his is a corollary article to “A Brief History of What Happened and Why? They kind of go together and explain things from two different directions that kind of meet in the middle. Read both articles; it’ll help you understand a few things…… The industry changes all the time and education, such as it is,…
I’m breaking this up into edible bites. Volume 1 shows the preliminary fundamentals. It happens after 90 years (plus or minus a decade or so). Side walls fall apart, previous owners messed up the face brick with old awning hardware, nearly a century of dirt and limestone staining, a big settlement and lintel jack crack in…
Increase the R-value The question only keeps total nerds awake, but if you’re concerned with how well the insulation in your attic is actually working, you want to pay attention. Allison Bailes, physicist at the always entertaining Energy Vanguard blog, explains it all rather nicely, with mathematics and impossible to dispute commentary. In essence…
If your sump pump uses a float switch, make darn sure the float doesn’t hang up on the side of the sump. See this switch? It’s hitting the side of the sump and it can’t turn on. Likewise, even if by some miracle it could get floating and turn on, it will hang up on…
This problem barely existed 25 years ago. Everyone had their laundry in the basement. Now, everyone seems to have them at the same floor as the bedrooms, or in their apartment or condominium. Guess what? Laundries leak. Sometimes they leak a lot. When they’re at an upper floor, the leaks either cause major damage that…
Occasionally, some home inspector will make a big deal about mixing up different types of roof vents. There’s studies that kind of sort of maybe indicate that it’s not the best idea, or some true blue home inspector straight out of Home Inspector University thinks it’s a problem and everybody gets confused for a while….
Not a house, but a view into another time and place when Northerly Island was the site of World’s Fair Century of Progress.
Most folks have suffered through the “Ten Things Your Home Inspector Should Blah, Blah, Blah” in the popular rags and on HGTV. Forget that stuff. The State of Illinois Administrative Code TITLE 68, CHAPTER VIII, PART 1410, SECTION 1410.200 lays out the Standards of Practice for all Licensed Home Inspectors operating in our State. Here’s the link to…
Henry Frerk Sons is putting on a very worthwhile workshop series about historic masonry repair. The classes cover a range of topics including stone repair, lime mortar, brickwork and more. Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, the sessions will help you better understand and use traditional masonry materials. (Sorry, I had to delete the link because Frerk’s…
Check out this Catalan Arch brick layer. OK, it’s not Chicago, but it’s too darn cool.