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Thanks guys. I have a pretty good idea what caused the crack to begin with. Several years ago they had 2 or 3 wild cherry trees removed. These trees were so big (trunks 8 - 10 feet across), that they brought a huge crane in to lift the sections of the trunk and place them on a truck. The crane made several passes not far from this side of the house. My guess was that this is when the hairline crack originally developed. I had him paint this wall a couple of years ago, being sure to fill the cracks with paint. The paint still completely fills the crack, so I don't think it has moved since. We were visiting over the weekend, and he asked about the basketball. I told him I couldn't imagine it would hurt, but thought I would ask all of you. I really appreciate all the useful information I gleaned from this site. Best wishes to all of you.

Hi guys. I have moved on from the HI business, due to lack of business, but I have a friend who asked me a question I never thought about before. I can't imagine this having an affect, but he is really afraid it will. He has a son who is a pretty good basketball player. The son practices dribbling in the unfinished basement and also practices passing against the block wall. He throws the ball against the wall as hard as he can from various distances. There is already a small hairline horizontal crack on the wall he uses, but it was there before the son took up basketball. Do you think the basketball practice can make the crack worse?

I did an inspection in mid-June. The house was occupied at the time of inspection. In the crawlspace I saw a piece of corroded galvanized drain piping. The exact words in my report were "REPAIR - Corrosion is present on the galvanized drain piping in the crawlspace. If this piece of piping were to rust through, the leak could go undetected for an extended period of time. I recommend replacement of this section of drain piping." Sure enough, this pipe leaked. The customer didn't get it fixed until after it leaked. The plumber told my customer that I missed a 4" hole and that the corrosion inside the pipe is now clogging the rest of the drain. So, the customer wants me to replace all of the drainpiping in the crawlspace. I just said no. My question: am I right in thinking that there very easily could have been a 4" hole just waiting to happen under the corrosion that I resisted the temptation to poke at during the inspection?

IRC 602.8 says that "Fireblocking of cornices of a two-family dwelling is required at the line of dwelling unit separation." Would you interpret this to mean that the attic cannot be open across multi-family units? I cannot come up with a mental picture of "fireblocking of a cornice" in the context that I think of a cornice.

Sucks is a strong word. How about this... Wood siding is susceptible to moisture damage when it is not properly maintained. This is a limited visual examination of the home. The siding was checked for deterioration at a representative sampling of readily accessible locations on each wall.

No. I am saying that a metal B-vent (double walled) can be AS LOW AS 1 foot. Even this will vary depending on the slope of the roof it is penetrating (the steeper the slope, the higher the termination point). My understanding is that for masonry chimneys, regardless of function, the 3-2-10 rule applies...the chimney must terminate at least 3 feet above the roof, and 2 feet higher than any part of the structure within 10 feet of it.

Are you referring to masonry chimneys, or metal heating/water heating vents? B-vents can terminate as low as 1 foot above the roof.

When I submitted inspections for review while joining one of the HI organizations, I failed in the first attempt because I did not list things that were OK. Example...One of the things the reviewer said I did wrong was that I did not inspect the vegetation. I replied that I did inspect the vegetation, but that the SOP for the organization only required reporting vegetation that would impact the structure, and this home had no vegetation that fell into that category. He answered that if I omit an indication that I inspected it and it was fine, then the client has no indication that I inspected it. I argued with him a bit. My contention was that if the SOP wanted me to report it as OK, then the SOP should say so. He argued that it was implied. I complained to the organization HQ, got know where, stubbornly refused to proceed with membership for several months, then relaxed, added all the BS, and resubmitted some inspections (along with more money). I have left all of the things like that in my report. So now my report has a heading for every item that is required to be inspected in the SOP. If it is OK, then it says "Serviceable" or "Functional" next to it.

Thank you. Very good article

One should never use "nosepicker" and "concoctions" in the same sentence...oops.

Sorry...Model # 867.763322

Does anyone know how to translate a Sears furnace serial # to find out a date of manufacture? As I understand it, Sears furnaces are not always built by the same manufacturer. The one I am interested in has a serial # H 93050209 and a manufacturer # 605418. Thanks in advance.

Check with the local utility. Some have lower rates for electrically heated homes (you may have to threaten to install propane or oil heat) or rebates on heat pump installation.

Can someone help me with the manufacture date of Carrier furnace model # 58ES150-12, serial # 16A02311. It's not 1958 is it? Thanks in advance.

Do any of you know if the "four inch sphere" rule for guardrails applies to fire escape stairs on a multi-tenant building? These are permanently fixed metal stairs, not the retractable ladder type fire escapes.

Yes it was a Janitrol and yes it was still working. There was some surface rust inside the heat exchanger, but no evidence of cracks or holes. I wrote it up as functional, but near the end of its life. Thanks for the help with the age.

I am looking for the approximate age of a Janitrol furnace, model #20-125-3, serial #2470 3. Can any of you help? Thanks

Could have sworn I've seen somewhere that grounding electrode conductors need to be solid conductors. Now I can't find any documentation that says so. Is this in fact the case, or am I just so used to seeing solid conductors that stranded GECs don't look right?

I noted a humidifier tapped to a hot water pipe the other day. I'm pretty sure SOP is to tap into a cold water pipe. Just wondering if there is a downside to using hot water, other than the fact that hot water is more expensive than cold.

Does anyone know when the practice of attaching sill plates to foundations with bolts or straps became common practice? The vast majority of 50+ year old homes I see do not have anchors, so I'm guessing the requirement came after that. Do any of you call out their absence on older homes?

Without seeing the big picture, I can't tell, but I would wonder if there aren't current transformers placed on the service for metering purposes. Current transformers (or CTs for short) will pick up the amperage flowing through the conductors and send a fixed ratio to the meter. For instance the meter might see 5 amps for every 200 amps that flow to the main disconnect. Then the power company would have to multiply the readings times 40. These are common on commercial and industrial buildings, but would not typically be seen on a residence. However, it sounds possible that the workshop may have been a small industrial shop at some point. CTs are usually donut shaped relays that would be clamped around each hot leg. Their purpose is to keep the power company from having to buy huge meter sockets that would be required to accomodate conductors over 400 amps.