okanogan home inspector: Wenatchee Home Inspections- The Report
- 11/04/10 06:02 AM
Wenatchee Home Inspections- The Report As a Wenatchee Home Inspections service besides providing a thorough evaluation of the home, its components and systems I try to produce the best available inspection report for my clients. This is where the rubber meets the road. If your report does not reflect the evaluation process then what was the real value of the inspection? I can have the client shadow me and I can explain every issue I come upon but what is the likelihood that all will be remembered? This usually is a stressful time for the client. My reports will have many … (0 comments)
When performing a home inspection one of the items that are almost never up to standard is the Electrical Panel Legend or Index. This is that little list of all the circuits and what they control. Why is this important? It is important that in an emergency you are able to cut the power to that circuit or if someone is to work on that leg of the circuit they know what breaker to turn off. This may take a little time (1 or 2hrs) but it is worth it. … (2 comments)
Chelan and Douglas County Home inspections-The need of Proper ventialtion Proper Attic Ventilation
The proper ventilation throughout the attic is a critical component of a home. It is generally required that one square foot of free vent area be provided for every one hundred and fifty square feet of ceiling area. Proper ventilation will help to keep the home and garage cooler during warm weather and extend the life of the roofing materials. Proper ventilation will also help reduce the potential for heat build-up and condensation within the attic. One of the critical aspects of … (0 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Chelan and Wenatchee inspector too close for comfort!
- 09/30/10 05:26 AM
Chelan and Wenatchee inspector too close for comfort? When entering crawlspaces some of the things we Home and Pest inspectors check, are the clearances adequate to maneuver and inspect, and is the height condition problematic for the structure? Standard building practices say that there should be 12 inches of clearance between the beam/girder and 18 inches for floor joist (still pretty tough to work here). These clearances should be minimums. These clearances are not just for the comfort of those lucky individuals (?) that get to belly around down there. They can have a major effect on the home. Low clearances … (4 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Boondoggled by google
- 08/22/10 05:41 AM
Boondoggled by google- After working very hard to get my site to list highly in google maps I found that I had disappeared of the the face of the google maps world! Yikes- I had myself listed very favorably within the SEO for google. Now I have got a message that seem to be the equivalent of the Windows blue screen of death.- "This listing was rejected because it doesn't meet the quality guidelines". The problem is why? I can not see what the issue is and getting an answer seem to be very frustrating. I have taken my issue to many … (11 comments)
okanogan home inspector: East Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspector- Fiddler on the roof!
- 08/21/10 07:14 AM
East Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspector- Fiddler on the roof! East Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspector- Fiddler on the roof! No Fiddles, just fiddling with hammers, shovels, buckets, air tools, sweat and a few blisters. That's how roofs get done. Well after 13,000 lbs of old roofing removed and many days of sweating the new roof is on. Yippee! We used a high wind nailing pattern of 6 nails vs. the standard 4, seen how many roof lose shingles in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee?
When inspecting roofs one thing I see is poor or no flashing around electrical masts … (0 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Chelan Home Inspector- Roof, Roof ,Roof!
- 08/08/10 05:27 AM
Chelan Home Inspector- Roof, Roof ,Roof! Chelan Home Inspector- Roof, Roof ,Roof!- no, that is not the sound of my dog supervising the job. That's how many roofs that are there.
This job is being performed by me and two of my cousins. One of my cousins was a roofing contractor for many years. He and I have roofed together before. We both have performed tear off before but this one has to be the worst-and it is on my house : ( !
The first layer peeled off as it should, the bottom two layers have been heated … (8 comments)
This Wenatchee and Okanogan County Washington Home and Pest Inspector and being flashed a few too many times. As a former roofer I can say the profession at times has more than its share of less than professional work performed. I see too many short cuts taken on roofs. There are times you need to use caulk but better installation practices will prevent the use of too much caulk or roofing mastic. The roof is the main barrier between your home and the weather outside.
This one comes in the form of being amazed at a great old wood fired furnace nestled between two very large boulders. I could only imagine after having this old beauty fired up for a week or two what a thermal sink you would have. Waking to the radiating heat energy provided in an impressive show thermal dynamics. That's if you wake and CO does not get you! Here you see the damper control from the … (4 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Home and pest inspector in Wenatchee and his software
- 06/28/10 04:45 AM
Home and pest inspector in Wenatchee and his software. As a home and pest inspector in Wenatchee Washington my main product is my report, so this means what software to use, or not use. I have spent many years working with software developers and providers installing systems. This would include small stand alone systems to immense global systems. As in all these cases I wonder if the developer has a good sense of what his user base will need and how they will interface with the software(this includes not using the system as intended). Is the software intuitive, what is the … (2 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Home Inspection in Chelan County and EIFS
- 06/27/10 05:15 PM
Home Inspection in Chelan County and EIFS Performing a home inspection in Chelan County and dealing with EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing system), also known as synthetic stucco. EIFS was created after WWII and became popular in the 80's and 90's as an alternative to traditional stucco. EIFS is more flexible that traditional stucco and easier to work. EIFS usually consists of a sheathing layer, an expanded polystyrene foam board, a glass fiber mesh, a 1/16 to ¼ base coat and then a finish coat. There are slight variations by manufacturers to this basic construct. To identify the material tap on it, … (0 comments)
Wenatchee home inspector, foundation issues and what does it mean. Here we see a good example of a older foundation that is seeing some extensive cracking. Generally horizontal cracking is more serious than vertical cracking. Some of the main causes for such cracking patterns are: Frost Pressure, Wet Soil, Heavy loads next to the building, expansive soils, tree roots or backfilling with large rocks. Implications can vary from insignificant to structural distress and even collapse. Horizontal cracking that is significant needs to be addressed by a specialist. As a Wenatchee home inspector I may … (6 comments)
Wenatchee home Inspections can turn up some interesting finds. While looking at a 1920's home I found this interesting stuff. Here is some insulation from that era, Cedar wood shavings. Old homes have been known to use a variety of different materials such as newspaper, corn cobs, horse hair, rock wool and even seaweed.
There have been some more recent studies on the use of wood byproducts as insulation materials. When thinking about buying an older home you must be ready to make some choices. Many of these older homes need updating in … (5 comments)
As a Wenatchee Home Inspector inspecting new construction homes you may have to look a little harder to find things. I always look for signs of what the builder may have done at the end of the project. Did they go through their punch list properly? Was there items missed, such as electrical runs, plugs in plumbing from testing. Did they hook up the overflow drain? How is the fit and finish? I inspect a new home with higher expectations because no one has had a chance to do anything to the home. Finding … (2 comments)
As a Chelan Home Inspector in Okanogan County I never stop looking for clues. I was doing some work outside of Omak and found this nest of Carpenter ants. Though they have not entered the structure at this time it is something to be aware of. Ants are ingenious creatures and are opportunistic. They can find very inventive ways to enter homes and structures. A few ways to detect them in your home is look for frass (sawdust like shavings), presence of workers wandering around, trails in the yard (they us … (5 comments)
Performing home and pest Inspections in Okanogan County looking for termites is a tricky and time consuming task. Termites are one of the most important structural insect pests in the Washington. Only carpenter ants rival them in importance. Unlike carpenter ants which only live in wood, termites feed on wood. Termite digestive tracts contain microorganisms which allow them to convert the wood (cellulose) into usable food. Most termites normally need moist conditions to start a colony. For subterranean termites, the moisture source usually is the soil. For dampwood termites, the moisture comes from … (2 comments)
okanogan home inspector: Chelan County Home Inspection Service
- 05/12/10 03:51 PM
Chelan County Home Inspection Service additions for NCW Home Inspections, LLC. NCW Home Inspections, LLC has partnered with the engineers at Foundation Certifications to provide a turn-key foundation certification service. If you are buying or selling a manufactured home it is very likely a foundation certification will be required. For all FHA and VA loans, an engineer's foundation certification is required that states that the home is placed on a permanent foundation that complies with the "HUD Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Homes", dated 1996 by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As a Chelan County home … (2 comments)
Wenatchee Home Inspections- The Report
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