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John Kogel

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Everything posted by John Kogel

  1. John Kogel
    Carpenter ants is more likely. They are more industrious that beetles, constantly cleaning house. I have seen this mess in my own house and have done the forensics.☚ī¸
  2. John Kogel
    This is not helpful, but I have to tell y'all, in the Canadian EC, the bathroom light switch must be out in the hall, unless it can be installed inside at least 1 meter, 39" away from the inside edge of the tub. So we have that in this house, tub right adjacent to the door so the switch is out in the hall.
  3. John Kogel
    You would not see foam sprayed over existing batts. Certainly with the batts removed, foam makes an excellent seal. One concern is there can be a lack of air circulation between the foam and the roof sheathing. Maybe it is not a problem as long as there is no moisture trapped in there. Foamed attics are still fairly new in the scale of things.
  4. John Kogel
    😄 But the goalie kid has nerves of steel.
  5. John Kogel
    Parents too disinterested or whatever to instruct their children.
  6. John Kogel
    Slits will work, and the best vapor barrier is poly sealed with tape. In my climate, we are required by code to seal around electrical boxes with poly covers or use boxes with built-in gaskets. Keep indoor air out of the rafter cavities, and provide air circulation of the cavities and you will have no issues. Soffit vents and ridge vents. You can form a bag around an electrical box from a square piece of 6 mil poly. Make it large enough to have several inches hanging all around the box. Tape around the wire. Then when you staple up the vapor barrier, cut a small hole and pull your bag edges out, trim and tape.
  7. John Kogel
    Google the brand and model. Maybe a stronger motor can be installed. How about a lawnmower engine? Play with the pulleys for a faster drill speed. Hook it up to a stationary bike so you can pedal it, or maybe peddle it. 😎
  8. John Kogel
    Yeah that was fun. Some of us were there in spirit. Just a ripe, I mean rich, bunch of guys. 😎
  9. John Kogel
    Hopefully the engineer from last year has pictures of those transition areas. You could have a look at the contract that was drawn up for the work .You want to see an explanation for why the loose mortar in the vulnerable areas was not fixed.
  10. John Kogel
    With this new info, I'm inclined to see you point of view. Water runs down over the wall or just heavy rain, and then a hard frost and something has to give. Is the stucco on the right an example of the old surface that was removed from the brick? Did an engineer inspect the condition of the brick and the mortar? I see some old loose mortar in the closeup pictures. Does the roof drainage keep the walls dry?
  11. John Kogel
    You're suggesting that the caulk is stronger than the brick, no? The crack may have opened up since the work was done, but I would not say the repair work was the cause, but maybe that the work was stopped when it should have continued. Just a guess until we know more. Is the building wood frame with a brick veneer, or is it an actual brick structure? What is the condition of the foundation, and is it accessible, such as a basement below this area? I am not saying there is a major issue because we can't see enough of the wall to make a judgement on it. We need more info. A picture from farther back would be helpful.
  12. John Kogel
    Note to myself: Make sure client has a whistle.
  13. John Kogel
    Right,, you could monitor how much power your light bulb is using. A meter with wingnuts? Must be adjustable. 😊
  14. John Kogel
    How about when the client and you decide because of a major issue, to curtail the inspection half done? Legislation shouldn't force the inspection to continue.against the client's will. My client one day thought he was buying a modular and I pointed out it was actually a mobile with a metal frame and spring shackles. Right there, he was no longer interested, but he owed me for the hour and a half before he arrived. Also there has to be flexibility for a roof inspection for a client's insurance company or some other focused inspection, crawlspace only or just the new installation..
  15. John Kogel
    Right, just never under the same screw, in a case where 2 conductors are allowed. The Al conductor needs to be the correct gauge, usually one size larger than the corresponding Cu.
  16. John Kogel
    Right, it is good practice to write '30 amps Max' somewhere on the subpanel front, but it is not required by the NEC, AFAIK.
  17. John Kogel
    I'm super impressed with that rig, Except that out on the freeway, you might need a spoiler on it to keep your wheels on the pavement.🤩 Here's a question - if you tied a sack of cement to the front of your rack, it would lift the back wheels and reduce friction. The center of gravity would shift forward for better FWD traction. Would you get better mileage with less friction on the rear wheels? 🤩
  18. John Kogel
    A subcontractor does the roof, which you watch on the monitor while sipping a cold one. I came up with a chrome welded chain ladder that you can drag under the car. It is too heavy to set up, even for your roof guy, but makes for a lovely spark show on the way home. 😎
  19. John Kogel
    Outdoor plumbing. ☚ī¸
  20. John Kogel
    Yep, somebody from the power company needs to remove it, hopefully while the seller is still paying the bill. They were just seasoning it first. 😀 If you don't report it, your client might be dismayed to eventually see the cost of removal on his power bill.
  21. John Kogel
    Thanks, Dennis. I think that rule covers appliances in the same room. And I think the water heater flue in this picture meets the rule. But the issue is with the fireplace flue coming in from another room. Also there is the clearance of the pipe to the wall material and the need to seal that wall, 3 violations so far. 😒
  22. John Kogel
    It could be leaking sewer gas at the clamps. That could be a flaky connection there. The galvanized steel pipe is smaller than what we use nowadays. I do not think it is sucking the trap dry. It does not have the volume to do that. You could run a little water into the trap to refill after using the sink to confirm the trap has water in it. I'll bet the unvented drain is the problem. Sewer gas can't get out, so pressure builds up and blows past the hose clamp, or from somewhere below, and you smell it under the sink. If it was the trap, you'd smell it in the sink, not under the sink. Dead rats dry out and stop stinking eventually.
  23. John Kogel
    It's not too late, and thanks for the input. They are correct to say that a gap is recommended. But as usual, they back down then and say it is not a structural deficiency. That is wrong. When OSB swells, it can pull the nail heads through the wood, or just pull apart around the nail. Add wind, and you got structure damage. I'm just saying I wish the authority would speak up for best practices.
  24. John Kogel
    You have a good eye and a good camera, Jim. My hobby is old radios, so I've seen plenty of scorched parts. When a resistor gets hot, it usually is the result of a failure in another component that is being supplied by that resistor. So the fix there is not to just replace the scorched resistor, but to find the bad component that caused the scorch. And the modern repair for that is a new circuit board. 😒
  25. John Kogel
    I would call it a design flaw. Someone focused on cooking could step off into space. It can be fixed, but the seller is not obliged to do it for the buyer. It's been said before, there is no code to protect people from stupid.
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