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You’ll need: A 12” adjustable wrench and a pair of channel locks or a pipe wrench; A new temperature/pressure relief (TPR) valve; Teflon tape to seal gas pipe connections; A dolly will make moving the heaters around a LOT easier. Be aware: if pipe connections are soldered, unless you know who to sweat copper, you …

Continue reading “Replacing a Gas Water Heater”

The purpose of the chart below is to show that a wide range of performance characteristics can exist among shingles that may look nearly identical. Testing of six different 3-tab brands and seven different laminated (architectural/dimensional) brands for compliance with ASTM standards was performed by a forensic engineering firm (Jim Koontz & Assoc). The text …

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Once a home inspection company gets their reporting system dialed in and is doing well, it can become increasingly difficult for them to make changes that reflect changes in the industry. Part of this is due to hesitation on the part of a company owner to fool with something that has been working for a …

Continue reading “Tip-toeing between Mud Puddles as the Home Inspection Industry Evolves”

Ground Fault: A ground fault occurs when electricity takes an unplanned path to ground. If the grounding conductor aboard a boat connected to shore power is broken and a ground fault occurs, current may find its way onto the prop and from there will return through the water to the shoreside grounding electrode. If a …

Continue reading “Electric Shock Drowning”

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE for WATERFRONT PROTECTIVE STRUCTURES and DOCKING FACILITIES   Current (2021) home inspection industry Standards of Practice (SOPs) do not cover the inspection of waterfront protective structures like seawalls, bulkheads and revetments. As with General Home Inspections, SOPs are minimum guidelines detailing what home inspectors must inspect, and what they need not inspect. …

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Identifying the Number of Plies Rolls come in standard and metric sizes:  Standard- 36″         Metric 39 3/8″ 2-ply standard:   17-inch ply exposure 2-ply metric:       18 9/16-inch ply exposure 3-ply standard:   11 1/4-inch ply exposure 3-ply metric:       12 7/16-inch ply exposure 4-ply standard:     8 1/2-inch ply exposure 4-ply metric:          9 5/16-inch ply exposure   INSPECTION CONCERNS Design …

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Spalling is freeze damage. Clay tile is absorbent. If tile absorbs water from precipitation and then the temperature falls below freezing, Water expanding as it turns to ice can cause flakes to separate from the tile surface. This process is called “spalling”.

Spalling of clay tile is basically freeze damage. Clay tile is absorbent. If tile absorbs water from precipitation and then the temperature falls below freezing, Water expanding as it turns to ice can cause flakes to separate from the tile surface. This process is called “spalling”.