Internet troll (from Wikipedia): "In internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." Here we have the king of home improvement trolls who posts to a half dozen sites viciously insulting those who correct his misinformed, arrogant, confrontational comments. One of my favorite responses to this nonsense was on the ICC Code Chat forum when he insisted that the IRC did not allow brick to be placed below grade on a foundation wall and wanted confirmation from the building inspectors there so he could go back to another forum and discredit the statement of an architect (guess who): tsmith (frequent contributor): "This is one of the most wrongheaded code misinterpretations I've ever heard. The detail is perfectly common practice and has been for at least 3 decades that I've witnessed." No, I'm not tsmith but I have contributed to the ICC forum for years and got a kick out of seeing a troll suddenly join the forum just to discredit me and then get slammed by the pros. If you want a some more good laughs here are the best silly troll quotes in 10 categories (followed by a commentary in case any are not obvious): 1. RADIANT BARRIERS "Foil on sheathing does not require an air space and is designed to reflect infra-red radiation (ie HEAT) away from the house or to retain it inwardly. Saying foil faced structural sheathing without an air space won't work as designed is like saying a Toyota won't work when buried as plant fertilizer." 2.VAPOR RETARDERS a. "6 mil polyethylene plastic has a perm rating of 1 if I remember correctly." b. "4 mil plastic will do little to stop moisture flow. You generally need at least 2 layers of 6 mil plastic laid with all seams taped or sealed even at the walls or foundation." c. "4 mil plastic is "waterproof" but it is not "vaporproof".... 4 mil plastic has a relatively high perm rating which means that it readily allows gaseous water to flow thru it." d. "One thing you got correct, however, is that 4 mil poly is 3 times less able to retard water vapor than 6 mil poly, and why it is not permitted as a true vapor barrier by building codes." e. "The problem with all the scientific rhetoric is that is does not take into account the reality that gaseous water (humidty) passing up through the concrete can be well more than 100% and that the tempartures can drop well below freezing." 3. JOISTS a. "Ceiling and floor joist 'notches' are regulated by building codes and the limits established by acceptable engineering practice and tables. . In end 'thirds'... (the 1 to 4 foot length from either end)... you are only allowed to notch the joist along the top or bottom only to a depth of D/3...or 1/3 the depth of the joist. If you have a nominal 2x8 joist, your actual depth is 7.25 inches. This means the maximum depth of any top or bottom notch in end 3rds can be 2.42 inches or ~2 7/16ths inches deep." b. "A 70psf snow load blows all your calculations and the table you are using right out of the water. And forget completely using single 2x12s even at 12" on center... Personally, for loads this great I would not even considered spanning anything greater than 4' with 2x12s 16" on center." c. "The maximum cantilever you can have is no greater than the nominal depth of the wood. maximum cantilever on a 2x10 is 9 1/4"." 4. STAIRS a. Under the 2003 IRC, MAXIMUM riser height for any stair is 8 1/4"... MINIMUM tread depth is 9"... b. "Most US Codes require the underside of egress stairs to be covered with drywall to prevent their collapse and to effect safe escape if a fire occurs on a lower story. Won't be any protection from flames and smoke if a fire occurs in a well below stairs with open risers." 5. TOILETS a. "The $49 Latin American import model from the big box store will work as well as the 'Toto' or any other expensive esoteric brand under the same conditions." b. "Yes! We WILL have to agree to agree to disagree... Especially since I KNOW what I am talking about and you do not... I AM a professional in my field and you are not... and the science in this matter is not debateable! :)" 6. CONCRETE "While it may be 'common' to construct block or poured foundation walls on concrete footings that have been allowed to sit for 2-3 days, NO respectable builder...NO respectable architect...NO respectable engineer and NO respectable designer who knew what he was doing would EVER recommend ANY concrete product to be built upon or be considered 'cured' after only 2-3 days... regardless of mix...regardless of weather...regardless of circumstance. Â. Only someone who was completely INEXPERIENCED and had no actual expeience as a builder or mason would suggest otherwise or would suggest something so silly.... 28 days minimum for curing.  Period." 7. MOLD a. "Black mold is no more dangerous than any other mold.  In short, just wash the mold off with a 50%-50% bleach to water solution and some soap and water and your problems will vanish." b. "Put a solution of 1:1 (50% to 50%) water and chlorine bleach in a spray bottle. Throughly saturate the area with the solution and leave overnight. The mold/mildew will be completely gone by morning. Repeat weekly and you'll have no further problems." 8. ROOFS a. "In most cases anything thicker than 1/2" plywood is just a waste of money for most roof sheathing. But the real answer depends upon your local laods and conditions. Unless you have extremely high wind and or snow loads, or have rafter or truss spacing more than 24" on center.... Then 1/2" plywood or 7/16ths inch OSB is all any reputable builder would require despite cries to the contrary from designers and others who have never built anything...." b. " ÂCollar Ties are not required with cathedral ceilings. What is required is that once your ceiling joists/cross laterals that hold the bearing walls together are raised above the top plate of the bearing walls.... The ridge must be designed as a bearing girder as wianno previously stated... AND, the rafter spans need to be reduced and the rafter depths increased as a ratio of how high above the top bearing wall plate they are raised." c. "The IRC requires a derating of the spans of rafters whenever the ceiling joists are raised above the top plate of the bearing walls. The higher the crosslaterals or ceiling joists above the top plate of the bearing walls and the closer to the ridge beam they are located, the shorter the span of the rafters can be.... The ridge board must also be designed as an actual ridge girder anytime the ceiling joists/crosslaterals are raised above the top plates of the bearing walls under the IRC." d. "No shingle manufacturer, however, allows their products to be installed on less than a 2 1/2:12 under any circumstance, and local wind velocity conditions may further limit shingle use." 9. SPRINKLERS "That said, residential sprinkler systems will only add a few hundred dollars to the cost in most instances. Thank innovations in plumbing pipe systems such as PEX for the low cost of adding a sprinkler system to a new home." 10. DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS a. "That is what makes claims by 'architects' so comical when people like me...who review architect designed plans for code compliance for a living...can usually pass about 2 plans in 10 because architects just have no clue." b. "Designers never have to 'think' beyond the point of getting their plans paid for by a potential owner nor approved by the local code official. It is easy for a designer to 'think' he has it 'right' when he refuses to consult with the builders or code officals...has no actual hands-on personal building experience...and is isolated in his office at his desk making up things that may or may not exist all day." c. "Designers and architects are not typically the solution..they are typically the problem... And why consultations with your builder and code officials even more important than conversation with your designer. So don't be fooled. I'm not...and will continue to challenge 'non-sense' passed off as 'good sense' by some designers here...who really have little idea of what they speak...and are happy to be recognized for that ignorance...." d. "That said, macV's nonsensical statements have NOTHING to do with any bias on my part against 'architects' or 'designers' and EVERYTHING to do with people, like MacV, who have absolutely NO personal CLUE or WORK experience in, any kind of "field" in which they claim (ahem) some type of "expertise". Simply put, MacV is a LIAR....because he has NEVER hung or finished drywall and has NO IDEA HOW to do it properly. ..if at all." COMMENTARY: (1) Infra-red energy can only exist in a space so aluminum foil without an air space next to it conducts heat instead of reflecting it. (2a) 6mil poly is rated at .06 perm and is therefore considered Class I "vapor impermeable" by ASHRAE and a vapor retarder by the IRC. (2b) 4 & 6 mil poly qualify as acceptable vapor retarders under all codes. (2c) 4 mil poly is rated at .8 perm and is therefore considered Class II "vapor semi-impermeable" by ASHRAE and a vapor retarder by the IRC. (2d) 4 & 6 mil poly both meet the IRC vapor retarder definition of having a permeance rating of 1 perm or less. The IRC has no requirement for a "vapor barrier". (2e) Perhaps on another planet. (3a) IRC R502.8.1 actually limits this notch to D/6 instead of D/3. (3b) Accepted engineering practice would limit the span to about 13 ft. instead of 4 ft. (3c) The IRC says 18" to 29" per table R502.3.3(1) for a one story projection. A deck cantilever would be similar but should be designed by an engineer not a building inspector. By the way, the "nominal" depth of a 2x10 is 10"; the actual depth is 9 ¼". (4a) The 2003 IRC actually requires 7 ¾" max. risers & 10" min. treads. (4b) The IRC only requires drywall protection if the space below the stair is enclosed which would obviously not be the case for a typical open riser stair. (5a) Toto is esoteric? (5b) Toilet science? Is this troll humor? (6) Curing and 28-day strength are not relevant; the compressive strength of the footing should be strong enough to carry the wall in a matter of hours which is why the ACI and other codes set no limit for when this can be done. (7a) The CDC recommends: "Mold growth can be removed from hard surfaces with commercial products, soap and water, or a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water." ThatÂs a maximum ratio of 1:16. (7b) DonÂt try this at home, especially if the surface has been washed with a cleaner containing ammonia. (8a) In NRCA tests the use of nominal 5/8" instead of ½" roof sheathing increased shingle nail pullout resistance by 20% in plywood and 30% in OSB. The increase was 50% for ring-shank nails in OSB. (8b) For this condition it would be appropriate to use stronger rafters from the code table or to use a ridge girder but not both which would be structurally redundant. (8c) Again, it should be obvious that when a structural ridge girder is provided, the rafters can be sized using the regular tables since the loading and span have not changed. (8d) CertainTeedÂs standard specification says: Roof Slope Between 2:12 and 4:12: Apply one layer of "WinterGuard" or two layers of 'Roofers Select' or D4869 underlayment. (9) Residential sprinkler systems are obviously considerably more expensive than 10 ¢ / s.f. (10a,b,c,d) Read the statements above for examples of true nonsense, ignorance.

We just bought this house and it was newly painted but the plaster surface was not smooth at all. So we are redoing the paint inside and contractor suggested to apple multiple joint compound and sanding to get a smoother surface. Then apply primer paint and then flat paint. Am I going to see issues later on with my paint? =[

Christopher Nelson, I did go to that page before but this time I realized you could ask questions there at the bottom of the page. They gave me a response pretty quickly, which I appreciated, and I will share it here in case others are wondering about this: At a companion article RESILIENT SHEET FLOORING ID GUIDEinspectapedia.com/hazmat/Sheet_Flooring_Identification.php we start our article series about asbestos in sheet flooring productrs. At ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC -inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Duct_Asbestos.php we discuss the use of paper both as a joint tape and as a total; covering on heating air ducts in older homes. Don't panic - but do avoid creating a dusty mess. Or if you have to face a dusty demolition then I'd have the material tested for asbestos Search InspectApedia for ASBESTOS TEST LABS if you need that service. Trivial cuts (an installation drill hole) ought never justify expensive asbestos testing and remediation, but even there you could minimize risk by either wetting or more-likely by using a HEPA-rated vacuum for dust control followed by damp wiping cleanup. ******************** klem1, thank you for your response as well. I would like to get it tested but at the same time, even if it tested positive (which I wouldn't be surprised by) it seemed unclear as to whether a small nail hole or drilling holes was okay. The inspecapedia response helped, and I did find another suggestion online that said (if drilling) to fill a small paper dixie cup with shaving cream, put the drill bit through that onto the hole, and then lower the cup and hold it flush to the surface as you drill.

SOS-feeling like you guys might have the answer I need! Skim coating over a really bad knockdown texture to hopefully get to a level 5 (or as close as I can). It’s been a messy and time consuming process and really can’t wait for it to be over hahah I have done three coats with all purpose lightweight joint compound overall it’s looking pretty good! Only issue is there are still some high point from the knock down still showing through. I don’t think I can sand them at this stage without destroying all the work I have done. What should I do? Additionally, on the walls that look ready. I’ve gone over everything with a light and have places I noticed marked and am in the process of touching them up. I’ve run my hand over the wall more times than I can count to make sure it’s smooth. However, I’m really worried that when I paint sections that aren’t level will be very apparent and have dips. Does anyone have any other tips to make sure everything is ready to prime and paint? Would priming the walls and then If anything comes through doing another coat be a terrible idea? Thankful for any advice!