randynavarro

Check your battery. When mine did that, I just changed batteries and it's fine.

No problems yet with my TX11. I believe I've been running it for well over a year. BTW, what is the "R2" designation on the Ebay Fenix?

This situation today has left me scratching myself. . . I mean my head. For some reason, I'm just not computing. . . These are #2 service cables correct? They just look bigger to me. Click to Enlarge 58.84 KB Click to Enlarge 44.54 KB Then, how does one know when a panel is too full? This same panel has 80-amp and a 125-amp feed to sub-panels in addition to all the normal 240-volt and 120 volt appliance and branch circuits. Click to Enlarge 66.76 KB Click to Enlarge 74.13 KB

Maybe another way to ask the question: Is there a situation where good quality sealant (properly installed) is more water repellant than mortar?

At face value, caulk would do a better job at keeping water out than mortar, no? Ultimately, I understand that there needs to be appropriate detailing under the masonry that would shed/divert/repel the water, but obviously that wasn't determined in that episode. So would it be accurate to say that caulking is the quick fix? Then, in a perfect world, that masonry work would have been peeled away completely and re-installed incorporating proper flashing, membrames, weeps, etc. Would that be accurate also?

I've seen lots of those. Folks love their Bosches around here, including me. I've never researched, but I always thought that light was to let a person know the unit is running because they run so quietly.

I betcha Reuben would be able to answer you straight-a-way on the ASHI Forum. I don't think he hangs out here--I can't recall. Of course, I'm sure there are numerous other qualified folks here to help out--I'm not one of them when it comes to that question!

You're thinking that it's a main panel. I don't think it is. It looks like a sub-panel in multi-family housing. Was this a condo or one of several units in a multiplex? All of those 4-pole 30 amp breakers are screaming electric heaters to me, which is also something I see in multiplexes or small condo flats a lot. You have a total of five two-pole breakers in the top half of that panel; four of them are 30-amps and the other is 40-amps. In the bottom, you have two two-pole 30 amp breakers on the left bank plus a single-pole the size of which I can't make out and on the right lower you've got what looks like four single-poles. Since it looks like there are ones on there, I'll venture a guess that they were all 15-amp circuits. Look at all of the conductors leaving those breakers; they all leave that panel and not a single pair feeds power to the lower half. The grounded conductors (the white "neutrals") are all on that bus below the breaker banks but all of the equipment-grounding conductors (the bare "grounds) have all been terminated together under that ground lug on the side of that myers hub and you dn't see any provision for a bonding screw. All of that says that it isn't a split bus panel and those are continuous power buses from top to bottom. That tells me that somewhere else inside or outside of that building/unit is a main disconnect breaker. Did you find the meter? Was there a little metal door next to it that when opened had a single breaker behind it? The six throw rule you are thinking about applies to split-bus panels. Those typically hold five or six two pole breakers in the top half for the oven, water heater, and other items that need 240-volt circuits and all of the branch lighting and small appliance circuits are typically in the bottom half of the panel. When there are six two-pole breakers in the top half of the panel, one of them will feed power to the lugs at the top of the bars at the lower half of the panel. If you look at a split-bus panel and find only five two-pole breakers in the top half, you'll probably see a pair of conductors feeding a large 2-pole breaker in the bottom half. Sometimes you won't see the conductors because the bottom half will be back-fed, but with those the large two pole fed by those cables switches on and provides power to the bottom half. Here's a picture of a pre-1984 split-bus panel: This particular configuration is supposed to have a total of four two-pole breakers in the top half and a sub-main breaker in the bottom half. See the cables? They feed power from the bottom of the top bus to the lugs at that large 2-pole breaker in the bottom half. When you look at this, you can see that it's definitely a main panel and as you look at it you'll be able to see that, if this were configured properly with no more than four two-pole breakers in the top half, one could turn power off with only five throws. However, on this home, to turn off all power to this house one must make a total of 7 throws. Can you see why? With only ten more inches of cable and with a little bit of forethought, they could have had this configured as a five throw panel. Click to Enlarge 83.25 KB. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Is this response from Mike O. worth one hour of CE from Washington state? It should be.

Robert, I see you've tanned a bit.

I'm not sure what you mean by "template." If you're using Inspectit, you can create anything you want on the page, highlight it, and save it as an entry. Of course you have to manually type whatever text you're trying to save.

Yea, that's mind-boggling. Absolutely amazing. I kept thinking, "What if Joey or Bobby called in sick one day. That would screw up the entire line!" Even more impressive are the folks who designed and built all the machinery. Another thought: at about 19:55, I was dying to know, with all the machines doing the work on the car frames, what required a single blow with a hammer from the worker on the line.

If the buyer is doing the 203k and buying the house, ninety percent of the time I don't provide cost estimates. Sometimes I'll do a Feasibility Study if the buyer has absolutely no clue how much money will be needed to reahb. the home. Otherwise, I generate the list of work orders and let the contractors bid them. It doesn't make sense for me to provide a cost estimate. If I do, then I'll be re-doing paperwork because the underwriter requires that my numbers match the contractor's numbers. So I just let the contractor say what the price is going to be and use his numbers for my paperwork. Just this week, two contractors bid the same scope of work for some drywall; one guy bid $950; the other guy bid $4,300. Go figure. What numbers is a Consultant supposed to "estimate" ?! Thanks - from the HUD webinar the other day they said the consultant came up with the estimates, or at least that is what I gathered. Yes, you're correct. The Handbook also outlines that the Consultant does the cost estimating; however, in my experience this doesn't provide any benefit, nor does it save any time. In the interest of keeping the already-time-consuming process most efficient, I use the contractor's numbers. To illustrate: Sample 1 1) Inspect 2) Create Work Write Up detailing required and desired work. 3) Create cost estimate 4) Contractor bids project 5) Revise Work Write Up to reflect what the borrowers have actually chosen what they and the contractor have decided. 6) Complete package for bank Sample 2 1) Inspect 2) Create Work Write Up detailing required and desired work. 3) Contractor bids 4) Complete package for bank. Obviously Sample 2 is less time consuming and generates less paperwork and overall confusion.

I'd be glad to; however when it comes down to it, I really have no authority. As I've said, I've developed my systems and procedures based on my interpretations of the FHA material, taking some bumpe and bruises but ultimately being through, consistent, and staying within the program guidelines. I've been able to be profitable-barely.

I think HUD was unaware of such state requirements when they used the term 'home inspection'. They're not aware that it's a legally defined term now, otherwise they would have given it a different name. If such an issue were to come before the Louisiana State Board of Home Inspectors, my guess is that's how they would respond to it. A similiar question that I put before a board member years ago turned out that way. Marc Bingo to all of the above! HUD does not *require* a "home inspection." They require the consultant to *review* the property. Nowadays, they just call it a home inspection. In modern terms, a home inspection is what all of us do. Most of us operate under state licensing that says if we do a home inspection, then we must perform minimum duties. In the presentation, it was stated that the Consultant must perform a home inspection, ensure the home is free of termites and rodents (hmm, sounds like a WDI or WDO inspection to me), and must prepare the architectural exhibits without the aid of an architect or G.C.. All for the low price of. . . . whatever the fee schedule says that was written in 1992 or 1994! That's just not possible. Other consultants I've talked to have creative ways around this fee schedule in order to substantiate more realistic fees--myself included. Rumour has it the program is being significantly revised this May. Hopefully, some of these shortcomings will be addressed.

If the buyer is doing the 203k and buying the house, ninety percent of the time I don't provide cost estimates. Sometimes I'll do a Feasibility Study if the buyer has absolutely no clue how much money will be needed to reahb. the home. Otherwise, I generate the list of work orders and let the contractors bid them. It doesn't make sense for me to provide a cost estimate. If I do, then I'll be re-doing paperwork because the underwriter requires that my numbers match the contractor's numbers. So I just let the contractor say what the price is going to be and use his numbers for my paperwork. Just this week, two contractors bid the same scope of work for some drywall; one guy bid $950; the other guy bid $4,300. Go figure. What numbers is a Consultant supposed to "estimate" ?!

Doorbell?

Pretty lame. I should have known better. More troubling was there were a few points mentioned that run counter to what the guidebooks specify and what is actually happening in the real world. Four people were involved in that presentation from their end. They advertised two hours and it barely lasted one. I'm glad I'm not a bureaucrat.

I know several threads have alluded to different educational options, but I'm too lazy to search the archives and figured it'd be good to start a new thread about this topic so it'd be easier to find in the future. What are options for good masonry education and/or resources? Methods of installation, types of bricks/masonry, etc. ...

I always defer prima donna status to the sewer scope guy. His stuff is much more interesting what with a TV and all. Sometimes I even take a few minutes and watch. Conflict? Only if I need to use the loo and he's got his camera down the sewer line. That doesn't happen very often.

One could make the argument to recommend one for any home. Around here, a scope costs less than $200. They have found significant bellies/sags on newer sewer lines. Theories for the sags are poor workmanship, leaks at the joints, improper backfill, or some combination of all three.

We. . . love you. . . Chad-man. Please don't frighten us again. . . .

How in the world would they even know how an inspecting unit is using a camera during an HI?

I still don't get that. . . Are going up with your face toward the ridge or scooting up with your butt on the cover?

Yeah, but Mike Holmes wouldn't do that stuff. I can see where your knees were swooshing through the snow near the ridge, but what's up with all those marks about 4'-5' down from the ridge?

I'm thinking you took that pic from a 2nd floor window. You didn't really climb that did you?