Fast Eddie & Kool Karen's (excellent?) Pole Barn Adventure

FastEddieB said:
No joy

From a quick phone call...

Our deck at the entryway will need a fence/gate or a step all the way around:

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The fireproof door from the kitchen to the garage needs better sealing.
The utility room needs a fireproof door.

Maybe some other stuff was iffy. Will keep you all updated.

Grrrrr.
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How about a dump truck load of that black gravey around the deck. That will raise the ground flush around the deck, so not step or fence needed. After you get your inspection approved you can move the gravel out and have it back the way you want it.
 
Scott@KTYR said:
How about a dump truck load of that black gravey around the deck. That will raise the ground flush around the deck, so not step or fence needed. After you get your inspection approved you can move the gravel out and have it back the way you want it.
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I mentioned that. There were already concerns about various “grades”. Our eventual plan included a railing as part of a dog run to a fenced side yard, so this is annoying but not a huge deal.
 
Scott@KTYR said:
How about a dump truck load of that black gravey around the deck. That will raise the ground flush around the deck, so not step or fence needed. After you get your inspection approved you can move the gravel out and have it back the way you want it.
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That’s where we ended up.

Had one more load of the crushed asphalt delivered this afternoon and got to work:

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Taking the “step” height to about 6”. Will try to finish up tomorrow.

One more absurdity...

Our utility room has a drain in the floor. The air conditioner drain lines feed directly to that floor drain.

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That’s apparently OK, but the inspector insisted on those valves with air valves which just got installed. The idea is apparently that if the drain lines got clogged, it’s a simple matter to close the valve, attach an air hose and blow out the lines. All of which seems stupid given the length and accessibility of our drain lines. Sigh.

Oh, well...this too shall pass.
 
FastEddieB said:
That’s where we ended up.

Had one more load of the crushed asphalt delivered this afternoon and got to work:

30813700038_4f3dd758de.jpg


Taking the “step” height to about 6”. Will try to finish up tomorrow.

One more absurdity...

Our utility room has a drain in the floor. The air conditioner drain lines feed directly to that floor drain.

43776063325_f962e2dd56.jpg


That’s apparently OK, but the inspector insisted on those valves with air valves which just got installed. The idea is apparently that if the drain lines got clogged, it’s a simple matter to close the valve, attach an air hose and blow out the lines. All of which seems stupid given the length and accessibility of our drain lines. Sigh.

Oh, well...this too shall pass.
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Yea!!! Glad that works!!! Looks good.
 
PaulS said:
You should have left some simpler stuff for him to find.
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PaulS said:
You should have left some simpler stuff for him to find.
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Exactly. Some inspectors think their job is to find at least one wrong thing before leaving. If you leave something obvious and easily remedied, they'll walk away satisfied sooner and it's an easy "fix" for you.
 
I am sure it is the crimson color. You could have had it painted after the CO, but people around here take these things to be deadly serious. I have had more than one realtor in Raleigh tell me that clients have vetoed a light blue house unless the owners painted it red.

Just to say - an orange pole barn would not be having the same problems.
 
Dav8or said:
Exactly. Some inspectors think their job is to find at least one wrong thing before leaving. If you leave something obvious and easily remedied, they'll walk away satisfied sooner and it's an easy "fix" for you.
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For sure. If he/she was nit picking about which valves you had on the condensation lines, then he/she had a hard time finding anything 'useful' to write up. That seems a lot like a preference item over an official regulation. I would be curious where that is in the code, though I would never ask them to show me. :) Bizarre.
 
bflynn said:
I am sure it is the crimson color. You could have had it painted after the CO, but people around here take these things to be deadly serious. I have had more than one realtor in Raleigh tell me that clients have vetoed a light blue house unless the owners painted it red.

Just to say - an orange pole barn would not be having the same problems.
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I went to Purdue and I have no desire to live in a black and gold house and I make no personal or professional choices based on those colors. I really doubt if many folks make many important decisions based on school colors.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I went to Purdue and I have no desire to live in a black and gold house and I make no personal or professional choices based on those colors. I really doubt if many folks make many important decisions based on school colors.
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You’re going to compare the Big 10 to the SEC? That’s cute. :p ;)
 
SkyDog58 said:
I went to Purdue and I have no desire to live in a black and gold house and I make no personal or professional choices based on those colors. I really doubt if many folks make many important decisions based on school colors.
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Folks in the South are a little more intense about some things...

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
You’re going to compare the Big 10 to the SEC? That’s cute. :p ;)
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ircphoenix said:
Folks in the South are a little more intense about some things...

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
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You're right, what was I thinking? Of course I know that Big 10 fans aren't anywhere near to being the rabid, crazed, foolish fans that the SEC ones are.

:D
 
SkyDog58 said:
You're right, what was I thinking? Of course I know that Big 10 fans aren't anywhere near to being the rabid, crazed, foolish fans that the SEC ones are.

:D
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I would never say that... *nods violently*

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
FastEddieB said:
No joy

From a quick phone call...

Our deck at the entryway will need a fence/gate or a step all the way around:
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One of nice things about rural MI is that code officials tend to be a bit less... picky. This is our 2nd story back deck.
DECK_zpsmxsql1lw.jpg

We didn't build the house so no idea how that made it through inspection, but it did. An inspector from the insurance company came out after we moved in and told us that we would have to add a railing to the deck. We said ok no problem. He left and never came back. That was 8 years ago. One of these days I'll get around to it. :rolleyes:
 
I worked in the building trades for a time, and lately I've supervised our work expansions (many!). I've run across a bad inspector or two over the years, but most of my experience (in central Florida) is: if you're trying to do the right thing, they'll help you. If they suspect you're trying to pull a fast one, they be all over you.

And never embarrass one. Many years ago (late 1970's) my dad & I changed out an electrical service for a commercial nursery. The original service was a meter and a 42 circuit panel set on a pole. The panel originally had no main breaker and one two pole breaker in to for an 8HP well pump. Technically legal sine the code says "6 motions of the hand to completely disconnect all power". What had happened over the intervening years was completely predictable: the panel was now full of breakers and still had no main disconnect. My dad pointed that out to the inspector and commented that it should never have passed the original inspection because it was obvious what was going to happen. We changed it out for a main disconnect, and two large panels (larger service). What my dad din't know until later was the inspector he commented to was the original inspector. Every job we had in west Orange County (this inspectors territory) for the next 6 months resulted in at least one failure and call back.

Best of luck with the re-inspection! The place looks beautiful!

John
 
SkyDog58 said:
You're right, what was I thinking? Of course I know that Big 10 fans aren't anywhere near to being the rabid, crazed, foolish fans that the SEC ones are.

:D
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Of course y'all don't have much to be crazed and foolish about to begin with.
 
Dumb and dumber...

During the inspection, the inspector said he was misunderstood - the installation required traps, not the valves installed.

Mission accomplished:

44807888191_35c5f5d753.jpg


No one is quite sure what they accomplish, but there you have it.
 
FastEddieB said:
Dumb and dumber...

During the inspection, the inspector said he was misunderstood - the installation required traps, not the valves installed.

Mission accomplished:

44807888191_35c5f5d753.jpg


No one is quite sure what they accomplish, but there you have it.
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What they accomplish is a collection point that may eventually clog up and require disassembly. If this put the clog at a convenient spot, rather than in a slab, it would make sense. For your installation it makes no sense.

This appears to be an instance of mindlessly following a code because it's the code, without understanding the reasoning.

Now that the inspection is over I'd remove the traps.
 
Half Fast said:
What they accomplish is a collection point that may eventually clog up and require disassembly. If this put the clog at a convenient spot, rather than in a slab, it would make sense. For your installation it makes no sense.

This appears to be an instance of mindlessly following a code because it's the code, without understanding the reasoning.

Now that the inspection is over I'd remove the traps.
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Not to mention it creates a low spot for moisture to pool inside the drains and start stinking to high heavens and create a petri dish for mold growth.

It makes zero sense to have a trap here - you're not going to drop something down the drain that you need to get access to before it gets to the main line (as mentioned above), and it is not a hard connection to the septic system where you want to create a vapor barrier between sewage line and drain. *sigh*
 
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Nvm, missed that he was running a heat pump system. The traps are needed, the valves, not so much.
 
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Looks like you have heat pumps, traps are absolutely needed. Could they have done a better job, Yes. But traps are needed for heat pump/air handlers.
 
FLYIN AT EDDIES!!!!

Congratulations. Next on the list....nothing?
 
Not so much for efficiency but for the vacuum that is created on the drain line. The unit is drawing air in through the drain line when the fan is running.

During longer run times in summer months the condensation cannot drain due to the vacuum created, and the condensation pan can overflow inside the unit. Possibly just adding moisture back into the air which opposite of what you want, and/or water all over the floor.

Once the trap fills with water the vacuum is broken and the condensation will drain as normal during run cycles.
 
Barneyfife said:
Not so much for efficiency but for the vacuum that is created on the drain line. The unit is drawing air in through the drain line when the fan is running.

During longer run times in summer months the condensation cannot drain due to the vacuum created, and the condensation pan can overflow inside the unit. Possibly just adding moisture back into the air which opposite of what you want, and/or water all over the floor.

Once the trap fills with water the vacuum is broken and the condensation will drain as normal during run cycles.
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Thanks for the education, Barn! Never knew that.
 
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