I am really not all that big. But I am strong! I am bigger than some of my cousins, but much smaller than a breadbox. I might like to get in your breadbox though, if you are careless enough to leave it open. I won’t "eat" your house— --mostly because it does not taste as good as stuff in your bre
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08/29/2013
When the king or queen needs to sit on the throne they really don’t expect it to be like trying to get on their horses. Even the shortest of kings and queens should not need a step stool to mount their throne---it would be humiliating---better to have a small throne perhaps. This installation
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08/28/2013
Well, if not a doctor, perhaps an EMT? A nurse? Even a veterinarian perhaps? Who else could come up with this as a solution to getting the downspout water across the walkway instead of dumping next to the foundation where it might damage the foundation or flood the walkway making it slippery?
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08/26/2013
One of the most common defects on homes is getting the final finish grade too high---or more accurately---building the house too low. Having built quite a few houses myself, I really don’t understand how this happens. After all, what would a few more inches of concrete cost? The vast majority
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08/24/2013
In the following pictures, most people will see a nice, wide open, covered patio with plenty of room for the ping pong table. What the home inspector will see is: “What the heck is holding up the roof?” If you look at this next picture, it would appear that “beam” A is supporting the entire mi
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08/22/2013
While you might think this is about a wedding taking place at a meetup, that is not the case. It has been a terrific last few days, as I have had to abandon inspection activities and be more involved with family activities. My middle child---although obviously no longer a child—married her sweet
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08/19/2013
It was another unbelievable day in the Northwest and I was out in the garden seeing what I could find to eat when I heard a very loud banging sound coming from the other side of the house. I felt a panic in my heart as I raced around the house to see what all the noise was about. Parked in the dr
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08/15/2013
If you are lucky enough to be in the Seattle area this coming Monday the 2nd of December, please stop by the 14 Carrot Café for our 6thActiveRain Meetup. René Fabre and I will be hosting and we would both love to see as many smiling faces as possible—there will be plenty of coffee and cinnamon b
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08/13/2013
While what I am about to say seems ludicrous—even to me—but fiberglass insulation is pretty close to being an oxymoron. Sure, it is certainly better than nothing, but how much better than nothing is the real question. Since the 1970’s I have railed that fiberglass batts are terrible and over and
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08/12/2013
Yes, if it was not for gravity, all would work well for this installation. Take a look at the first picture and see if you can tell what is wrong. Of course a lot of the screws are missing and that is, over time, enough of an issue all its own. But there is something even more nit-picky than
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08/06/2013
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