inspectorreuben

Thanks Douglas. Where's the emoticon of someone bowing down and saying "I'm not worthy" ? - Reuben

Thank you, Marc. Yes, exactly. Yes, the panel cover fits perfectly underneath the wood enclosure. This still allows about a 5/8" gap between the panel cabinet and the panel cover.

I'm sure this gap between the panel cover and the panel itself is wrong, but what code section might I reference if I need to? 110.12(A) ? Click to Enlarge 51.16 KB

I'm with you on not wanting to send stuff out to China for repair; if it needs a new tail cap, I don't really care if it's covered under warranty or not. Just let me buy it. Another guy in my company has had the Olight M21 Warrior for about 15 months now, and hasn't had a single problem. He loves it. There's a local police shop that was always fantastic about fixing my Ultra Stinger right on the spot any time I needed anything. If they sell the Olight, I'm buying one from 'em.

Thanks Brandon. I bought mine from Battery Junction, and they seem to have pretty good customer service. I called them about getting a new tail cap, and they said I could send my flashlight in to them for repair... or maybe it was China. I was just hoping not to do that.

I have a bad switch on my TK11 too. I hate the idea of buying a whole new flashlight just because of a bad switch. I think I'm going to stop by my local police supply shop to see what new LED flashlights they have for sale. I'd settle for a slightly worse flashlight just on principle.

No, it wasn't soft in the mushy sense; more the same way that a lead water pipe is soft. I could scratch it, and I could probably bury my awl in it if I wanted to. Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

I've never seen a crown like this on a chimney before, and I'm 99.9% sure this is a piece of crap... but I could be wrong. It looked 'sandy' and I could dig my fingernails right in to the stuff. Has anyone ever seen a crown like this before? I'd hate to say this is complete garbage and then find out it's the latest and greatest material for chimney crowns. Check out the workmanship - I probably shouldn't even have to ask. Click to Enlarge 64.13 KB

Hi Marc, What Brandon said. Yes, I'd definitely call that invasive, but it's not something I make a habit out of doing. In this particular case, I knew it was going to be nasty, and I figured I wouldn't be making things any worse. Heck, maybe I made it better. - Reuben

I don't have any "introduction" videos on my youtube page, but I've posted a lot of videos of defects that I've found during inspections where I just thought a video would help to illustrate the problem. I link to the videos in my inspection reports. I've found that it's a lot easier to sound like a dumbass with your lips flapping, so I try to keep my mouth shut in the videos. I've been on the news a few times, so I put those clips on my youtube channel. I also have one clip where I talk to the camera and I didn't hate the clip. [utube] " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344">

I've read many installation manuals looking for something that prohibits this, and I've never found one that does.

True, but I've found that it rarely gets done right, and this does nothing to prevent convection. You're right when you say the cost is lower though. Sure, as with many other products, it can fail if it's not installed properly. I disagree. Turning the house in to a beer cooler is another way of saying that you're doing a perfect job of preventing unwanted air leakage, especially in to the attic. Air exchanges should be provided by mechanical equipment, not holes between the living space and the attic. It definitely depends on your climate, but here in Minnesota, tiny air leaks in to the attic can equate to huge moisture problems with the attic.

Not all SPF has the same density. Density determines it's strength. Marc True, but if it has an insulating value of R-38 for 5 1/2", that comes out to about R-7, which means it's the dense stuff. Around here we call it 'closed cell foam'. I've also heard it referred to as 2 lb foam.

There is no better way to insulate an attic. This is the gold standard. While the calculated insulation value might come out to about R-38, it will perform far better than an attic with any amount of loose fill insulation. I'd take five inches of spray foam over any depth of fiberglass or cellulose. While loose fill insulation will allow for convection, foam will pretty much eliminate it. This will also seal up every possible bypass perfectly, as long as it's installed properly. I inspected an attic today with about 2 - 3 inches of foam insulation on the attic floor, and the owner told me not to worry about walking on the trusses; he said it would hold his weight just fine, and he had spent plenty of time in the attic. He was about twice my size, so I gave it a shot. He was right.

cbass - how old is this panel? If it's a newer panel, the old formula for the maximum number of circuits in a class CTL panel wouldn't apply. If you don't count the main breaker, and I'm sure you're not supposed to, you'd get 22 branch circuits out of this panel, which would match up with the model number. I'm quite certain this panel isn't designed for tandems, but I can't tell from the photo. - Reuben