tim5055

That is not necessarily a good thing.

Great pool information can be found in Mike Holt's PDF of teh 2014 NEC ARTICLE 680—SWIMMING POOLS, SPAS, HOT TUBS, FOUNTAINS, AND SIMILAR INSTALLATIONS

Well, I know this was started by a spammer, but to add on to the idea.... I recently needed to add an opener to a door with little overhead clearance, so I went with a wall mount shaft opener. Liftmaster 8500 Wall Mount Garage Door Opener Package What I didn't know I was getting was an automatic "lock" that throws a pin thru the track when the door closes. Neat idea and keeps folks from forcing the door up.

Yea, the crack in the fill dirt inside the crawl is what makes me think it's impact damage.

Well, to be honest - we are not sure what caused it. Chad's & Jim's explanations are the two that are proposed the most. The crack does go all the way to the footer, so my money is on impact, likely a bobcat as they were cleaning up, before the deck and as Jim puts it the "massive concrete patio slab" were installed. The architect/PE looked at it and never batted an eye. He went into explanations of the properties of concrete and as John implied, movement happens. His only suggestion corresponds to Jim's, patch it and monitor it for any future movement. The guess is that it happened early in construction, prior to framing as there is no corresponding movement in the structure above. On the long wall above it there are three windows that all operate freely and the short wal above it has a door that shows no signs of movement/binding. None of the drywall on either of these walls shows signs of cracks, pops or repair. Yes, Company "B" has the contract. Not to duplicate another thread, but I replaced the HVAC and the air handler is in the crawlspace. So, I wanted the encapsulation contract sighed before the air handler came out. I had Company "B" give me a section of the 20 mil floor material so that the HVAC guys could install it under the new air handler. This way the encapsulation crew doesn't have to try to work around the air handler. I'm scheduled to have the work done early April (I have a busy March) so I will be back with more photos of the "after".

Just to close out this thread, the new HVAC is installed. All of the "old" is gone and a new system installed. All CSST removed and replaced with black iron. It seems there is only one guy in about three counties that still installs the stuff. Everyone else has switched to CSST.

Ok, more answers to questions asked- Chad is correct, no apparent vertical movement. House is 11 - 12 years old Photos 5 & 6 show the crack form both sides of the wall. On the outside (green side) its in the corner under the deck The sub-encapsualtion venting is not for radon, but for the "cat urine" odor that seems to accompany about 10% of crawl space encapsulation jobs No expansive soils, the house is built on a hill that is primarily huge boulders.

It's not real brick outside, its patterned stucco over concrete block.

Yea, I can pick them.... Usually, it's the wife that "falls in love" with them. I post the architect/PE comments later after i see the comments here [:-taped]

Well, everyone seemed to like my previous thread regarding the encapsulation of my crawl space in our current home in South Carolina. So, here I start my odyssey of encapsulating the crawl space in our (hopefully) final/retirement home in the mountains of North Carolina. Old thread, in case you want to check it out https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... C_ID=18281 In this home it is a more "standard" crawl space, meaning everywhere is actually crawling, rather than walking in our previous endeavor. There are no obvious water issues, but some joists do have a little white fuzz. Again, to reiterate - I'm not a mold fanatic. I get it, it is everywhere..... Having done the research the last time, I could limit myself to contractors who sell the "system" I decided on last time. If you read my previous thread, I ended up with odor issues after the encapsulation that were solved with an under barrier de-pressurization system using off the shell radon mitigation equipment. There are only two companies who service the area, so now I had my list of contractors. My scope of work was well defined before either of the "salesman" showed up on site. Heck, I wasn't even there. I gave them the address and told them to go measure and price it including what I wanted. They were both a little surprised that they had a prospect who understood what they wanted and after some discussion agreed to go by without me there to "be sold". Scope of work included 20 mil floor, 12 mil walls up to 3" from the sill plate for pest inspection purposes, commercial dehumidifier, sump pump and under barrier de-pressurization system. I'll call them company "A" and Company "B". After both inspected the property, here is their response: Company "A" called an gave me a price, no written proposal. In discussion I was able to figure out that he didn't feel I needed a sump pump or under barrier de-pressurization system and didn't include them in his price. Whe I again indicated that was what I wanted, he again said I didn't need it and we could deal with those issues later if they were needed. Company "B" e-maild me a full written proposal including a schematic of the house, where equipment would be installed and about 40 photos of the house & crawlspace. He then called me and explained the proposal completely. Additionally he was concerned about a crack he found in the foundation wall and questioned me about it. Company "A" was about $150 less expensive than Company "B", but Company "B" included all the equipment and services I wanted. So, who to choose?? For giggles, here are some photos, including the crack in the foundation which I was aware of and have had evaluated by a friend who is a licensed architect/PE in North Carolina. OK, here is the outside view of the crack. It's in the corner (sorry the photo is sideways) Here is what it looks like inside the crawl. Note that the "fill dirt" inside the crawl is also cracked.

OK, back to the original topic....... I like to keep folks updated - I'm going with a SEER 18 A/C, heat pump for heat and LP Gas as "emergency" heat. To be honest at 2,300 feet in altitude the summer "heat" is a short duration period. While we have owned this house and our previous property down the street we have kept the windows open probably 6+ months a year. I don't think any higher a SEER rating is going to gain me any "savings". At this point all of the CSST has been removed and the black iron is installed except for a couple of 6" pieces. The HVAC guy is on notice/scheduled to remove/install later this month. Thinking about it I am probably going to have the crawlspace encapsulated in/around the same time and finish up in the crawlspace. For those that have followed my moves, our current house has an encapsulated crawlspace. The pest control company that hold our termite bod did their inspection last week and found that the crawl in our current house (encapsulated) has a moisture reading on the joists/sills of 12% and the crawlspace showed a humidity level of 51%.

Will an on-demand unit work without power? Probably not, but will any of the newer tanks? I thought they had all transitioned from a pilot light to a piezo igniter??

the master bath is on the other side of the wall from the existing WH, kitchen maybe 20 feet from the WH and a guest bath on the other side of the house. No return loops, but I could probably add them.

I already have this that will move with me: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... swod-MEGbA The house has a manual transfer switch already, all I need to add is the receptacle to plug it in on the outside wall.

Thanks. Both are on the table. While the guy is doing the black pipe work I am already having him stub the pipe in the island for the cooktop. The new cooktop will wait until the Corian is removed and we go to granite. The water heater is also on the table and a stub out will be placed for that. I'm just wondering conventional tank or on demand heater.

Good points. I will look into them

The HVAC guy is a square shooter. He says the existing compressor, but I will ask to be sure. I'll also ask about just changing the compressor. With a new air handler and line set it will be the only "old" equipment. On the ground rod, when the compressor goes away the disconnect the gas regulator is grounded to will go away also. Won't I need a ground?

Well, some of you have followed my house moves and upgrades for the past few years. It is now time to begin getting the house in the mountains of North Carolina ready for full time occupancy. The house is about 10 years old and according to my HVAC guy there he thinks the equipment is a little older. The previous owner/builder was in the construction industry and I have already found bits/pieces he "acquired" from various job sites to build the house. But, I digress from the questions.... Currently the compressor/heat pump is on the west side of the house where we intend to build a deck/outdoor living space, so it's gotta move to the east side. The air handler is in the crawl space and has electric emergency heat strips. My plan is to move the existing compressor/heat pump to the east side of the house. The air handler would be changed out for a new unit with LP Gas emergency heat. Right now even though the only gas appliance in the house is a set of gas logs, they installed CSST from the west side of the house all the way to the east side. The previous owner said he had thought about a LP gas generator (the meter/main/electrical panels are on the east side) and wanted to be ready. The CSST is broken up into about four lengths, apparently they purchased pre-made up lengths and cobbled them together. There is no evidence of any bonding on the CSST. The only bond is from the gas regulator on the west wall of the house to the ground wire in the HVAC disconnect. The new air handler would have a variable speed fan and be comparable with both new/old refrigerant, but as I will use the existing compressor for a while it will initially be set up with old. I would have all CSST replaced with black iron and the gas plumber said he would drive a new/additional ground rod for the installation. While he is under the house I'm going to have him stub a pipe under the kitchen island for a future gas cook-top. OK experts - what am I overlooking????

From Kurt's signature..... "If I smell it, it goes in the report".............Phillip Smith...2012

I thought I saw someone from Grenville, SC posting regularly but can't seem to find them now. Any ideas who??

Have you looked at Ecobee stats? It allows up to 32 wireless remote sensors. https://www.ecobee.com/

I have been very happy with my sealed crawl space system. It is a full encapsulation and while expensive, no where near what you have been quoted. Here is the full story of these fine folks helping me out, with photos https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... hichpage=1

I'm confused, why not just pitch it correctly and have the water run away form the house?

Is that last photo really a brick roof?

I'm surprised many of us survived hose water!![^]