DonTx

Thanks Jim & Brian, I'm seeing more and more of these counter spaces in areas other than the Kitchen/Dining Rooms. Saturday I had a Wine bar off of the Family Room. No sink, outlets down at the baseboard. Utility Room had a countertop, no sink, 1 outlet at the far left and an outlet on the wall at the far right (countertop was about 6 foot long). Then there was another countertop space in the Gameroom and one in the Media Room. No sinks and no outlets except for the ones on the walls. Most of the "appliances" that are plugged in on these countertops are either Radio's, chillers, small TV's, funky lights, etc.

Haubeil, Without taking a Sample and sending it in to a lab, you can't tell if it's Black Mold, Really Dark Grey Mold, Kinda Blackish Mold, Soot, Mildew or something else. I agree with the others that it looks like a lack of ventilation. Was this a new roof? Those nail blowouts look fresh. Anyway, as for what you should state in your report, pretty much what you've already said. "I don't know what this is, you'll need an environmental specialist to tell you what it is and if it's safe. The same environmental specialist can also tell you if it can be lived with safely or if it needs removed. All environmental test should be performed and findings obtained before closing." Something along those lines. Just remember, it's okay to say "I don't know" or "I have no idea, you need a specialist to determine that." That's what specialist do.

I know what the NEC and the IRC says about countertop outlets for the Kitchen. How about other countertops such as the Butlers Pantry (no sink) or at the Wine counter (no sink)? I'm finding more and more builders putting the outlets at these areas down on the wall, not at the countertop. The only reference I find is IRC E3801.4.1 or NEC 210.52, but I believe these are really talking about Kitchen countertops. I would think that the Powers that Be Writing These Codes don't want electrical cords hanging off of countertops. Any thoughts?

Home Warranty Companies will routinely void their warranty's for mis matched equipment. I've seen and heard it more than once. It's just another way they can get the premiums and refuse claims. Same goes for having breakers larger than what the manufacturer recommends.

I agree with Scott. I'm not going to try and beat a dead horse. Some people will not get one no matter what unless the unit goes out. I wouldn't lose sleep over the ones who are too stubborn to upgrade.

My 2000 Silverado has 185k on it and I've been thinking of a new ride lately. Since I won't shell out the $$$ for a H3, I've pretty much decided on 4 door Toyota Tacoma 4x4. That was, until I saw these. Now I'm drooling over these and can't wait to get out and see what they're like. http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/index.h ... N_FJ_INDEX Anyone out there have one of these yet?

Hey Mike, RWS and Beeman have been making .177 cal pellet guns with muzzle velocities over 1000 fps for at least 20+ years. I used to drool over them as a teenager. Yes, they are lethal in the right hands. Very accurate as well. Actually, within 30 yards, just about any pump-up at Wal-Mart will settle the score. I sometimes would like to have known how fast my old Crossman shot when I pumped it up 20 times. Take a look at these shooters. http://www.compasseco.com/shop/prod_sho ... _no=RWS350 http://www.beeman.com/rx2.htm

I don't know, but I've been told....that #6 birdshot and or a .177 cal. pellet gun with a muzzle velocity in the 900 fps range will take care of your problem. Depends on where you live and/or how close your neighbors are as to which one you use...I would assume. [:-splat] I think they're considered song birds or are protected so it's probably against the law to shoot them or to "harass" them. We had a name for the pileated woodpeckers growing up. "LordyGods". As in "Lordy God those are big woodpeckers". "This information provided for educational and informational purposes only" [xx(]

Actually, after seeing the prices here skyrocket and seeing how even the crappiest (is that a word?) agent can make a living, I've thought about that as well. When I moved here 7 years ago, the median price was about 115,000, now I believe it's around 150k. 7 years ago 17,000 new homes were built. Last year, somewhere in the neighborhood of 43,000 new homes were built in Houston. Where is everyone coming from and what kind of jobs do they have?????

We've been seeing this for about the last 18 months down here. I much prefer this over running them over to a soffit. The only ones I've seen fail are where the roof jack is not installed properly. But beware, many builders seem to think you can do the dryer vent that way also (running them into roof jacks). Dryer vents are required by the IRC to have backdraft dampers. Good Luck,

You should take note of that.....it's a good lesson. Scott has a good idea here. Once you sign off on that, you'll own it forever and a day. Another reason not to re-inspect someone elses work. Yeah, they could. But if you don't report it they can say "Geez Mr. HomeInspector, you were on the roof at the Chimney and you didn't tell my Client about this life threatning discrepancy?" You're really caught between a rock and a hard place. Good Luck,

Both are 2 ton units. Outside looks like a 2000 model, inside is a 2004 model.

Well, I generally agree with Mr. Goodman about snakes. This one didn't look menacing, so I let him live. My other inspector found this one about two weeks ago. Now this one I would have worried about. I couldn't tell if it was the agent or the builder...[:-eyebrow Download Attachment: MarksSnake2.JPG 88.15 KB

Well, for some reason I couldn't find the "Chit Chat" section under "All Forums", so I decided the next best place for this might be "Environmental Hazards". What kind is this? Download Attachment: DSC02783.JPG 130.72 KB

Some of the really good HVAC companies here do undersize the coil successfully to remove humidity. But very few! The entire system has to be installed properly and there aren't that many companies that will go to the trouble of doing it. About 2 years ago at a home show, I specifically asked one of these companies whether or not undersizing the coil would void the manufacturers warranty. He said not with the manufacturers he used (I believe it was Rheem/Ruud and Lennox). This same company also manufactured their own evaporator coils to their own specifications. Pretty intense systems if you ever saw one. However, when I do see mismatched equipment in a Spec home installed by one of the same ole companies I see doing it wrong all the time, I figure it's a goof up on their part and write it up. I mean geez, if you can't run the ducts properly, seal duct joints and the refrigerant lines at the evaporator coil housing, run the flex gas line through the furnace cabinet, not seal air leaks at the edges of the evaporator coil housing and have air leaks at the furnace/air handler connection, how in the world am I to believe they intentially undersized the evap coil and did it right?

Well Danny, I think you answered your own questions, yes the installation is wrong. However, I don't get excited about the control joints in the middle of the windows as long as there is one below the window as well. I'd LIKE to see them at the corners, but I know they won't always fall there. I also like them centered if they're going to be over/under a window. Betcha it didn't have sill pan flashing at the window sill did it?

If you're bored, have trouble falling to sleep or you're a real geeky kind of guy (or gal)and want to test your download speeds, try downloading "The Wood Handbook" from Uncle Sam. It's about 13 megs in size and comes out to roughly 486 pages. Guaranteed to cure what ails ya! http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgt ... gtr113.pdf You can also download idividual Chapters here: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgt ... gtr113.htm

Is there a link to download the entire document instead of downloading individual fact sheets?

I use the LG17. Gets me to all roofs that I want to be on. If it isn't tall enough to get me to a roof, then I probably don't want to be on it. I've had mine since 2001 and love it. It's easy to work with and is smoooooth. I hate heights and flimsy ladders. I'm a pretty good sized ole boy and the LG is the only ladder I feel safe climbing on when I'm over 10 feet off the ground. However, I did pop my thumb out of socket recently (it happens several times a year, bad socket I guess) by pushing the ladder up instead of using my hand. I've never pinched or smashed my fingers/hands. One of my other inspectors has the LG knockoff. Cheap looking compared to the LG. It's also not as easy to use. You can definately tell the difference in quality.

2 x 2/0 + 1. I found that on this feeder yesterday. I assume that it means there are 2 #2/0 feeders and the ground feeder is a #1. The sizes looked to be a 2/0 and 1 (aluminum). Just wanted to double check before I wrote it up serving for serving a 200 amp main. Download Attachment: DSC02043.JPG 45.98 KB

I should have been more precise in my description. This is a monolithic slab on grade, no gravel/sand goes in the trenches....trenches = perimeter and interior beams. The area for the slab is escavated forms are put up and then Select Fill is brought in. After the Select Fill has been leveled out, the perimeter and interior beams are dug. Typically these trenches will be from 12 to 18 inches wide and from 24 to 36 inches deep, depending on what the foundation plans call for. Normally, we'll see a PVC drain running across a trench (beam) at the bottom. It will be covered with mastic. However, I've never seen one ran along the trench like this one. I had 2 major gripes about it, 1) You'll have to jack hammer the beam should you have a future plumbing problem, 2) Any movement (settlement) by the beam will likely damage this section of drain My other gripe was that someone should have checked the plans and measurements (designer/engineer, plumbing contractor and foundation contractor) and made sure this did not happen. (I found two other drains that were off the mark) Thanks for the replies, I'm searching my IRC now for some back up reference.

There's one spec home builder here that uses them on a regular basis. That is, the roofers install them on the roof, but do not use them. I guess some people think they look cool and make good conversational pieces during the walkthrough. Toe boards nailed through shingles rule!!

Found this on a pre-pour steel reinforced slab inspection today. Pipe runs about 9 feet down the middle of the trench. Builders said he knew it wasn't right, but thinks putting some mastic on it and wrapping it with poly will be fine. I disagree. Your thoughts? Download Attachment: pipeintrench.JPG 96.86 KB

Try eBay or a box store for the guage and many other tools like you want. I also find what I want in the catalogs then go shopping on eBay or other places for deals. I must say though, I've had InspectorTools match or beat deals on new equipment that I've found.

I've had a 3 light tester glow dim on several occasions (just the middle light). When checked with a Sure-Test, I received a False Ground reading.