This week, at three inspections in a row, I found TPR drain lines that were improperly installed. By improperly installed, I mean that they were routed up. In some cases there were other defects as well -- the TPR drain was routed into flex tubing, a no no, or the line terminated in the crawl space or too high off the ground outside.

  

In one case the homeowner wanted to argue that this is not a problem because pressurized water is involved so I did not know what I was talking about. He is wrong. This arrangement is not allowed in any professional plumbing standards and it violates any plumbing code that is published.

What the fellow says, if you know nothing about it, makes sense. You envision water coming out of the TPR valve under high pressure and as steam. The fact is, this valve may discharge water periodically, as part of it doing it's job. That is especially true if there is what is called a closed system and if there is no thermal expansion tank. These valves are factory set at 150 PSI. I have seen municipal water pressure to homes that was too high -- over 130 PSI. 80 PSI is the top of the normal range and that is considered to be too high by most plumbers. In high pressure situations like that, where the water heater is under stress to begin with, I have seen these valves discharge water. And it is NOTHING like a steamy situation. In the average situation, as the tank heats and pressure hits 150 PSI, anywhere from a few drops to a cup or so of water comes out. That relieves the pressure for awhile, then it may build up again and discharge more. The water coming out the drain is NOT superheated. It is the same temperature as the hot water being used in the house. About the only way the discharge water will be superheated is if the thermostat should stick on. The valve is relieving pressure, not temperature. Sometimes the two coincide but not always.

If the valve is routed up, and any amount from a few drops to a cup of water flows out, as you can see above in the photo, that small amount of water would stay in the pipe -- up tight to the valve. Overtime, that can lead to corrosion, damage and failure of the valve. When that happens, then you have a big safety issue.

Sometimes homeowners, who know a little bit, but not nearly as much as they think they know, can be their own worst enemies.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

One of the state standards of practice, in Washington state, is that an inspector must traverse the roof if it can be done safely and without property damage. The idea is that the inspector, in so doing, will have a better idea of the condition of the roof.

While in theory that is a good concept, sometimes Pacific Northwest reality and trees interfere with good intentions -- see photo below. 

 

Even though I got on that roof, the organic debris was so thick that I really could not see much. I did have this to report:

The roof is heavily obscured by organic debris. This makes it impossible to assess the condition of the roof. Additionally, heavy debris keeps a roof from drying and blocks runoff water making it more prone to leakage. Recommend that qualified party, such as a roofer, remove all debris from roof and, at that time, evaluate surface and make necessary repairs or replacement as is required.

This is further proof that, sometimes, we home inspectors cannot see the roof for the trees.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Most of us in the northwest, when we think of decks, probably think of a flat walking surface comprised of either wood decking or a composite decking material with rain gaps to allow rain between the boards. That is usually the case. However, it is also not uncommon to find a solid flat surface -- such as a plywood nailed over the structure below. We home inspectors have to be careful when inspecting decks. They can be very high and construction methods are often suspect.

When plywood is the walking surface, often the homeowner has applied onto that surface some type of waterproofing that is available for consumers -- often a paint-on product with a limited lifetime. If a person is installing that type of deck it is very important to make sure the deck slopes away from the home so water that collects is diverted away from the house. Look at the photo below.

That is a waterproof coating over plywood. In many areas the surface felt solid. But, be careful, there were other areas where a person could step right through the floor. Yes, that is a hole. Once plywood starts absorbing water, de-lamination and rot are not far behind. In this field of home inspection, the inspector needs to look before he or she leaps, doing otherwise could lead to an injury.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

I seem to be having a spate of luck where, inspection after inspection, I a running into high decks. We are not talking three feet high. I mean decks that are 18 or 20 feet high and they are situated over valleys below. When such a deck is inspected it is very important that it be solid to the house. Another thing we inspectors want is proper spacing of the balusters. The standard safety guideline today is that balusters should be close enough together that a four inch sphere will not pass through. At many decks I find spacing much wider than that -- like a foot or more.

The other day I found a deck that had spacing just under four inches. I was very pleased, until I pressed on them. Oooops. Those balusters need to not only have the right spacing but they also have to stay in one place if a child, or the wind, is fiddling with them

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Recently I wrote a post entitled Rodents In Paradise. I have got to tell you that I see them everywhere. We are talking rats and mice, not the wonderful little squirrels that are so well behaved. In this area even high-end homes have problems with rats and mice.

I can honestly say that, at my home, I have not had a problem with rats or mice in years. At one time we would see an occasional one under the sink. Now, if there is any sign of them at all, then it is a body that we might find in the backyard.

There are three reasons why I no longer have rodent problems. 

From left to right, those three reasons are:

1. Tigretto Tartufo

2. Silvio Purrrlusconi

3. Fratello Tartufo

These Italian cats have ZERO tolerance for vermin. I put the three on the payroll, originally, on the advice of my assistant manager, and the world's top certifried home inspector assistant, Mr Nutsy S. Wallenda.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Sometimes it seems like the rats and mice must look upon fiberglass batt insulation as some type of paradise. If not, well they sure have a strong love for the stuff. The photo below is commonly found at a home inspection when the rodents have been enjoying a roll in the insulation.

This insulation is pulled down and torn by, in this case, rats. If you look inside the insulation you see seeds the vermin have carried in. And, in a few spots, you can see the very holes they are using for easy access. The little fellow even left a distinctive dropping behind. How nice.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

An inspector needs to be on the lookout for structural problems with cantilevered decks. That is especially true here in the northwest where we have so much rain.

Do you know what a cantilever is? Here is a pretty good photo that I took at a recent inspection.

See that beam: Dark on the inside and white outside where it supports an upper deck. Notice how green that beam is at the exposed outside section. That is a big problem with this design. As the wood is exposed to rain on the outside, rot forms and that will travel right down the beam. Before long you have a deck that is seriously weakened, likely to be unsafe, and you also have a repair job that takes some doing to fix -- especially if the decay gets back into the exterior wall.

The cantilever design might work great in some climates, but it creates many problems in the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

In older homes it is not uncommon to find that the house, at some point, had an underground storage tank -- either gasoline or, more likely, heating oil. Since underground tanks are buried, not visible, probably any number of them go unnoticed. However, we home inspectors are on the lookout for certain clues as to the existence of such a tank.

That photo below is not a periscope. That pipe looks like a vent pipe from an old underground storage tank. I did not find a nearby fill tube but, where there is a vent there is often a tank below -- maybe several feet underground.

While a home inspector will cite clues such as this, when they are found the job does not include digging holes. I have taken a cap off the fill tube, more than once, to see if I could smell the fuel type. Heating oil has a distinct odor as does gas. There are, of course, other times when such clues might exist at the property but the inspector could not see them for various reasons -- such as dirt or vegetation obscuring the clues.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

 

Take a look at the photos below, then I will tell you what they mean to anyone who has been involved in the Washington state approved home inspector education that is taught at Bellingham Technical College.

 

  

These photos were taken during the fourth week of the course -- field training. The first three weeks students are in the classroom, and at some labs, but generally they are tied down learning the nuts and the bolts of what it is that they are looking for. In that final week, the students go on-site with instructors and put to practical application the knowledge that they learned earlier in the course. Anyone interested in the BTC program -- a state approved fundamentals of home inspection course -- can get more information by clicking on the icon below. The next scheduled class is early in the new year.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

 

 

Folks, I hate to say it, but here in the northwest it is that time of year. What time of year you might ask. Well it is that time of year when you need to clean the roof and the gutters. All of the needles and leaves from all of the trees are now in valleys of your roof and down in the gutters.

Such debris blocks drainage and, frequently, leads to gutters not functioning at all. The subsequent leaks can rot structure such as the fascia behind gutters.

Bearer of bad news that I might be, the time is now -- get the gutters clean so they will function during all these hard rains. If you cannot clean the gutters and the roof yourself, hire someone who can.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith