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07/31/2010 01:31 PM
Fine Art Photography
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Hey, just because I took it by accident doesn't mean it isn't ART.
Obviously it's a commentary on the post-modern existential crisis of Western hegemonic culture!
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07/31/2010 11:43 AM
Home Project
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What do you think of my latest project. If you don't have shade, you've got to build you some.:D
rick
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07/31/2010 11:35 AM
Return Duct (NOPE)
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Saw this yesterday. The AC was running at the time when I opened this main return air vent on the ceiling (the only return vent in the unit). The filter fell right out. No air draw, no suction. I even put a piece of toilet paper up to the vent to see if it was getting any draw in the least. Nothing. The duct you see running above the vent cover is the supply. All the return air was being pulled from the ceiling cavity between the unit I inspected and the unit above. The builder rep who was there said "if it was wrong, there'd be a problem with the air in here. Look, it's 76 degrees". HUH?????? He also said that two HVAC companies had looked at it said nothing was wrong. Sigh.
The builder rep alos poo-poo'd my calling out of an S-trap on the kitchen sink drain line. He said, you won't get that kind of trap in Philadelphia". Wha........?????????? I asked him what kind of trap will you see. He said "they just want to see a trap". Double sigh.
The shower head supply line in one of the shower stalls had about 2-3 inches of play inside the wall. When I mentioned it to the client, the rep looked at the marble tile surround and said "you know that's not going to get fixed. Look at that marble". Triple sigh.
It's lovely what $400,000 for a condo will get you these days.
Also included are pics of the horizontal balusters on the balcony (4th floor), one strand of the service cable not secured beneath the lug inside the panel box, and arcing on wires at the top of the panel box interior where the cable is rubbing against the bushing clamp.
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07/31/2010 07:49 AM
2 furnace units attached
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Has anyone heard of attaching 2 furnaces together and using them in sequence?
Found the blower compartment sides removed and the furnaces are both activated for heating and cooling. I was thinking that this might throw off the air balance with the 2 blowers both on at once or some other issue. Seemed strange to me.
Small commercial aplication.
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07/30/2010 07:39 PM
2 roof layers on manufactured home
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A question was brought up to me regarding a 1980 manufactured home with 2 layers of roofing. Statements were made that multiple roof layers are not allowed on these structures. Can anybody comment on this or better yet give me the HUD requirements.
Thanks for comments and answers, Chip
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07/30/2010 05:42 PM
NOTCHED BEAM
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Small commercial building; The beam is apparently oversized but I am pretty sure that a notch in a beam is worse than a smaller beam as far as structural integrity goes. Any feedback appreciated.
That duct tape looks pretty dated and I am guessing it is not UL listed tape. :D
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07/30/2010 05:18 PM
light in shower
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did an inspection today and there was a light in the bath/shower stall, in the celing, is that ok?
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07/30/2010 05:16 PM
supports
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how would you write this up
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07/30/2010 05:12 PM
wood burning stove flue
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this is from a wood burning stove, what do you think
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07/30/2010 04:44 PM
Kitchen sink peninsula.
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This is a kitchen sink on a peninsula. Does there need to be an air inlet? Is this plumbed correctly?
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07/30/2010 03:56 PM
Need an opinion from a sweep...
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I came across this vent termination in a housing track built in 1988, which all of the houses were identical. The box is a majestic MBUC36 and the instructions that i could locate do not show this type of termination, it just shows a cap. So my question is, should there be a separation of the debris flue and cooling flues within this shroud? And / or is the cooling system too close to the debris flue (center flue).
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07/30/2010 03:49 PM
Rafter Splice/Engineers comments
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Inspected this attic of a modular home several months ago. I had limited access to the attic but called out the rafter splices as questionable.
Engineer comes back and says they are a "hinged roof truss framing system...and are common construction techniques in the modular home industy" and that all is ok.
The first pic is in an attic knee wall area. The other pics are of the attic.
I think the engineer looked in behind the knee walls and didn't actually enter the attic. (area above a third floor ceiling)
I am just looking for other opinions.
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07/30/2010 03:11 PM
Basement Issues - Structural
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Hey All,
I have a question that may be a good learning experience for all. First, I was doing an inspection in Westmont on a duplex (Row home type built in 1908).
See attached photos - Here is the situation: The flat roof was in good shape and drained perfectly - all good. The second floor slope in towards the stairwell located along the party wall as follows: from the front and rear bedrooms the floor slopes about ½ inch every four feet towards the stairwell. The lateral slope from the side bedroom is One Inch/four feet. Pretty drastic, but it is amazing how subtle it seems until you actually measure it.
The second floor has the same slope issues and you can see that the stairs leading into the basement have a slope away from the party wall towards the open basement.
There has been a very temporary fix with a couple of lolly columns and a 4x4 that seems to have arrested the situation (judging by the paint at the top of walls) and the floors seem solid above (no bounce or even loose hardwood flooring).
More evidence: If you look at the pictures of the walls of the basement it looks like the basement was lowered to the bottom of the foundation (without any added lateral support) and a floor poured. In the corner, a sump pump was recently added and in doing so a corner or the basement is open to the dirt below the pour. I was able to take a four foot probe (see picture) and drive it right under the foundation walls at several points. (There is also evidence of erosion under this corner caused by poor drainage, but that is another issue).
What I think happened is that the basement was lowered a long long time ago (judging by the poured floor). When this happened they opened up the floor to put in the basement steps and did not adequately support the trimmers around the stairwell.
Lastly – you would think you would see settlement cracks somewhere – there are none inside or out. The basement walls look plumb (though there is a LOT of junk in this basement.
What are your thoughts? Did they lower basements in the past without any added lateral support? What would you recommend for the stairwell issue: a licensed contractor or a structural engineer?
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07/30/2010 02:06 PM
Type of in floor
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Any idea what brand this in floor tubing is? It was installed around 89 or 90.
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07/30/2010 12:56 PM
Trying to Force Payment at Closing on Me
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I did a reinspect yesterday on a property I inspected for a client a few weeks ago. Well my client's realtor called me last week about the reinspect and asked if I take payment at closing. I said no, payment is due at time of inspection. So yesterday was the reinspect, the buyer gives me a check, but her agent asks about getting my tax ID# (something about the title company or somebody needing but didn't say exactly what for). Hmmmmm.....nobody ever asked me for that before. So yesterday afternoon, I get a message from the realtor saying if I have not yet cashed the buyer's check for the reinspect to hold onto it because the bank is going to send me a check for the reinspect.......and that they need my tax ID#. Ahhhhhh.......so it seems that even though I said "no payment at closing", it was going to be done this way all along and the buyer just gave me a check to play along (?).
I e-mailed the realtor reiterating our conversation from a week ago where I said "no payment at closing". Now the reinspect was yesterday and closing is just today. But it seems that nobody wants to listen to what the inspector says is the way payment needs to be made. The realtor called me a little while ago again saying the bank needs my tax ID#.
1 - I have one but don't know where it is (I have no need to have it on hand)
2 - I'm not going to go digging around my office to find it and give it to them so they can pay me the way I specifically stated in a manner I do not accept (at closing).
The realtor then said if I don't know where it is they'll need my SSN#. Let me think about tha......NO!!! I'm not giving my social to anybody. WTF!!!!
I'm annoyed about many things here but mainly because this is apparently the way the bank was planning on reimbursing my client for the reinspect fee but they purposely held off on telling me and tried to get me to do things to suit the bank.
Now I have to say I have no idea the way getting paid at closing works so I don't know if the bank/lender/title company needing a SSN or tax ID # is standard practice to cut a check to the inspector. I've never done payment at closing and I don't really like the idea of giving them the info they were requesting.
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