Jim Katen

What's the problem here? Having a step in front of a tub?

It's possible, but difficult to damage a scroll compressor by running it in cold weather. 

It's much easier to damage a piston-type compressor in cold weather and the first few seconds will be the moment when it happens as the pistons try to compress fluid. 

Thanks Nolan. 

It looks very similar to "Style A" which would have set someone back $0.17. 

Clearly, it's a repurposed piece of telegraph equipment. 

Thanks again for the leg work. 

Radio grounding connection or radio antenna are still my prime suspects. The thing is, most old radio grounds & antennas consisted of a simple wire connected directly to the radio. Sometimes they used a radio antenna plug, which I see several times a year. 

This little gadget just seems awfully involved for a simple radio splice point. After seeing Jim Baird's comment, I looked at lots of pictures of telegraph equipment and this thing really looks like part of that equipment. I doubt that the house had a telegraph, but someone might have re-purposed a piece of telegraph equipment as the antenna or ground connection for their radio. 

I once stayed in a condo in Mexico where the old drum trap had been converted into a floor drain. They simply took off the cover from the trap and placed a grate over it instead. The smell was enough to knock you over. I tried to explain the issue to the manager, but she didn't want to hear about it. Finally fixed the issue by folding up a wet towel and placing it over the grate. 

I wouldn't share a past report with new customers, but I'll certainly use whatever information I know about a house when inspecting it for a 2nd time. Who would this harm? 

I'd start with Chris Bernhardt. 

If he can't do it, have them call me and I'll go there. 

Jim Katen 

1 hour ago, Trent Tarter said:

Yes it's a octopus type central coal furnace. Has asbestos lined ducts routed from basement to first and second stories. The heating system is abandoned. I will advise removing the asbestos duct materials. 

Be aware that the asbestos is also going to be inside the furnace itself. If you want to get rid of the asbestos, you'll pretty much have to get rid of the furnace. 

Do these furnaces ever remind anyone else of the Master Cylinder from the old Felix the Cat show?

19 minutes ago, Marc said:

That's an octopus central heater, yes?

Certainly. They used to be as common as fruit flies in my area but I've never seen one with a big red Coleman cooler in front. 

Found this cool illustration: 

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=19202

5 hours ago, Chad Fabry said:

I was looking at the diagonal blocking too. My first thought was, "that's a good idea, it's easier to nail". It's also possible they had a bunch of cut-offs from some other aspect of construction and rather than cut two ends square they just cut the other end at an angle.

 

It looks like it much harder to nail. Think about it. You nail off one side first. Then when you go to nail off the other side, the force of the hammer hitting the diagonal cut drives the stud outward and instead of 16" oc spacing, you've now got 16-1/4" spacing. What a pain. Square-cut blocking ensures even spacing. 

Very interesting. 

I can't recall having ever seen diagonal wall blocking like that. Any ideas why they'd do that? 

What the heck is the big thing sitting in front of the furnace? I've never seen a burner like that. 

In my little town of Gaston, the old K of P building lay abandoned for years. A guy at the bank realized that their bank account had been dormant for many years so he did some investigating and discovered that every one of the Pythians had died. After some legal wrangling, he revived the lodge, drummed up some members, fixed up the building, and they're now a strong organization in the community. 

6 minutes ago, Tom Raymond said:

Where's the intake?

Either in the wrong zone, or the furnace is approaching 30 and should be replaced anyway. Discuss venting location with your HVAC contractor as part of the new system design.

I'd hardly call it "wrong." It's just a non-direct-vent setup and slightly less efficient. 

I think it's fine. The pipe should slope back to a drain or a condensate pump that should be amply able to deal with any rainwater that enters the pipe.  As for sealing the pipe, it looks like a classic pitch pocket setup that's relatively easy to seal. If there are no gaps between the sealant and the plastic pipe or between the sealant and the old B-vent, it's probably going to be fine. 

The stains on the ceiling look like they're related to a failure of the B-vent flashing. Maybe look more carefully at that. 

18 minutes ago, Tom Raymond said:

Funny no one is concerned about the ABS drain right next to it that will flame out a few seconds after the access does.

Yeah, but at least its trap is full of water. 

2 hours ago, inspector57 said:

302.11 item 4 only states that spaces "around" such openings be filled and specifically states it does NOT have to meet the ASTM standard which I take to mean it could be anything, caulk, joint compound, etc. just as long as the spaces around the cable, pipe, etc. are filled to prevent the free passage of  flame and combustion products,(and the local AHJ approves it.

I agree. But you just know that once you take off that plastic cover, there's nothing filling the space. You could reach your whole arm up inside that stud bay, like a vet inseminating a cow. 

Perhaps the OSB was soaking wet when the shingles went on. Afterwards, the OSB dried out and shrank, causing the buckling in the cover. 

3 hours ago, John Kogel said:

Back in the day, someone, such as Mycroft, would take a torch to one of those covers to see if they burn. Maybe they don't.

Send me one and I'll be happy to do it. But there's no need. Those things are just a hunk of styrene, which burns with a bright orange flame and puts out lots of black soot. 

2 hours ago, inspector57 said:

Now the argument could be made that it could be an "opening" into the home which IS addressed but I think that would be pushing it.

 

You only have to make the argument that it's an "opening in the wall" and a "penetration through the separation," which it clearly is. Look at 302.6. It says that "openings in garage walls shall comply with Section 302.5," which, in turn, talks about, "openings and penetrations separating the dwelling from the garage" and, later, "penetrations through the separation required in 302.6 shall be protected as required in 302.11, item 4." 

7 hours ago, Trent Tarter said:

I just talked with the City building inspector about this, he said it's OK and that there's nothing in the code that prohibits it.

In the 2014 IRC, 302.6 prohibits it. Unless, of course, the inside of the space behind that cover is lined with drywall or packed with some kind of fireblocking. 

7 hours ago, Trent Tarter said:

He said that unless it's over 10% of wall surface, otherwise all junction boxes in garage wall would also not be compliant. 

Ask him for a reference for that one. I suspect that it comes from one of the fire-rated assemblies that don't apply here. As for the junction boxes, they're designed to contain fire. That's their whole point. 

7 hours ago, Trent Tarter said:

This is the second building inspector that said these types of plastic access covers are allowed. I guess I need to look at the specific codes that they are using. 

Absolutely. Why aren't you? 

It's a clear violation. 

How thick is the footing and what's at the top of the column? Is this a cell tower? 

15 hours ago, Chad Fabry said:

4 inch hex nut

 

I couldn't find a price for a six-inch combination wrench ( they're out there but not priced). I couldn't find a forged 6-inch socket at all 

What, you can't forge your own? 

I want to know how they made those welds. Looks like three passes with a gigantic electrode and a really steady hand. 

21 hours ago, Marc said:

They're taking a break from taking turns sliding down the downspout.  And we thought frogs were dumb.

It's funny. I was thinking that they're just waiting for the photographer to turn around before they attacked. 

There's a lesson there about how each of our minds work, but I can't quite pin it down. . . 

If you're handy and willing to work hard, you can do very well with a house like this. Buy low, invest a lot of sweat, and sell high. 

Where in Southern IL? My wife has family in Douglas County and I have personally attended the world-renowned Arcola Broom Corn Festival.