Today I saw what is to me a great bathroom configuration.  

This is an early “Pittsburgh-type” prototype of the “toilet in the shower”.  It’s Pittsburgh-type because it is in the basement.  If you are not from Pittsburgh and are reading this blog, then you need to know about the pittsburgh toilet.  (Mental note to myself: do a post on pittsburgh toilets.)  

What is important here is that it’s all in one.  I’ll take it. 

I want to talk to architects about this, or the builders, or mason’s who build chimneys.  The chimney is in the valley.

Why is that?

(Ok, the roof needs some work too.  Two layers of shingles, bad fasteners) But why put a chimney in the middle of a river?.  It’s strictly a human problem, beavers would never do this.  I don’t think home inspectors would either.

I take one look at the elevation above and I’m thinking, “oh I have to move the chimney.”  They just put a new metal roof on.  I think it started leaking within a month or two.

Here is a close up of the flashing.  The roofer should have put in a cricket in here to divert the water.

Here’s a cricket.  It’s a little dormer for a chimney that’s over 30 inches facing the roof slope.

Variation on a theme: turret in the valley.  This one wasn’t leaking…

…but it will.

A double tap is a term used to describe when two wires are attached to the same breaker or terminal (also called a lug).  Unless the terminal or circuit breaker is designed for more than one conductor, it’s not a good idea.  Overheating of the wires is possible.  When I use the term double lugging, I usually reserve it for times when the main supply terminals to an electrical panel are double tapped.  This is a fairly common and potentially serious defect.  

Can you see the double tapped terminals in the panel above?  When a panel is full, at capacity, how do you get more circuits?  One solution was double tap the main lugs to supply power to an electric stove.  That is not ok.   The problem is that the stove is not protected by a breaker, so if something goes wrong– a short, over-heating of wires, etc–there is nothing to shut it off.  The stove should probably have a 50 amp breaker.

Here above is another double tapped main lug, it was created to supply an auxiliary panel.  The system needed to be upgraded for more capacity but the owner, or electrician, or likely a handyman found a way to add on with out changing the panel–but this is not acceptable.  The double tapped conductors have no fusing to protect them if they were to become overloaded.  Can you see the double tapped circuit breaker also present in the panel?  Other problems?

Ok, here is another double tap, this time at a main disconnect.  First off, this disconnect panel is not safe for residential use, you could get shocked trying to change the fuse, even with the disconnect off.  Second the terminals are double tapped and they were not designed for that–If a terminal is designed for more than one conductor, it will say right on the terminal how many and what size conductors can be installed.  And Third, if you look at the white wire in the center you can see that copper and aluminum conductors are double tapped.   Aluminum and Copper are never combined under the same lug or attachment with out specialized equipment for connecting dissimilar materials.  

The photo above has a neutral lug double tapped.  This example not an overcapacity issue like the ones above.  In these two photos, the neutral conductors are attached to the wrong lugs.  The service entrance neutral goes through the main panel (above) and double taps in the subpanel (picture below).  And a neutral for a electric stove is tapped in there as well.  At least they were both copper.

So anytime you see a double lugged main terminal, there is likely a problem.

Antoine’s Roof.

When I’m inspecting the exterior and I see an electrical meter box like this one.    I’m 85% sure I’ll find rust in the electric panel inside the house.  This is the kind of problem the sellers/owners can be completely unaware of, unless they have taken the dead front cover off the panel.  Water gets into the meter box and from there into the inside of the service entrance cable and on to the panel inside the house.  Also, the vines around the meter and service cable should be removed.  I think it is wisteria and will, in a couple of years, do real damage to the electrical service.

Yep, there is rust in the panel–not visible until the front cover is removed. 

Can you see the rust behind the main breaker?  That bare, stranded wire is the grounded conductor (neutral wire) from the meter.  Water traveled on it to the terminal and rusted it out.  Then the water drained behind the breakers to the bottom of the panel, damaging the bus bar on the way.  This panel had got to the point where it was unsafe and needed to be repaired by an electrician.

Squirrels.  I love squirrels but they can be very naughty in an attic.

Someone was chewing on the electrical cables.  This is a major safety concern because the exposed electrical wires could cause a fire.  It is also a good reminder of why upgrading to arc-fault circuit breakers is a good idea.  If the exposed wires allow a paralell arc from the hot wire to the neutral (black to white) wires, a regular circuit breaker my not shut off the circuit.