Jim Katen

So my buddy just got a hot tub for his bay house in Bayou Vista (gulf coast near Galveston). He needs a 50 amp breaker ran to it for power. His main service disconnect is located outside and downstairs seeing how his house starts on the second level since he lives on the water. His main breaker panel is in his master bedroom though? Im curious if there is a stipulation that allows for it to be in a master bedroom if they are close enough to the water? Also his main service disconnect is only 50 feet from the hot tub instead of the main breaker being 300 ft after all the twists and turns. I know you aren't supposed to double lug the main supply technically, but couldn't he do it since it is his house? And I guess the only other option is to go up through the attic and out the side of the house and back down, or go down and have to remove sheetrock and drill through sole plate into the garage and out the garage wall.?? His whole downstairs is covered by the house obviously... and is concreted only a garage , kinda like the neighbor in the photo but more open.

Sorry should have taken more photos. tried to google map it to show you an idea and the house isn't even there yet lol

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Perhaps try again in English this time?

You have a water problem. The rot and settling are *symptoms* of that problem. It would be the height of folly to fix anything until you've first fixed the water. The crawlspace should be dry. Period. No standing water - ever.

Hire a good drainage contractor to design and install a drainage system to ensure that crawlspace stays dry.

Then assess and fix the other issues.

my understanding is the "dedicated receptacle" for the refer is not required to be gfci

http://www.ecmag.com/section/codes-stan ... ok-part-ii

jerrypeck.com/IFCN/Other%20Items/_GFCI_requirement_page-2014.pdf

That was my understanding as well just a dedicated receptacle or line however you want to refer to it.

I read through both of Barry's links, but I don't see anything that supports that contention. I feel like a dope, but where in those links (or better yet, in the NEC) does it have this exception?

Water is always going to find a way in it has to be diverted. Nothing for us to fret about though recommend further eval. By licensed plumber and foundation contractor cover all bases.

In my area, plumbers and foundation contractors are the very last people that I'd recommend to address drainage issues. They simply lack the knowledge and expertise to understand the problem, let alone fix it. I trust exactly two drainage contractors in my area - they really understand drainage, they fix the problem, and stand behind their warranties.

Do you really have foundation people and plumbers in Ohio who can address these problems successfully?

Don't follow an inspectors recommendations for a repair. In my opinion, he overstepped himself by designing a repair. Get an engineer or at least a qualified contractor familiar with the work to investigate the cause of the initial problem and design an appropriate repair. My guess from my computer screen is you have expansive soils and the installation of "supplemental" girders was done wrong by not providing footings at the same depth as the original foundation which can literally cause the house to tear itself apart with seasonal movement.

Bottom line you need more and better information from a qualified expert on site.

I totally agree with inspector57 I would never engineer a plan or even discuss or suggest a repairing company that would be the job of the qualified, licensed contractor or engineer sent out to do the further evaluation. The inspector is putting himself at risk there

As I read the original post, this report *is* from an engineer.

My local small-town, family-owned appliance shop and go-to guru for all things appliance tells me that they refuse to sell Samsung and LG products at all. The appliances tend to be trouble prone and getting service and parts - at least in my area - is close to impossible.

BTW, Nolan, they tell me that the Speed Queen top loader with agitator is their favorite.

Personally, I like my 1981 Kenmore washer that I've completely rebuilt from the inside out. Works perfectly and never explodes. Of course, Mrs. Jim is pressing for a fancy new washer . . . Now I have some ammo. "See, Woman. These newfangled things can kill!"

We almost always run the water line under the footing, and we put pipe insulation on it. One thing that happens... if you cut a ditch down a hill to the foundation of a house, you often create a channel for water to follow, if the backfilled ditch is not as compact as the soil around it. I'm watching some guys build near me right now, and they dug a 2' deep ditch down a long slope right to the middle of their building footprint. If they're smart and they compact the soil well as they backfill, they'll probably be OK. If they let the excavator flip a bunch of fluffy soil back into the ditch, and blade the rest of it out in the general vicinity, they'll have a new creek running into the crawl space.

This is my exact problem- Water is falling the pipes that run under the footing and water in springing up in the crawlspace. I read something about a sleeve, then you can add cement from the exterior, but I do not understand what kind of sleeve (DIYer). Can you help me please?

You can't just seal out the water. It's not a boat. You need to intercept the water and give it somewhere else to go.

I get this.

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It's a rigged system.

I certainly don't have an NYT account and it came up for me just fine. . .

If you read the article carefully, something is missing. This paragraph, in particular, raises more questions than it answers:

"Mr. Maskiell (the building inspector) told The Journal News that architects or contractors usually came by to file paperwork, but that homeowners were required to sign permit applications."

That tent is ingenious.

Hat's off to you for going after these repairs. Fixing messes like that is my idea of hell on earth.

Does the 2014 NEC require kitchen refrigerator outlets to be GFCI protected?

I've read different opinions and the local "big city" AHJ does require them to be GFCI protected while other smaller ones do not.

Your thoughts?

It depends on the location of the receptacle:

If it's located within 6' of the edge of a sink, then it should be GFCI protected.

If it serves the countertop, then it should be GFCI protected.

This isn't new to the 2014 edition, it was in the 2011 edition as well.

Clock the meter for a day and multiply times 30.

How do they know there's no leak?

And if you must leapfrog to a higher roof, tie off the bottom of the ladder.

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Ascending is rarely a problem. It's descending that's the bitch. That first step from the roof to the ladder is where it can all go wrong.

I've posted this before, but it's worth repeating. Get a small welding clamp and pin your ladder to the gutter. It makes the ladder rock solid and is way better than a bungee cord.

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Thanks, Jim, for turning my gaze down the right path. I did not look up the reference.

As far as conspicuous goes, I guess the kitchen ceiling would be a good one.

Hey, I once saw one peeking out of the ceiling directly above the master tub.

Secondary is supposed to terminate at a visible location, but "outside", such as right over a window where an occupant might see the drip. Garage is more visible but technically verboten.

Is that in the IRC? Mine only says, " to a conspicuous point of disposal."

And just to throw it into the mix:

The vast majority of driveways around here are concrete, but lately, it's becoming fashionable to install "pervious asphalt." After the first homeowner, no one knows what it is or why its there, but you really don't want to apply any kind of sealer to it.

Found this on a new home the other day. Typical furnace/air handler located in attic. The secondary condensate drain (coming off pan) terminates out garage ceiling. I called it out for compromising the "fire rating" between garage and attic. Builder stated that City building inspector approved it. Has anyone ever seen the secondary condensate drain terminate out garage ceiling?

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I've seen it, but never in new construction - that wouldn't fly around here. I told them to move it because a fire in the garage could spread to the attic. Once, the contractor addressed it by installing an intumescent collar around it - a pretty fancy solution. Most of the time, I think people just ignore that recommendation.

By the way, you should probably avoid using terms like "fire rating," "rated wall," or "fire wall." Those terms have very specific meanings that don't apply to the wimpy assemblies that we use on single family garages. A better (though admittedly awkward) term might be "fire separation."

I had one yesterday that had the main breaker about 7' off the garage floor.

Anyone know the chapter/verse related to that?

Marc

240.24(A)

No I am using Windows 10. I guess it's just a built in feature now. Still works like it did in earlier Windows XP and 7.

It's definitely not built into any of my Windows 10 machines.

Did you upgrade and perhaps carry it over from an older machine?

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Also, the water heater vent connector needs to go up about 12 inches vertically before it turns to run horizontally.

I have read about a 12" minimum rise for priming but can't find the coded reference. Is this something you would find in the tables?

Yes but, as I recall, it only applies when venting the water heater with another appliance.

Yes. An electrician should clean up that mess.

Sure looks like ice crystals.

Either that or a bunch of birds were walking on it.

Most software programs have built in photo editors, at least mine does. However you might want to try downloading "windows powertoys image resizer". It works real easy, just right click on a photo and select "resize photos". Here's a screen shot of the window that will open.

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Still using XP are we?

The powertoys resizer doesn't work on anything after XP. I gave the link to the newer version in post #8 above.