David's Blog

Power Surges (and I'm not talking about hot flashes)

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:11:18 -0600

These days, I have added a new recommendation to the electrical section of my inspections. "Add a whole house surge protector". I learned through experience about this. As our electrical grid ifrastructure ages, we become subject to more problems.

Many of the appliances in our modern houses have computer boards controlling their operation. These boards are very susceptible to damage by power surges. We usually have surge protectors for our home computers, but what about that expensive clothes dryer or furnace. Both have computer control boards. I learned about the dangers when I came home one day to find the furnace not running, the dryer was dead and several other appliances were also dead (repairs came to nearly $1000).

It turns out that the neutral wire on the transformer (on the power pole) came loose. With no neutral wire there is no regulation of the voltage. The power surge was apparently dramatic. When the lineman showed up he did an emergency shut off of the power because of the fire danger.

Since they don't make plug-in surge protectors for 240 volts (dryer) and the furnace is hard wired, the only way to protect them is with a whole house unit. I have one on order and it will be installed as soon as it arrives. The good news is that we got a check for $990 from the power company today.

David Helm, Inspector, Helm Home Inspections Bellingham, Washington Licensed Home Inspector #272 WSDA Licensed Structural Pest Inspector #69844 http://www.helmhomeinspections.com HelmHomeInspections@yahoo.com

Realtorspeak; a Dictionary

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:06:45 -0600

A recent post reminded me of this old post of mine from several years ago. Since there are many new members since then, and many did not see it, I thought it might be nice to share it again.

First a disclaimer. This is all in jest and is not meant to offend anyone. I spend a lot of time looking at listings, because I am a very small time RE investor. I always get a kick out of the adjectives used to describe homes in these listings. The following are some of my definitions.

ELEGANT You can't afford it!

FABULOUS See ELEGANT

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL Bring a bulldozer!

CHARMER Old and in the way!

LUXURIOUS See ELEGANT

PRIVATE LOCATION You can't get there from here!

REMODELED A few upgrades done twenty years ago!

FIXER or FIXER UPPER See DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

HISTORIC See ELEGANT

CUTE Your family won't fit in this one!

STARTER HOME See DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

NEWER At least thirty years old!

CLASSIC See CHARMER

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH See DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

VINTAGE See Charmer

These are a few of the terms I've discovered. I know there are more. Feel free to add any you'd like.

Thanks for looking

David Helm

Bellingham, Washington Licensed Home Inspector #272

Whatcom County Washington Licensed Structural Pest Inspector #69844

NEW FOR FALL !!! A DESK TOP COMPUTER

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:32:32 -0500

I've been needing a new computer for a while now. Went looking two weeks ago and, to my surprise, nobody was selling computers. It seems that everyone had sold out and were waiting for the arrival of Windows 7. Got my new unit a couple of days ago. Took advantage of the removal of trialware service offered by the Geek Squad. Windows 7 is a revelation to me. I know nothing of the problems with Vista because I've been using a ten year old laptop with XP installed. Anyway, to make a short story shorter, I just took some pictures around the property, plugged the XD card into the slot provided and instantly had photos on my computer. I'm flabbergasted by the speed. I then attempted a CD burn which I had never been able to do on XP. Also was a snap! Can't wait to write reports on this new gem. My work time just improved!

Mountain Vacation Rental

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:55:53 -0500

Most of my blogs have been related to inspections and/or local color. This one is slightly different in that it showcases a vacation rental (that I own) near magnificent Mt. Baker in Northwest Washington. The home is located in a gated community two miles East of the town of Glacier. This is the jumping off point for the Mt Baker ski area and the trails and peaks of the North Cascades National Park/Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Mt. Baker National Recreation Area.

This area is a year round playground with something for everyone. The community, Snowline, has many amenities including playground for the kids, swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic grounds and a large recreation building. It is the closest lodging to world famous Mt. Baker ski area.

The house is 1700 square feet of pine panelling, hot tub, stone gas fireplace, 2 queensize beds, one kingsize bed and a double hideabed. It has a complete kitchen, washer and dryer, wraparound deck, and gas barbecue. . .and it is completely furnished including linens.

The home is rentable year round. More information and reservation availability can be found at http://mtbakerlodging.com/index.php?page=property&Property_Number55 . This last photo is a foreshortened view of Mt. Baker from the highway in Glacier.

As always, thanks for reading.

David Helm, Bellingham, Washington Home Inspector

Foreclosure Inspections; Why Didn't They Have the Gas On?

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:26:55 -0600

Many Realtors and Mortgage brokers have written articles on short sales and foreclosures. One point the haven't touched on is what is necessary to prepare a foreclosed home for inspection. When banks own the home they often (usually) have them winterized and often allow propane tanks to empty. Other utilities are usually left on. It is understandable that they would want to protect their investment as much as possible. Unfortunately, this protection makes it impossible to do a thorough home inspection.

When buying (or selling for you Realtors out there) a foreclosed home, it is very important to insist that the bank has the home de-winterized and has propane put in the tank. Without these items being taken care of, the water heater, heating system and plumbing systems can not be fully evaluated. I just returned, today, from a re-inspect of one of these homes for just the reason I've stated. Not only did this slow down the process, it also cost the buyer an additional fee for me to go back out to the site ( a rural one and some distance to drive). So please, on foreclosure sales, get those utilities back in operation!

Thanks for reading,

David Helm, Bellingham Washington Home Inspector

http://www.helmhomeinspections.com

What Is It? What's the Difference?

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:43:55 -0600

The following pictures are of three different siding materials that look quite a bit alike. Knowing what each is and the pros and cons of each may be important when you purchase that next home.

Cement Asbestos Siding

Asphalt Shingle Siding

Striated Cedar Siding

As you can see, each of these siding materials are similar. The top, cement asbestos has been given a bad rap. Asbestos is a problem when it is friable (fibres floating in the air where they can be breathed) but as long as it is intact and kept painted, it is one of the best and longest lived sidings ever invented.

The second siding, asphalt shingles, was popular in the forties and fifties (earlier in some farm communities). This stuff is fairly rare in Whatcom County, but it does exist. The picture was taken in Bellingham. It doesn't last much longer than an asphalt roof (generally in the twenty year range) and doesn't like hot weather because it softens and is susceptible to damage.

The third siding, striated cedar, is pretty common here in Bellingham and is often mistaken for cement asbestos. It is a quality wood siding that, if maintained properly, will last a lifetime.

Thank you for reading this.

David Helm, Bellingham, Washington home inspector

http://www.helmhomeinspections.com

FIRE! Waiting to happen!

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:21:07 -0600

This post is about solid fuel burning appliances and potential chimney fires. Solid fuel appliances are usually wood burning fireplaces or stoves, including inserts. The chimney serving these appliances should be cleaned every year. The picture below shows a chimney with major creosote buildup. The very next fire in the stove could be the one to set off a chimney fire; and chimney fires often burn houses down!

Creosote

What does all this mean for a home buyer? It certainly means you would need to have the chimney cleaned before ever lighting a fire in the stove.

The National Chimney Sweep Guild recommends a level II chimney inspection any time the ownership of a house changes. This is a much more stringent inspection than can be performed by a home inspector. This inspection must be performed by a certified Chimney Sweep. There are two companies in this area who carry this certification: Haulin Ash and The Chimney Sweep.

Thanks for reading.

David Helm, Bellingham, Washington home inspector

http://www.helmhomeinspections.com

For the Birds

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:34:41 -0500

I have shown a number of photos of my gardens on this blog. We grow these gardens, obviously for the beauty and enjoyment they offer us, but we also grow them to provide food and cover for wildlife. We are visited over the course of a year by many birds. Numerous water birds, including Great Blue Heron, Kingfisher, Wood Duck and Bittern visit our pond. Red Wing Blackbirds nest at the pond. We have had nesting hummingbirds, primarily Anna's and assorted Woodpecker's visit our large trees (including Three Toed, Ladderback, Downy and the occasional Pileated). A large variety of songbirds also come to visit regularly. I won't try to name them all because there are so many. One of my favorite visitors is the berry eater Cedar Wax Wing. They come in flocks in the Spring to gorge on the Holly Berries and return in the Fall to gorge on Mountain Ash Berries. Over the weekend, I discovered an injured Cedar Wax Wing. Don't know what caused the injury, and ultimate death of this beautiful bird, but it did afford me the opportunity to see it up close and take a picture. I offer that as today's ration of beauty.

As always, thanks for looking.

This years gardens

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:55:14 -0500

I haven't posted in this group in a while. Just took a few pictures of the perrenial gardens at my place yesterday and thought I would share a few.

This view is looking toward the house from near the street.

Looking at the house and gardens from the South.

Looking at gardens from the East side.

Just recently finished building this office/studio for my wife. These gardens, along with the firepit and stone walkway are brand new; not quite so jungle like yet.

This view is from the North, looking back toward the new gardens along the edge of our little woodland.

Looking into the little woodland.

Some of the vegetation at the North end of the pond. The large leaves in the foreground are Gunnera and the white blooms are my favorite Viburnam.

I like the Viburnam so much I thought I'd add a better shot of it.

Quick shot of one of our cherry trees. Looks like we're going to get a good crop again this year.

The pond from the Southwest corner.

Okay. That was the last picture in this series. I hope I haven't bored you. We call our little 1.3 acre property Paradise. Every time we leave we can't wait to get back. We've owned this property for 11 years. When we bought it there were a few big old trees, a very funky old farmhouse (marginal but with good bones) and no gardens. During the time we've owned it we've completely rebuilt the house (lucky that I spent three decades as a builder), dug the large pond, added a green house, developed a 6000 square foot vegetable garden and developed large amounts of perrenial borders and woodlands. Oh yes, I also built the studio/office for my wife.

Thanks for looking.

No Support

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:27:08 -0500

There have been a lot of blogs about various things that are found on home inspections. This one is structural. We inspectors spend a lot of time in crawl spaces, looking at many things. One common one is caused by plumbers and HVAC technicians. This isn't to badmouth them. They have their job to do and may not know about how structures are supported.

The above joist has been deeply cut to make room for the waste pipe. Now this particular picture isn't of a brand new house, but the effect is still there. This joist was originally a 2X10. With more than half of it notched out it is effectively a 2X4. Definitely not strong enough to support floor loads.

This joist has a section completely cut out of it to accomadate heating ducts. This was a retro fit furnace duct, the HVAC tech decided that that section of floor didn't need support (I guess).

In both instances, with a little thought, these cutouts could have been avoided. What were they thinking?

Thanks

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:35:15 -0500

Thanks for the invite Scott. I am here because you stated in the invite that there would be no bashing of organizations, or individuals. That is very important to me. We home inspectors as a group seem to enjoy bashing each other. It will be a pleasure, and a pleasant surprise, if this group can remain on topic and respectful.

What Does Green Really Mean?

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 10:16:37 -0600

I've been thinking about this for a while. There is a lot of hoopla regarding green building and green lifestyle these days. There are certainly many levels of greenness and I applaud you for whatever level you have reached. Unfortunately, being truly green is a lot more complex than it might seem on the surface.

Let's start with transportation. When we think of green, we need to take into consideration the carbon footprint for sure, but we also need to take into consideration the use of resources (after all, we do live in a finite world) and how long will it take that new green product to become a net gain for the environment. You buy a new Prius. This is very green because it gets very high mileage. Not green immediately. How much steel, oil (including all the plastics) and polution was used/caused in its manufacture? How much oil was used in shipping it to the USA and then to your town? Compare this with a ten year old high mileage vehicle (since emission standards have not improved in this time I will not talk about that). The manufacturing costs (polution, resource use) have nearly been amortized. In the beginning, at least, the ten year old vehicle will be greener than the new Prius. How long will it take the Prius to catch up? In this blog I'll not talk about public transportation because the nature of most of our work requires private transportation (there is probably very little green about private transportation).

Food use and production; where does your food come from? Is it shipped halfway around the world? Is it a result of industrial monoculture farming (relying heavily on oil for fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and harvesting)? Truly green food is both local and seasonal. We eat what is produced in our local area, when it is produced. If you want it to be green, you also have to take into consideration the treatment of the land and animals that you eat. If the land is being despoiled with petroleum based chemicals, if the animals are treated as production units (feed lots, cages, etc.) it is not green. Even if it is organic, if it's shipped from far off, it's not green.

Local economies; A green economy is one that is sustaining of the locality. If your buying your goods and services from the big box stores/national or international chains, you are not sustaining your local economy. This is not green. Buying local circulates the money local. Buying from chains sends the money somewhere else.

What is a truly green house? The analogy written above about the Prius fits here too. Can we find truly sustainable wood products? Not with todays knowledge. There are certainly some small, local mills and timber operations that strive to do sustainability, but on a national level it is pretty grim. Building to LEEDS standards is certainly a large step in the right direction, but is only a step. Where do the materials and products for future housing come from? What is the carbon/resource footprint of future housing?

This post is not meant as a pooh poohing of green building and practices. It is only meant as a thought provoker. I am thrilled that our industry is beginning to take these things into consideration, and I know that all of us fit somewhere in the continuum of green; either not green, partially green, predominately green (I doubt that there is anyone in this country that is 100% green; we do, after all, live in an industrial society).

Thanks for reading this screed. I hope it provokes thought and action.

REDUCE; REUSE; RECYCLE

My Book Meme with thanks to Deborah Pearce

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:51:56 -0600

How does an avid reader talk about his five favorite books? I don't think I can choose five favorites. I'v been reading for 60 years and may have thousands of favorites. What I'll do, I think, is choose some recently read and some I think are notable.

Last night we had our monthly Book Group meeting. This is a small private group. Our first read was Dante Allighieri's Inferno. We went on to read Purgatorio and will soon be going into Paradiso to complete the Divine Comedy. Last night we talked a bit about the completion of our most recent book, The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas, which is an accessible exposition of the ideas that have shaped our world, beginning with the Greeks and coming all the way to the present, visiting philosophies and religions through the millenia.

We also had our annual reading (aloud) of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets, written in 1943, and probably the greatest work by this seminal figure in the evolution of modernism. A favorite passage follows:

To arrive where you are, to get from where your are not,

You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

In order to arrive at what you do not know

You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess

You must go by the way of dispossession.

In order to arrive at what you are not

You must go throught the way in which you are not.

And what you do not know is the only thing you know

And what you own is what you do not own

And where you are is where you are not.

The next book on this list is Michael Pollan's first book, Second Nature subtitled Why Gardeners Garden. This book was my introduction to this wise and gifted voice for sanity in our world. I have since read all of his books and have never failed to be impressed by his love of simplicity and knowledge of how we can improve our stay on this planet.

This blog is becoming a lot of text so I'll break it up with a few pictures from my messy libraries.

The next book on my list of recent reads is Barbara Kingsolver's (along with her family members) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This is a terrific ride along with her and her family in their journey away from industrial food and into learning about and doing their own food production and eating only local. To quote her, "This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whos provenance we really know . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

I'll now suggest to you two novels from a fairly new (to me) writer, Haven Kimmel. The first was her debut novel, The Solace of Leaving Early and the second is her 2004 novel, Something Rising (Light and Swift). I'll not go into depth about these but just say that her character development and story telling are magnificent.

OK, that's enough from my MEME about books. There is no such thing as five favorites since, often, my favorite book happens to be the one or two or three I am reading at the moment. Thanks to Deborah and thanks to anyone who reads this post.

Sand In The City

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 22:05:57 -0500

This weekend, Bellingham,Washington hosted a sand sculpture contest. It covered the three days of Friday through Sunday. I happened upon it quite by accident, but since I did have my camera with me, I thought I would check it out. All the entries had an architect as a sponsor, and they all were interestingly creative.

This one is in progress, and it is being done by a professional sand sculpture team.

Chess game

Pirate shipwreck

Mice and cheese

And finally, the organizers didn't forget the kids. There were two very large sand boxes for the kids to play in. Any local cats would have been in exstatic.

As always, thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Noxious Weeds

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:46:02 -0500

Most exotic garden plants are not particularly problematic. The majority of garden plants do come from elsewhere in the world. Some of them, because of their invasive nature, become a serious problem for the well being of native plants when the spread to wild areas. One of the main ways they escape gardens is as seeds in the belly of birds. Some of these invasive, noxious plants in the state of Washington are as follows. Gardeners may be surprised by the inclusion of some of these plants.

Common Fennel, a non-bulbing type that has tall feathery licorice smelling foliage. Escapees inhabit and colonize grasslands and crowd out native flora.

Purple Verbena, has attractive lavender tubular flowers, is vigorously self seeding and is rapidly spreading into fields and open areas.

Knotweeds, large, bamboo like shrubs with feathery white flower heads. Bees love them. The invade riparian areas, block sunlight and degrade habitat for wildlife and fish, including Salmon. They have very deep roots and a difficult to get rid of.

Old Man's Beard (clematis vitalba), is a climbing vine that when escaped get established in forests and along stream banks where the smother shrubs and trees forming dense mats in the understory.

English Ivy, spreads into forests and forms dense mats that block sunlight, smother trees and encourage rot. In Western Washington there is a movement to remove English Ivy where ever it exists.

Purple and Garden Loosestrife, are a major threat to wetlands because they tolerate saturated soils and spread rapidly, it crowds out native plants and reduces wetland habitat.

Butterfly Bush, is problematic along rivers and streams where it traps sediment.

These are just a few of the noxious plants that appear in Washington. Many of them are noxious and invasive in other parts of the country too. It is a good idea, when planting a garden, to learn about the bad boys of the plant world in your area. These plants are legal to buy, but they cause serious problems.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

My Backyard Mountains

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:22:23 -0500

Since I mentioned Mountaineering/climbing in my recent MEME I thought I would show a few peaks that appear just East of Bellingham, Washington. They are all part of the range known as the North Cascades. I call these my backyard because they are relatively easy to access. There are a number of trailheads that take off from the Mt. Baker Highway, which deadends at Artists Point (called Huntoon Point on the USGS maps) which is at the Mt. Baker Ski Area. I have climbed the majority of the peaks shown, and I can say that the degree of difficulty from one to the next varies dramatically.

This is Tomyhoi Peak. It like the rest of them in this series is just South of the British Columbia, Canada border.

This one is called American Border Peak. There is a Canadian Border Peak just inside Canada from this one. I couldn't get a picture of that one from where I was standing as it was blocked by this and others.

The three main peaks here are American Border (you can just see Canadian Border peaking out at the far left), Larabee Peak (also called Red Mountain because of the iron content in the rock) and the Ridge to the right with numerous summits is called the Pleiades. The double summited peak to the far right is the South face of Goat Mountain. It is really a fun climb up the steep North face for the magnificent steep glissade on the way down.

This is Mt. Shuksan. There are many routes to the summit of this peak. Most of them are extremely difficult and exposed. Shuksan (Roaring Mountain in the Nooksack language, named for the hanging glacier on the Northwest face that regularly calves, causing a roaring icefall) is probably the most photographed mountain in the United States and possibly in the world. One year, I walked into a traveler's aid office in Oxford England. There was a large poster of Mt. Shuksan on the wall behind the desk.

Thanks for taking a look at my back yard. It was fun showing it to you.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections

Nooksack Falls

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:43:55 -0500

East of Bellingham, Washington there is a not very well known set of falls on the North Fork of the Nooksack River (A fork that is solely glacier melt water) at about mile 46 on the Mt. Baker Highway on the way up to Heather Meadows. This fall, which is two pronged, plunges about 100 feet into the gorge below. It is exceedingly beautiful, and scary. A few years ago a fence was built to prevent people from climbing out on the rocks. This was done in response to a young woman falling to her death at the falls. Here are a few pictures of the falls.

The water begins its plunge at the upper right hand corner of this photo.

This is where the falls begin.

Unfortunately, there is no place to get a long perspective so the entire falls can be seen in a picture. The bottom of this shot is about 1/3 of the way down.

This shot is of Wells Creek where it enters the North Fork. Just out of the picture, at the lower left, is where the falls land.

If you get up this way, be sure to check out this area. It is magnificent, and the pictures don't adequately convey the feeling one gets at the falls.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Summer Food

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:41:03 -0500

As the summer progresses, this Bellingham, Washington vegetable garden gets more out of control. The pumkins and squashes leap out of their beds and fill the pathways. The fourth succession planting of brocolli is ready to harvest. The corn is producing tassles. Eggplants have started producing fruit. Tomato plants and pepper plants are loaded. I ate my first pole beans today. The first planting of bush beans is not far behind. It gets harder to find the time to weed, but I try to do a little each day. It is truly wonderful to go out to the garden and pick the days dinner. There is nothing fresher, and for the eco people, it's a carbon negative way to eat.

Brocolli, two kinds of Kale and some flat leaf Parsley sandwiched between them.

The corn is doing better than I expected. We had some cold weather just as it was beginning to germinate.

These are Asian Eggplants. If you look closely, you can see some fruits beginning to form.

A couple varieties of Beets. The beet tops are my favorite green, way better than spinach or chard. And pickled beets are to die for.

This is the unruly pumpkin bed. My grandsons planted these back in the spring. They'll be here in November to help pick.

This is my Salsa bed. There are eight different varieties of hot pepper in this bed. Can't wait till they're ready.

Thanks for looking at this small section of early August garden. I can't think of anything more satisfying than growing vegetables.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Ajo Harvest

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:19:09 -0500

Last week I harvested my garlic (Ajo in Spanish). I grow both hardneck (rocambole) and soft neck garlics. I grow several varieties of hardneck because I like their flavor and ease of peeling. I grow the soft neck because they keep longer. Hardnecks will lusually last till December and soft necks will go into March or April. In both cases, they have to be properly dried. Here in Bellingham, Washington the garlic is usually planted in November. It puts down roots and grows to about six inches high before any frost. It then goes dormant till it warms up a little, usually in January. Here is what some of my crop looks like.

Hardnecks are on the left and softnecks on the right.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Tour de France. Uh, Bellingham

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:10:10 -0500

The road I live on is very rural and thus has very little traffic. The local (Bellingham, Washington) cycling club uses it for practices and on Tuesday evenings, races. There are usually 60 to 70 bicycles involved in these races. The do a number of laps on a large loop that is several miles long. It's pretty fun to watch them go by every ten or so minutes. With that large of a group the sound of their passing is amazing, and they create their own wind. This past Tuesday I tried to get a few pictures of them. They happened to be sprinting when I got out my camera and were going nearly 40 mph. The pictures I got (below) didn't get much. The digital delay was such that they were past before the shutter opened.

This is the leader of the group coming towards me.

They are just getting to me.

There they go. They were past so fast that the camera couldn't catch them.

For those interested in bicycle racing, Bellingham, Washington has an annual nationally attended race called the Bellingham Criterium. It is three days of racing through the streets of the Fairhaven district. Very exciting.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections

Riparian Repair

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:35:00 -0500

This is a quick look at an intergovernmental/private money project to restore the riparian area along sections of the Nooksack River just outside Bellingham, Washington. This area, which is prime wetland habitat, had been poorly used for many years. It is home to many species of duck, overwintering area for Trumpeter Swans and Snow Geese, and had badly trashed small streams. The streams have been repaired, with current interrupting log jams, and many riparian trees have been planted. A good sign is that the beavers have returned.

You can see the number of agencies involved in this project.

This is an overall view of the project.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Commercial Fishing

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:27:09 -0500

Bellingham, Washington has a long and active history of commercial fishing. In its heyday there were a number of very large Salmon Canneries around Bellingham Bay. Today, with the decline of Salmon runs and the major control of fishing grounds to keep the worlds oceans from becoming a desert, local fishers have to have licenses and nets for many different species, and have to travel far afield to keep their way of life. The following photos are acknowledging their commitment and honoring their profession.

This is the original fishermen's memorial at Zuanich Pt. Park. The plaque on the left names those who lost their life following this profession.

The previous three pictures show the proliferation of nets required, and the constant work to keep them in good repair. Commercial fishers have to be always ready to go out. The various seasons often have only a very short time window when they are open. 48 hours is common.

Some of the commercial fleet.

This is a purse seiner's skiff. The seiner lets out the huge net, the powerfully engined skiff then brings the end back around to form the purse. The seiner then hauls the net aboard using a powerfull large drummed winch, with crew picking the fish as the net comes aboard.

As always, thanks for looking.

David Helm

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Local Independents, A Free Press

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:07:16 -0500

I'm sitting here this early Sunday morning looking at a group of local independent newspapers. These papers, in this era of only three corporate owners of news media, are the last bastion of a free press in this country. These locals, all with a slightly different political bent than each other, really bring out the information that one needs to make informed local decisions. They also are a great source for local arts and entertainment. Here are the ones in my county.

Cascadia Weekly, published in Bellingham, Washington. http://cascadiaweekly.com

Whatcom Independent, published in Bellingham, Washington. http://whatcomindy.com

Fish Tales, the newsletter of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, published in Bellingham, Washington. http://n-sea.org

The Western Front, published at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. http://westernfrontonline.com

Whatcom Watch, Community Forum on Government and Environmental Issues, published monthly in Bellingham, Washington. http://whatcomwatch.org

Foothills Gazette, Eastern Whatcom County's Community Newspaper, published bi-weekly in Maple Falls, Washington. http://foothillsgazette.com

These are the free newspapers in this area. They all have important information and are unafraid of printing controversial topics. Feel free to check them out.

Thanks for looking

David Helm, Bellingham, Washington

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Not Your Mother's Porridge

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 07:51:30 -0500

There has long been a raging argument over the best way to make oatmeal. Stay with me now, I know that many people don't like oatmeal. Try this way some time and maybe it'll change your mind. I learned this way years ago and it is the only way I'll eat it. In our busy lives, my wife and I always have breakfast together on weekends. Sunday is bacon and eggs, very basic with the bacon done on George Foreman and the eggs poached, both being a very low fat way to do it. On Saturday, we usually start with oatmeal. Here goes.

I think that most people probably use instant oatmeal. This method does not. Start with thick cut (I use organic) oats.

The ingredients: 1 cup thick cut organic oats

2 cups water

1 Tbsp cardamon powder

1 Tbsp Allspice

1 Tbsp Ginger powder

1 Tbsp ground Cinnamon

1 large handful of raisins (your choice, I use flame raisins)

1 large handful of walnuts

Maple syrup to taste

Milk to taste

The instructions: It is very important to follow the sequence as written here. It is the only way to reproduce what I am talking about.

In a small saucepan add the spices, raisins and water. (It is important to add the raisins in the beginning so they become rehydrated. This will change your attitude about raisins.) Bring to a boil. Stir in the oats and turn the heat way down. Simmer (very slowly) uncovered, till the water is incorporated into the oats (about ten minutes, but watch it. We don't want them to become dry). Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for a few minutes. No stirring is done during the cooking process!!!! (very important). Now stir to thoroughly mix the raisins. Turn into bowls (serves two nicely). Finish off with the sweetener of your choice (I love maple syrup here). Put in half a handful of walnuts per bowl and add milk to taste. Stir and enjoy. If the directions are followed carefully, it will be the best oatmeal you've ever had, and you'll never go back to instant.

Thanks for reading.

David Helm, Bellingham, Washington

www.helmhomeinspections.com

Water? What Water?

David Helm, Bellingham, Wa. Licensed Home Insp (Helm Home Inspections) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:42:13 -0500

I hate to belabor a point, but here are a few more crawlspace photos. Where does that water in the crawlspace come from? These photos, not all from the same house, show a few ways water can get into the cspace. Enjoy!

The above two photos show drain lines penetrating the foundation wall. That part is normal. What is not normal is the lack of, or inadequacy of the closing off of this penetration.

On this shot, there is a downspout. Just imagine how much water pours into the foundation area from this arrangement.

The previous picture was responsible for the water entering at the basement floor/foundation wall joint.

There are many other ways water enters of course. The whole point of this post is that, for a minimal amount of effort and/or cost, many ways can be solved. All it takes is proper detailing. This is not to imply that there aren't sometimes major drainage issues that can be expensive. Just remember that there are many causes, and not all are expensive.

Thanks for looking.

David Helm