Serious Offer To California Fire Victims - 10/26/07 04:42 PM
Active Rain members, when this was sent to me by a business woman whom I know professionally (I inspect homes for her as she acquires them as part of her short-term rental and vacation home business) I asked if I could help out by sharing the power of Active Rain to publicize … (4 comments)
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Whatcom County Home Inspections (King of the House): Drywood Termites - 10/24/07 05:20 PM
Well, the photo below is something I have yet to run into doing inspections. In fact, many inspectors in this state, probably most, have never seen the pest below -- in action at least. Now, most of us have seen some species of this world-class house-wrecker. But this particular termite species … (10 comments)
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Bellingham Wa Home Inspection (King of the House): Galvanized Plumbing Pipes - 10/24/07 03:38 PM
Obviously, the stated purpose of a home inspector is to inspect a home. That is really the only calling for a home inspector. A watch dog's job is to scare intruders and a home inspector inspects homes. So, if that is what an inspector does, he or she should try to do … (0 comments)
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Whatcom County Home Inspections (King of the House): Water Heater Safety - 10/24/07 03:03 PM
I know, I have written about this before. But it seems that I see poorly installed temperature pressure relief valves and their drains so often that it is obviously a concern that needs to be front and center. In older homes the valve or drain is installed wrong at least thirty … (2 comments)
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Mount Baker Home Inspection (King of the House): Crawl Space Posts - 10/24/07 02:29 PM
Imagine the surprise my client would have had, at some point down the road, had he not had an inspection. The example here is not one single, solitary isolated incident of a builder who was in a rush. There were about thirty posts under the house and all of them were … (12 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House): Unchain My Gutter - 10/24/07 11:16 AM
While I do not see this arrangement much, the whole concept of chains for downspouts is certainly not a wise idea, at least not in the wet Pacific Northwest. It might work great somewhere where there is minimal rain, but then again, in such locations they often have no gutters to … (0 comments)
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B-Vent Safety and Combustible Clearances - 10/24/07 10:18 AM
I was rummaging through my inspection photos and found a couple that I thought make a good point about an often seen problem -- combustibles packed around the B-vent in the attic. Especially in older homes, time and time again, the inspector sees insulation resting in contact with the B-vent. … (2 comments)
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Last Call: College Level Bellingham Home Inspector Training - 10/24/07 08:49 AM
Any inspectors or realtors in Washington state might pass this information on to anyone interested in the field of home inspection. The next four week professional level home inspector training course begins at Bellingham Technical College next Monday, 10/29. Minimum enrollment has been met, so the class will go. This time, which … (0 comments)
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Is This Scenic or What? - 10/23/07 05:41 PM
This photo is from Lake Como. For some reason, on this trip, we hit some of the best spots we have ever found in Italy. Since we have been there four times, we have seen quite a bit of the country. We went to Lake Como and Lake Garda. By … (1 comments)
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Nixon in China, Huh? - 10/23/07 05:32 PM
Hi, I have not been able to post much this week, kind of embroiled in work and some other matters that are time consuming and tiring. I did want to share this. Verona, which is one of my favorite cities in Italy, has this ancient roman theatre. It is not as … (0 comments)
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Not The Wood Burner You Want To See - 10/20/07 09:42 PM
A couple times I have inspected homes where the wood stove (burner) was some concoction designed by the homeowner. This dual arrangement of old metal barrels probably took the cake for me. I remember seeing a number of single barrels like this, as stoves, in the 1960's but not recently. This … (4 comments)
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When Anobiid Beetles Strike - 10/18/07 09:28 PM
This is another photo from the Pacific Northwest, where the anobiid beetles had been working in a crawl space. I enlarged the photo, so you can take a good look. All the little shot sized holes are where the larvae pupated, turned into an adult and then left the wood. The … (0 comments)
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Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Duplex Pricing - 10/18/07 06:22 PM
It makes sense to me, but sometimes people balk when they find that it costs more, or they have to pay more at least, to have a duplex inspected than a home of the same size. If you think about it, that should not be such a surprise. The uninitiated will think … (0 comments)
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Photos from Umbria - 10/18/07 06:06 PM
I have been busy and distracted by a bit of a family emergency lately, but thought I would post a few more photos from my recent vacation in Italy. Whenever I do so, I get interesting comments. Now, this first photo might make you think that I thought the whole trip … (2 comments)
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Whatcom and Skagit County Home Inspections (King of the House): Building In Your Wood Destroying Organisms - 10/16/07 04:25 PM
I saw this deck over the weekend. I have seen this design element before, but not in a long time. The deck is non pressure treated lumber and this stump had either had the deck built around it or it is conceivable that, originally, the stump was really a tree … (2 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Ground rods - 10/16/07 04:09 PM
In newer homes, the grounding electrode (or electrodes) almost always have been put in by licensed electricians. As a result of that, the electrode is done properly and usually driven deep into the ground. However, when I inspect older homes that had knob and tube wiring, which had no such ground … (0 comments)
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Bellingham Wa. Home Inspection (King of the House): Unsafe Deck Surfaces - 10/16/07 03:49 PM
When it comes to decks, I have to reiterate again just how careful a person needs to be when walking on them. I did an inspection this weekend, where the deck surface clearly had some problems. In closer investigation, it was apparent that a person could step in the wrong place … (1 comments)
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Travel Photo: Gelato in Italy - 10/16/07 03:23 PM
I know, this would be better to look at in the summer, when it is hot, but I think this is a nice photo. Those of you who have visited Italy have seen this type of display before. Gelato stores, like pizza parlors, are a major part of the storefronts in … (5 comments)
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Skagit County Home Inspection (King of the House): Knob and Tube Wiring - 10/16/07 10:16 AM
The photo below shows a situation where the evidence tells you one thing, but it does not go far enough to make a general statement. Uncertainty prevails. This is knob and tube wiring, removed, from a home that is more than 100 years old. Now, the fact this is not energized is … (3 comments)
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Lake Samish Home Inspection (King of the House): Wood as a Conducive Condition - 10/13/07 12:09 AM
Firewood contact with the structure of the home is a bad idea. It is a way in which wood-destroying organisms might end up in the structure of the home. Fact is, it is not uncommon for firewood to have wood destroying insects inside. I have old firewood by my woodshed, … (3 comments)
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Point Roberts/Birch Bay Home Inspections (King of the House): Failed Thermal Seals - 10/13/07 12:03 AM
One thing an inspector should look for is failed thermal-seal windows. Sometimes they can be hard to spot, depending on how cloudy they have become. Another factor that can make it hard to identify them is the general cleanliness of the windows. More than once, I have found myself trying … (0 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): How Do You Spell Shot? - 10/12/07 07:38 PM
The composition roof in the photo below is on its last legs. It is shot! I do not care if it is a 25-year roof at only 12 years of age, this roof is toast. The manufacturer's warranty means little more than being a rudimentary guideline of quality and durability. … (2 comments)
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My Much Anticipated, Long Awaited Dissertation On The Italian Pizza - 10/11/07 03:42 PM
While in Perugia, which is in Umbria, I wrote about the real life Italian pizza. Now, truth is, there is quite a variation in pizza recipes just inside Italy. Naples claims to have invented the pizza and is quite snobbish about it. My wife's tutor came from that area and only … (2 comments)
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Pictures From Italy: Verona - 10/11/07 03:05 PM
A city that we had never visited before was Verona. Verona is only a few miles from Venice and part of the Veneto region. We had four days to fill, before meeting another couple in Lake Como so my wife picked Luca and I picked Verona. The architecture and the people are … (0 comments)
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Skagit County Home Inspection (King of the House):Common Point Of Contact - 10/11/07 02:39 PM
Over the years, many building or construction details have changed. In the older homes - like the one I live in - they commonly had the ends of rafters, fascia or trim rest on the roof. And at my house, in spite of this taking place for 50 … (0 comments)
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Anacortes Home Inspection (King of the House): Shedding Roofs - 10/11/07 02:30 PM
Sometimes, while doing home inspections, I see expensive and nicely applied roofs that are well maintained. That is the exception. I am astounded at how few people seem to realize that a roof takes some upkeep. For example, any roof that continually has moss, leaves, needles and other tree debris … (0 comments)
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Lake Whatcom Home Inspection (King of the House): Watch Your Step - 10/05/07 02:08 PM
It always seems like common sense to me, that one should protect against children falling from high decks, but I guess that is not the case. I am amazed by the number of times, on home inspections, that I see unsafe situations like those apparent in the photo below. This … (2 comments)
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Skagit County Home Inspector (King of the House): Unsafe Outside Electric Outlets - 10/05/07 02:03 PM
A home inspector sees many outdoor outlets. Probably the most dangerous outlet I have seen was in Skagit County, at a house between Mount Vernon and Burlington. It was a serious shock hazard. Some of the time outlets work great and are well maintained but others have problems. What kind … (1 comments)
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Bellingham Washington Home Inspector (King of the House): Unsafe Decks - 10/05/07 02:00 PM
People tend to take decks for granted. Sellers, buyers, realtors, and inspectors too, will go right up on the deck - usually - without thinking twice about it. That is especially true of lower decks. They are simple and common structures- right? True, but often decks, even the low ones, … (0 comments)
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Mount Vernon, WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Failing Windows - 10/02/07 02:51 PM
As I inspect around the Pacific Northwest, even in the older homes, I usually see newer windows: thermal pane vinyl or sometimes aluminum. But, sometimes at older homes, the inspector will find old single pane glazed windows. Obviously, such windows are not as energy efficient as newer windows. However, often … (2 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Moss - 10/02/07 02:49 PM
In the Pacific Northwest we have moss. It can be very beautiful, especially in the rain forests. But when it is growing on the roof, as in the photo, or on the roof and the siding then it is not a good thing. Thick, green, healthy moss collects moisture, leads … (1 comments)
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Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Settling At Your Home - 10/02/07 02:46 PM
One of the things a home inspector sees a lot of, on the older homes we hope, is settling. We are talking about settling sidewalks, settling steps or even foundations that have settled. When sidewalks settle, it seems that the lower side (unfortunately) ends up next to the home -- … (0 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): When Plants are Problems - 10/02/07 02:44 PM
Often buyers fall in love with the foliage and plants growing around the home. Sometimes the vegetation is spectacular. In Washington state, by law, the home inspector has to throw a bucket of water on the jubilation (and admiration of the plants beauty) if the plants are touching the home. … (2 comments)
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Anacortes Home Inspection (King of the House): Unsafe Light Bulbs - 10/02/07 02:41 PM
Closets and storage areas should not have exposed light bulbs. These incandescent bulbs get very hot and can start a fire. They should be in covered fixtures. I saw an older gentleman almost set his house on fire. He had a closet with a bare bulb. He hung his hat … (2 comments)
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