seattle home inspector: Such is the Magic of Christmas! - 12/22/10 08:07 AM
It is not uncommon to have curious neighbors show up at the inspection to welcome the new hopeful homeowner to the neighborhood.
Some neighborhoods are just magical like that.
Homeowners of close-knit neighborhoods don’t like to see homes sit vacant for long periods of time---and any interest in the vacant home attracts a lot of attention. Vacant homes symbolize that "something" is missing in the neighborhood---that somehow the neighborhood is not complete.
During this Christmas Season, it was easy to imagine that the only thing my buyer wanted for Christmas was a nice home to call her own. I have … (27 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Things Bigger than Ourselves---a Kodak Moment. - 12/06/10 09:04 AM
Those of us with adult children all know about that long anticipated (and on some days looked forward too) time when the child is on the verge of leaving home to grow into their own lives. It is funny how going off to college sometimes lulls us into thinking that they are only going away for a short time, but the next thing you know they are no longer coming home for school breaks because they have jobs at school to maintain, boyfriends or girlfriends to hang out with, or travel opportunities to take part in---you know---like Spring Break?
When they … (86 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"----with darts! - 12/04/10 11:21 AM
You never know when you are going to be called upon to play “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”
So, while you are awaiting that call, it is best to line up partners so that you can be on the winning team.
I am sure we all have lists of such people----scratching names off every now and then as we find someone better.
NO?
You "protest" that you have no such list?
Well, I don’t either----but if I was going to start such a list I have found at least one person that would not be on it.
Of course … (22 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Awesome Refrigerator Art! - 09/25/10 03:13 PM
Everyone has heard of “refrigerator art,” whether it is drawings by the grand kids, magnet pictures you can dress or undress----or post cards from Spain.
But how many of you have ever seen art actually made by a refrigerator?
While perhaps not quite as advanced as art made by elephants, this art is nonetheless impressive.
Years of opening and closing the refrigerator and freezer doors has created this work of “art” on the wall.
Charles Buell, … (10 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Cut the cheese----I am coming home! - 07/09/10 10:13 AM
I REALLY was hoping to stay away from rodent stories for a while, but like that other stuff that “happens” sometimes “rats happen.” While it may seem like I actually like to write about rats, it is merely their presence in so many homes that they are able to force themselves and their stories onto my blog.
Plus they are just so dang cute----how can I say no to them?
Just the other day I read the following story:
Cut the cheese----I am coming home!
Ratso and Ratsue Ratus lived in the ceiling of a very … (20 comments)
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seattle home inspector: This can't be the bog----can it? - 06/23/10 10:27 AM
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seattle home inspector: Things are not always as they appier! - 06/11/10 09:57 AM
Because things are not always as they appear it is best to rely on activerain for support because when you play in the rain everything is exactly as it appears.
In the spirit of "a picture is worth a thousand words" I have created a very short video that should be worth at least 180,000 words (10 fps x 1000 x 18 seconds). A video is nothing more than a string of slightly different pictures displayed in a very fast sequence. Hence-----many many laughs instead of just one laugh----or giggle as the case might be.
This … (34 comments)
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seattle home inspector: I had bad gas at a recent inspection! - 05/20/10 09:14 AM
No----not the elevator or the under-the-covers kind.
Take a look at this picture. This is new construction. Can you tell what is wrong?
A properly adjusted gas cook-top burner will be a nice even blue----with NO yellow. In this case the entire flame is yellow.
Why?
Actually the answer is pretty simple. This is a Natural Gas cook-top running on Propane----someone forgot to change the orifices is all----a pretty easy fix and the correct orifices may have even been included with the unit.
Charles Buell
… (36 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Don’t you hate being watched while you work? - 02/28/10 10:13 AM
Well normally, except for the buyer, no one usually watches me work while I am doing Home Inspections in Seattle----or anywhere else for that matter.
On a recent inspection I had the pleasure of being under the watchful gaze of three nefarious characters that likely only rival Nutsy in intellectual capacity (times three).
They had a clear view of me while I walked around their side of the house and they had a great view of me while I was on the roof. Being in a rather permanent “vegetative state” I doubt they would have been much … (39 comments)
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seattle home inspector: One can’t make this stuff up----really----I try! - 02/27/10 09:08 PM
At a recent inspection when I was looking across the roof from a porch roof I could see a strange bump with some discoloration around it----just to the right of the chimney near the top. Can you see it?
Any guesses as to what it might be?
Well if you were strange enough to guess the “vent cap” for the kitchen exhaust fan you would be correct. If not, well I guess you could not have made it up either.
Charles Buell
… (27 comments)
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seattle home inspector: I think I have figured out where pride in craftsmanship has set sail to. - 02/20/10 08:52 AM
Well actually, the Craft Man’s Ship has not “sailed” anywhere----it may be that only our “focus” has changed.
Way back before the Internet was invented, before there were home inspectors poking and prodding, before “This Old House” and “Fine Woodworking” magazine were around, and LONG before “A Day Without Mexicans,” houses were still built poorly.
Builders cut corners, and “professionals” butchered the work of other professionals.
Just look at the inspectors that post regularly here on activerain. The vast majority of posts are about the myriad of defects that they find----the more bizarre the better. Readers … (20 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Help Wanted----Hiring Now: Bikini Waxers! - 02/19/10 07:42 AM
I think one of the key requirements to being a Home Inspector is to have a sense of humor. If we could not get a chuckle out of the stuff we see in homes, we might be forced to work at rendering plants, empty porta-potties, or become bikini waxers.
I find it ironic that the same licensed professions we often call to make repairs to the things we find wrong are the same licensed professionals that create what we find wrong to begin with.
While today’s example will require repairs by professionals other than the ones that … (23 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Wordless Wednesday----Just ducky being in Seattle - 02/17/10 09:14 AM
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seattle home inspector: Do you have a credit card that works whether you have any credit or not? - 02/15/10 08:20 AM
Yes!----it is the all new “forever card." Just like Forever Stamps----once you get this card it works “forever” whether you go bankrupt or get divorced----even if the bank itself goes belly up.
And while it may not be worth a damn if you want to buy something---it will get you in the house when you loose your key----or your “X” locks you out.
IF-----(There is always an “if” isn’t there?)
If, your lockset is not installed properly, the credit card can get you in the door in a jiffy.
IF-----(Yup----there is yet another “if.”)
If, … (24 comments)
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seattle home inspector: 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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seattle home inspector: They MUST have been stoned! - 02/13/10 09:59 AM
If you look closely at the following the picture----you should be able to see three exhaust vent caps hidden in the shadow between the side of the house and the rockery steps.
A question comes to mind.
How is anyone going to be able to inspect or maintain these caps?
The kicker is that one cap is a screened dryer vent. All vents need to be maintained----especially dryer vents. Dryer vent caps should never have screens installed in the cap to begin with----they clog up quick enough without a screen. It will be virtually impossible to … (112 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Wordless Wednesday in Seattle - 02/10/10 09:50 AM
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seattle home inspector: Perhaps if I say, “Please?” - 02/07/10 10:30 AM
How long ago is 1971?
It is the year I graduated from College.
I had not built my first house yet----five years to go.
No kids yet----although some close calls.
It was 39 years ago---if I have done my math correctly.
It is quite common to call for repairs to homes during an inspection. In fact I have never inspected a house that didn’t need “something” fixed.
It is also quite common for my recommendations to be ignored.
About 5 years ago I inspected a house where the electrical service crossed … (36 comments)
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seattle home inspector: Seattle Home Inspector, Rusting in the Rain! - 02/06/10 10:29 AM
What does it mean to be, ”rusty?”
One definition is that we are “out of practice.” In other words something we may have been very adept at is no longer as easy to do----or done as well. Another way to look at this is the idea that if we do not stay on top of things----if we do not keep current with what is going on around us----we are not going to be able to function as well in environments we previously thrived in. This might be equated to learning new computer skills or blogging skills.
Take … (23 comments)
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seattle home inspector: 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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