Living Small in a Big Way- Tiny Homes Wenatchee Home Inspections
Tiny home seems to be more and more appealing to many looking for a comfortable space on a small footprint and a smaller budget. The problem is the codes have to now deal with these smaller than normal spaces. Enter the 2018 IRC and Appendix Q. Now, most areas have not yet adopted the 2018 code and it may be a while for many. For Washington, the anticipated effective date for the 2018 codes is July 1, 2020.
Tiny home design from www.tumbleweedhouses.com
Here is a couple of section from the code to give you a feel … (7 comments)
Bad Gas-Thou shall not go there!Wenatchee Home Inspections
Gas cooking is what most chefs prefer. So having a gas cooktop installed is a very nice feature for the chefs.
Like anything else though there are those pesky rules. Gas supply pipe in one of them. Here we had an installation of propane gas from a tank to the cooktop. To get it through the brick cladding (siding) they decided it was much easier to plumb it through the exhaust duct from the exterior to the crawlspace. The issue is this is not … (3 comments)
At the end of my home inspection, with the sun starting to set in the west the shadows are starting to fill the gulches of Burch Mountain just north of Wenatchee.
We all need to take a moment, look and appreciate our beautiful world.
"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." John Muir
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is … (2 comments)
wenatchee home inspection: Sunday Morning Muse
- 10/28/18 09:00 AM
Sunday Morning MuseWenatchee Home Inspections After a good rain last night the morning brings a new day and beautiful breaking skies.
Looking south from central Wenatchee
“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington … (5 comments)
wenatchee home inspection: Plumbing boots are not cracked up to handle the task of your new roof.
- 10/28/18 07:34 AM
Traditional plumbing boots are not cracked up to handle the task of your new roof.Wenatchee Home Inspections With asphalt roof shingles designed to last much longer lasting than your dad’s older 3 tab asphalt roofs why has the plumbing vent boot followed in design? We still use those traditional boots have a thin rubber collar to seal the plumbing vent pipe on the vast majority of homes.
Today’s fun is called “skullduggery”. As a home inspector, I never underestimate what I will find during the inspection.
As a pet owner myself finding this cat skull was a little sad but my intrigue of the macabre took over. We have 5 rescue pets (2 dogs, 3 cats) in the family, actually 4 now my son left the nest and took one with him.
And now a little Feline History fun.
From the Humane Society-
“U.S. households that own a pet (bird, cat, dog, horse, fish, reptile, small animal) – 62% (72.9 million households).
U.S. households that own a … (8 comments)
wenatchee home inspection: Candle in the Wind... House Fires. Wenatchee Home Inspections
- 03/27/17 07:43 AM
Candle in the Wind... House Fires. Wenatchee Home Inspections My wife loves candles but it can only take a moment…. and then all chaos can ensue. From 2009-2013, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 9,300 home structure fires that were started by candles. These fires caused 86 deaths, 827 injuries and $374 million in direct property damage.
Here is an example that hit close to home for me. Friends of mine had a candle burn down their home. It is assumed wind blew a curtain over the candle and which then caught fire. Within a few minutes, the home was engulfed … (14 comments)
“There are only two mantras, yum and yuck, mine is yum.” Tom Robbins
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, … (3 comments)
wenatchee home inspection: What are you missing?
- 03/11/17 11:21 AM
What are you missing? Wenatchee Home Inspection On home inspections having the right tools are always a must and often a blessing. Here was a great example. When doing an IR scan of the ceiling I find a dark blue to black area of the wall area in the front room/kitchen area.
This was the unmistakable sign of missing insulation which leads to energy loss, potential for moisture transfer in the adjacent attic space as well as a general comfort issue.
I teach several home buyer’s classes every year to prospective new home buyers. One thing I tell them is when they are looking at homes if something does not look right more times than not it isn’t.
Here is an example that most people when they look at it would say, yeah that is probably not right and of course they would be correct.
From the 2014 NEC From ARTICLE 334 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable (Types NM, NMC, and NMS) or what most people refer to as Romex.
334.15 Exposed Work
In exposed work, except as provided in 300.11(A), cable shall … (7 comments)
“May the spirit of the season bring you closer to those whom you cherish so much. May this be a year of celebrations for everyone, Merry Christmas to all.”
“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home! “ Charles Dickens
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities … (12 comments)
With winter putting its grip on most of the country it is a good time to think about fire safety in the home. Make sure your smoke alarms are functioning and have fresh batteries.
Link- Smoke Alarms, Usage and Placement
Make sure your fireplace and heating equipment is in good working order. Try to minimize the use of space heaters and be sure to keep flammable and combustible materials away from them.
Facts about home heating fires- From the US Fire Administration
From 2010-2012, an average of 45,200 home heating fires … (7 comments)
Common in modern kitchens is receptacles(outlets) have a required placement on any kitchen countertop that is foot wide or more should have a receptacle. There should be no space along the countertop that should exceed two feet to a receptacle… hence the 2 and 4 rule. The reason is in more modern living we have all kinds of appliances and we need receptacle coverage for them. Some items are always plugged … (24 comments)
Most people only think of hiring a home inspector during the home purchasing process. There actually are many other reasons to hire a good home inspector. Many highly skilled home inspectors, through experience and education, have developed enough knowledge to go well beyond just the home buying process.
These inspectors really should be seen as home consultants and investigators. Often they possess the experience and education to help diagnose more complex issues.
One subject I think people often overlooked is using a home inspector to perform a yearly or bi-yearly evaluation of the home to … (9 comments)
As home inspectors, we can only see what we would be visible at the time of the home inspection. Just recently I had an opportunity to see a few things that were not visible due to coverings/sheetrock at the time of inspection.
I had some clients that I performed a home inspection about a year ago. They purchased the home and proceeded to perform a complete gut of the home down to the studs. My clients asked if I would come out and inspect the structure now that everything is exposed … (16 comments)
Well it seems the world is on fire again in Washington State. This years fires now eclipsed last year’s fire as the largest in state history. Nothing like making history two years in a row.
I was returning from a commercial inspection in the Okanogan on the day (8/14) when these recent fires started (from lightning). From that day to now the fires have grown and have now reached that milestone of being the largest in state history. The Okanogan County fires have burned 256,567 acres and is still growing, that is … (6 comments)
It was to be the new rage. A supposed “economical” system to control your lighting circuits. You can wire any number of switches, photo sensors, timers and other devices to a relay that now can control any lighting fixture(s) or electrical loads that were controlled by that relays. The wiring from the switches and devices are low voltage (typically 24 to 30v) so no need for heavier cabling and conduits etc…
GE introduced its low-voltage remote-control relay system in the 1950s as … (8 comments)
Ahh in the land of home inspections we get to see a lot of fun things. Quite often many homeowners do things without really understanding what the final outcome may be.
Here is an example of such a case. On a home inspection I find a receptacle that has been wired for 240/250v (bottom receptacle marked 220v) that is on a standard 120/125v receptacle. This is a problem since it most likely will destroy most 120v appliances in a very short time if plugged into it.
What do you think is the average price for ½ sheetrock? About $10 to $12 for a 4x8 sheet you would be very close. Then factor what the typical cost of installation the cost of materials and installation is around let say around $1.75 a square foot to install.
That sheetrock installation cost is going to radically change when you have to go back and install it when you have a very large obstacle in the way. Case in point.
This is how it looked from the ground
During a recent home inspection I was doing … (10 comments)
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