Charles's Seattle Home Inspection Blog

HERE----take your dang business card back!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:05:43 -0600

After ordering pizza---delivered----to your new home the day you move in, the next big event at the home is the housewarming party. The one you hold for all your friends and family----to show off your new digs.

Having been invited as the "honored home inspector" at such events on more than one occasion, I have to wonder how many of these parties end in a less than perfect manner, or even in tragedy, as the back deck collapses under more weight than it has ever seen before.

I know what can happen when decks are not built properly----and many are not built properly----often by weekend warriers that “think” they know what they are doing.

Inadequately bolted (or not bolted) ledgers, rotten supports, lack of diagonal bracing, improper stairs, inadequate barriers and other conditions can result in falls and spilled beer. Either way---this is not the type of party to be at, as the honored inspector, when the deck fails. I would not even want to hear about it collapsing later if I was not there.

As a result, I trash a lot of deck installations----I am not about to be embarrassed at the party----and have to take back all those business cards.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Even from the Brooklyn Bridge this looks like trouble!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:19:47 -0600

There are not all that many roofs that I do not walk on---but one of the kinds I don’t usually walk on is steep metal roofs. If one thinks back to their childhood---they make slippery-slides out of metal for a reason. I know there are plastic ones, but they are not nearly as good as metal ones----unless there is water running down them.

So, I was looking at this one from the eaves and from the ground, to make as good an assessment of the roof as I could.

I think everyone can see in this picture that there is no flashing around this vent pipe.

From the attic side, it is as clear as blue sky and green grass that there just “ain’t no flashing.”

WHOOPS!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Rumpledsowsear

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:10:55 -0600

Once upon a time (for some reason I seem to be living into fairy tales lately) in the not-so-far-off land of Doogle, there lived a blogger and his beautiful daughter. In order to make himself appear more "important," this blogger fibbed on the Internet and on the MLS that his beautiful daughter could easily turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.

King Doogle was VERY skeptical and called for the blogger and his daughter to come before him in the castle. Unable to dissuade the blogger from his claims, the king sent the daughter to the dark, dank and now smelly dungeon. He provided her with a mountain of sow’s ears and ordered her to turn them into even one measly silk purse by morning. If she could not manage such a simple task she and her father would be banished from the land of Doogle forever.

The poor daughter became depressed (not to mention pissed at her dad)----she knew that there was no way in Doogle she would ever be able to turn that pile of sow’s ears into even one measly silk purse----so she started to cry. At that very moment a devilish little toad appeared, pouncing gleefuly through the river of tears. He said that he would turn all those sow’s ears into as many silk purses as she wanted if she would but give him half of her activerain points----and her first born child. Well she REALLY didn’t want her father or herself banned from the land of Doogle so she reluctantly consented. She never was into the whole "points" thing anyway (and she missed the part about the kid).

POOF!!!----instantly all the sow’s ears turned into silk purses----HUNDREDS of them! When King Doogle saw all the beautiful silk purses he was so impressed that he married the blogger’s daughter (hopefully that was OK with her).

Together they filled the kingdom’s coffers by selling all the silk purses on eBay.

King and Queen Doogle then doogled around for a year and pretty soon there was a little Doogle chasing toads around the castle. After a while, the “weasely toad” returned to claim his payment. He said: "Now give me your first born child." The queen had forgotten her promise to the toad and was broken-hearted to say the least. She offered him the other half of her activerain points if she could but please keep the child. The toad refused at first, but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could simply guess his name before midnight on Sunday night.

What to do???

She pulled out her laptop and Doogled: “What is the rotten weasely toad’s name?”

(It is usually best to be direct and to the point with Doogle.)

Two hundred and twenty seven thousand pages of hits came back with the name: “Rumpledsowsear.”

Proud of herself to the point of emotional melt-down and peed undergarments, she just could not wait until that weasely little toad showed up again. When he finally did show up, she blurted out knowingly: “Rumpledsowsear!” The toad was paralyzed by shock and sick with dismay (but secretly impressed too) and nearly croaked right then and there. But, in the end he merely bounced past the guard in shining armor, through the window and into the moat----and was never heard from again (after the splash that is).

There is nothing quite like having good Doogle Juice----works on warts too!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The Little Red Hen----pecking away in the RAIN!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:18:45 -0600

Once upon a time, there was a little blogger who had a little blog at . He was friends with a dorky duck named Quackers, a stupid squirrel named Nutsy, and a cryptic crow named Raven (and then there were the hundreds of other friends).

One day the little blogger found some blog fodder in the bathroom. The little blogger had an idea. He would post this fodder to his blog.

The little blogger asked his friends, "Who will help me post this fodder to my blog?"

"Not I," quacked the dorky duck .
"Not I," squealed the stupid squirrel .
"Not I," squawked the cryptic crow .

"Then I will," said the little blogger . So the little blogger posted the fodder to his blog all by himself.

When the fodder had been posted, the little blogger asked his friends, "Who will help me spread this fodder around ?"

"Not I," quacked the dorky duck .
"Not I," squealed the stupid squirrel .
"Not I," squawked the cryptic crow .

"Then I will," said the little blogger . So the little blogger spread the fodder all around all by himself.

When all the fodder was spread around, the little blogger asked his friends, "Who will help me take the fodder to and and to be turned into SEO ?"

"Not I," quacked the dorky duck .
"Not I," squealed the stupid squirrel .
"Not I," squawked the cryptic crow .

"Then I will," said the little blogger . So the little blogger brought the fodder to all by himself, turned the fodder into SEO , and watched his page ranking on

and and grow higher and higher.

The tired little blogger asked his friends, "Who will help me aswer the phone because of all the great SEO I am getting?"

"Not I," quacked the dorky duck .
"Not I," squealed the stupid Squirrel .
"Not I," squawked the cryptic crow .

"Then I will," said the little blogger . So the little blogger answered all the phone calls created by the great SEO all by himself.

When the last call for the night was answered, the tired little blogger asked his friends, "Who would like to "LINK" to my blog now?"

"I will," quacked the dorky duck .
"I will," squealed the stupid squirrel .
"I will," squawked the cryptic crow .

"NO!" said the little blogger . "Earn your own SEO ." And the little blogger enjoyed his hard earned SEO all by himself!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Seattle

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:04:24 -0600

Got Blog Fodder?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:52:19 -0600

I would be very surprised if there is anyone that frequents this site that does not know the term “fixer.”

As a home inspector, when I hear the term a couple of things go through my mind. First of course is: “blog fodder.” I can’t help but think, “Here is an opportunity to add to my long list of things to blog about.”

Home inspectors are REALLY lucky, because finding things to blog about is usually pretty effortless----if perhaps at times a little tedious and boring to the reader. I know for example that if Barbara Duncan reads one more post about water heaters her TPRV will blow.

The second thing I think about (actually probably the first thing) is: “Here comes another long report where I need to charge at least twice as much as anyone wants to hear about”----and actually end up charging a “normal” rate. But that is just the way it is for a Seattle Home Inspector.

At an inspection the other day I got to thinking about this because this house was ANYTHING BUT a fixer. This place was REALLY nice! The house was on a lot of acreage out in the country and did I already say, “This place was REALLY nice?”

While lots of things can become things that get “restored,” it seems that houses----that may or may not be restorable----get called “fixers.” So often one has to wonder if these places are actually going to “pencil out” or are they just going to turn into someone’s very own money pit. At some point it just becomes good money chasing bad money, doesn’t it? How do we find balance between what is good conservation and what is a waste of additional precious resources?

It is not really just houses that can be “fixers.” Why is it that we don’t think of old cars as fixers? Old washing machines as fixers? We are more likely to call them “Junkers”-----did anyone say, “Cash for clunkers?” (I think I will stay away from that tangent.) These types of things become antiques that get “restored”----and some even loose their value if they are “repaired.” Take for example this wagon-----there ain’t no fixing it. It has become some sort of nostalgic “lawn art” and in that sense has created a new value for itself that required no additional expenditure of time, materials or money.

Looks like it also became “blog-fodder.”

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Who really cares whether the builder knows what he is doing or not?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:21:19 -0600

In terms of what Home Inspectors do, does it really matter whether any of the trades that built the house are licensed or not?

Well, YES and----NOT REALLY!

Now I am not talking about this from the standpoint of some lofty ideal where we get into all the “shoulda-coulda-woulda’s” about the trades-

--my statement is purely aimed at dealing with: the way things are.

I think in some respects it makes our job easier when the trades are licensed, and it generally means there are likely to be fewer mistakes; but, when they are not, it just makes what we do as Home Inspectors all that much more important. If there were no mistakes made by builders, there would be no reason for Home Inspectors to inspect new construction. One doesn’t have to inspect very many new houses (usually just one) to know that inspections are necessary.

Add to this the fact that some jurisdictions provide no oversight of the construction process and we are for sure going to have our hands full as inspectors.

An interesting thing that people seem to ignore (or be unaware of) is that almost all States have adopted at least some version of the IRC (International Residential Code) and the NEC (National Electrical Code)----as well as other codes. What this means is that work done in those States must comply with at least these “minimum standards” whether inspected by a “local” jurisdiction or not. Just because there is no place to go and get a permit or call to get an inspection done, is not a “license” for the builder to do whatever they please----people’s lives can be at stake----and all work still should meet whatever regulations are in place.

Some inspectors fear, quite erroneously that if they call out some defect that they will have nothing other than their opinion to back up what they are saying. In most cases they would be able to support what they are saying in the same way an inspector working in a jurisdiction with oversight would be able to.

It seems to me that if I am going to be calling out defects in jurisdictions with little or no oversight, and I am licensed as a Home Inspector myself, I automatically carry more weight in what I say----especially when that State as a whole has adopted regulations that I can use to support my opinions and/or recommendations. Un-licensed, I am just another wannabe professional that the general public may or may not have confidence in. Sure Home Inspection Associations can help---but un-licensed home builders also have associations that they belong to. While these associations help, they do not greatly reduce my job security.

Frankly, I think it is ridiculous that there are no real requirements to be a General Contractor (Education, Continuing Education, Testing etc.) here in my own State, but what does this REALLY have to do with what I do as a Licensed Home Inspector? Not much. All it does is make what we do as home inspectors even more important because we become the de facto safety net for the consumer. This is not at all about being code inspectors---it is more about being all there is----kind of like inspecting the huge amount of houses built prior to any licensing or any codes.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The average, dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers, HOME INSPECTOR will never notice!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:20:36 -0600

I often wonder, about some of the things I find wrong in homes.

Is it really only home inspectors that would ever notice these things?

I wish that I could take a poll of everyone that sees this post to find out how many of my readers recognize the problem before I “enlightened” them.

So---be honest----before scrolling down----what is the defect?

I just tested my sweetie with the picture and she didn’t pick out the defect without a little coaching. I said, “The drain has no trap---you know that thing that gets in the way of the garbage can?” So perhaps it is not as “obvious” as I would like to think.

While this defect would be great for the jumbo trash can, it might not be what anyone would consider a very desirable “air freshener.”

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

It is Halloween----and the INTERNET has fangs!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:53:24 -0500

We all know how addictive the Internet can be----especially to activerain. There have been countless stories about the “effects” of this addiction on our lives----some good-----some bad.

I am turning the focus of this blog to a less talked about aspect of our compulsion.
The lengths to which we will go----to feed this monster.

I know the story that follows below is only one tame example. I also am sure that all of my readers have their own lurid tales of what they have done to get their next fix. We are not talking coffee or chocolates here----we are talking INTERNET. If you think this does not apply to you, just remember back to that feeling you had in your gut the last time the power went out for five minutes. Can you honestly tell me you didn’t start calculating where the nearest Internet café is? Of course all of you with I-phones are the most addicted of all, and----DON’T EVER FORGET----even you will need to charge up those batteries sooner or later.

At a recent house I inspected, I found where someone needed a "fix" so bad they were willing to cut a 2’x2’ hole through double 5/8” drywall into the ceiling structure of the garage to gain access to the ductwork to the bedroom above. They figured the ductwork would make a great chase for the Internet cable. Of course this was a breach of the fire-rated surfaces between the garage and the floor structure above the garage, and taking the ductwork apart to run the wire to the bedroom would also allow fumes from the garage to enter the bedroom.

Now I like to pretend think I have never compromised the safety of my family for an Internet fix and I certainly have never sold any of my children to get an Internet fix (that would be a bit extreme even for me.)

I know my buddy Steve Smith actually bought a computer while on vacation because he just couldn’t stand going through withdrawal----there is nothing more bizarre than watching Steve dance with no music on (reminds me of the time my dog got her collar hung up on the electric fence) and then there is that sad whimpering about how much he misses Nutsy----as if she was a real person.

So, what is the strangest thing you have ever done for an INTERNET fix?

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

One Stop Shopping: Charles Buell Inspections, Washington State Licensed Home Inspector and Licensed Structural Pest Inspector.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:03:02 -0500

As both a Licensed Structural Pest Inspector and a Licensed Home Inspector in Washington State, I provide my buyers with the kind of service that has become expected of Home Inspectors in Washington State.

This is a little bit unusual when compared to other parts of the country, but here in the NW, were we have such a wide variety of wood destroying organisms, the home inspector really is in the best position to assess all the areas of a home that these critters might show up in. While recent licensing of home inspectors in Washington State allows Home Inspectors to identify Rot and conditions conducive to Wood Destroying Organisms, if the home inspector encounters Wood Destroying Insects he or she is required to “….refer the identification of or damage by wood destroying insects to a structural pest inspector…” (RCW 18.280.190)

This of course assumes that the Home Inspector knows the difference between Carpenter Ant Frass and the scraps from Uncle Harry’s Hobby. Some inspectors say they will get around this issue by recommending the evaluation be done by a Licensed Pest Control Operator (Includes the Structural Pest Inspector License). This approach ignores the obvious conflict of interest in having the guys that treat for bugs also be the ones that figure out whether they are present or not.

Other inspectors don’t want the additional liability implied by having the license and missing something. This ignores the fact that if you miss something that is destroying the home----you are in deep doo anyway.

A home inspector that is also trained to identify wood destroying insects can not only call for the appropriate trades to make whatever repairs are called for, but can also call for proper treatment by the Licensed Pest Control Operator when necessary.

Take Anobiid Beetles for example. These little critters are very common here in the NW and are primarily an insect that is opportunistic. In other words they like to infest wood that has elevated moisture levels. They really like under-ventilated crawl spaces without vapor barrier/ground covers and spaces with poor clearances that prevent adequate air circulation. They are really good at totally obliterating the interior of the wood while leaving the exterior surface relatively normal looking except for their exit holes. The home inspector that, in the course of their inspection, does some random probing of structural components in the crawl space and disintegrates a support post with their rock hammer would have to “….refer the identification of or damage by wood destroying insects to a structural pest inspector…” (RCW 18.280.190)

Am I missing something here?

Wouldn’t it be a lot more efficient for the Home Inspector to just be able to deal with it in the context of their inspection instead of having to call for another one? Even with that there could still be delays for getting repairs for estimates----but at least one step would be eliminated.

More or less-----one stop shopping.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Check out this beauty’s measurements!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:57:48 -0500

“They sure don’t make them like they used to.”

Everyone has heard this----most of us have even said it. Usually I am likely to say something like, “And that is a good thing that they don’t”

Now you are probably wondering how this relates to whatever you are thinking about---especially those of you looking to get tossed in The Active Rain Gutter. But this time I am talking “beams.”

Take a look at this Beauty!

She’s a 10 x18 x 16!

Now those are some measurements!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday at Lena's place

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:59:53 -0500

Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:16:31 -0500

Life can be viewed as a room full of doors connected to rooms full of doors.

All we have to do is figure out which doors to open and which doors to leave closed. As long as they don’t hit us in the butt when we go through them we usually do OK.

While it might be “comfortable” to not open any doors----we kind of opened the door about “opening doors” when we were born. By the time we get old enough to realize that we have a choice about the doors we open (even between seemingly identical doors); we have already opened quite a few of the wrong doors----along with the many correct ones that we have opened.

Some of the doors that we learned how to “pick” the locks on----perhaps should have been left locked. There were likely lots of other less attractive doors that remained unopened----and some that were just not recognized as doors.

While some doors will let us back-track into previous rooms----others slam shut with the certainty of a sunset---or a sunrise. Even rooms that we do find our way back into never look quite the same after being in the others.

And don’t you hate those doors left seductively ajar?

And yes, it is a good idea to avoid the ones with bars whenever possible----but sometimes even those are required of us.

There are very few rooms with no doors to other rooms----except perhaps the last one.

When you find yourself in such a room----with seemingly no door----you might have to use a window. There is usually a way out---or in---depending on how you are looking at the situation.

Then there are the doors that merely take us to the place where we already are.

And isn’t that the way it is anyway?

Then again perhaps life is a box of chocolates after all.

Was the internet invented because of the demise of keyholes?

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Go ahead---turn me on!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:20:48 -0500

Sometimes we have those “light-bulb” moments in our lives where something just “clicks” and we understand things in a way that we just could not grasp them previously.

The “mechanisms” for these moments are not well understood, and yet sometimes it is actually hard to understand how we could possibly miss some of the details around us.

We have all had these moments haven’t we?

The other day, something came up on the inspection that got me to thinking about this. The problem I have with the issue that I found is: 1. how could the original installer NOT have had a light bulb-moment about it; and 2. why would everyone put up with it for 27 years?

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Teaching old dogs new tricks.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:46:33 -0500

Does anyone actually believe that you can not teach old dogs new tricks?

While this may be true of dogs, I like to flatter myself in thinking that this is not necessarily true of human beings. To watch the actions of some people though, one does have to wonder.

It seems as though, most of the limitations we place on what we can learn is placed on us by our own thinking. While it may be true that younger minds are perhaps more adept at certain kinds of learning they will always be limited by their lack of experience. As we get older we tend to let that very experience limit us. This is especially evident with older people and their unwillingness to embrace the internet and computer technology----like it is just another language they do not have time to learn----or have no need to learn. They seem oblivious to the worlds it could open to them. For me I am still very excited by all kinds of opportunities to have new experiences----to learn new things.

The older I get, the more I become aware of how much more I can still learn because of all the space created by all the things I have forgotten. Just like Monte Python’s Mr. Creosote----there is always room for one more bite! When was the last time you exploded?

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

What is one of the most important features of a bathtub?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:27:25 -0500

The drain.

Yes, without a drain a bathtub would be a quite painful apparatus----and probably wouldn’t get used very much----or the water would just sit there until it turned green and foul. It was probably part of why our ancestors bathed once a year whether they needed it or not.

Every house that has a basement should be thought of as a home covering a giant bathtub. Without a drain we are just plain asking for trouble.

Do you remember the rubber hoses on your washing machine I have warned you in the past about changing to braided stainless steel hoses? Well because you didn’t change them, and then you went to Baja for a month, when you came home you found two feet of water in your basement----all because there was no drain!

Well if that was NOT you---do you know where your basement drain is? Do you know if it works? It is always a good idea to verify the function of floor drains in basements to prevent major flooding that would cause way more damage than if there was no drain at all.

As an inspector I always do my best to locate basement floor drains. I found this one rather interesting.

Filled flush with concrete----good thing it was dry basement----for now anyway.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Connecticut

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:47:26 -0500

But it has been that way for…….

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:05:56 -0500

If there is anything that makes the lives of inspectors difficult, it is house defects that have somehow “stood the test of time.”

Every inspector has heard from sellers and agents on both sides of the deal say, “But it has been that way for………”

The only thing I can equate this to is the recent collapse of one of the great arches in Arches National Monument-----Wall Arch----which had stood there perfectly content for more than 10 thousand years. One night, with no one to watch, it decided it had had enough of obnoxious sightseers, petroglyph carvers and sport climbers and just disintegrated under its own weight.

Inspectors often use the term “stood the test of time” to describe conditions of homes that may not be “proper” by current “standards” yet they appear to be functioning just fine. We have to be VERY careful using this term because of the “Wall Arch Effect.” Another thing that works against most man-made and natural made features is that things rarely get better with age----so sooner or later there is bound to be a mighty roar and cloud of dust and it won’t be the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

Take this stair stringer attachment for example. You know a stringer don’t you? It is the long diagonal white board in this first picture that supports all the stair treads.

It has likely been just the way you see it---except for perhaps the nice white paint---for at least 103 years. This certainly qualifies it as having “stood the test of time” and it will not likely “spontaneously” collapse like Wall Arch. However, all bets are off when a couple of guys too big for their clothes try to wrestle a refrigerator up or down the stairs. As an inspector I can not afford to pass these stairs off as safe with so little supporting the top end of the stringer as shows in this next picture. There are just a couple of toe-nails driven up into the joist and very small amounts of the top tread bucking against the joist.

That the stairs have “stood the test of time” is not an excuse or a reason to let the issue slide----they still need to be fixed----especially when adding proper support will be so easy.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Ever been asked what planet you are from?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:21:15 -0500

Well here is your chance to BE from another planet.

The current economic climate on Planet Earth has led most of us to have all sorts of opinions as to what should be different and yet there is really very little consensus----and enough malarkey to go around from all factions----most of it obscenely cloaked in one socio-polligious agenda or another.

I thought it might be fun to step back from the concerns of this planet for a moment and travel waaaaaay out in space, to where your very own personal planet happily and effortlessly spins around its equally glorious sun.

You know the one----the one where everything is the way YOU think it should be?

Since it is a given that religion and politics ARE NOT FUN----please don’t share in your comments what religion and/or politics would be like on your perfect planet.

Instead---let’s get right down to the “serious stuff” and see what kind of differences we can come up with. The “catch” to this little exercise is that I also want everyone to think of some drawback to that “perfect” difference----given that everything perfect has some “mole.” If your planet is so perfect that you can’t imagine any draw backs, that is fine----but watch out----I, and everyone else, will be looking for one.

I will start the list (which also provides the exercise format) with:

On Planet Charles----IT ONLY RAINS AT NIGHT! (Dang! No more rainbows!)

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Let me see-----I used to know who I was----Before ActiveRain and Now

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:42:40 -0500

A very nice Mountain in Hawaii asked the question, “What was life like before activerain?"

While this may sound like a straightforward enough question, the problem is----that I can not remember! Come on now, get a grip---was there really life before activerain? How can that be?

Those brain cells have long since disappeared into a rainyfog of endless blog posts and comments both directed at other rainaddict’s posts and responding to those that have been nice (or weird) enough to comment on my posts. Wringing out the grey matter----looking for one more word to pound relentlessly into the keyboard----is all that remains of what was once a respected, useful, optimistic human being. (I used to be different and now I'm the same.)

And what is the point!

POINTS?

Who said that?

NOW I remember----the points.

Where would we be without po↑nts?

Oblio---help me out here please!

I am now a mere shell of my former self, with nothing better to do than to find something to fill that shell up----and empty it again in an endless stream of consciousness----like a river of chocolate lava from a volcano. Of course there is no shortage of flavored fillings to gorge on here at activerain!

As we inch forward at a snails pace up a mysteriousmountain of points, we get an endless view of the more than 162,114 other mountains around us----some taller-----MANY shorter----all we can do is marvel at the view----each mountain making a color all its own----like a great carpet of fall colors.

And chuckle,

And smile to ourselves----all the way to the bank!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Close enough for a cigar----or to at least it could have smoked like one!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:51:07 -0500

Sorry if I have offended any cigar smokers out there, but by the time the smoke clears maybe you will forgive me----then again maybe not.

Inspectors are always harping about how hot heat lamps and electric heaters can get. The following pictures were from an inspection of a home that was less than a year old. A far shorter period of time than it takes to age a good cigar (some might say this is an oxymoron---but what do I know----I just don’t like cigars).

When the door is left ajar it parks itself right under the heat lamp with the obvious result that the heat lamp is smoking the door.

It was really hard to get a good picture of the top of the door but there is a large depression in the edge where the wood has become charcoal.

Leaves one to wonder about the smoke alarm/detectors in the home doesn’t it?

My buyer seemed to take it all in stride and just said they would be sure to remind their teenage son to be careful not to park the door under the heat lamp.

This time it was the inspectors turn to “freak-out” at the inspection, as I told them, “NO---this was not acceptable----and MUST be fixed.”

Someone needs to relocate the heat lamp so that it is not in the swing of the door.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:37:57 -0500

Don’t Bogart that drain my friend…..

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:10:04 -0500

I have been accused of being “clever” myself on occasion, so I tend to recognize it when I see it. When it comes to home repairs being clever can be a good thing---but without enough information it can be dangerous.

Take TPRV drains for example.

There is a TPRV (Temperature, Pressure Relief Valve) on every water heater. It should have a drain on it that runs to an appropriate location without running up hill. While these valves may harmlessly leak a little water now and then, they are designed as a safety relief valve where tremendous amounts of very hot water may need to be drained away in a hurry.

The installation of the drain termination pictured below (copper pipe entering from the top, right) will likely be satisfactory for minor leaking of the TPRV, but it will not be satisfactory in an explosive relief of pressure. Very hot water would likely be sprayed everywhere in the room before it found its way into the drain with a washing machine hose stuck in it.

The odd thing about this installation is that it would have been way easier to have routed the drain to a more appropriate location.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The carpet baggers---grab the money and run!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:18:30 -0500

It was evident that the house had very recently been re-carpeted---this is common with houses that have been “cleaned-up” a bit before putting them on the market. The carpet, along with re-painting the entire interior and appropriate staging, did improve the appearance. It most likely did assist in making the home more salable.

The re-carpeting though did bring up an interesting issue.

I am sure most of you that have gas fireplaces, or that know people that have gas fireplaces, have sometimes seen the keyed gas shut-off located near the fireplace in the wall or in the floor. Not all gas fireplaces have this type of keyed shut-off, but this one did.

There are a couple of things I like to determine about these shut-offs. One thing is, “where is the key?” It is kind of nice to be able to tell the buyer that it was seen in such and such a place and to make sure it is still around when they take possession. If I can’t find it, they might want to ask the seller if it is around somewhere----or figure on having to buy a new one.

If I find it installed in the shut-off that is good information to provide the buyer because, not only do I know where it is, but I can also remind my buyer that the key should never be left in the shut-off valve because little children might find it interesting. Again----good safety information to provide the buyer.

At this house, I noticed that the shut-off location was indeed on the floor next to the fireplace and---yup---the key was still in it. As I reached down and fiddled with the key, I noticed that the whole device was loose and the key was not making contact with anything inside the hole.

From inside the crawl space it became evident why this was the case.

The carpet guys had simply removed the decorative, supporting top piece and then rolled out the carpet. Then they could not re-attach the device to the component in the crawl space because the pipe in the crawl space had dropped down too much. Guess who is NOT about to send someone into the crawl space and push the pipe up enough so that someone above could get the top piece to thread on to it? You probably guessed it…….

The carpet baggers----as they grab the money and run!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

There is something dead in my shower!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:10:40 -0500

On a recent inspection I found this little fellow in the Master Bathroom shower. In case you don’t recognize him, it is a bottle fly----or blow fly. When you find these critters around you can anticipate that there is something dead around.

It was no surprise later when, in the attic, I found two sticky traps with recently caught----but very dead----mice in them. It was even less of a surprise when I weaseled my way into a section of the crawl space that no one had been in since construction, and found a dead rabbit. How the heck does a rabbit get into a crawl space? I could find no entry points big enough for a rabbit---but there must be one somewhere. I was willing to let the Licensed Pest Control Operator figure that one out.

Perhaps a gravity-drain hidden somewhere under the vapor barrier.

While the colors of the blow fly are spectacular---what these flies do for a living is not an image I like to think about-----and you my poor reader most likely do not as well.

So, from this same house, I will leave you with a more pleasant image----and yet still an image of death and dying.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.