Bellingham Wa. Home Inspection Blog, Steven L. Smith

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Let Me Take You Down: Crawl Space Horrors, pt 2 (this photo might gross you out) - 06/30/07 06:20 PM

Yesterday, when I posted part one of my blog "Crawl space horrors" I saw that there were lots of comments among non home inspectors about what we see down there. It seems there is an uneasy fascination with crawl spaces, like with horror movies -- fun to speculate and watch but do not … (8 comments)

8 Miles High and not ducting worth a darn - 06/30/07 05:22 PM

Pardon the title but I always liked the tune 8 Miles High. I saw this duct the other day and it was the longest and worst bathroom exhaust fan duct work I have seen -- shy of those that vent directly into the attic. At least the homeowner made an effort … (3 comments)

Furnace safety - 06/30/07 10:38 AM

I will be the first to say that I am not an HVAC professional. Fortunately, to be a home inspector I do not need to know how to repair every problem that comes up with buildings, including their appliances. The job of the inspector is not to be a repair professional, … (4 comments)

Is the home inspector just being a petty jerk? - 06/30/07 10:36 AM

I have met people who feel that a home inspector, who points out some smaller issues such as gutters full of debris, is a petty jerk. They say: "That is not a real problem! Too minor to mention." Obviously a gutter can drain with some debris in it, but it depends on … (8 comments)

Bellingham Wa. home inspections (King of the House): Crawl space horrors - 06/29/07 09:46 PM

A Bellingham WA home inspector sees an awful lot of issues with wood destroying organisms. In Washington State, those of us who do structural pest inspections must be tested and licensed by the state. We are regulated by the WSDA. One rule that sometimes upsets sellers, or their agents, is the state … (7 comments)

Up on the rooftop - 06/29/07 05:50 PM

We home inspectors spend lots of time up on rooftops. What we are usually looking at is the installation of, and the condition of, the roofing materials. That includes the flashings, appurtenances, the chimneys, B-vents and other things that we can see up on the roof. One of the things we … (0 comments)

Connecting the dots - 06/29/07 05:37 PM

Sometimes, when dealing with mechanical or electrical devices, one has to think beyond the obvious problem. For example, in the photo below, the initial reaction would be: "Boy what a mess, that is gonna be a pain to cleanup." The next thought might be: "Boy all that moist, hot air floating … (1 comments)

We're gonna have a blast! - 06/27/07 12:15 PM

The photo below has got to be one of the most misunderstood safety devices in all of plumbing. Safety devices in plumbing? What could be the big deal, you ask. After all, as one plumber explained to me once: Plumbing is pretty easy, if you put water in a pipe it … (3 comments)

Broken limbs and overworked code inspectors - 06/26/07 01:24 PM

Many people feel that if they buy a new home they can count on the state, the city or the county code inspectors to catch anything that is wrong. Sometimes that is true, but not all government employees are created equal and some of them are swamped with inspections. I have … (1 comments)

Railroad Avenue, Bellingham - 06/26/07 12:12 PM

There is always something happening on Railroad Avenue. It might be good and it might be bad, but something will be going on. Railroad, historically, was a center for street car and train operations in Bellingham. Those industrial uses are gone and today it has a huge assortment of people -- … (1 comments)

Testing 1, 2, 3, testing - 06/24/07 09:04 PM

It seems, from past discussions, that realtors and home inspectors are generally in agreement that it makes sense to have new homes inspected. The thought, out in the general public, seems to be that it is optional or overkill. Builders of course hate it and try to get around the inspector by offering … (4 comments)

Boring details, part II - 06/24/07 04:43 PM

Yesterday I wrote about bonding of electric panels, main panels and distribution or sub-panels. That post showed a sub-panel that had the neutrals and the grounds connected, which was incorrectly done. Below, is a photo of a correctly wired sub-panel. The neutral buss (left) and the ground buss (right) are not bonded to … (0 comments)

Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House): Boring details - 06/23/07 06:09 PM

I have to be careful here that I do not make this too boring, as it is more detail oriented than what I would normally write about at a non-technical forum. If you are a realtor, have you ever had an inspection report where the inspector made some comment about the … (1 comments)

Three silly lillies - 06/23/07 12:45 AM

I had the camera out today and we actually had a few hours of sunshine in Bellingham, prior to a number of cloudbursts. I wandered about the wife's garden and took photos of three different lillies. She has probably a dozen and they all bloom at different times. Here are three … (7 comments)

Lorraine Ellis Park, Bellingham - 06/23/07 12:13 AM

In Bellingham's Columbia neighborhood is a small park. Lorraine Ellis Park. It is not far from either Elizabeth Park, Bellingham's oldest park, or the other small park, Carl Lobe Park. Lorraine Ellis Park is a nice spot but not far from the traffic. It's not big but there are attractive old trees … (1 comments)

Anobiid Beetles -- Smaller than a grain of rice yet they destroyed this home! - 06/22/07 11:53 PM

Yesterday I had the unpleasant job of letting a realtor and my client know that a home that was other wise not too bad, had been destroyed underneath by a secretive and very destructive wood destroying organism. I am speaking of the dreaded anobiid beetle. I have heard people say, "ah, don't worry about … (11 comments)

Peace Arch Park, Blaine WA - 06/22/07 10:34 PM

When I drive to Point Roberts to do home inspections, or just to visit the Vancouver BC metro for a show, I usually go through the border at Blaine, although there are a number of other border crossings in the county as well. Peach Arch Park, known for the world famous … (0 comments)

Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts, WA - 06/20/07 06:31 PM

Lighthouse Marine Park is a Whatcom County Park that many Whatcom County residents have never visited. Why? Because it is in Point Roberts, and it takes some effort to get there. Many locals never take the trek by venturing across the Canadian border at Blaine and then heading back into the … (3 comments)

Gossage Garden, Bellingham - 06/20/07 06:14 PM

There is a pretty little neighborhood garden,right along Cornwall Avenue, which is one of the main streets in Bellingham. Actually, it is at the intersection of Cornwall, Alabama and F streets. This is Gossage Park and it is a colorful monument to the fact that you are entering into the letter street … (0 comments)

What to do if your flat roof has a slope! - 06/19/07 10:24 PM

First, don't be fooled by the title. If your flat roof has slope, that is good design as is explained below. The other day a blog I wrote about mold received a lot of interest from the real estate community. I decided to give the details of an inspection I did at a … (2 comments)

I want you to see my mussels! - 06/18/07 09:02 AM

Well, I am off across the border this morning. That is an odd thing about working out of Bellingham, hopping over to Point Roberts: going out of the US, into Canada, and then back into the US. Then reversing that to get home. If one was afraid of the customs, or … (2 comments)

Bellingham, WA -- This time long ago, White City Amusement Park - 06/17/07 02:22 PM

In the Silver Beach neighborhood by Lake Whatcom, 101 years ago, White City Amusement Park was built. It closed in 1919. Having been in this region since I was a child, I knew people over the years who remembered and told me about the excitement of this great amusement park. … (4 comments)

Air accidents, pilots and a city park - 06/17/07 01:49 AM

Carl Lobe Park, in Bellingham, is a tiny park in the Columbia-Eldridge neighborhood --children's play equipment and a small ball field. This park has been around as long as I can remember, but most people have no clue who it was named after. Who was Carl Lobe? Information is scarce. When I … (0 comments)

An oyster a day - 06/16/07 10:30 AM

I remember, back to the 1950's, when my aunt worked at an oyster farm on Chuckanut Drive. At the time, it was called Rockpoint Oysters. Well, it has changed hands but, and I swear, some of the best oysters you will get anywhere are farmed right here in our corner of the … (4 comments)

Where do all the vegetables come from? - 06/16/07 10:27 AM

Recently I wrote a blog about a nursery, with great flowers, here in Bellingham. This time, I am switching to vegetables. Clear back when I was a child, my mother would talk about getting produce from Joe's Garden, over on the south side. It was operated by an immigrant from Italy, Joe … (2 comments)

Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Mold In The Home - 06/15/07 10:28 PM

" John, is that bad mold growing in the attic?" I heard that conversation one day between a couple in a restaurant. The simple answer, and I did not interupt the conversation, was "yes, any mold in your attic is bad.!" As a Bellingham home inspector, I sometimes see mold from water … (12 comments)

Edison 50 years later - 06/15/07 08:08 PM

As a Bellingham Home Inspector, I was in the Bow, Edison area today, so I thought I would take a couple photos. This is my old stomping grounds, from when I was a kid. It seemed like all my relatives lived down there and I used to visit them almost every weekend. … (1 comments)

If you sell real estate the ability to recognize either photo below will save you lots of grief - 06/15/07 12:12 AM

Have you ever heard the term, or seen an inspection report, listing the plumbing supply tubing as polybutylene. If so, the inspector is not doing this to make your life miserable by citing the issue. Polybutylene was a plastic pipe that had widespread use (most often in mobile homes) during the late … (7 comments)

Where have all the flowers come from? - 06/14/07 06:25 PM

Excuse me, but I had to take a stab at changing the title of an old 1960's protest song. It was my lame effort to grab your attention. Those of you old enough to have been around back then probably remember "Where have all the flowers gone." Well, this is "Where … (2 comments)

Waterfront Park, Bellingham, WA - 06/13/07 11:33 PM

You hear the term less often now, but years back the area of Holly Street down by the train station was called Old Town. In his advertising, a businessman named Lou Parberry, always called himself the "mayor" of Old Town. It was a fictional title, but people remember that today. It seems … (0 comments)

Cornwall Park Rose Garden - 06/13/07 11:08 PM

Bellingham, and all of Whatcom County really, is an area with an abundance of parks. Our parks have trees, trails and blooms galore this time of year. One really lovely little spot, not far from downtown, is the Cornwall Rose Garden. It is at the north end of Cornwall Avenue, just … (0 comments)

Old memories return at Memorial Park, Bellingham, WA - 06/11/07 06:11 PM

One of the parks that is in Bellingham, and would probably not immediately come to mind, is Memorial Park. It is in the Sunnyland neighborhood, right behind Sunnyland Elementary School (where I went to school for one week in the 1950's before they redistricted me elsewhere.) This park is at King streets … (1 comments)

Skagit County Home Inspection (King of the House): Tree Roots and Structural Damage - 06/10/07 04:12 PM

Tree roots are a judgement call for home inspectors. A Bellingham home inspector, due to all the trees in the community, has to make lots of such judgement calls. Tree roots from large trees often damage sidewalks and walkways. We see an abundance of this in Whatcom and Skagit counties. In such … (8 comments)

Cornwall Park in Bellingham - 06/09/07 11:54 PM

Cornwall Park is one of the first parks I remember visiting when I was a child back in the 1950's. It was in my neighborhood and I went to Parkview elementary, that adjoins the park, and we were never allowed to go down into the park, except the last week of school we … (0 comments)

Mount Vernon WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Carbon Monoxide - 06/09/07 11:04 PM

Sometimes the parties in a real estate transaction become frustrated when a home inspector calls for further evaluation by some other specialized party. Inspectors, if they are paying attention, know that this is an unpopular call, especially if the inspector is calling for a number of different professionals to come in afterwards. … (5 comments)

Elizabeth Park, Bellingham's oldest city park - 06/09/07 09:46 PM

Elizabeth Park is Bellingham's first city park, created in 1884 and established on land donated by Henry Roeder. The park has abundant trees: walnut, chestnut and maple, plus flowering trees such as azaleas and rhododendrons. Many of the old growth trees are more than 100 years old. There is a pretty fountain, … (0 comments)

Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Rot is not a normal and acceptable part of aging - 06/09/07 08:52 PM

As a Bellingham home inspector, in the Pacific Northwet, I see this problem a lot. A month back, I wrote a blog much like this regarding moss on roofs. In a similar vein, I have heard sellers claim that their wood shake or shingle roof would last 50 years, guaranteed. Then, when … (1 comments)

Bellingham Real Estate Inspection (King of the House): Vinyl Siding, Some like it Hot! - 06/09/07 05:21 PM

If you like it hot, then this photo is for you. After all, it is not everyday you get to take a peak at a melted house. Now, you may be asking, what happened here? And the honest to goodness truth is, I really don't know. Your guess is as good … (22 comments)

Lake Padden Park, Bellingham - 06/07/07 05:03 PM

Lake Padden Park has to be one of the busiest parks in all of Whatcom County. If you can name it, it takes place at Lake Padden. The lake is noted for its trail, all the way around the lake, and it is a favorite for hikers, bikers and walking and … (7 comments)

Being a professional and accommodating should not make you easy! - 06/07/07 12:21 PM

Okay, here is the scenario: As a realtor or inspector, you are at a house. The seller seems really nice and hospitable. Before you know it, the seller is going out the back door and says "Hey, I am only going to be gone for 15 minutes, and it won't be … (6 comments)

It's snowing in Bellingham! - 06/04/07 11:03 AM

Okay, it is not snowing right now. I admit it, I lied here at Active Rain. But with the hot weather in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to give you a photo that would cool you down and be informative too. It is like having an ice cream. Last year, because of … (3 comments)

A puzzle: Can you figure it out? - 06/03/07 10:50 AM

This photo is from a very nice home at Point Roberts. The roof had been installed within the last few years and the shingles were still in good shape. It was 3-tab composition material, neatly installed and with a uniform overlap so the self-sealing tabs lined up correctly on each course … (2 comments)

Bellingham home inspections: (King of the House) Concealed problem - 06/02/07 09:01 PM

In Washington State, most home inspectors are licensed structural pest inspectors. In fact, there are some real tight rules on that and any inspector doing home inspections for real estate deals is violating state law if the pest inspection is left out completely or done by an unlicensed party. Anyway, that … (6 comments)

Give me a cricket, or a saddle -- I don't care! - 06/02/07 08:44 PM

Home inspectors often talk about a cricket. Another name is a saddle flashing. Either way, often clients and even realtors do not know what an inspector is talking about. A photo of a cricket is below. This is a device for routing runoff water around a chimney that is of the … (5 comments)

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