Saw this yesterday. The AC was running at the time when I opened this main return air vent on the ceiling (the only return vent in the unit). The filter fell right out. No air draw, no suction. I even put a piece of toilet paper up to the vent to see if it was getting any draw in the least. Nothing. The duct you see running above the vent cover is the supply. All the return air was being pulled from the ceiling cavity between the unit I inspected and the unit above. The builder rep who was there said "if it was wrong, there'd be a problem with the air in here. Look, it's 76 degrees". HUH?????? He also said that two HVAC companies had looked at it said nothing was wrong. Sigh.

The builder rep alos poo-poo'd my calling out of an S-trap on the kitchen sink drain line. He said, you won't get that kind of trap in Philadelphia". Wha........?????????? I asked him what kind of trap will you see. He said "they just want to see a trap". Double sigh.

The shower head supply line in one of the shower stalls had about 2-3 inches of play inside the wall. When I mentioned it to the client, the rep looked at the marble tile surround and said "you know that's not going to get fixed. Look at that marble". Triple sigh.

It's lovely what $400,000 for a condo will get you these days.

Also included are pics of the horizontal balusters on the balcony (4th floor), one strand of the service cable not secured beneath the lug inside the panel box, and arcing on wires at the top of the panel box interior where the cable is rubbing against the bushing clamp.

Attached Images

	return vent.jpg (16.5 KB, 41 views)
	return vent (nope).jpg (45.7 KB, 44 views)
	balusters.jpg (37.2 KB, 47 views)
	service cable.jpg (56.4 KB, 49 views)
	arcing.jpg (40.4 KB, 49 views)

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"It takes a big man to cry. It takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man". - Jack Handey

If the ceiling was being used as a return air plenum then there is a few problems that need to be addressed.

Oh come on James. What's a little bit a fiberglass insulation getting blown around the house going to hurt. And if any of those pipes leak, that's an instant humidifier for the winter.

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"It takes a big man to cry. It takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man". - Jack Handey

With or without using that ceiling space as a return plenum would still require that paper facing to be covered with gypsum board.

As James said, using that ceiling space as a return plenum creates many requirements, and that exposed insulation is just one, as are those exposed wall cavities, and probably a lot of other things which are not in the photos.

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )
www.AskCodeMan.com

Kinda stated the obvious hunh!

Unfortunately nothing was too obvious for the builder.

The realtor who is very nice and sends me a few jobs a year said 4-5 other units just like this one in the same building were sold and the inspections were spotless. What are the chances I got the only lemon in the bunch?

__________________
"It takes a big man to cry. It takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man". - Jack Handey

Did you tell her that your reports are spotless too ... ... until someone spills coffee or something on them.

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Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )
www.AskCodeMan.com