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rfarrell

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Everything posted by rfarrell

  1. rfarrell
    A few years back I had a situation where the plumber notched a series of second floor joists for a waste pipe. He paid for the engineering and repairs. The engineer speced 3/4 plywood full height both sides lagged and glued. The gussets either three or four feet in length and centered on the notch. That was a compression repair but I think you would find an engineer would approve something like that for this repair. The plumber re-installed the waste pipe through the gussets, also approved by the engineer.
  2. rfarrell
    I saw Jesse Aronsien here in St. Louis last spring at the chapter seminar. The real answer to the question of what to do about Aluminum wiring is that there is no difinitive repair other than rewiring. I tell my clients that and that the reason we have Aluminum wiring is that a lot of smart people made a big mistake followed by some very greedy people preventing it's disuse. It's a black eye for the NEC. The reason it was not disallowed was political.
  3. rfarrell
    More than you might care to know about the problems and attempts to sort out solutions to the the aluminum wire problem are linked to this page from Dan Firedaman's sight. http://www.inspect-ny.com/aluminum.htm
  4. rfarrell
    Charlie, I think thats "hepin the new sucker"
  5. rfarrell
    Scott, I couldn't agree more. The landscape architects I've worked with seem to be civil engineers with imagination. Their bread and butter is showing people how to get water to go in the right direction. After that they can sell folks anything. I must be silent now because I have promised not to divulge any more of their professional secrets.
  6. rfarrell
    Brian, The other thing about these is that they often splatter up under the tank lid and down the back and wall etc.
  7. rfarrell
    I had the RadStar when it first came out. Had problems and sent them back. The RadStar uses the same technology as the Sun. I have not used the Sun. The femto-Tech is a fully developed nearly foolproof machine. The femto is the detector the Rn chamber operators use to monitor their chambers.
  8. rfarrell
    These all looks like plastered gunite pools.Pics 1-4 Have two things in common. The failures ar on curved sections and there is no slip joint between the pool deck and the grade beam at the edge of the pool. 1-4 need a different coping design to continue avoid failure due to expansion and contraction of the deck slab.6,000.00 #5 looks like it may be a leaker. I'd guess epoxy is the fix. 500.00
  9. rfarrell
    I would add one comment to the above. You might look into local practice but it sounds like the carpenters do not crown their wall framing. Even a slight crown gives you an indication of which direction the wood is moving and will help minimize the in and outs. The clue may be that it does not appear on all houses.
  10. rfarrell
    Brian, This goes back a few years but as I remember the landscape contractor dug a normal width trench, lined the trench with Mirafi or similar filter cloth. Down this way sand would not be the choice for a drain field and in this case the top of the trench was left exposed next to a driveway. I noticed on the website that they show the end of the collector pouring out water from what looks like a pile of gravel. I would have to wonder how long the sand would take to seal up. It looks like a system designed with the installer and salesman in mind.
  11. rfarrell
    The landscape architect used this stuff on the last big addition I did. You still have to dig, line the trench, fill with rock and cover. In this case it allowed high volume collection from a shallow trench because of increased collection area, or at least that was the theory. I don't know how long it has been available.
  12. rfarrell
    Konrad, Philosophically speaking,hell yes. She values your opinion. Just give it to her for a fee. If she is looking for ammunition to use on her insurance company, she should hire a hit man.
  13. rfarrell
    One of the guys in the chapter set his ladder on a painted sidewalk to climb less than ten feet only to find himself on the ground with multiple injuries. It happens. Roof inspection is a risk management issue for each one of us. I assess each situation from a safety/physics point of view and decide whether I,m getting on the roof or moving the ladder four times. "Do not be where you do not belong." Bob Dylan
  14. rfarrell
    Terry, I must be a version behind. This does not appear in the '99 version. Time for new Code Checks.
  15. rfarrell
    Terry, Which Code Check book are you referring to? Here the only bonding is at cold water piping with older services and new services require bonding of the meter box to a ground rod and bonding of the main disconnect to the water service only. Any comments?
  16. rfarrell
    On the topic of customer percs. Is anyone using the Manage My Home email subscriptions from Bob Dunlop?
  17. rfarrell
    I carry a 28 ft and the Werner Little Giant knock-off; that gets me on 99% of the roofs. I keep a 40 ft by the shed. I can still set it by myself but that won't go on forever. Heights don't bother me but sudden changes of elevation do. I talk to my first timers like they were my kids..tell em that maintenance is money in the bank. As an inspector I try to make sure sellers are not rewarded for buying badly maintained property then turning a profit for covering shit with shinola.
  18. rfarrell
    Here in St. Louis, MO they lean inward. I attribute this the raking and tuckpointing of the visible side of the chimney. They tend to weather from the top down.
  19. rfarrell
    I purchased a Sure Test back in Feburary or so and attached it to the tool belt. I still use the little three light, faster cheaper, but the sure test saves a lot of time in those two story masonry houses where the receptacles appear to be grounded.
  20. rfarrell
    Donald, Thanks for the enlightenment. I believe I found a PEX piping system in a new house in an outlying area a couple of years back. I don't remember seeing the manifold system. I think it was assembled like a traditional piping system. It's always good to find out about what may be up and coming. The plumbers will keep this out of the mainstream as long as possible around here. peace out
  21. rfarrell
    What's a Manabloc?
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