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[Officer of Engineers]

In my old State, they would make the person demolish anything not permitted (Code or not) and start from scratch

Would that not include everything knob and tube wiring, ie, everything built in the 1960s? Somethings got to be grandfathered, wouldn't they?

[Gun Grape]

Would that not include everything knob and tube wiring, ie, everything built in the 1960s? Somethings got to be grandfathered, wouldn't they?

Knob and Tube went out in the 1930s in the US. The National Electric Code still allows it in some instances.(mostly industral) Cannot insulate around it. There is no reason not to replace it even if allowed. Your looking at a max 10amp load. No dedicated Ground. Often had both Hot and Neutral wires fused separately.. Which would mean that if the Neutral fuse blew then the appliance you have plugged in becomes energized. The cloth/rubber insulation for the wired becomes brittle.

Googled the Canadian code. Cannot be used in new construction, can't tie into it (Lack of ground, wires not able to handle current load requirements) And most insurance companies won't cover a house with K&T wiring.

The insurance thing is the big one. While the NBC does "Grandfather" stuff left in use, they do require upgrading when modifying or adding to the grandfathered system.

In the 1970-90s polybutylene water pipes were used in home construction. They were prone to bursting.. If your home still has it fine. Add a sink and you have to change everything to one of the approved (Copper, PVC,PEX) lines.

Homes in Florida that don't have Hurricane Clips holding their roof down. Must be installed when you replace your shingles.

But insurance companies will not cover you if aren't up to code. In fact we are having a problem in Fl because some insurance companies are requiring homes rebuilt after Hurricane Michael to have PEX water lines.

[tbm3fan]

Knob and Tube went out in the 1930s in the US. The National Electric Code still allows it in some instances.(mostly industral) Cannot insulate around it. There is no reason not to replace it even if allowed. Your looking at a max 10amp load. No dedicated Ground. Often had both Hot and Neutral wires fused separately.. Which would mean that if the Neutral fuse blew then the appliance you have plugged in becomes energized. The cloth/rubber insulation for the wired becomes brittle.

Googled the Canadian code. Cannot be used in new construction, can't tie into it (Lack of ground, wires not able to handle current load requirements) And most insurance companies won't cover a house with K&T wiring.

The insurance thing is the big one. While the NBC does "Grandfather" stuff left in use, they do require upgrading when modifying or adding to the grandfathered system.

In the 1970-90s polybutylene water pipes were used in home construction. They were prone to bursting.. If your home still has it fine. Add a sink and you have to change everything to one of the approved (Copper, PVC,PEX) lines.

Homes in Florida that don't have Hurricane Clips holding their roof down. Must be installed when you replace your shingles.

But insurance companies will not cover you if aren't up to code. In fact we are having a problem in Fl because some insurance companies are requiring homes rebuilt after Hurricane Michael to have PEX water lines.

You'd love this house in Binagonan, Rizal. My wife's brother supposedly knows construction so she had this house built some 15 years ago. I had never seen it till this December and my field isn't construction although my field requires precision and organization. Won't get into everything I saw wrong and actually wanted to correct but couldn't as my wife said leave it alone. The shot below shows the openings in the cement ceiling with wires hanging out to connect to an LED light fixture. Done all over. Note the extension cord on the floor for the TV and stereo since there is no outlet in the wall. There were five items plugged into that extension cord. The only reason nothing burns down is that the construction materials are cement blocks, mortar, and tin roofing that flies off in every typhoon.

[Officer of Engineers]

That crack in the support beam scares the hell out of me!

[JRT]

14 January 2023
The connection between cold weather and catching a cold
(05 min, 01 sec)

New research suggests that cold weather may actually affect the human body's immune response, making us more susceptible to colds, flus and other upper respiratory infections. Benjamin Bleier, a sinus specialist at Mass Eye and Ear and a senior author of the study, joins John Yang to discuss its findings.

...

[ArmchairGeneral]

Man, it simultaneously warms my heart and blows my mind that this place is still chuggin along. And somehow I'm still a mod???

[Officer of Engineers]

Stop complaining that you still can get at chewtoys.

[ArmchairGeneral]

Stop complaining that you still can get at chewtoys.

lmao

[TopHatter]

Man, it simultaneously warms my heart and blows my mind that this place is still chuggin along. And somehow I'm still a mod???

You'd have to stop logging in for like, a couple years before that would get rescinded

[JRT]

02 February 2023
Is the EU really going to force us to eat insects without our knowledge?
(02 min, 40 sec)

The European Commission gave the green light to sell of larvae in powder and other forms - a decision that has caused quite a stir on social media.

...

[DOR]

The wife wants to go to Cuba next month.
Any one with recent experience traveling there, particularly among those of us who suffer from being American?

[tbm3fan]

This company employed children to clean razor-sharp saws using hazardous chemicals

New YorkCNN —
A major US food sanitation company illegally employed at least 102 children between the ages of 13 and 17 in jobs that had them using caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws.

Packers Sanitation Services paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous occupations and having them working overnight shifts at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states, a US Department of Labor investigation found.

The Kieler, Wisconsin, based company employed the children to clean meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters.At least three children were injured, investigators said.

The company was fined the maximum civil penalty allowed by federal law — $15,138 for each minor-aged employee“who was employed in violation of the law.”

“We have been crystal clear from the start: Our company has a zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18 and fully shares the DOL’s objective of ensuring full compliance at all locations,”a spokesperson for Packers Sanitation said in a statement Friday.

The companysaid none of the underage workers are employed at the company today, and that “many” of them had worked there years ago.

“As soon as we became aware of the DOL’s allegations, we conducted multiple additional audits of our employee base, and hired a third-party law firm to review and help further strengthen our policies in this area,” the statement said. “We have also conducted multiple additional trainings for hiring managers, including on spotting identity theft.”

The DOL investigation began last August with an investigation of the company’s workers at JBS USA plants in Nebraska and Minnesota.

In November, a complaint was filed in the US District Court of Nebraska alleging that Packers Sanitation illegally employed at least 31 children to clean dangerous power equipment. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the company from committing further child labor law violations.

In December, Packers agreed to take “significant steps” to comply with labor laws after entering into a consent order and judgment.

Packers paid a total of $741,762 in penalties at two JBS Foods in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, for its employment of 49 minors. Separately, Packers was also fined for employing 26 minors at a Cargill Inc. processor in Dodge City, Kansas, as well as at plants in Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas.

“These children should never have been employed in meat packing plants and this can only happen when employers do not take responsibility to prevent child labor violations from occurring in the first place,” said Jessica Looman, principal deputy administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/busin...bor/index.html
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Lot's of blah, blah by company lawyers. How could this be? We don't condone this. Yet, it happened in multiple plants. I think the company got off light.

[TopHatter]

This company employed children to clean razor-sharp saws using hazardous chemicals

Bloody hell....

This IS the year 2023, is it not?

[Albany Rifles]

Bloody hell....

This IS the year 2023, is it not?

Upton Sinclair is spinning in his grave!

[Monash]

Upton Sinclair is spinning in his grave!

In fairness, apart from willful blindness on the part of managers desperate to meet KPIs and having to fill horrible jobs for lousy pay that no one else wanted there were also apparently some issues around identity theft and false documentation. I know from experience (detaining and charging undocumented foreigners) that it is very hard to determine the exact age of young adults without a thorough medical examination. And even then you can get it wrong.