Mark P

This is a solid brick house built in 1862, with several additions. There are hairlines cracks on all 4 sides of the orginal house. For the most part the cracks are from top to bottom and seem random. There are no anchor plates or star bolts. I found no issue inside the house, but it has been completly renovated. I have never seen this before and am open to any informed opions. I'll probably punt to a mason or engineer, depending.... Click to Enlarge 72.37 KB Click to Enlarge 67.72 KB Click to Enlarge 60.72 KB Click to Enlarge 81.87 KB Click to Enlarge 98.64 KB

Thanks Kurt. This blog has some good graphics of how AMSV should be constructed. http://jnxclusives.blogspot.com/ From what I can tell, I don't see that the house I looked at yesterday has the weep screed.

Anyone have a real world picture of what a weep screen looks like? Is it normally visible along the bottom edge of AMSV over wood framing? I had a house yesterday with this material over a small area on the front. I'm not sure if there is a weep screen or not. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for or if it would be visible anyway. I used an infrared camera and moisture meter on the inside and found no hidden problems. Also if someone would like to share a general boiler plate regarding AMSV. Something that speaks to the history of installation problems, etc. Thanks Click to Enlarge 41.53 KB Click to Enlarge 104.76 KB Click to Enlarge 59 KB

The house was built in 1958, 3 bedroom 1 bath and a finished basement. The panel is obviously not the original, but is in the original location, which happens to be in the garage. The garage door track is older than this panel. I could not see why it was not mounted lower. There will be a city occupancy inspection. I'd love to hear what they have to say about it - if anything. Some jurisdictions remove the cover to look inside the panels, some don't. On another note there are bedrooms above the garage. Most likely when the home was built there was no fire separation between garage and living area and the drywall on the ceiling was added later (recently most likely). They left a gap in the ceiling for the center guide rails for the two garage door openers, so nice try but no cigar. Click to Enlarge 35.7 KB

The cover to the main electrical panel cannot be removed without removing the railing for the overhead garage door. The railing actually touches the panel and there are screws in the top holes. The door cannot be closed and there are screws behind the open door. The cover to the subpanel cannot be removed without removing the cover to the main panel. Click to Enlarge 51.13 KB

If your just getting started it maybe better than no work, eventually you'll find otherways to fill your pocket.

I thought it was not allowed to pass through the furnace wall, but could be inside the cabinet. I have never seen it written that it could not be used inside the cabinet at all - 6am and learning already.

That is very exciting - Congratulations.

It is nice to see all that Green in the picture - everything around here is brown this time of year.

What is CTL rated?

I've used sharkbite in a few applications and have had no problems. They are expensive but if it is only a few connections it is worth the extra money IMO.

http://ncma-br.org/pdfs/masterlibrary/M ... %20web.pdf I tried uploading the file, but it did not work. Maybe someone else can figure it out. Regardless here is the link to a usefull document on the subject of AMSV.

I know that the relocation companies that contract me are very concerned with this and sometimes send me out to a house just to identify if the clading is ACMV. In fact I have a job next week just for that purpose. However, I do not see ACMV very often and when I do I have not found signs of a water intrusion problem. But who knows what it will look like in 20 years.

Thanks Bill, that was a learning experience.

Okay thanks, short and concise it is. For my benefit and the benefit of others can we list (discuss) what is wrong with this situation. I've looked a thousands of these framed chases with the sheet metal tops. It is not uncommon to find them rusted. What I have never seen is a furnace flue coming out the top of one. Also I've never seen a furnce and fireplace flue so close together. 1. The corrosive nature and high moisture content of the furnace exhaust is causing the sheet metal to rust. 2. The two flues terminate too close to one another. 3. ......?

What is your opinion on the furnace venting so close to the fireplace flue. The rusted chimney cap is a given. I've never seen this before. What would you say about this. I'm still working on the report my rough draft reads as follows "Employ a chimney sweep and/or HVAC contractor to evaluate, and correct as neded, the furnace and fireplace flue termination. I believe they are to close and not in accordance with building standards. The fireplace flue should terminate 2 feet higher than anything within 10 feet?.. " Click to Enlarge 43.11 KB

The problem you describe is something I typically see on older houses that do not have gravel under the foundation, but instead clay. If there are not voids between the gravel for the soil gases (radon) to travel through to get to the pipe then it will continue leach up through the floor. OR the 2 systems are not installed properly. You say there are 2 fans in the basement. A radon mitigation fan should not be inside the house. The fan should be in the attic, garage, or outisde. Did you mean there are 2 suction points in the basement and the fans are somewhere else? I would first ensure the mitigation system(s) are properly installed. You can find an inspection checklist online. You can replace the current fans with larger ones. I believe there are 3 sizes. You might consider doing a longterm test (6 months or more) with an "Alpha-track" device. A long term test will give you more accurate results.

I justed noticed it says "sub" right on the face of the meter, funny.

The home has a ground source (geothermal) heat pump. The local utility gives a discounted rate for the electricity used by the heat pump so a meter is installed in the basement for just the heatpump. Outside there is another mete for the rest of the house. The power runs from the main panel to the inside meter then to the panel used by the heat pump. My question is "Is the small panel a subpanel and needs to be wired as such, or does the presence of the meter somehow NOT make it a subpanel and it is ok to keep the ground and neutrals on the same bar"? Just an odd thing I dont see often and is making me question myself. Click to Enlarge 89.45 KB

They decided not to buy the house, due to the roof in addition to other expensive repairs. "Major Concern: The structural portion of the roof is made of trusses which consist of lumber and metal connectors. In the attic the majority of the metal connectors along the ridge have come off or are loose. This is a very serious concern that under certain conditions (heavy snow load, high winds) could result in the trusses failing. A written repair detail (instructions) needs to be obtained from a structural engineer or truss manufacturer. Employ a qualified carpenter to make the repairs exactly as described in the repair detail. Every truss in both attics needs to be checked by the carpenter to determine which ones need repaired. Maintain the repair detail as proof the repairs were properly designed because it may be asked for by future inspectors or owners."

Maybe a bad thermal couple, try replacing it.

Les, I see you keep the gumballs on the shelf below the rat poison. Trick or treat.

From an inspection this week. Click to Enlarge 65.47 KB Click to Enlarge 75.13 KB

I'd like to see what somone would repurpose that into.

I use paypal. It works the same as square and I have no complaints. They take 2.5% of each transaction. What does square charge?