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  1. G

    Pipe sleeve overkill

    Sad to say, "been there done that" Plumber doesn't get his sanitary outside the building before we pour, he's S*** of of luck. We'll move on without him. Easy fix with some flowable fill, but that's beside the point I guess. Why is the footing so shallow in Kansas? What's the footing for?
  2. G

    Understanding feeder vs. service panels

    This question may be elementary to most but for some reason, this has been a topic of confusion in our parts for years. I have strip shopping center that has multiple tenant spaces about 2000 sq ft each. Each space has a 200A panel that I think would be defined as a feeder panel. The power...
  3. G

    How would you encourage a church to install sprinklers?

    http://photos.masslive.com/republican/2012/01/aftermath_of_somers_congregational_united_church_of_christ_fire_jan_2_2012_2.html
  4. G

    Who's the plumber?

    So I wonder how many gas water heaters get replaced vs. how may permits are pulled to replace them?
  5. G

    Who's the plumber?

    As Homer would say..."Doh" (smacking myself on the farhead) Thank you sir.
  6. G

    Stucco isn't all that

    I know a stone mason that does stone fire places with real rocks that mixes his morter on a sheet of plywood. He's probaby in his mid 80's and a true artist. He sets on row of rock and takes a few hour break, mixes a little more, lays a dozen more, take another nap..... I miss seeing some of...
  7. G

    How would you encourage a church to install sprinklers?

    Every decision requires someone to learn the pro's as well as the con's. Mr. Handler....Great information, thank you. When you look at the cost, I can understand why most people in the church would say no. They think what else could we do with $100K (or more like $200K) and we are only there a...
  8. G

    Who's the plumber?

    I don't keep up with this residential stuff but; why is a permit required for changing a water heater but no permit required to change out a split sytem AC unit?
  9. G

    A fire in a town house

    "Five minutes waiting for a fire truck or ambulance is a loooooong time." Yes it is!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, most people have no idea how fast a fire travels in homes basically built the same way they were for 50yrs except now we wrap them in plastic, insulated the heck out of them and put as many...
  10. G

    Inspector won't climb the ladder.

    So if a contractor expects his tradesmen to show up to a project with the proper tools and equipment in order to do his job, why is it that the same is not expected from the inspectors? Our policy is not to lend out tools and equipment for people to do thier jobs that they are getting paid to...
  11. G

    Q: Well Pump, house built 2006

    Jeep, welcome. Instead of throwing parts at it, it might be worth having a plumber/well guy take a look at it. It sounds like a check valve but if it were failing and leaking, you should see a loss in tank pressure if the value is at the tank. Since the well is so deep, you may have a second...
  12. G

    ADA Guide for Small Towns

    Very useful, thank you. Have you seen this? http://www.bobrick.com/Bobrick/BarrierFreeGuide/82455.pdf kind of ADA for dummies.
  13. G

    Black Friday Fire Code Violations - Anyone else concerned?

    Great topic wfd! I'm a contractor so I'm often the "middle man" between the retailers and AHJ so I see both sides, the good the bad and the ugly. I'll offer a few thoughts from my perspective. 1) This problem isn't limited to black friday's, I see serious life safety hazards the other 364 days...
  14. G

    construction costs and permit fees

    PermitGuy and Fatboy, I'm comparing apples to apples. I'm saying a commercial interior renovation (no tap, impact fees, ect) in my area costs $1000. If I build the exact same space 30 miles away in a differnt juristiction it costs $8000. I think Mtlogcabin hit the nail on the head, some...
  15. G

    Two separate HVAC systems for one space in a 3-story office building

    See this quite often. Most modern office building using vav systems have an override that allows a tenant that is working "off-hours" to turn the building system on when the main system is off. The probelm with this is you could have a tenant that occupies 5% of the building on a sunday but...
  16. G

    Exterior CMU wall insulation

    I can't help on the code side but I can tell you what methods we use here in VA Foam the cmu cells that aren't grouted. We like to add 1.5" Z channel with ridgid foam. I think this takes you up to somwhere around r-14. when it's not worth while foaming cells (too much grouted cells) We...
  17. G

    20 minute doors

    I can't wait to see how this shakes out. Field inspectors always want to see the label on both the door and frame for 20 min doors. (a regular hollow metal frame is the same as a 20min frame, they just add a label before they ship) How about reinforcing in the door and frame for the closer...
  18. G

    construction costs and permit fees

    Thank you all for the comments. After re-reading my first post, it kind of looked like I was looking for a battle. I'm not, I just trying to understand how the other side thinks and operates. This site is probably the most educational for anyone in the construction industry. The more educated I...
  19. G

    construction costs and permit fees

    QUOTE=iggentleman;66539]Some jurisdictions have a minimum construction cost for tenant fit outs. In Fairfax it is $15,000. Got silly on a recent small project where the scope of work was paint and adding one door, total cost less than $5000. The county not only wanted to base the cost of the fee...
  20. G

    Is it lath?

    Ice, I don't get it, What makes the second picture "fixed?"
  21. G

    Spraying stuff on exposed paper batt insulation

    Couldn't he remove the kraft paper and install FSK over the fibeglass? Flame spread is >25 and smoke is >50
  22. G

    Should there be building codes to control noise in restaurants?

    We need less pages not more. If a place is too noisy, I have the freedom, as a US citizen of making a choice not to come back to this place of business.
  23. G

    Work Space Exterior Equipment

    Going back to the OP and picture, If you were the electrican that needed to mount the disconnect prior to the condenser being set by the HVAC sub, Where would you have placed the disconnect?
  24. G

    How you got a license

    Fortunatly, most of these "contractorss" don't stay in business very long around here. I think they all just pack up and move to your neck of the woods! (sorry)
  25. G

    How you got a license

    The problem is: the person who holds the license is usually not the person in the field running and supervising the work. That person is sitting in the office running the business. Selling work, bidding work, looking over profit and loss reports, making sure taxes are paid, preparing for the...
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