วีดีโอ

Thank you for your question. The red handled breakers are fine. It’s the blue handle 15A breakers with a hole in them, which were recalled.

Hi, if the panel is in your garage, it may not require a main breaker if it is fed from a properly sized breaker inside your house. Best thing to do would be to have an electrician look at it and make sure that there is at least one breaker protecting that panel in the garage from the panel inside the house. I hope this information helps. Thank you very much for your question.

Hi, thanks for your question. A vapour barrier is plastic that is impermeable to moisture or vapor. This goes on the inside of the building right behind the finishing on the outside. You have an air barrier which is permeable the stops water from coming in but allows vapour out. On an exterior block foundation, you want to seal the exterior of the block and mortar with a tar product to prevent water intrusion. I hope this information helps.

@hatpropertyinspections Yes, the house was built with the tar, but 30 years ago and on heavy rain, i have had the occasional puddle of water come through the cold joint. If i use, say, a polystyrene 1-2" thick barrier between the concrete and new walls sruds, what will happen when water forces itself through the cold joint? Can i just not tape or glue or silicone the bottom of the vapor barrier along the bottom to allow water buildup to push into the basement in extreme cases of heavy rains? Or will that defeat the purpose of the barrier if not all sides are sealed air tight ? Or can i seal the expansion joint between the floor and cinder block wall? Third, if i install a vapor barrier that's non permeable on a wall that has occasional moisture buildup, would that moisture not condensate and build up behind that vapor barrier? And over time, just fill the air gap between the poly and basement wall full of water if the moisture has always been able to evaporate, and then after a fully sealed vapor barrier, not have a way to evaporate?

Or does the moisture and or partial water buildup eventually flow back into the wall and back into the outside? Sorry im just trying to understand the physics so i can better make proper decisions in future situations. Again really appreciate the advice. Last edit, to my common sense and knowledge, since the leaks are extremely rare and moisture buildup is pretty light, i was thinking maybe a combination of drylock on the basement cinderlock wall, and sealing the expansion interior joint along the floor and cinder block wall with then a poly vapor barrier might work?

Hi Joe thanks for your question! The requirements for return air is approximately one to one for supply air. If you have one supply duct in a room, you should have one return air duct in a room. The supply air vent should be located on the exterior near a window and the return vent should be located on the interior of the room. This will provide good airflow as the warm air comes out of the furnace It will heat the room on the outside where it’s coldest and then travel to the inside of the room and go back to the furnace through the return air. As far as an overworked furnace goes some of the symptoms are ; excess noise and vibration in fan motors, Rusting due to lack of fresh air, and scorching marks due to lack of combustion air. The life expectancy of a furnace is about 25 years past this age cracking of the heat exchanger can cause carbon monoxide from un combusted gas to leak into the supply air this can become a safety issue. The newer, high efficiency furnaces have an even shorter life about 15 years. I hope this information helps.

@@Redneckerthanu hi thanks for your question . You will need the utility to disconnect the power to the home out at thier point of attachment

@@hatpropertyinspections ok thank you, as the wire coming from the meter to the house are from 1955 would you recommend those to be replaced as well?

the life expectancy of that cable is 70 to 80 years. And your cable is 69 years old so yes it’s getting close to replacement age. If you’re doing work to the electrical system anyway you might as well change it now.

Hi Jim , thank you very much for your question. There is no official position from insurance companies that those newer multicoloured stab lock breakers need to be replaced. But I can tell you from personal experience that even the newer multicoloured stab lock breakers will hold on long past the amperage rated. This can lead to an overload condition which will cause heating which can melt the insulation of the wire which can be a fire hazard. I do not recommend replacement of these panels every time I find them. Because there are so many of them. A quick Google search will bring up independent studies about how these breakers are an overload hazard. It is my understanding that these breakers are going to be phased out soon and will no longer be produced making these panels obsolete. Everyone will be replacing these panels eventually. So yes, your electrician is right if you can afford it I say yes replace the panel.

Hi, thanks for your question. It’s very likely that roof inspector did not go on the roof. It could be a couple of reasons. 1 he got all the information he needed from looking at the roof from the street. 2 he may have a policy where without the proper fall protection equipment, he is not qualified to walk on a roof.

Hi thanks for your question. The strange voltage readings you’re getting are from loose connections, loose splices in the white neutral wires. A loose connection acts as a series resistor and voltage is dropped across the loose splice, the voltage will always balance to be 120. So the voltage will rise in another part of the circuit. I would recommend having a licensed electrical contractor open up all the lights, junction boxes, and plugs and check all the spices and tighten them all up.

@@MrAndydavis78 lol thanks Andy !

Hi, I think you’ll be fine … being exposed to asbestos for an hour Isn’t that bad being exposed to it over and over again is when it can build up in your lungs.

@@hatpropertyinspections okay thanks because I'm trying not to obsess over it too much. Also thanks for the fast response. That's pretty cool that you're keeping on top of people's comment on your video. I'm definitely going to subscribe now and check out your videos tomorrow when I wake up😂👍🏻

@@JakeLightswitchlol dude you’re not gonna get cancer from an hour of exposure. Asbestos is only a concern for the guys in construction that are around it for years. Still best to take precautions but at worst you’d get some irritation

Im going through the same anxiety mate. I cleared debri from a gutter made of asbestos cement. I scraped the moss using my hand and definitely disturbed the asbestos. Not until i finished did i think about the guttering being asbestos. I googled and yep it is! Now i'm paranoid a 30 minute job could end up kiillng me. This is not fair​@JakeLightswitch

@@bobdigi500 it doesn't help that I have obsessive compulsive disorder 😂😒

what? why not 100%?

So, would you rather save some money on your bill, or save your house from being structurally compromised?

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I post a video every few weeks when I find something interesting!

Yes, it’s amazing. How much damage a little frozen water can do to Concrete And Masonary.!

Bro, didnt you see, he showed them at 0:18

Hi no I would not recommend putting Polly there at all, if you want to stop moisture transference out of the bathroom, but I think you should install an exhaust fan in the bathroom . Poly an interior wall will just trap moisture which can lead to mold.

Thanks for the quick response. I was even thinking of window screen to hold the insulation in place but also keep it breathable. Then shiplap directly over it without using any poly.

I am planning to install a ceiling exhaust fan thanks.

Great information thanks for your comment !

Hi thanks for your question . Yes definite ly put a poly plastic layer over the studs before you put the dry wall on . 6mm poly and tape all the seams

@@hatpropertyinspectionsAssuming the 2” foam board is XPS or foil-faced Polyiso, wouldn’t the low perm rating would qualify as the vapor barrier for wall assembly? Could create a double vapor barrier scenario by “sandwiching” the cavity with poly vapor barrier on top of studs and any moisture that finds its way into wall cavity won’t be able to dry easily and could cause mold, rot, etc. in the future. You could probably use a “smart” vapor retarder that has variable permeability and allows some drying to inside if stud cavity has build up of moisture….but honestly wouldn’t think you’d need it at all with 2” foam board against the wall.

This video is an oversimplification of the building envelope as it does not take into account the dew point within the wall. In cold climates using foamboard on the exterior of the wall moves the dew point from entering the studs to a point inside the foamboard, negating a moistuer problem. To understand a wall system you must understand that you are trying to create a dead air space with no infiltraion of air which can condensate and cause a moisture problem, so air barries and vapour barries are used to accompish this, but they must be sealed on both the inside and outside to work properly. Tape and acoustic sealants are used to stop air infiltaraion. Most builds I see are not done property, and they are installing the air barrier like they would tar paper, its all show. Same with the vapur barrier on the inside, it must be sealed. I believe what you have done makes the most sense, as it deals with the dew point in a proper way, keeping the warm air inside where it sould be in the winter. The vapour barrier stops any moisture entering the wall cavity from inside the room. The biggest problem in the basement wall system is with air infiltration at the sill plate and the joist ends, and this needs to be dealt with properly to stop air movement in this area. In Canada an air barrier is put against the concrete, sealed to the sill plate and then a wall is studded, insulation installed and a vapour barrier used on the inside. There was a prgram in Canada called the R2000 program that showed how to deal with the wall system as an envelope. In my experience, builders built a few homes to get certified as R2000 builders and then went back to their old ways. Its a shame it all comes down to money in the end.

Hi It’s Likely they have never been tripped. There has to be an overload problem with the circuit before they will Tripp. That’s why this batch of breakers was recalled, because if the curcuit is overloaded they will not Tripp.

Hi Back in 1997 they provided free replacements. But now it’s up to the home owner to replace them.

@@hatpropertyinspections is it just the blue ones? I've also got a green double pole

The green ones are fine. It is just the blue ones with a hole in the middle. It can be a blue single pole 15 with a hole in the middle or a blue two pole 15 with a hole in the middle.

Hi Joe in Canada Federal Pioneer breakers are not all considered unsafe yet, like the Federal Pacific breakers in the USA. There has not been as much independent testing of them in Canada. Both are considered Stab lock breakers. In Canada in 1997 this particular batch of Federal Pioneer breakers was recalled. Other than that there is no official problem yet with Federal stab lock breakers in Canada.

@@hatpropertyinspections independent testing published in inspectopedia reveals the federal pioneers have the same problems as federal pacific. double polls the worst. some of which were recent production fed pioneer breakers made past 2010. design has not changed new ones are clones of originals. also look up Jess Aronstein's reports. these breakers also don't have dedicated separate magnetic trip mechanism to protect from shorts, the magnetic trip still relies on bimetal bending to trip the mechanism. can find vidoes shorint fed pioneer and don't reliably trip on short circuit. no point of replacing with new fed pioneer breakers should change entire panel.

Hi Craig, the answer is because I did install the fan inside the finished liveable space of the house. In Canada we have to install the fans inside because it’s too cold in the winter to install them outside. The condensation that forms from being installed outside freezes up the fan .

@@hatpropertyinspections that makes sense!!

Ya this was a large rusty vertical seam crack in the main wet vent only the bathroom sink above it. I think the line may have been plugged up to the crack but not sure. I agree usually only see seam cracks on verticals.

Hi Sherry thanks for your question. The answer is yes all four sides need to have flashing. Along the bottom it’s called a drip edge flashing, this is an important flashing. On the sides It’s called a rake flashing this flashing is not as important as the bottom ones.

You’re obviously not an electrician dude. Why are you giving advice on something you are not qualified to do?

Hi sealing cracks in the floor will not reduce radon levels and I would recommend contacting the public health inspector about the gas station.

if the wall gets wet then yes. don't cover it with anything if it gets wet (ie water comes in from the ground outside)