shoreline wa home inspector: Help me up the fishladder----please?
- 01/06/09 12:36 AM
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shoreline wa home inspector: The Gods must be crazy?!!
- 12/31/08 02:00 AM
On December 23rd of 2007 I posted my first post to my blog. Since then I have been honored by the AR Gods by having 16 of those posts featured----14 at AR and 2 at Localism.
At the time it surprised the heck out of me that some of these got featured----when others, in my opinion, that were more deserving, did not get featured. As we go into a new year of blogging I though I would list all of these 14 honored posts to see if there is some sort of common denominator that would allow me … (31 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: All aboard the Snowball Express!
- 12/20/08 12:17 AM
The other day when I left Seattle I got to see Santa at the airport. He was there as part of the first flight of the "Snowball Express."
Regardless of your feelings about the war in Iraq, and the general war on terrorism I have to say this gesture by American Airlines to bring some joy---during the Holidays----to the kids that lost a parent in the war efforts since 911, brought a tear to my eye.
All over the country, American Airlines was donating flights to take these kids and the remaining parent on a three day trip … (21 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: To Summarize: Inspectors & Parents-----they are both nit pickers!
- 12/15/08 11:38 PM
If you have sent your kids to public school you know what I am talking about. Sooner or later parents become nit pickers. So----sooner or later----as an inspector, I am going to be a "nit picker" as well----well not the same kind----hopefully.
I don't go out of my way to be a nit picker----sometimes it just happens. I think the kind of nit picker that most agents have a problem with is when those seemingly unimportant items end up in the "Summary of Significant Findings" section of the report. This is "bad form"----as Captain Hook would say. While … (32 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Can a chicken lay an egg without a shell?
- 12/11/08 12:02 AM
What is the most unusual chore you had when you were a kid?
Well, I grew up on a farm so there was no shortage of chores. Most of them were pretty normal for a farm in the 50's. Collecting the eggs was one----which reminds me of, "candling" the eggs. How many people out there in the Rain know what egg candling is? (This is kind of a "severe" tangent from what my post is about but what the heck, it is my blog----I can wander where I like.)
Once you collect the eggs, you always wanted … (38 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Are you ready for the Real Estate floodgates to open?
- 12/06/08 01:49 PM
During these slow times it is all about being ready for action when the phone does start to ring again. I feel very fortunate to have been as busy as I have been. Getting calls as a result of my fooling around here on ActiveRain has helped me weather the reduction of calls from agents. There are so many things that one can do to be ready when those calls do come, and we all should be getting all those things done while we have the time.
My fellow inspectors will appreciate the opportunity to update our ever growing & … (109 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: All I want for Christmas is a......meme?
- 12/03/08 01:12 PM
I got this CHRISTMAS MEME from Amy Hahn the other day and now it is time to "geterdun." The terms of the "contract" are:
.... to "ask" for something you really want for Christmas....And, no, it's not one of those, "I want world peace" kind of things. We all want that. This one is for that one hedonistic thing that you'd ask for if money or the law didn't stand in the way!!!
The first thing that came to mind was that it would really be cool to have a "Magic Lamp"----that way I would meet the "physical" requirement … (25 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Wordless Wednesday in Seattle (Mexico)
- 12/03/08 12:51 AM
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shoreline wa home inspector: With the leg bone connected to the knee bone.....
- 11/24/08 12:38 AM
I thought I would try a little bit different sort of contest----sorry no prizes----hopefully just a little fun. This is about seeing a picture of something and then identifying which other picture "goes with" that picture the "best." First of all I will present 6 pictures numbered "1" through "6." The next part is to identify which of the pictures lettered "A" through "J" "goes with each of the original pictures.
I know it isn't fair to have three pictures that "don't count"----but don't you want this to be a challenge? Some of the matches are very easy, while … (47 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Do you have parts that need support?
- 11/15/08 02:08 AM
Well support comes in all shapes and sizes. There is moral-support, child-support, spousal-support, support-hose, military-support, and athletic-support-----we can all use a little support here and there. This is about "foundation-support" and how without enough of it, bad things can happen. Not always "REALLY" bad things----as in this case----but perhaps bad enough to make the floors springy or squeak; or for doors to not close properly. In some cases, all it might mean is that all of one's marbles would run to the same place.
Many homes that have crawl spaces have support posts spaced along central carrying beams. These … (59 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Some contests will drive you batty!
- 11/07/08 03:24 AM
On a recent inspection I noted several deep dents in the ceiling of the family room in the basement. They sort of looked like the dents that would be made if someone had stabbed the ceiling with a broom handle----except the dents were bigger---more like the business end of a baseball bat. One of these attacks had even pushed a can light right out of its mounting bracket and up into the ceiling cavity.
They were darn lucky they didn't have a "4th-of-July" of sparks when they obliterated the extension cord that had been plugged into the fixture above … (29 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Functional Creativity----oxymoron of the day.
- 11/05/08 10:52 AM
I have no problem with "inventiveness." My ancestors invaded Connecticut in 1632, so Yankee ingenuity, for better or worse, is in my blood.
However, I have learned----for the most part----to channel that inventiveness "within" the confines of the building codes. There really is no place for pure "creativity" when it comes to construction----that is better left to Art.
I can already feel the hair on the back of my neck rising up as someone is about to pounce on me for defining creativity so narrowly, and----it is my blog so I can define it any way I want---call … (37 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Wordless Wednesday in Seattle
- 11/05/08 12:38 AM
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shoreline wa home inspector: Why is there a mushroom cloud over my neighbor's house?
- 11/04/08 12:07 PM
The basic recommendations regarding vermiculite insulation boil down to "leave it alone" or have it "professionally removed." That sounds simple enough, but what is an inspector to say when he finds where it has not been professionally removed? In these two pictures you can see the small piles of remaining vermiculite.
Well, like so many things, it gets more complicated than that. First of all, even vermiculite that has any asbestos in it has a very small percentage present. Couple that with the point in time (a few years ago) when it was assumed that that testing … (15 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Make sure your buyers put money in the meter.
- 10/30/08 11:05 AM
I had a fascinating conversation with my buyer at an inspection the other day.
This house had great curb appeal----all decked out in its fall colors, and in a very desirable neighborhood----and priced just right.
Unfortunately, it was priced 100k under the typical homes in the area for a reason----perhaps. This post is not about all those reasons but I am sure that some of them will show up in future posts----several as a matter of fact. This post is about my buyer's perspective on the inspection; and, the cost of the inspection in relation to whether he … (56 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: 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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shoreline wa home inspector: Wordless Wednesday in Seattle
- 10/29/08 02:16 AM
Charles Buell
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.
MEMBERS OF ACTIVE RAIN CAN EASILY SUBSCRIBE
TO MY BLOG BY CLICKING ON THE NUMBER PLATE!
… (23 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: I "fixed" something at the inspection!
- 10/24/08 04:10 AM
It is very common for bathroom sinks to have problems with the pop-up stoppers. Sometimes the mechanism under the sink is damaged, disconnected or just plain missing. Other times the lift arm isn't properly connected to the stopper itself. Whatever the problem, since photographs is my only means of taking notes on an inspection a reminder picture of a problem with a pop-up stopper might look something like this:
Sometimes I photo the problem under the sink as well. When this one wouldn't pull up and properly close the drain I sort of expected one of the usual … (24 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: How much do pet doors cost?
- 10/18/08 04:39 AM
People love their pets.
We spend billions annually on pets in this country (representing a "Pet Bailout" of close to $50,000,000,000.00). One of the simple little things that is part of that number is pet doors installed in the door to the garage. These simple little doors cost about 30.00----perhaps another $30 bucks to get someone handy to install it----unless of course it is on the "honey-do" list, which of course, as we all know, would then be "free of charge."
What that initial cost won't include is replacement of the door itself as soon as the first … (16 comments)
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shoreline wa home inspector: Land mines----and other inspection dangers!
- 10/15/08 06:19 AM
In the past I have done posts (as have many others) about the things that could be done to make the house ready to inspect. This list of things includes: access to electrical panels, access to crawl spaces and attic entrances, pets restrained, doors unlocked (or keys available) etc.
There are some other things that should also be on this list.
Why would anyone think the home is ready to be inspected when two of the three bedrooms still have sleeping teenagers in them? (Teenagers rooms can be hard enough to inspect as it is without having to … (14 comments)
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