Gas and particularly natural gas piping may have traces of sediment or particulates in it, especially if work has been done to the underground piping under the street. To trap any contaminates before they flow into the appliance, blocking the burner and creating problems for the home owner a series of dirt legs are installed. […]Read More about Gas Line Dirt Legs
Thermostat Placement Is Crucial
A badly placed thermostat plays havoc with the heating and cooling of a house. In this case the wall light creates a warm zone beside the thermostat causing it to register hotter than the rest of the house. This means that it reaches what it registers as the set temperature shutting the furnace down before […]Read More about Thermostat Placement Is Crucial
Bath Overflow Loose
All too often the overflow on the bathtub is loose or worse yet loose and the gasket damaged. If the bath is filled up to the overflow and it is loose the water will go down behind the tub which if it’s on the second floor could damage the ceiling. The water can also create […]Read More about Bath Overflow Loose
Bonding Gas Piping
A bonding wire is often mistaken for a ground wire, it does not go to ground but back to the electric panel. When it is connected to black iron *(steel)* piping the paint under the clamp must be removed with a rasp or sandpaper to make a good contact, paint reduces the contact rendering the […]Read More about Bonding Gas Piping
High Efficiency Furnaces In Attic
High efficiency furnaces recognisable by the white PVC flue pipe, installed in an unheated attic is not your best choice of location, it may be the only place to put it which does not change the fact that it is not ideal. Yes, many builders and furnace installers are installing them in the attic without […]Read More about High Efficiency Furnaces In Attic
Window Screens? Why?
Bugs to be sure, but then who opens their windows with the comfort and ease of central heating and air conditioning? In 1822 the American Farmer catalogue offered mesh cloth screen to keep bugs out of your home, and of began the humble window screen that allowed windows to be opened in the heat of […]Read More about Window Screens? Why?
The Rest-Well Bed Board
With today’s mattresses that support you and wrap you in a cloud top it’s hard to believe that a sheet of plywood under your thin 50’s or 60’s mattress would make you sleep better! In the attic of an old Dayton home there was, an abandoned antique, if you can believe it, the “Famous De-Lux […]Read More about The Rest-Well Bed Board
Arrow-Hart & Hegeman Lives & Glows
A Long-Gone Company name on an old piece of service equipment in the basement of a building built in the early 1900’s had a manufacturers tag: Arrow-Hart & Hegeman. A name I didn’t recognize and wondered if it still existed. It turns out that Charles G. Perkins founded the Arrow Electric Manufacturing Co. in 1905 […]Read More about Arrow-Hart & Hegeman Lives & Glows
Blind Annoyance
Blinds and shutters can be a practical alternative to curtains, simple and easy to install with a few basic tools. Their ease of operation make them ideal for most windows except those which require a handle to crank them open. The handle gets in the way of shutters or catches the bottom of the blinds […]Read More about Blind Annoyance
Old verses new with big savings
Just look at the difference in size between the old furnace and the new furnace. Physically the new one is one quarter the size of the old one. Heat output at 100,000 BTU, the new one is just over half the size of the big brute. The new furnace has a blower and the heated […]Read More about Old verses new with big savings
“Your not inspecting it?”
A detached one car garage, when the door opened two panels flapped around threatening to fall to the floor right where we stood. The place is piled high with junk, old toys, broken furniture, bits of everything! What did we write in the report? “Restricted”, Not all visible, Floor not visible. The client who was […]Read More about “Your not inspecting it?”
Classic Deck Failure
Most often when a deck collapses the first thing people thing about are the outside support posts failing, whereas it is actually more common to fail on the house side. There are many reasons for this, the most common reason, not enough fasteners (bolts/screws/nails) used to secure the ledger board to the house wall. Then […]Read More about Classic Deck Failure
Radon Mitigation System Gauge
If you see one of these you are looking at a part of a Radon mitigation system. Basically a simple system that creates a negative pressure (suction) under the concrete slab floor of a house, or in the case of a crawl space under sealed plastic sheeting covering the dirt or gravel floor. So you […]Read More about Radon Mitigation System Gauge
Back-flow Prevention Device
This safety device is not very common in residential properties. But you do see them often enough that you might have wondered what they are and do. Most home buyers have no idea what it is or why it’s there, so let’s explain it. Water plumbed to anything other than regular home plumbing (examples: water […]Read More about Back-flow Prevention Device
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