king county home inspectors: Man Have I got YOUR number!
- 05/28/09 02:17 AM
What is the fascination the human brain has with numbers?----and I don’t mean as in mathematics (something that this human’s brain has never been fascinated with). I am talking about numbers like 3, 7, and 13.
Some times our “issues” with numbers----get fancy names. Like “Triskaidekaphobia” ----the fear of the number 13. “Tetraphobia” is the fear of the number 4. And for all of you fans of the movie Friday the 13th we have: “paraskavedekatriaphobia.” Now I don’t know about you, but if I am committed to some loony-bin I would like a little bit shorter medical description … (27 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Wordless Wednesday (not) in Seattle
- 02/04/09 02:24 AM
… (21 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Ever walked-out on a movie?----here is your chance!
- 11/13/08 01:33 AM
So many people are starting to use videos in their blogs and on their websites that I figured as a home inspector there might be some instances where video might be useful. In general I think it has its limitations. For one thing----videos take time. People can certainly obtain more information by reading about something, than they can by watching it on video----given the same amount of time. A video of someone sitting and talking is a waste of most people's time I would think----unless they are doing impersonations that rely on ones being able to see their facial expressions, … (33 comments)
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king county home inspectors: There is nothing quite like wiry naked components!
- 10/29/08 06:45 AM
Despite the "juicy" title, this is about a different kind of "juice."
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of wire types---each with specific purposes and uses. In residential construction there is your run of the mill Non-Metallic sheathed cable commonly called "Romex"----of which, there are many manufacturers as well as types. There are types rated for wet locations, exposure to outdoor environments and those rated for only indoor use and other purposes.
It is very common to see indoor wiring used outdoors. When this happens, over time, the outer wire covering will deteriorate with exposure to the … (10 comments)
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king county home inspectors: I KNEW I could get it running!
- 01/16/08 12:11 AM
One of my favorite "homeowner" wiring jobs was this disposal that was wired with phone wire. This demonstrates one of the problems with electrical installations in general----there are many ways to make things function and yet the wiring can be wrong and dangerous.
Many are not as obvious as this use of way-undersized wire to supply power to the disposal. With the availability of information on the internet pertaining to the proper installation of almost anything, it is getting to the point where there is very little excuse for seeing installations like this----yet they still happen. I love the internet … (4 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Painted receptacles
- 01/14/08 04:47 AM
On yesterday's inspection I was reminded of a common electrical issue---painted receptacles. Receptacles should NOT be painted. When they are painted the surface of the receptacle from prong-to-prong can become "conductive" and internal components can be adversely affected by the paint. And, depending on the components in the paint, the paint can become very conductive (high metal content---old lead based paint etc). Sometimes receptacles get painted because of the desire to have the receptacles "disappear" into the overall color of the wall. Other times they end of painted because people are just too lazy to properly protect the outlets during painting … (3 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Closet fire hazards
- 01/12/08 03:28 AM
A lot of older homes still have porcelain bulb holders in them. Too often they are located such that stored items can come in contact with the bulb----creating a fire hazard. These old bulb holders should be replaced with fixtures approved for closet installation. Fixtures with florescent bulbs are common. Locating them above the doorway keeps them out of the way of stored items and allows for better lighting of the closet as well. In the picture below we see the bulb in contact with a cardboard box. Another issue with these older style porcelain bulb holders is that they … (9 comments)
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king county home inspectors: When do I have to be careful?
- 01/11/08 12:41 AM
This is a continuation of the theme started in the previous blog: "Electrocution hazard." It is very important that proper clearances be maintained for the electrical service wire coming to the home from the street. Trees need to be kept cut back and the service wires should not contact the roof or other components of the home. In the picture below, the service wire has come in contact with the metal edge of the flat roof. There is a wear mark on the metal where the wire has worn off the paint. Over time this metal edge will wear off … (7 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Electrocution hazard.
- 01/11/08 12:34 AM
Inspectors find all kinds of electrical issues during an inspection. Some can cause fires while others lead to electrical shocks. Few of these issues rival the shock hazard of uncovered utility company splices. In the picture below the splices are the silver colored connectors with all the little indentations. Normally these have shrink wrap, tape, or snap-on enclosures installed by the utility when they make the connections. It is common for the neutral/ground connection to not be covered (the bare wire that also acts as the support wire from the street). In the picture the lowest connection is the neutral/ground/support-wire … (2 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Continuity of Electrial Bonding---shock hazards!
- 01/10/08 12:56 AM
As previously discussed in the blog: Plumbers aren't Electricians, I mentioned that the continuity of the metal piping systems in the home is important and that replacement of sections of the pipe with plastic can result in loss of continuity. Examples of ways that continuity can be broken are: installation of di-electric unions, replacement of sections of the metal pipe with plastic, in-line water filters etc. Di-electric unions are used to connect pipes of dissimilar metals to prevent corrosion due to electrolysis.
In this first picture we see where there has been a jumper installed across the section of non-conductive … (0 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Plumbers are NOT electricians
- 01/10/08 12:38 AM
One of the consequences of over specialization is that in areas where disciplines overlap things may be omitted. One example of this is the bonding of metal systems to the electrical grounding system in the home. Without getting overly technical regarding "grounding" and "bonding," every home has a grounding system and all metallic systems in the home (metal water supply pipes, metal drain pipes, metal heating pipes, gas pipes etc.) must be "bonded" to the house grounding system. This prevents life threatening shocks to persons touching these systems if the pipes were to become energized for some reason.
In older … (9 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Can you lock your garage overhead door?
- 01/06/08 03:02 AM
Overhead garage-door-opener installation is another one of those items that homeowners frequently think they can install themselves. I suppose if the installation instructions are followed very carefully they can, but very often I find the door's manual locking mechanism still functional----sometimes locked when I am about to test it.
These opener motors are very strong and if the opener is operated with the manual lock engaged the whole mechanism can tear itself off the ceiling causing injury to persons and property.
Some people feel they want the "extra" security by maintaining the manual lock, unaware of the potential safety hazard … (9 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Exposed Wiring----electical safety hazard.
- 01/05/08 04:11 AM
Frequently as inspectors we find electrical wiring that is "subject to mechanical damage." This is wiring that because of the way it is installed or the type of wiring that is installed can be damaged by mechanical means. That includes: being "whacked" by vacuum cleaners and "chewed on" by pets. All wiring has specific ratings as to where it can be installed and under what conditions. Any wiring inside the interior of the home has to be adequately protected from mechanical damage. In the picture below we see wiring that is NOT adequately protected and can easily be damaged by … (1 comments)
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king county home inspectors: More SNAKES!
- 01/02/08 05:59 PM
Crawl spaces can be pretty inhospitable places. There is all too often the possibility of electrocution, raw sewage, rats, raccoons, dust laden with asbestos and harmful pathogens, flooding, collapsing wells and septic tanks, chemicals from Pest Control Operators, collapsing structural elements, and in some areas----SNAKES. I was glad this python/boa (don't want to know enough about snakes to know the difference) was dead----although very smelly. This particular snake was someone's escaped pet. I would hate to be hugged to death in a crawl space and not be able to reach my cell phone. The crawl space is also where all … (6 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Coffee, Tea or........
- 01/02/08 01:57 AM
Following the theme of my last blog about Whirlpool Baths, another issue that can sometimes gross out the buyer is when the sink faucet delivers "coffee" instead of water. This condition is usually a sign that the home has older galvanized type pipes and the fixture hasn't been used in a while. All homes with old galvanized pipes will deliver rusty water if they are not used for a period of time. If the faucets are used every day the rust in the water just isn't noticeable. Rusty pipes are not considered a health safety issue---but coffee-water can be quite … (1 comments)
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king county home inspectors: What is that coming out of those JETS?
- 01/02/08 01:01 AM
While this would not slip my most agents, I am still surprised how often the Whirlbath tub jets have NOT been cleaned prior to inspection of the home. These tubs can be a serious health hazard if not properly maintained. There is nothing more embarrassing than to fill up the tub (with the buyer standing there), turn on the jets and have black goop extruded from the jets (trying to be euphemistic here). It also takes a great deal of time to clean up these messes----something that either I or the buyer's agent usually have to do. While I don't … (13 comments)
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king county home inspectors: I HATE bees!
- 01/01/08 02:49 AM
Like the dryer vent caps, other exhaust fan vent caps need to be properly maintained. These caps can suffer from mechanical damage and can be points of entry to the structure for vermin---birds, bees, squirrels and rats. The single biggest issue I find with these vents is that bees loveto build nests in them. This can prevent proper operation/opening of the vent flap leading to reduced ventilation and premature demise of the fan motor (it is working harder all the time). Bees also represent a safety hazard when inspecting and cleaning the vents-----so "bee" careful. Because these vents are usually … (5 comments)
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king county home inspectors: When do you NOT need an inspection?
- 12/31/07 02:44 AM
When do you NOT need an inspection? Well, inspections are always a good idea even when the conditions are as obvious as this interior door being used as an exterior door. Not all problems are this obvious. Sometimes obvious issues (even hilarious issues) can be a distraction leading to missing other less obvious (but more important) issues nearby. Experienced inspectors are not as affected by the "shock and awe" factor. Sometimes it is hard not to have a good chuckle:)
Charles Buell
www.buellinspections.com
… (9 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Are your outside faucets freeze protected?
- 12/30/07 05:57 AM
Many homes have what are called "frost-free" outside faucets. The design of these faucets is such that the water is actually shut-off at the interior of the home where is more likely to be warmer thus preventing freezing of the water near the valve outdoors. When you shut off the valve, water drains out of the short section of pipe between the shut-off handle and the interior of the home. If you leave hoses attached to the valve during the winter this frost-free function is lost because the water can't drain out. So remember to remove your hoses from these faucets … (3 comments)
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king county home inspectors: Test your GFCI's
- 12/30/07 04:20 AM
When was the last time you tested your GFCI protected receptacles----you know those receptacles around the home that have the little test buttons on them (some are red & black)? These receptacles are required in New Construction at many locations including the Garage, outdoors, kitchen, bathrooms etc. In older homes it is considered a good safety improvement to add them at these locations. If they are there, they need to be tested frequently---once a month is the recommendation.
Something you may not be aware of about these receptacles (especially the older ones) is that there is no intrinsic connection between the GFCI … (11 comments)
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What is the fascination the human brain has with numbers?----and I don’t mean as in mathematics (something that this human’s brain has never been fascinated with). I am talking about numbers like 3, 7, and 13. 
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