Ed Cope

Mr. Connell I have read many of your posts and found them very informative. I agree with most of your opinions. I also agree that many of the global warming claims have been exaggerated and that we do not need to go the extremes to protect our environment that some people suggest. However I must say I was as turned off by your post #18 as I am by most of Al Gore’s speeches. I do not dispute your science. What I find objectionable is your use of human breath, termites, and water evaporating from lakes, compared to factory emissions and other green house contributors, as your example of why there isn’t any reason to think about the possibility of global warming. I believe this is the same thing as telling a 400 pound man, with a glandular condition, that it is ok to eat a box of donuts every day. Granted his glandular condition may be the biggest reason for his weight problem but the donuts aren’t doing him any good. He can stop eating the donuts and put on less weight. We cannot remove all humans, termites and lakes from the earth. But we can cut down on some of the other factors that could lead to global warming. My father always liked to say everything in moderation. Perhaps the 400 pound man could cut back to one donut a week and we could come up with ways to combat potential contributors to global warming without bankrupting the country. Thank You

Jim You are correct. Warm air does condense when it comes in contact with a cold service. After thinking about it my original thoughts on this topic are probably off the wall. However dismissing the idea of condensation based only on your argument is also wrong. A solid cold service is not required for condensation to occur. All that is required is a warm and cold air mass. That is why warm air will condense in the middle of a wall cavity that is not insulated and then freeze on the inside of the exterior sheathing. Also the cold surface could have been the back of the drywall instead of the pipe. That is what I like about this forum. It is where a group of men can come together to discuss opinions, some good some bad, in an effort to solve a problem. Ed

Why would a hot water pipe sweat? You think it is condensation? I should have said condensation.Rob said the water heater was in the garage on the other side of the wall. Cooler air from the garage, or air conditioning in the house, getting into the wall condensing when it reaches the warm air around the pipe.

I can't tell from the picture. Is the pipe close to the drywall in the second picture? You said that the bottom of the wall was dry. Could it be that the plumber used soft copper in the wall and did not have enough room to make the bend required to come out of the wall at the top? Maybe he came up in the center of the wall at the bottom and then pushed it up against the drywall to make the bend at the top. Without any insulation on the pipe it could have been sweating inside the wall. The moisture made an outline of the pipe on the wall until it got towards the bottom where it fell off. If the hole has been there for two years, as the owner said, the warm air getting into the wall may have stoped the sweating and any further damage. Ed

Is the attic floor covered with fire rated plywood or some combination of materials that would make the floor/ceiling a rated assembly? My thought is that the builder thought it was more cost effective to create the fire envelope at the ceiling rather than build a fire wall that would have to extend above the roof line.