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seattle area home inspectors: Mold is Gold---not Black - 12/16/10 08:58 AM
I am not going to attempt to discuss the entire topic of mold in this post.
Even though mold may not be visibly present in the building---its spores are literally everywhere. For mold to grow, it needs air, food, suitable temperatures and water.
In the indoor environment the one of these that we can effectively control the most to prevent its growth is water. If we can’t control moisture we are going to have a real problem controlling mold.
Mold can grow on most surfaces. Even dust is a suitable food for mold growth. In the cleanest of households … (46 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: The Roof with 60 chimneys! - 12/08/10 09:01 AM
How many vent caps can you count on this roof top?
The vent cap, front and center, in the picture, is the vent cap for a bathroom exhaust fan. This picture captures perhaps 70% of the total number of such caps on this condo building roof. Since I don’t inspect from a helicopter I could not get a picture of all of them. I also was only really interested in the 6 involved with my unit of this condo building. When I climbed over the edge of this roof and into this forest of vent caps, I marveled at how … (26 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Thinking too much or not thinking at all? - 11/14/10 09:51 AM
Sometimes as a Seattle home inspector I come across things that are just too hard on my brain. Sometimes I worry that the things I find are going to cause irreversible damage. Laughter is supposed to be the best medicine, so perhaps that is the antidote to when I come across something where someone was clearly either thinking too much-----or not thinking at all.
The sum of the parts is not always equal to the sum of the parts.
Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector
… (16 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: The mysterious death of Mr. n’Dent! - 11/06/10 10:17 AM
Sometime when I wasn't paying attention----Mr. n’Dent died.
How I could have missed this historic event is beyond me. There was no announcement in the papers, or on the radio (if it was on NPR I missed it)----and certainly not on TV.
How could this happen?
It seems there should have been at least some sort of obituary, or calling hours or SOMETHING! But nothing----no place to send condolences to----or to send flowers to. There was no favorite charity (like the Famous Writers School) named to send donations too.
Mr. n’Dent had a long, illustrious and useful career providing many … (36 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: It’s just a stain! - 10/28/10 10:12 AM
Home inspectors will often make comments about conditions that have happened in the past but are not present at the time of inspection. We will note a stain on the ceiling and state that it was not wet at the time of inspection (or that it was wet as the case might be). We will then go on to explain that this stain may be from previous conditions that have since been remedied or that it was caused by something that is seasonal or due to conditions not duplicated at the time of inspection. We might recommend monitoring the area … (15 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Wordless Wednesday's March of the Pumpkins - 10/27/10 04:20 AM
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seattle area home inspectors: Mom----why is the glass all over the stairs? - 10/24/10 07:31 AM
I don’t get my panties all wadded up over broken seals in windows or skylights typically. Broken seals don’t “drastically” affect the thermal performance of the unit----certainly the cost of replacement will NEVER pay for itself in savings relative to the damaged seal.
I consider broken seals a cosmetic issue----and only important if seeing through the unit is important. Depending on the windows location to views it may be very important or not important at all to most buyers. I have buyers tell me that is very important until they find out what it is going to cost to … (29 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: This is 911----what is your emergency? - 10/22/10 08:02 AM
Inspectors are always harping on not letting vegetation get too close the home. In Washington State it is considered a conducive condition for wood destroying organisms and insects and must be reported on by Licensed Home Inspectors and Licensed Structural Pest inspectors.
It also creates pathways for rodents into the structure. In many homes if rodents can get to the gutters of your home they can find a way into the roof structure----or make a way of their own.
Vegetation can also affect electrical wires running to the home.
Another thing that vegetation can do is … (19 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: It is always Wordless Wednesday on Whidbey - 08/18/10 08:55 AM
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seattle area home inspectors: Homeowners are the biggest wood destroying organism! - 08/15/10 12:27 PM
One of the most common wood destroying organisms in the NW is the Moisture Ant. Like Dampwood Termites and Anobiid Beetles, they are “opportunistic” in the sense that moisture conditions have to be correct (conducive) for them to be present.
As a Licensed, Washington State, Seattle Home Inspector and a Licensed Structural Pest Inspector, if I found evidence of these critters in your home----either past or present----the following is what you would see in your Inspection Report:
Moisture Ant colonies typically start in already decayed wood and are considered a secondary infestation. Their nests are designed to … (25 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Jay----no Musk Ox in the Bog today----but there was a Dragon! - 06/16/10 10:23 AM
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seattle area home inspectors: Maytag Dishwasher Recall----fire hazard----check yours now! - 06/03/10 04:58 PM
As a Seattle Home Inspector I do not check all appliances for recalls but I do try to keep abreast of recalls related to fire hazards.
This particular recall is very large and affects not only Maytag brand but other brands made by Maytag.
Affected brands include: Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa and Crosley.
They have plastic tubs and will have Serial Numbers starting with: NW39, NW40, NW41, NW42, NW43, NW44, NW45, NW46, NW47, NW48, NW49, NW50, NW51, NW52, NY01, NY02, NY03, NY04, NY05, NY06, NY07, NY08, NY09, NY10, NY11, NY12, NY13, … (22 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: How many Code inspectors does it take to inspect a crawl space? - 05/31/10 09:27 AM
This question is kind of like the old joke: “How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?”
No one knows----it has never happened.
Some jurisdictions get around this issue by requiring deck framing inspections----where the floor structure gets inspected prior to installing the sub-floor. With this type of inspection the jurisdictional inspector can see all the underlying structures that he would otherwise have to suit-up and crawl around under the floor system to see.
I am pretty sure that the vast majority of jurisdictions don't require this type of framing inspection based … (25 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Crawling across the garage floor of life. - 05/30/10 09:14 AM
Whether you find yourself crawling across a desert or across a garage floor there is little to support the notion that one can ever truly know where one is going. The journey almost always involves foresight, planning, and balls. In my experience, in spite of our planning, dreams and goals, we had better be prepared to have considerable “trust” in our journey----and a willingness to change course when necessary.
When we start out on our journey, we are rarely aware of how few guarantees there are that we will ever get to where we are going, but we can … (20 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Time to roast some good friends on my blog. - 04/08/10 10:03 AM
These friends shall remain nameless----but I have probably spent as much “awake” time in their house, as I have in my own house over the years.
We have survived several different remodeling projects together----back in my previous incarnation as a general contractor in the Seattle area.
I was originally referred to them by someone in the Seattle Symphony who I had done a big remodel for. Between these two clients I can probably trace back, like a family tree, most of my Seattle building career----which included a fairly decent percentage of other members of the Symphony----and friends/families of … (21 comments)
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seattle area home inspectors: Wordless Wednesday in the Bog again! - 04/07/10 08:18 AM
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seattle area home inspectors: The “Perfect Storm”----Home Inspectors and Foreclosures - 01/28/10 07:52 AM
Another example of “collateral damage” in the current Real Estate mess----that most of the country finds itself----is that more and more home inspectors are becoming un-intentional “deal killers”----including this Seattle Home Inspector.
Before the bubble burst, it was much less common for a home inspector to kill a deal in such a way that the house might not sell in a timely fashion. This was because if one buyer walked away there might be 10 others waiting in the wings. Previously, while a home inspector might nix the deal for a particular agent involved, the sale at least would … (25 comments)
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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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