pollies. I even put an open glass jar in a flower bed to offer them some shelter. Those of us who have big brothers know the routine, that is, humiliation at every opportunity toward little bro', who, since cave man days, presents a threat. My big bro began a neighborhood propaganda campaign accusing me of worshiping rolly-polies.

Thanks, Jim, for turning my gaze down the right path. I did not look up the reference. As far as conspicuous goes, I guess the kitchen ceiling would be a good one. Is that in the IRC? Mine only says, " to a conspicuous point of disposal."

Secondary is supposed to terminate at a visible location, but "outside", such as right over a window where an occupant might see the drip. Garage is more visible but technically verboten.

ACDSee is what I use for browsing and resizing.

Who among the males here did not conduct "solar warfare" on ant hills with a magnifying glass as a kid?

It is about 8 ft tall. If you can see the lab slides I glued, the top one is just about six ft. up.

I did not probe for the footing width, but, as the op said, I measured about 3 inches lean from vertical. There are no signs of failure at ends, and no substantial bulge.

I epoxied some glass laboratory slides across the big vertical crack. If the crack is widening the glass will break and we will have evidence of movement. So, yes, those are wall monitors. I suppose you could hang a few plumb bobs off that top edge that hang over yardsticks pegged to the ground. I think the big crack is a site made cold joint, as in a piece of lumber being jammed temporarily to contain a pour while waiting for a slow delivery of the next load. There is a top cold joint that looks like they formed up their driveway sometime after the wall was poured. I think the thick parging may be to cover up a lot of ugly they may have made with the pour along with the rough looking cold joint at top. Click to Enlarge 54.65 KB

A homeowners insurer has directed owner to "repair" cracks/damage by Dec 15 to avoid ineligibility for coverage. My inspection found a vertical crack so regular it must be a joint of some kind, about 3 inches lean from vertical, but otherwise only a lot of separating parging. I don't think the wall is going to fall, at least not in this century. Click to Enlarge 29.51 KB As comparison, see a retaining wall I have passed on almost daily basis for approx. 30 yrs. Have expected to find it fallen the whole time, but it defies gravity. Lately I have heard of insurers demanding repairs from policy holders in order to keep coverage, but I think this one is over the top. Comments? Click to Enlarge 67.4 KB

...looks a lot like half-lap, but I don't think you can find that anymore.

...I agree it looks like best thing going for a penetrating floor member. It means it will last a little longer.

...looks like anyone vulnerable enough to sign up for "treatment" as an "FTB" is pretty much sharkbait anyway.

Blum...where's Blum? You're up, GT!

...a neighbor of mine (civil engineer married to another one) built part of a house and garage with site-made CMU's they made by hand with wood slipforms and field stone, which were exposed on a face, 8x8x16. Heavy as could be and masons who laid them cursed the heavens, but they look ok after all.

Denny, those posts look stuck on top of a style of spot footing I have seen that looks like a bag of sakrete hosed down in a wheel barrow and bucketed in. The fact that they all lean together makes me think of a terrestrial shrug. I have felt two earthquakes here in GA. In one I was lying on the ground in a tent during a fishing trip. The ground went this way and that, and had the tent been held up by posts, they might have looked like those.

Thanks, Mark, for posting this. On a recent crawl with a client who wore the paper suit I issued him, we found more than several SPF (I know, I know) floor joists with extended longitudinal splits. (Sorry no pix) Most showed no deflection to the eye. I suggested sistering, but had no real references. Because I could see no deflection I opined that the splits were from desiccation, not stress from load, and I suggested even 3/4 plywood screwed on. I don't remember if it was this forum or another, but an architect on one posted that no fastening procedure that depended on glue, or any other kind of "goop", had any science or reason to support it.

Times I have found jaw-dropping dealbreakers I offer to stop and bill client by the hour, with only a letter to issue.

...if the powder looks water-borne it probably is. Front loaders, just by common sense, look more likely to lose some water during operation.

...environmental hazard "specialists" are a particular species of predator. I think Darwin might have seen their precursors in the Galapagos.