homnspector

Are those service equipment or are they sub panels? It looks to me like they are sub panels and should have neutrals and grounds separated. When I have seen these, there are main breakers outside at the meter.

If you like that one, check this one out http://www.gd-itronix.com/index.cfm?page=Products:MR-1 It has a screen that absorbs light so you can see the display in full sun.

Drier, efforvesence, recepticle (and various other spellings). As far as I know, parge is a thin coat of mortar isn't it?

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chan ... h0830.html

I am considering some direct mail marketing to owners of newer homes that are nearing the end of the 2 year builders warranty. Does anybody know how I could get owner names and addresses of homes built within the last 2 years? Any help or ideas are appreciated.

Fron RUUD: DIMENSIONS AND INSTALLATION CLEARANCES UNIT MODEL NUMBER EXPLANATION – 036 J A S S - RECIPROCATING COMPRESSOR Z - SCROLL COMPRESSOR AB (VARIATION) C C - 208/230-3-60 (POWER SUPPLY) D - 460-3-60 J - 208/230-1-60 Y - 575-3-60 BTUH x 1000 (NOMINAL CAPACITY) MODEL SERIES AIR DISCHARGE ALLOW 60" [1524 mm] CLEARANCE AIR INLETS (LOUVERS) ALLOW 12" [305 mm] MIN. CLEARANCE 3 SIDES 24" [610 mm] ACCESS

For A/C compressors it is usually 12 inches so I would think 2 feet between units. However, it may be different for air compressors.[]

How about each of those conductors are too small for a 60 amp breaker.

The only testing I offer is asbestos for ceiling texture, tile and whatever else. It costs me $7 to have the lab test it and I charge $75. It's so easy I can't resist but only offer it when asked about it.

I am guessing we are talking about different levels of commercial inspection here. I wouldn't pretend to have the knowledge or expertise to inspect a strip mall, large grocery store, high rise or anything similar. All the commercial I have done (maybe 200 inspections, W.A.G.) have been things like 4 small connected retail units, small warehouses, house converted to an insurance office, 12 unit B&B, that sort of thing. I have always used the same standards as a home inspection, i.e, inspect and report on everything I can access. I have never had any client complaints about the scope, so will continue to inspect the same way. I agree with you about the "protection" aspect. The protection of the buyer is that they can decide to buy or walk, nothing more. It shouldn't matter to us which they choose (although more and more I find myself hoping they will walk). You can put 100 warning stickers on a ladder and people are still going to choose to stand on the top step.

"On a side note: Once you read ASTM E-2018 you will see why any ASTM standards for home inspections would be a bad idea" So why would it be a good idea for a commercial inspection? Aren't the clients looking for the same basic information?

"Keep in mind that a commercial inspection is not like a home inspection. You report what you find, the condition of what you find and then we move on." I don't really understand that comment. "If a buyer wants to know about codes applications for an intended occupancy type he should be going through the permit application and design process, along with the help of a licensed designer and/or codes consultant, not hiring a home inspector.." Nope, nothing fancy like that, just your basic inspection. I was thinking that maybe since it isn't an area intended for sleeping, maybe a fire separation isn't required. Since it is, I am now assuming it was originally 1 suite later converted to 2 suites, so the lack of a firewall is an issue, and should be repaired.

I am hoping somebody can answer these questions on a commercial building: Does there need to be any separation in the attic area between suites, i.e., drywall? Can the breaker panel be located in the bathroom?

I didn't know whether to post this under HVAC or plumbing, so I will post it here. Image Insert: 57.19 KB

Malfunctioning pressure regulator? Garbage in the main valve or meter?

"The insurance industry has applied great scrutiny to that very question. Every study I've heard about concluded that the water damage caused by fire-suppression sprinklers is minute (a drop in the bucket, one might say) compared to the damage caused by a fire. Think about the amount of water that firefighters pour into a burning house." I was thinking of the accidental activations. I read about one in a condo near here that went off, nobody knew where the valve was. By the time they got it shut off it had done $20000 worth of damage.

Not to disregard the lives saved, but it would be interesting to know the amount of property damage caused vs. saved by sprinkler systems. Doesn't the local fire department check these systems?

I had my laptop hard drive crash about 5 years ago. I hadn't backed up for awhile and lost a couple dozen reports. After that, every time I buy a laptop I format and install another hard drive, install all my software on both hard drives and back up my data every other day. If the drive crashes (which they do occasionally), I have another ready to go, just put it in the laptop and transfer my data, takes about 10 minutes. A 100 GB is only about $100 now.

Old style TV antenna wire jack?

Might be good to mention it so some roofer doesn't convince him it is a major problem. I think I would just send a quick e-mail explaining lichen. It is so common you don't usually mention it but later realized he may not be familiar with it, and may be concerned when he sees it on the roof.

This morning I inspected a new house, 2007. I tested all the receptacles. Out of 49, only 9 showed a voltage drop 5% or less, 40 ranged from 5.3% to 13%, over the NEC limit of 5% drop. How would you Sure Test users report this? This seems pretty typical of what I run into. Maybe the electricians here just suck.

This Lennox is a 2002 model right? House was just built. Any comments on what to say about possible warranty issues, etc.? Image Insert: 16.72 KB

Does anybody know if these rubber caps are OK on a cleanout? I thought these were for temporary use. apparently didn't like my file name Image Insert: 12.7 KB

The Sure Test is an accurate tool, I did not mean to imply a 3-light tester was as accurate. The only function that is not accurate is the false grounding (at least in my model). For me, impedance and percent load on line are not useful functions except in very rare cases. It will not detect common conditions such as neutral and ground reversal. Why spend $350 on a tool with these limitations? If you want to inspect to this level, I think you are much better off investing in a $1500 circuit analyser.

"The Suretest would be applying the ground fault on the line, or wrong side of the circuitry and it wouldn't trip." And one would assume it wouldn't trip properly in the event of an electric shock. Makes it important to test these with a tester, not just the "approved" test button, right?