Jim Katen

Are those just functioning as forms or are they supposed to be providing support to the concrete? 

20 minutes ago, Bulldog565 said:

Ok they have it listed for 30k

In my area, dog houses sell for more than that. 

I see lots of issues in those photos, but nothing big enough to make me run away. 

It'll all come down to the price and what your abilities are. 

This device is screwed onto a baseboard in the living room of a 1911 craftsman bungalow in SE Portland (Westmoreland/Sellwood). A single fabric-covered wire emerges from the baseboard and terminates under one of the knurled screws. The other screw is empty. The wire is not energized and I can't find its other end in the crawlspace below or in the attic above. 

An old radio grounding terminal? Antenna connection point? 

Does anyone recognize it? 

11 minutes ago, Plummen2 said:

As far as I know we aren' required to install afci breakers unless it' new construction or remodel work.

I have not been required to install them on service panel change outs.

Right. The rule only kicks in if you extend the circuit - including moving the panel to a new location more than 6' away from the original location. 

Could it be the selvage edge of a membrane? 

It also might be a wear pad, to prevent the sleepers from damaging the actual membrane. 

Regarding lint accumulation, I've noticed that what you wash matters. If your household consists of older people whose entire wardrobe tends to be older, well-worn clothing, the dryer generates very little lint. If you've got a bunch of small kids who need new clothes every few months, the lint load skyrockets. Newer clothing seems to generate a lot more lint. 

(This not meant as a reflection upon Les or his wardrobe. . . ) 

On 2/2/2018 at 4:30 AM, Les said:

ours had an indicator needle and a large rocker switch.  Channel four was S-SW and channel six was straight south.  State of the art stuff in 1956.

 

Heck, I installed a new one in 1990. Even swinging it back & forth pointing at Portland and Eugene, we only got 3 channels. 

It's a rotating mount for a TV aerial. 

3 hours ago, Jim Baird said:

Up is allowed, but to me common sense says lint falls more than it flies.

Sure. But isn't that a good thing? The lint tends to accumulate in the bottom trap. 

1 hour ago, Jim Baird said:

Very funny.

Ask him for a codes quote.  Up is always the wrong direction for dryer venting and commercial (but not residential) requires a power boost for the up vents.

Why is up always the wrong direction? I'd think that the buoyancy of the warm air would help move it along in the up direction. 

I use the Fluke with the round cross-section, not the square cross-section, but I don't like any of them. They have all given my false negatives and false positives. 

If you get strange readings, confirm them with a multimeter or a Wiggy. 

Marc, 

Your assignment is to go read "The Martian." Don't bother with the movie, it skipped over all the good stuff. 

The debris looks like it might contain some pupal cases from ants, but probably not carpenter ants. Probably some nondescript little ants; the kind that people call "sugar ants." 

The first culprit is some kind of rove beetle. Possibly the one romantically called the devil's coachman. The other is just a garden variety beetle. No idea what kind, but not one of the wood borers. 

I'd just vacuum up the debris, and sprinkle a little boric acid on the perimeter of the slab before installing the new carpet. 

If you want to get heat from them, install direct-vent, glass-fronted units. There are two kinds, "vented decorative gas fireplaces" and "vented gas fireplace heaters." Get the latter, they're designed to be used a heat source. Spring for the blower kit. You'll have lots of safe heat. 

4 hours ago, Chris L said:

I have also called the Ashi school since they are holding a class in Bellevue, but I was not impressed with the people I spoke to and I have seen mixed reviews on them

 

That's going to be true of every school out there. They're all pretty dopey. The most you can hope for from one of these programs is to learn what you need to study after the program is over. 

Ditto, with a timer or motion sensor. 

Either that or dig up the RTG and place it near the water pipe . . . 

Yes, it's part of the NEC in section 210.12(D).  The general rule is that you're supposed to add AFCI protection when you "modify, replace, or extend" a branch circuit that would require it in new construction. An exception says that you don't need to follow that rule if the "extension of the existing conductors is not more than 6 feet *and* does not include any additional outlets or devices."

As for the TR receptacles, I have no idea. As far as I can tell, the NEC doesn't require upgrading them unless you're actually replacing the receptacles. 

Those 4 pointy bolts are typically used to secure a stainless steel rain hood/spark screen to the projecting bit of terracotta liner sticking up out of the left flue. 

1 hour ago, mjr6550 said:

John, I see that the building is not insulated. Do you heat it? When I retire I would like to build a building for my hobbies. I am thinking about the best way (meaning cheapest) way to heat it.

Build it super tight and super insulated like Joe L did with his "barn." He heats his with the waste heat from his big-screen TV. 

31 minutes ago, John Kogel said:

It is pretty standard practice to measure first to prevent having an ugly sliver for the last plank. I'd make them rip it out.

They could lay them on a diagonal, maybe? Custom floor, too.

If the house is really out of whack by that much, the roof must sit funny as well. Maybe just the interior wall got shifted?

The morons who framed my office got the foundation off by 6". Installing the roof framing was a real bitch. 

Someone's walking along the jobsite, trips over a funny little string and puts it back where he "thought" it's supposed to go. . . 

I turn them on and light them every time. 

10 hours ago, Les said:

little thread drift - How many inspections do you do with no agent present?  Not an actual number, just curious if you are seeing more instances where there is no agent.  We are seeing many more during the past two years.  Mostly the agents do not care if we inspect interior or do not inspect interior of panel.  We care.

 

Most of the time, the agent shows up to unlock the door, goes away, and returns for the wrap-up at the end.

2 hours ago, Les said:

Agents generally do not give any "permissions".  We just note that we did not open.  Usually we will go back  for a small charge or no charge if they give us written permission or cut and gouge on their own.  We actually go back less than 1% of the time and never for apartment buildings. 

 

They don't give permission, they *get* it. (Probably 90% of the time - no one wants me to come back.)