king county wa home inspectors: Why does my garage have a beard? - 09/06/10 10:46 AM
I was probably in my late 20’s before I could grow a descent looking beard. I tried one for awhile-----and it fit in with my “back to the land counter-culture” lifestyle at the time. I finally decided it was just not “me,” and have not had one since. Now about as close to a beard that I get is“day-old” stubble my sweetie probably things is some sort of exfoliating device.
While I was perhaps “designed” to grow a beard, the structures we build are not.
This beard-like vegetation that grew out of the header above this garage … (17 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Grandpa could be a cantankerous! - 05/17/10 08:23 AM
Grandpa could be a cantankerous at times.
I can still see that cane waving in the air.
Grandpa was crippled with arthritis since his 30’s and lived into his 90’s.
I would be cantankerous too.
Actually----I recently discovered that he didn’t die.
Somehow he came back to life after my dad died.
You see, I used to see my dad in the mirror.
Now it is my grandfather that I see.
Of course my dad is always there too.
Or should I say, I just can’t tell them apart any more.
For some reason my grandfather looks the same age as … (25 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: What are you digging for Rover? - 05/06/10 09:33 AM
The other day at an inspection I found this cast iron Black Dog digging under a rock.
Nothing like folksy art I thought to myself.
Yard art like this is very common, and it never occurred to me that this Black Dog had ulterior motives.
After several trips around the house trying to find the oil tank fill pipe, it occurred to my buyer that perhaps the dog had eaten it. As I grabbed the dog’s tail it reminded me of the time I pulled my own dog out of the wood pile by her tail----with … (63 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Bob says, “Everybody must get stoned!” (A story within a song) - 04/29/10 01:20 PM
Everyone should feel quite-right at home
Everybody must get stoned
Sometimes, the only thing that makes any sense, in terms of what I find on inspections, is that homeowners are deliberately trying to "entertain" this Seattle Home Inspector----and it really is not that hard----and they really don’t need to work at it as hard as they do----I entertain easily.
They’ll stone you went you’re walking on the roof
They’ll stone you when the fire place goes poof
They’ll stone you when you pause to have a meal
They’ll stone you when you crucify … (20 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: In my mind----you look as good naked as you did 45 years ago! - 04/15/10 08:31 AM
One of the many things that is quite impossible to do, is to do any sort of “double-blind” analysis of the decisions one makes in life. We are mostly left with sorting out, and reacting to, or recovering from the “results” of our decisions. For these decisions we get to be both "saints" and "sinners." With good information we can sometimes make what turns out to be better choices than some other choices we might have made. Regardless, we will still have to deal with unexpected input from all manner of forces outside of ourselves----or at least seemingly outside of … (26 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Problems are rampant. - 04/11/10 01:31 PM
I bet you thought I was going to talk about the recent problems with Proxy Errors and Gateways to Hell----but nope----this is about ramps of a different kind.
The ramp to the side door of this home, besides being a little steep for a wheel chair ramp and not having any side barriers, was not safe for other reasons. I don’t think the problem even needs explanation, because in this case, a picture is worth at least a thousand words----including a few “choice” ones.
While it conforms well to the “geterdone” approach to building things, we are … (18 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Do you have trouble staying on track? - 03/30/10 09:33 PM
Sometimes----as much as I hate to do it----it is important to stay on one’s own side of the bed and staying on track may not be everything people rail about.
I think this work crew probably has no trouble keeping “track” of things. Well trained in all that they do, all they have to do is avoid the train and NOT stay on track when necessary. Sometimes it is important to know when to stay on track and when not to. They just have to keep track of the train schedule.
Charles Buell
… (24 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: MARRIAGE COUSELING FOR BUYERS (Sometimes buyers have to kiss a lot of frogs before they find their prince.) - 03/19/10 08:23 AM
As long as I have been an inspector, and longer than any of the inspectors that I know have been inspecting, there has been the notion that home inspectors have to act a certain way so as to “not blow the deal.”
I have known for a long time that there is really no way to adequately predict what will freak out a buyer.
I know of no easy way to say: “There are rodents in the attic.” Sure some inspectors have better people skills than others----but still it can happen where the inspector inadvertently freaks … (35 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Hats are off to the Phinney Ridge, Irish Plum Tree. - 03/16/10 09:34 AM
It is St. Patrick’s Day on Phinney Ridge in Seattle.
This is the second post in a series of posts I am doing to document the seasons of a plum tree in the Phinney Ridge Neighborhood of Seattle. The last post was for Valentine’s Day. As long as I have been in the Northwest, the owners of this tree have decorated it for whatever holiday was applicable.
To me, this shows a lot of commitment, and I hope the decorators get all the kudos they deserve for what must take a lot of effort. It also makes … (28 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Sooner or later some other critter is going to enjoy us as much as we do! - 03/15/10 07:49 AM
Fungi play an essential role in the environment. Without it we would pretty much be stuck with only fire and extreme pressure to get rid of all of the vegetative growth that has occurred on the planet since the beginning of time.
I think it is pretty cool that nature not only figured out a way to create plants and animals (and creatures in between), but also created other plants, and animals (and creatures in between) that could come in and break down other plants and animals (and creatures in between). All this to aid in recycling their body … (29 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Window, window on the wall, what the………? - 03/12/10 04:21 PM
Ok, so let’s play a little game.
In this picture we can see two windows in a basement bedroom.
The question is: “What do you see and why do you see it?”
Side note---wise-ass comment: And I don’t mean because of anything to do with the way optics work or the ability of the human eye to function as it does. I am talking about the “reason,” or the “interpretation” of what your eyes see----if they see “anything” that needs interpreting that is.
So go ahead and feel free to ask questions. I will hopefully answer in … (52 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Who says modern builders don’t care? - 03/05/10 12:47 PM
Two years ago today, I got my second featured post when I asked the simple question: “Why is there a BARGE on my roof?”
Two years later, this post is still a pretty decent post----even if it isn’t as “pretty” as the ones I do now.
As a sequel to that post I thought I would share something I saw at an inspection the other day. It not only shows how nicely the barge rafter end can be shingled to protect it, but shows how even the small amount of water that would otherwise run off the end----bypassing … (23 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Are you a Shower Person or a Bath Person? - 03/01/10 07:49 AM
It seems as though people either love a good bath or hate baths.
While inspecting homes I can not always tell if the occupant likes baths or not----and I don’t really care----but if there is no stopper for the tub to be found anywhere----there is a pretty good chance that they are “shower people.”
While I love a shower----I like a nice relaxing bath occasionally too. I like my bath in peace and quite----without the noise of a jetted tub as well. I love my sister-in-law’s outdoor hot tub in Bellingham, WA----which I get to use when … (33 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Seattle Home Inspector looking for the Big Picture in the Little Picture. - 02/26/10 07:08 AM
When Home Inspectors look at homes, they must have both a “big view” and a “little view” of the home. In other words they have to be careful to not get so focused on the details that they miss the big things. They must also be careful to get in close so as to not see just the big things.
In the following picture we can see the detail of the picture up close but it is only if we move away from the screen a few yards that it becomes clearer----at least a little bit.
So … (32 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Why is Elvis under my Maple Syrup? - 02/22/10 08:25 AM
I am sure we can all remember looking at clouds, pretending to see shapes of things in the clouds that were not really there----either chemically induced or not. From our earliest times, humans have tried to find patterns in what they see. I mean, does anyone really think that there is actually a “Big Dipper” a real “Bear” or a live “Virgin” up in the stars? (Leave a goat herder alone in the wilderness for a few months at a time and no telling what they will come up with.)
And that is exactly what happened, because, once … (21 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: What color is your underwear today? - 02/14/10 08:52 AM
Some people hate ♥alentine’s Day!
How can anyone hate a Holiday dedicated to Lingerie and Love?
Being a somewhat hopeless Romantic (with only very brief attempts at “recovery”), I have always loved ♥alentine’s Day.
I think the people that own this Plum Tree may feel the same way----because every year they faithfully decorate the tree with ♥alentine’s Day ornaments. In fact this tree is decorated most of the year with whatever appropriate holiday is near----St Patrick’ Day, Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc.
The ♥alentine’s Day version though, is "heart to beat" because the plum is blooming with … (39 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: A Momentary Lapse of Reason. - 02/12/10 09:41 AM
There has been lots of discussion about how there is a loss of “pride in workmanship” in the way homes get built these days. I suspect that this is only true in the sense that there is more oversight of structures than their used to be. Growing up on the farm and in rural Connecticut there were any number of instances when things got slapped together in the most expedient method possible----consistent with the amount of money there was to throw at the project. There was no internet and no home inspectors to blog about the shoddy workmanship or poor … (33 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Are you NUTS?!! - 02/05/10 08:00 AM
Another (painfully tongue-in-cheek) breaking news story from the front page of:
The law firm of Dewey/Cheatum & Howe announced today that the firm has prevailed in its suit against Home Inspector, Willy Fineitall, of Gottainspect Inspection LLC. The $3,000,000 award will essentially put Gottainspect Inspection out of business. Mr. Cheatum, speaking on behalf of his firm and the plaintiff, was firm in stating that he feels “good” about the settlement. He said it was all worth the long expensive trial just knowing that Mr. Fineitall will no longer be harming the public with his “mediocre inspections.” Mr. Cheatum acknowledged … (30 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Shocked---snakes in the attic! - 01/26/10 07:02 AM
I am sure that most everyone has put away their Holiday decorations by now.
Where do you keep yours?
If you are like many homeowners in this country----you stuff them in the attic. While the attic is a common repository for all kinds of things, it seems that Christmas decorations top the list of possibilities.
The weight of these items is not likely to pose any structural issues for the home (unless you store real reindeer)----plus it gives any rodents that live up there lots sparkly things to play with all year long.
There can be … (29 comments)
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king county wa home inspectors: Just because this window “works”---it does not function as “intended.” - 01/15/10 09:59 AM
Sometimes it seems that when one can’t tackle a problem “head-on” we must take a “side-ways” approach.
Take a look at this ordinary vinyl sliding window in the following picture. If we look at it we can see that things are not as they should be.
On the right hand side of the window, can you see those two little square openings? Those openings are to let water out. Now if the whole shed were to fill up with water----all the way up to these openings----I suppose they might be functional.
On the other hand … (28 comments)
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