Lasswell

I was inspecting a new house and I am pretty certain the drain line for the sprinkler system is not put together correctly. In the crawlspace a short galvanized nipple was threaded into the CPVC and then had flexible tubing hose clamped to it. The tubing made and immediate 90 degree bend and is kinked. It had no support where it ran across the crawlspace and then was hose clamped to a section of copper pipe which threaded into CPVC which exited to the exterior. Does anyone know the code requirements for material for the drain line on a fire sprinkler system? Also this was threaded into the exterior termination of the drain line. Anyone know what this is? Thanks John Download Attachment: Fire Sprinkler.jpg 44.59 KB Click to Enlarge 16.33 KB Click to Enlarge 23.49 KB

I am not exactly sure what you are looking for but here is my $.02 I am also going to make the assumption that this house is post and pier and does not have a foundation. 1. White fungal growth under the vapor barrier is nothing to worry about. I see it all the time. 2. Posts that have decay should be replaced. If the pads aren't 6" above grade recommend using pressure treated lumber for posts. Cut ends should be treated with appropriate end cut solution. There should also be gasket material between posts and footings to prevent wicking of water from the concrete. 3. What is the grading on the exterior of the home. The soil should slope away from the structure to keep surface water from running into the crawl. Where do the downspouts discharge? Will this water run into the crawl? 4. These are not powder post beetles. Powder post beetles typically infest hardwoods such as oak. Since the framing is probably fir this will be an anobiid beetle, common name is death watch beetle, and no they are not gone. From the picture it looks like there may also have been some damp wood termite activity. It is hard to tell because the picture is blurry. With anobiids all heavily infected wood should be removed. Once repairs have been made all the insulation should be pulled down and all exposed wood should be treated by a pest control operator. They will usually spray everything with a borate solution. This won't kill the larve in the wood but once the beetles emerge and lay eggs the treatment will kill the eggs and break the life cycle. 7. As long as the crawlspace is properly vented and there isn't standing water on the vapor barrier there should be no need to heat it. I hope this helps. John

Thanks guys, I haven't seen this before but I basically said in my report the same thing you said MGB. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. Thanks John

I recently ran across this crack. It was located at the rear door from a garage. There were no other visible cracks in the garage floor slab or foundation wall. Any ideas on what the caused it? What would be your recommendation? Thanks John Click to Enlarge 47.61 KB

I have been researching this and is appears the tubing is color coded like most pex tubing and was produced by IPEX and has Kitec printed on the tubing. John

Just a note to finish this thread. I installed a PRV which solved the problem. John

I just ran across this article and it is a must read for all home inspectors. http://hubpages.com/hub/kitec-failed-fi ... -time-bomb Cheers! John

I have an answer, not sure if it is accurate but it is entertaining. After making a half dozen phone calls to different people at Seattle Public Utilities it spoke with one of their plumbing inspectors. I am not sure what they inspect because they are not code inspectors. She informed me that it was in fact the expansion tank pushing water back and forth through the meter as the line pressure fluctuates. They are aware of the problem and told me to remove the expansion tank. She said "I don't understand why everyone installs these on their hot water systems because they are not needed" I felt like saying (I was frustrated by this point) HEY LADY, "PEOPLE INSTALL THESE BECAUSE THEY ARE REQUIRED BY CODE" but I didn't. Just to be sure I called the plumber who did the installation and he confirmed for me that they are required by code. So now I have the Seattle DPD (building department) telling me I have to have and expansion tank and Seattle Public Utilities telling me to remove it. I asked her to send me something in writing on this and she is mailing a letter informing me to remove the pressure tank. I will be installing a pressure regulator this week which should take care of the problem now I just have to try to get back 6 months worth of overcharges from Seattle Public Utilities. Thanks for your input and pontification on this matter. John

Scott, I don't know whether the tempering valve is in relation to the expansion tank. I will give that a look next time I am at the house. John

I new the pressure was on the high side and I am planning on installing a pressure regulator. Terry, I have tried shutting off every angle stop and valve and that is what led me to the hot water system and the expansion tank. Removing the expansion tank then turning the water back on is the only thing that stops the meter. Why this works has left both me and the plumber scratching our heads. John

Terry, I did check the water pressure at it was 82 psi so marginally high. The thing I can't figure out is if I remove the expansion tank and put a pipe plug in the fitting and turn the water back on the meter does not turn. As soon as I put he expansion tank back on the meter starts turning. John

The pressure relief line is visible and I have checked it several times and it has always been dry. It discharges over an area of beauty bark and there are no signs it has been discharging water. One thing I didn't mention is the water heater is turned off because the house is vacant. John

No pressure reducing valve. Yes it does have a tempering valve at the water heater. John

I have been a home inspector for 8 years but this one has me stumped. I have searched the web and found nothing so I though I would try here. I own a new house which is vacant and for sale. I just received a water bill that showed I was using 40 gallons per day. I checked the meter and sure enough it shows water is flowing at the rate of about 1.5 gal. per hour. The meter does not register a constant flow but stop and starts in 10 second intervals. I went around the house shutting valves off until I was able to isolate the problem to the hot water system. When I shut the supply valve for the hot water heater the meter stops turning. I went through the house from top to bottom and no signs of moisture. I even scanned all walls and ceiling that had plumbing runs with a moisture meter and nothing so I called the plumbers who plumbed the house. They also could't find anything so as a last resort we removed the expansion tank from the water heater and low and behold this stopped the problem. I called my local utility and they sent a crew out to check the meter and I was told the check valve in the meter is working properly and my problem was a leak in the house? Anybody ever run across this before? My theory is the pressure is fluctuating in the line and with the expansion tank pushing back against the line pressure the fluctuations are forcing water back and forth through the meter causing the reading. My local utility of course says this is not possible. Any help would be appreciated. John