Jay Markanich

I had a previous post, "I'll See Your Sump Pump, And Raise You A Drain," in which the sump pump was supposedly "grandfathered" and allowed to be plumbed into the sanitary drain. Well, it turned out that there was no "grandfathering," which I knew all along. That seller was forced by the County to correct the problem.

Well, yesterday, hidden behind a hydrangea bush (planted too close to the house) and under a potted plant, was another interesting plumbing job. You can see the top of the potted plant in the bottom of the photo. It was placed, literally, on top of the horizontal pipe you see here. Hmmm....

It was plumbed by another basement waterproofing company.

They could have more easily sent this sump discharge away from the foundation wall and out into the yard. They elected instead to attach it, poorly, loosely and not permanently, to the main drain clean-out stack in the yard.

That's a similar no-no, at least around here.

What made this so funny was that THIS was the same Realtor who experienced the last sump pump post! It was she who called the County, had them condemn the previous post's installation, went through the rigmarole and so was familiar with the process.

She met me on the porch and all I did was point to the installation you see here! It was she who said:

"That isn't the sump pump is it?"

I said, "The bell tolls again, Carolyn, and it tolls for thee."

I have had two of these this year, BOTH with her!

My recommendation: As always, check to see where the sump pump discharges!

My annual two-day vacation turned into a three-day! The family spent a week at Virginia Beach, with me showing up for the weekend. No pictures of the beach - I don't like taking the camera to the sand...

It was HOT!

Monday was spent at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg VA.

It is certainly the best park around.

We did all five of the great roller coasters before lunch. Smart to do...

Our favorite is the Griffon. It has two, count'em two, vertical 90 degree drops of 205 feet. At the bottom it is said the coaster is traveling at 90 mph! The front row gets you the most thrill - at the top of the slope they stop the carriage for about 7 seconds! You are hanging vertical and looking straight down!

This photo is snapped at the point of maximum G's, just as you begin the climb following the drop! We rode this ride three times - they used this photo all day, I guess to advertise the force of the ride! Maybe they thought I am Jon Voight.

My pants (I was one of about three dopes who wore long pants in the whole park...) are plastered against the seat - the G forces did not swell my legs to that dimension! My daughter is to my right. How that kid on my left has his eyes open I don't know! Given the obvious G forces, I calculated my weight as seen in this photo to be 6,153 pounds. My sunglasses are in my right hand, and survived the trip.

How HOT was it?

I had a case of Diet Pepsi in my car during the day.

It was predicted that the temperature would reach higher than 100 degrees, so I left all my windows cracked 1".

That didn't help.

I think it reached 144 F that day, with humidity of 161%! Maybe more...

We drank water ALL DAY LONG!

This picture demonstrates the heat. Have you ever seen a soda can do this? Maybe because it is caffeine free? There was about 1/2 case left, and most of them exploded like this during the day.

That is hot!

All in all, it was a great day!

No photos of disaster or creative ignorance. No single problem to report. But I AM tired of this.

I arrived at the inspection of a short sale to the smiling owners (mostly undressed in a very hot, extremely filthy and cluttered house, sitting in the living room, watching TV) who immediately said, "We told the buyers that you really don't need to be here. Everything works fine."

In English I said, "Thank you. I am here for the buyers. They want me to check everything anyway."

They began speaking rapid Spanish to each other, not realizing I understood every word. "He's going to find out what's broken." "What if he tries the oven?" "Go cover up the..." "What if he tries..." You get the picture.

The lady quickly said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. The washer broke yesterday, but I used the dryer this morning and it works fine." Then, the tip off -- "You don't really need to test it."

You should know that everything in this 24 year old townhouse was original and VERY poorly maintained.

"Well, yes I do. That's the only way to inspect it."

The roaches were so legion I passed straight through the kitchen, out a sliding glass door which did not roll on the track and put my bag and computer on the rear, very dilapidated, deck. I hoped they wouldn't acquire any insectification out there...

Coming in I looked at the stacked washer/dryer closet. The door was so broken it had not been closed in some time. But I looked inside the appliances anyway. The washer was obviously not broken "yesterday." The dryer was used for long-term storage and did not come on. The breaker box was not nearby. It was in a locked, rear shed. The seller said he "could not find the key." So I picked the lock (No damage. I have a kit in my bag). Finding the W/D breaker, I couldn't help but notice that it was terribly scorched, and almost certainly not "yesterday." No way had she used that dryer "this morning."

It turns out that the washer/dryer was the least of the problems in this place! NOTHING worked, except one burner on the stove and the fridge was somewhat cool.

THERE ISN'T MUCH WORSE THAN STARTING AN INSPECTION BY BEING LIED TO BY THE SELLERS.

I returned to the living room, and in very polite, very formal, very adult Spanish, I explained that I thought the washer/dryer had not worked in some time and that I would be quickly going through and doing a report on the entire house, but would be telling the buyers not to trust anything that they were told. The shock and awe on their faces was cllllllaaaassic. Oh, that I had a photo of that!

Did they really think I would just accept what they had to say, turn around and leave?!

Thank goodness some people still choose to pay for a home inspector!!

My recommendation: Do your due diligence. Do have a home inspection. Do inspect carefully! And don't trust everything you are told...

It is unusual that I have a Friday morning unscheduled. So I took advantage. The Washington Redskins allow fans to come to see practice, but only for a few days. Well, today was the day for my daughter and me!

It was a hot, sultry, tiring day. You must stand to be able to see. No matter... she had a blast!

We hooted and hollered.

She cheered for her heart throb - Chris Cooley - each time he touched the ball.

She waited through the whole, for her somewhat boring, practice just for the end to come.

Why the end?

Autographs.

Who's autograph in particular?

Chris Cooley!

That is her head in the foreground!

She got another one too. QB Colt Brennan. Similar head shot.

She could not have been more excited! Two autographs. There may have been opportunity for more, but there were so many people ...

The QB's practicing.

Today the offense was in burgundy and the defense in white. They did many plays and formations.

On the way out, my daughter had her picture taken in Chris Cooley's uniform. And we will preserve the Holy Hat.

Yes, that is the former hat which is now the

Holy Hat.

It will have its own place in the basement Redskin Room.

We call the room Cuchihuasi, meaning "Hog House."

What a fun walk in the park! The place was packed with a few thousand people, all die hard and all dressed the part.

We got there at 630am were home by noon.

I have to say, it's a good thing they are practicing - truth be told, they were not at all sharp. Not at all...

Well, practice just started yesterday!

We'll hope for the best. It might take a lot of hope.

You probably like staring at ocean waves because they are so calming. How about new wave siding!

Reeeel perty, ain't it?

This is the result of an unprofessional installation. This installer did not know what he was doing. Three of the houses in this row look like this one. I imagine the siding on all three was all installed by the same guy(s).

I call this work "7-11 Construction." You simply cannot pick up "siding professionals" in the morning at 7-11 and expect quality work. This kind of amateur work is the bane of this area. It is why I find more problems on new construction than old.

This house is only 2 years old!

Vinyl siding can expand and contract almost 1/2" during the course of hot and cold days. It is said that siding should be hung and not nailed. Siding has slits along the top to give room for the nail to find a stud, yet still allow the siding to slide back and forth along the nail. The trick is to leave the nail "proud" of the surface about 1/8 - 1/4". If you nail it too hard, the vinyl cannot move as it needs to, and, obeying physics, it will be forced to move erratically as you see here.

This is a good quality siding. What do you think accounts for the distinct 30 degree line from left to right?

I SEE WARPED SIDING LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME!! It represents incredibly unprofessional and very amateur work. It is typical of 7-11 construction. It's one way you can tell a good builder from a bad one. Good builders only employ qualified subcontractors. Qualified subcontractors know what they are doing. It is that simple.

My recommendation: Take a look at any vinyl siding. See if you can detect any anomalies in how it hangs or fits together one piece to another. Make sure it isn't "New Wave Siding..."