Why is this section of the south wall different from the others?

THE TITLE of this post is a sincere question that is being posed to our waterproofing contractor, Cameron Figgins of Absolute Maintenance & Consulting. My focus here is on the concrete stem wall (also known as the foundation wall), which juts out along the bottom of the overall exterior wall.

Why does the section on the right of the pilaster
look so different from the one on the left?
(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

My concern is not aesthetics but rather that the rightmost section seems less well protected from future water intrusion.

I’ve been wanting to pose that title question in person since mid-August, but I haven’t succeeded in meeting up with Cameron on site. So last week, I asked him via email. He promptly replied:

Please send me something from a few different angles.… I'm really interested to see what you're talking about here, see what you might mean.  

In response, I am uploading photos to this post. Below the jump break, I document how the easternmost section of our wall looks markedly different from the other sections. 

UPDATE: When is the right time to replace a water heater?

ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO, in a post HERE (2/14/22), I discussed the principle that special measures ($$) are warranted whenever there’s a premium placed on the reliability of services. I used the example of the water heater that supplies hot water to our school/office building — which houses our burgeoning preschool. 

It now appears that I had picked a very good illustration for this principle of facilities management. This week, I received a strongly worded email from each of the two main figures behind our preschool. The present post takes note of their express desire — namely, that our synagogue do whatever it takes to avoid disruptions of the preschool’s scheduled days of operation.

“By the Way, That Pipe Is About to Burst.”

IT’S USUALLY WORTHWHILE for a facilities manager to be on hand while a licensed contractor is working on the premises (or even just evaluating a bid request). Often such a vendor will point out something important that had previously escaped our notice.

Which is what happened last week, when a plumber came to deal with a clogged toilet, and I stopped by to check in.… 

When is the right time to replace a water heater?

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" That's a standard guideline for many things in life. Normally it applies to water heaters, as well. But as you know, in contemporary society many items are replaced as a matter of course before they actually break. For example, aircraft engine turbine blades. And the timing belt on the engine of your car. Why? Because they are considered critical parts. If they fail, the whole system may go down — in some cases, literally. 

In this post, I will discuss a case in which a water heater appears to be a critical part — and therefore warrants replacement even before it fails.