Renron

I think it is an epidemic! I inspected a home this week that did not have one either, although it looked like it previously had a downdraft cooktop installed. My local AHJ says it is recommended "write it up" but not necessary.? Yah, thanks. Back to square one. I will report it as deficient and not present. Observe, Evaulate, Report. Ron

Mike, Thanks for responding to the questions for me....[:-thumbu], I have a family issue with my aging mother and have not been able to check the post for a couple of days. Of course you are right on the money as always. I have watched others post pics similar and it was my turn to find something lurking to ambush. Almost as scarey was the Federal fuse box on the other end of the weatherhead. No cover and a missing fuse...not burnt out mind you....missing, it was an open hole just about thumb size. I put a burnt out fuse in the socket and taped a cardboard box over the open panel. Yuck.. Are triple taps allowed with fuses?[:-dunce] Stan, I am a newbie and learn alot on this site. Great group of people, willing to help us new guys out. Thanks guys Ron

HOLLY COW!!!! I saw this on an Inspection this week. Made me thank my lucky stars I looked first! All 3 conductor split bolts were exposed. Ewheweee. Damn, that was close. Ron Download Attachment: 7.JPG 116.92 KB

Thank you all for your help, I guess I was taken in by "folklore" or "urban legend" on that one. Some day I hope to be 1/4 as good as you guys. Thank you very much for the help. Ron

I remember reading somewhere that the receptacles need to be either a maximum or minimum distance above the garage floor. GFCI,18" for water heaters, but refrigerators are never placed upon a pedestal and their motors are on the bottom (usually)(dryers are usually operated manually so the thinking is you would smell any gas fumes prior to operating the device). I digress...My question is about the height of the outlets in the garage..Anyone??? Bueler? Thanks, Ron

I have been using Inspect Express for almost a year now, I think I have picked up 3 full time clients, (read Realtors) (not ZOIDS), because of the Report format. I personally love the Summary section and the photo drop. I typically take between 40 and 70 photos of every job. I drop about 7 or8 photos into the summary and make it easy for the "handyman" to do his job without calling me for directions as to "which rafter tail was it?". Took me a while to get the hang of the software and personalize the options to my liking, but I am Very happy with it. I have no financial interest in it or this website. (they advertise here) I have had 4 other inspectors ask me which report software I use, because they want to use it too. If they are within 50 miles I tell them it's mine, (which it is, I bought it), if further than that I am proud to point them to I.E.. Very happy with the software and If I have a problem, they have a HUMAN answer the phone..OMG!!! Ron

After writing every report I send a copy to the "office" server and then burn a copy onto a cd. I've lost data before and it aint no fun. Ron

Thread stealer here. It was my understanding that the air valve is used to compensate for the pressure difference. Has anyone taken one apart to see if it is a bladder or a separation? Difference being a separation is attached to the walls of the tank and bladder is a free floater. If it is a free floater I cannot see and reason why you could not mount it anyway you want. Here, I've only seen them mounted vertically. i'll see if I can find the mounting manual for mine. Ron learnin' all the time here :~)

I think its a still. Did ya test the moonshine for purity and odor? Ron

Bruce, That was my thought as well, kinda "just in case" thing. I was wronge. Ron

I'm gonna put my foot in it. I agree, too many 90s from what I read and see, could have been done a little cleaner. How come nobody mentioned that the Hot water expansion tank was mounted horizontally? Every one I have installed is vertical. Is there one with the bladder sideways? Wipes off shoes, Ron

Once again, Thanks guys! Beer all around! Ron P.S. I'll take a Coors Cutters

Thanks guys! I wanted to be sure of what I think I know....HuH? Yhaaa. I thought the white conductor was the wrong color too Brian. see I'm learning... About those solid copper fuses...... Mike. A one work answer. Is that a first? Everyone enjoys our humor...It's nice to be back Thanks, Ron

Anybody ever see this b4? I inspected a condo unit with a subpanel for that unit#, sloppy but aok seperate ground bus and all. But to shut the panel down completely it took more than 6 hand movements, too many. The main breaker (single throw) was at the end of the building complex ~65yards away. How should I call that? Open for opinions..... Thanks Ron

Here is a photo of a disconnect block in the attic of a home, it services a heat pump unit. My question is, can that small ground wire serve as the return leg safely if there is a problem with the other legs? Even if the neutral is not used by the unit should it not be available? Thanks for the help guys, I try to learn and listen from more experienced 'spectors. ( I know wrong color hot leg going to unit(white)) Ron Download Attachment: Los Santos 036.jpg 177.4 KB

Chimney has no step flashing chimney has no cricket Skylight has no raised curb Skylight has no step flashing Skylihgt has trees above it, broken branche hazard Skylight has no head flashing Shingles are not offset Renron

Big Mike, I am glad to hear of you good fortune with your oldest computer and it's few replacement parts. If all I did was open a word doc. on my computer I wouldn't care if I owned a Billybob special. But I enjoy playing games on mine and pushing everything to its limits, then back off alittle. Back in your hotrod days I'll bet you didn't start hotroddin with a Rambler.[] A quality platform with quality parts is why your 1st computer is still running and why they went out of business. Ever buy a Sony DVD player? Is it still working? Mine's not. I now own an ONKYO. Computer parts are the same as software >>> $hit in = $hit out Ron

Don't see any blood on the walls or floors.... I'm betting on the gun rack theory. Ron

While it is true that most of the internal workings of notebooks are made by toshiba,(HD,CDrom,ect.) I do know that not all notebook motherboards are alike. Take a look at the capasitors on an ASUS compared to a Crapaq, if they are different then do you suppose that other components could be as well? I personally would rather have a 6 layer Mobo than a 3 layer. Trace routes between the CPU, Ram and chipsets Will play a role in the speed and quality of the notebook. They may all have the same maker of the add on parts, but the quality of a Toyota Camry is not the same as a Lexus LS400. Almost forgot....[:-ashamed]I agree the problem could very well be from a type of spyware.(see previous post) Ron

Crusty,...yer not helpin. Ron

Put me down for a tick on the I don't like Compaq list. As someone who did repairs to ALL brands of 'puters, I'll say that Crapaq (not a typo) was BY FAR the worst to work on. Everything from their bios to their propriatary OS files made it a nightmare. We would draw straws to see who had to work on them. I'm not even gonna start with their funky cases and layouts. Alas, I digress.... Terry, It sounds like Mike may be correct in thinking you have bad sectors on your HD. Have you downloaded a program to test your Hard Drive for faults? If not, you must find out which brand your HD is and pull the prog. off their website and run the diagnostics to determine if you do indeed have any bad sectors or if you HD is about to crash and burn. NORTON 2004 has a bug in it that (on some computers)(mine)[]looks like everything is fine and the autoprotect is functioning normaly... it's not. Open Norton 2004 and check to see if the autoprotect is running, if it isn't then open the options tab and check if the box next to autoprotect is checked. If it is unchecked then check it, close that windowed tab and reopen the options tab again. If you find that the box is unchecked then Delete Norton 2004 an get a good Anti-Virus program. By the way there are evil programs other than virus out there that will kill your computer and destroy OS files. Trojans and some Mall/spyware.Norton won't find everything nor will any other program.(There is a free one that is better (IMHO) than Norton anyway) Do a Google search for Avast! Anti-virus. Its free with updates several times a day sometimes. Laptops are a bugger, no if ands or butts about it. They all run hot, are built tiny with tiny parts and just a bitch to work on in general. Miker47 you posted you monitored perfomance data on several hundred of each? Wow, what type of "shop" buys quantities from different manufactures? Seems it would be better (read cheaper) to buy all from the same brand, large volume discount comes to mind. What programs did you use to monitor the the perfomance? I have found a 1-5 fps difference just in Mobo's from different makers with similar parts, ram, hd size,cpu speed. How many months of data were collected to determine their reliability? 300 computers each with 50 hours is not the same as 1 computer with 15,000 hours. Not lookin to pick a fight but I have experiences that differ greatly from yours. Ron

I have a long background in IT, and realize the limitations of a wireless system. The "new" wireless systems make all the difference in the (wireless) world where you are when you try to connect, a podunk little town or "Frisco" will determine your sucesss. We're up to "G" in the wireless area now and the "old" information no longer is valid. Don't swim with Piranha Ron

Brian's Right! Let's not dwell on the negative, is that a drip edge I see? Ron

Dudes,..... All I gotta say is... "GOOD AND PLENTY".... I had one stuck in my throught at the movies, had to be in a quiet scene, I hucked that sucker up into the front row. My wife still flinches when the box comes out. Ron

Yep! 5 years next week. We are both on our 3rd marriage. 1st one I won by default,(she died) 2nd was a true brawl(we both lost) 3rd times a charm as they say. Seem to be a trueism. We are both very happy. (she tells me I am anyway) Ron