Most of this house is clad with a traditional 3-coat hardcoat stucco. Stucco siding from this era was almost always installed without a properly doubled underlayment or any provision for draining water that gets behind it. Wall penetrations, wall bases, and wall/roof joints are common locations where water can cause damage. Here, we found areas of missing and rot-damaged trim at the base [...]
Don’t fence me in. This kitchen’s downdraft exhaust fan doesn’t have a chance of working properly when its terminal is buried in the ground.
Plumbing traps are like opinions: everybody has one. This sink should have one trap – no more, and no less.
It’s never a good idea to disable a safety valve by capping it. Perhaps this homeowner missed the MythBusters episode which showed how this mistake can allow the water heater to blow up.
Fashionable sinks haven’t sported S-traps for over 100 years. Like wearing white shoes after labor day, S-traps simply aren’t done. Of course, the lack of a high loop at the dishwasher drain is also a sad error. These mistakes will make little difference, however, to the poor soul who reaches a wet hand under the sink to turn on the disposer, only to [...]
You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” I’ve got to ask myself, “did Dirty Harry” install the cardboard in this attic?
The wrong thing the right way. Is it still anal-retentive if you fix the symptom, but not the problem? Someone spent a lot of time doing the wrong thing the right way.
Looks good (not)! Gutters are supposed to stop before they touch the siding or trim. By burying the end of the gutter in the trim, any leaks will flow behind the siding and trim, causing damage to the house.
What does your dryer duct look like? Clothes dryers cause almost 16,000 fires each year in the US.
What are we trying to achieve here? We’re not sure exactly what’s going on here with this electrical setup, but it looks like the breaker on the left was tripping and someone “solved” the problem by running three strands of magnet wire to an adjacent breaker. This would certainly stop the first breaker from tripping. Of course, it could also cause the house [...]