bellinghamhomeinspector: Now that Thanksgiving is Over!
- 11/29/09 06:18 AM
Many people like to begin their Christmas shopping on Black Friday. I guess people love to mix it up in crowds. Everyone has their own traditions. Ours is a trip up into the mountains to cut a tree for Christmas. We did it on Saturday. Now one could think that cutting a tree this early would guarantee needle fall by Christmas. On the contrary, this newly cut tree is fresher than any you could buy on a lot. Those are cut in August in order to be ready for shipping. Here in Washington, we go to the US Forest Service office … (2 comments)
bellinghamhomeinspector: It's Not Easy Being Green
- 11/17/09 05:55 AM
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 … (9 comments)
bellinghamhomeinspector: Power Surges (and I'm not talking about hot flashes)
- 11/16/09 05:11 AM
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 … (3 comments)
bellinghamhomeinspector: NEW FOR FALL !!! A DESK TOP COMPUTER
- 10/27/09 09:32 AM
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 … (5 comments)
bellinghamhomeinspector: Water? What Water?
- 07/20/07 08:42 AM
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 … (4 comments)
This crawl space had a number of areas that were inaccessible due to close proximity of soil to beams. As HIs know, there should be at least 12 inches between soil and beams. Soil should never be in contact with wood. There is no vapor barrier and ventilation was non existant. This … (20 comments)
My blogs offer a wide range of topics, from home inspection to cooking to woodworking to gardening to local area information and photos. I love talking about Bellingham, Washington and its surrounding area. Home inspection is my work; life is my passion.
Many people like to begin their Christmas shopping on Black Friday. I guess people love to mix it up in crowds. Everyone has their own traditions. Ours is a trip up into the mountains to cut a tree for Christmas. We did it on Saturday. Now one could think that cutting a tree this early would guarantee needle fall by Christmas. On the contrary, this newly cut tree is fresher than any you could buy on a lot. Those are cut in August in order to be ready for shipping.
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