Chicken Noodle Soup - 04/26/12 06:18 AM
 
Chicken Noodle Soup
 
The problem with writing about feeling like crap is that I usually do not feel like writing when I feel like crap.
When the head pounds and the words only come out between pulses and sneezes, it is hard to imagine that things will ever be right again.
Of course, over the course of my life, I have been to this sorry place before and I know that this too shall pass.  However when I feel like crap it is pretty easy to convince myself that somehow this time is different---that this will be the time … (12 comments)

To Fix or Replace----that is the question! - 04/25/12 08:38 AM
 
An old carpenter once told me that a really good carpenter never makes mistakes while a really great carpenter knows how to fix their mistakes so they never show.
I am not so sure of the validity of this wisdom, but most likely it happens all the time.  After all, if the carpenter uses a really expensive piece of wood to make something, and some mistake happens, what can be the harm if repairs can be made in such a manner as to not affect function and in such a manner that no one but them ever knows?
Every carpenter … (22 comments)

I just insulated the floors over my crawl space and now the floors still feel cold. Why? - 04/20/12 12:26 PM
 
Today I am going to take on a common problem that is both complicated and simple. 
It is complicated in the sense that our attempt to make floors feel warm over unheated spaces is a band-aid on a problem---as opposed to a cure. 
It is simple in that there really should not be any cold spaces under floors.
The term we are dealing with is “cold floor effect” and the same thing can happen with walls as well.  Our feet are warm---somewhere above 95 degrees F.  In the best of scenarios the floors are always going to be … (23 comments)

Tiptoe Through the Tulips on Wordless Wednesday - 04/18/12 06:03 AM

… (21 comments)

Sometimes all we have is luck to protect us from ourselves. - 04/17/12 07:03 AM
 
Electric forced air wall heaters are very common.  Other than needing cleaning periodically they typically work pretty well.
I did a post recently about one that caught on fire due to being plugged with lint.  They often have a foul smell when they are turned on for the first time in the fall.  All that lint that has been collecting on the heating elements during the warm months gets burned off the first time the thermostat gets turned up.
It is a good idea to have them properly cleaned prior to turning them on in the fall.  Many manufacturers recommend … (27 comments)

Inventing a better mouse trap should at least be related to the critters being trapped. - 04/15/12 07:00 AM
As a builder, I used Simpson hardware from the very beginning---1971.  That is quite a while, and the company has been around a lot longer than that---since the mid 1950’s.
At an inspection the other day I found what appeared to be an “upstart” in the industry attempting to gain a foothold on the near monopoly held by the long standing Simpson Strong Tie company.
This new light-weight bracket is unique in that there is absolutely no transportation costs associated with them.  The heavier Simpson metal brackets have great transportation costs by contrast.
These new brackets require no nails, screws or … (16 comments)

I was gorgeous then, and I am gorgeous now! - 04/11/12 06:04 AM
 
I was installed in 1958.
I am working as well today as I did then, which, I might add, is likely better than the guy writing this for me.
I will likely continue to go on working indefinitely---unless “style” boots me out the door.
Actually I think I look a good deal better than my modern counterparts----and as you can see I am indeed part of the counter.
So what am I?
And where am I?
 
 
Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
… (24 comments)

Google never hibernates (Part 2 of the Shell Game). - 04/09/12 07:13 AM
 
The previous part of this story was necessary to set the stage for how lucky human beings are---compared to Turtles.  At least---I am pretty sure that is true.
While turtles have no choice but to hibernate when it gets too cold, human beings, at least theoretically, have a choice to not go unconscious when the mood strikes them.   While the frequency with which human beings exercise this choice is not great, the possibility is at least there.  With the development of the Internet, human beings have created a way for their lives to carry on in spite of their adventures … (7 comments)

---the pond above us freezes over---and never thaws (Part 1 of the Shell Game). - 04/08/12 08:11 AM
 
I find hibernation a fascinating adaptation of some animals.
Turtles in particular are interesting.  They can spend a huge percentage of their lives buried in mud as the world goes on above them.  They go to sleep when their environment is too cold and then wake up again when it is warm enough.
While one might think that humans do nothing similar, the reality is that humans also hibernate in their own way.  If we look at hibernation as simply a time of “unconsciousness,” one could argue that humans spend an even larger percentage of their lives in hibernation---and with … (10 comments)

Dryerja vu---over and over again. - 04/06/12 02:55 PM
 
I have done many posts about clogged dryer vents and the types of duct pipe used on dryer vents---and it is a subject that bears repeating.
While it is pretty easy to convince people for the need to vent their dryers outdoors, getting them on board with maintaining them is a whole nuther story.  Many fires in houses are caused by dryers---by some estimates around 13,000 per year.  If you want to know just how combustible dryer lint is---just take a match to it.

It lights VERY easily.
The cap at the exterior should never have a screen in … (28 comments)

I never was! - 04/04/12 06:07 AM
 
Here I am.
 
Anything I know
about the past,
is either based on hearsay
or memory.
 
Given the excruciating inadequacy of memory,
it is hard to conclude that anything remembered actually happened
or happened exactly as remembered.
 
Given the disappointing inadequacy of hearsay,
knowing that people will both lie and tell you the truth,
it is hard to conclude
that what we have heard about ourselves
is entirely accurate
or happened the way told.
 
Concluding that the past does not exist
is not hard to imagine. 
Imagining that the past never … (14 comments)

Is your house an island? It better be. - 04/02/12 07:10 AM
 
Crawl spaces can be one of the biggest contributors of moisture in the attic space.  Crawl spaces with exceptionally high moisture levels can overwhelm even crawl spaces that have “technically” adequate ventilation.  Moisture as vapor (a gas) will move from the crawl space, through the living space, and end up in the attic where it can condense on the cold roof sheathing.  This moisture vapor can overwhelm an attic that also has “technically” adequate ventilation.
On a recent inspection, I had such a crawl space.   Much of the crawl space had flooded to such an extent that the vapor barrier … (43 comments)

 
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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

Seattle, WA

More about me…

Charles Buell Inspections.com

Address: Seattle, Shoreline, Everett, Lynnwood, Bothel, Kirkland, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Edmonds, Renton, King County, 17123 22nd Ave NE, Shoreline (Seattle), WA, 98155

Office Phone: (206) 478-7371

Cell Phone: (206) 478-7371

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My blog is intended to provide information related to home inspections in Seattle, surrounding communities and anyone else interested. Sometimes I will provide information that has nothing to do with home inspections. Enjoy!

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