randynavarro

Thanks, Kirby. So IBC says that structure is a garage and not a carport. NEMA Type 1 panels are good inside of a garage.

Now that's interesting. . . isn't that a paradox? If it's enclosed on three sides, that constitutes a garage, no? At least that's how IRC defines it, (which I understand isn't applicable to a four-plex but it's the most convenient source for me right now). When I have more time, I'll research other sources for definitions of a garage vs. carport.

Thank you all. Interesting points. Yes, I mis-stated. Technically, those are garages not carports (thank you *hesterd*). As a garage, then NEMA Type 1 panels are cool even though there's not a garage door. Per IRC, those are garages, not carports. There were never garage doors on that building. This is one building (four-plex) in a row of 5 or 6 of these buildings on the street. All identical. Obviously the AHJ was ok with all buildings. I want be able to substantiate my final position and can now do so. Because the panels are located in a garage, NEMA Type 1 are ok there. Also, there is no sign of water troubles.

Howdy gents. Long time no talk. Came across these panels and can't figure it out. Panels are located inside the carport on the left. You can seem them on the wal to to the left. Click to Enlarge 44.33 KB Only surface rust visible on the covers. . .no rust or corrosion inside. Click to Enlarge 31.87 KB This is a "K" so no deferring to an electrician. My call to say whether the panels require replacing or not. What say you?

Typically, when I see this much debris, there are dead ants or body parts or something. There were no fecal pellets. The home has basically been untouched for years so construction debris is out of the question. I'm going with carpenter ants, 'cuz it's got to be something! Regardless a PCO has to treat the attic for carpenter ants anyway - that debris was much more "recognizable." I'll write they need to look at the crawl space also and treat there.

I'm not familiar with this debris. All wood around the areas probed solid. Everything dry. No exit/entry holes--just this stuff. Click to Enlarge 57.17 KB Click to Enlarge 61.56 KB However. . . right outside this area, the old cedar siding is severely rotted. No evidence of bugs in the siding either. Just rot. Click to Enlarge 43.1 KB Any ideas what this could be?

Wow. Not even a clue.. . . What'd you tell the client? Is that minimal edge checking from your first photo a concern? Or because it's 18 years old and if that's as bad as it's gotten, just a new paint job?

Unless it's an issue of semantics or I'm mis-understanding, what you've described is the setup I mentioned in my previous post.

I see the electronic cleaners frequently. Yes, they just catch the big stuff. The large energized cells do the rest. Timer is unusual if it's tied to the filter; however its a very common piece of hardware for controlling the whole-house ventilation feature of the air handler. IOW, it's supposed to set to run the blower intermittently. It may also be linked in with a bathroom fan and/or isolated intake duct with a motorized damper pulling fresh air in to the system from outside.

The intake and exhaust don't have to be near each other, just in the same atmospheric zone. Outside would be the same zone. No idea why the two pipes in two directions, though. Seems much more expensive. Sounds like the installer isn't up to speed on those furnaces. . . ?

Don't make me post pictures! The ceiling is "dropped" but it's stick framed and drywalled, not the conventional acoustical ceiling. Essentially, it's a 7' x 10' attic over the bathroom only. I won't be able to hit all the rooms but will rely on (probably) 3 registers - one oriented to the master bedroom, one toward the bedroom hallway and the last oriented toward (almost) the entire kitchen/living room. The 4th wall is the exterior wall. Yes I'll need to use the roof for inlet and outlet. I ain't afraid of no stinkin' roof penetrations! I've got TPO and heat welding is easy and can be pretty foolproof if lapped and counter-lapped correctly. Thanks again everyone for the input and attention.

With a HRV, you have the option of pulling air from multiple locations and supplying air to multiple locations, so better mixing of air. With a whole house fan, you have one exhaust point, and makeup air is drawn through the cracks. HRV is perhaps more "surgical". It sounds like you have something extreme going on there. Is this slab on grade? Wet basement? Air-drying laundry? Fish tanks? Five large dogs and a collection of tropical plants? Someone steaming vegetables for every meal? Other sources of humidity besides the occupants? How many square feet and how many occupants? I wonder if something else is going on. Furnace exhaust is a good suggestion to check. I believe the only extreme factor in my house is 6 of us living in 1,600 sf! Crawl space is dry but I've sealed the underside of my sub-floor with 1" of spray foam, so I'm pretty sure I've de-coupled the two spaces. Furnace is located in the crawl space and direct vents outside. We've already got exhaust fans in each bathroom for showers and such. Based on y'alls feedback, I think I've solidified my plan of attack using an HRV.

Yes, I report it. People are paying me to find and note that stuff. If another contractor, inspector, or code bubba told them after I was in there, I would look foolish and my clients would probably feelripped off. Kurt calls it blowback.

90% natural gas central forced air.

Those thermometer/hygrometers are so cheap probably because they only measure celsius. . what good is that! I jest. Yes, you brainiacs are confirming my strategies, but this is where it gets tricky. An HRV is my first choice but it will be expensive and I don't have an attic to install it. I have a lowered ceiling over the bathroom (under my vaulted ceiling) in the middle of the house I can install and place sidewall ducts/register on the walls facing in to house. I think that would be ok. The cheapest option is as David has done in his house -- install a higher CFM and quieter bathroom fan in that same bathroom set to run with a digital timer. I'm not sure that would work as well as the HRV. . . I don't know. John poses an interesting dilemma in that if the outdoor humidity is 70% plus, then the HRV may not be much benefit; however, 70% outdoor would not stay that high if I brought that air inside and warmed it. The humidity would drop. BTW, I have dual pane windows throughout the house. I only mentioned the single pane windows as they're the largest and most obviously affected. The dual pane windows condensate heavily as well just not nearly as much. Most obnoxious are the two new skylights I've installed. They condensate so much that we have to leave a towel on our bed as the dripping would soak the bed covering and mattress on a very cold day. Any other thoughts?

I've made some changes to my house which haves drastically affected the way it works - I knew it would. I've got a good idea on what to do--shoot, I give ideas all day long to my clients--but wanted to pose this here. To keep it short and simple, I've tightened my house significantly. Air-tight insulation on the ceiling and the sub-floor. Only thing that still "leaks" are the walls. After these changes indoor condensation on everything skyrocketed. So much that the picture glass windows (single pane) condensate so much you can't see through them and the drip-off is saturating the carpet below them. How do you think I should control/eliminate/reduce the condensation.

Is there a widely accepted, listed, or "approved" method for cleanup of open sewage in a crawl space?

A client sent me a pic of this service and cable on the outside of her house. Electrician is saying the exposed SEC under the meter is ok as long as it's secured. No protection required. I've scanned 2011 NEC and having a hard time disseminating if protection from damage is required. Any help? Click to Enlarge 35.12 KB

Course there's always going back to the good 'ole days and using cedar. . .

Noise is now gone - actually, as of 2 or 3 days ago. Coincidentally, about the same time, all the power was restored around town. Don't have time to sit on hold with the local utility, but I suspect the linemen were certainly switching things around temporarily on the grid to get everybody back up and running.

Great question. I was going to include that in my original post but forgot. The answer is no. Marc's input sounds interesting. . . a bit over my head but I think I'm resonating (ha, I made a pun.)

Something crazy and quite alarming began two days ago at our home. In the morning begins a concert of varying and random events of low level buzz/hum that sometimes crescendos to a vibration in and around our wall on which our main electrical panel is located. Best I can describe the noise: if you've ever heard that "bzzzzzzuuummm" that occurs when a fuse blows on the electrical lines somewhere down the road on the utility pole. It's very low frequency, like a low string on the bass guitar. Conditions around our house and panel that might be relevant: Service is an overhead lateral to our mast which terminates about 8' above our roof. Panel is 125 amp Two days ago we had a major wind storm that took out power in different parts of our area but not our house Noise occurs only in the morning time--maybe when electrical demand in the neighborhood is high as everyone is getting out of bed. . . ? The first morning after the wind storm, the phenomenon was constant for about 4-5 hours. It was loud enough to keep my wife and I awake. 2nd morning (today) it wasn't as long or as frequent and only in the morning Our lights never flickered or surged. We've been here five years and never had this before through plenty of wind storms and power outages. My wife thought we were going to die from electrocution or our house was going to explode. I wasn't quite as alarmed. . . but should I be?

They're probably too expensive, but you can try: dillonworks.com.

I want to say R-19 but can't back that up with anything in writing. My oldest energy code reference is 2003. If you have the time and motivation, email Gary Nordeen, Andy Gordon, or David Hales at WSU.edu

That's good but I've already got the 2.5" board. One layer. . . that's all I get. Nothing's ever as ideal in the real world as on paper, mostly because of $$. That helps me a lot when discussing options for repairs with clients.