Insufficient Heat In The Home - 11/24/07 10:44 PM
One thing you cannot take for granted in a home is that it will have sufficient heat sources. In older houses the situation could be as basic as a space heater that is being used to heat too many rooms. I have inspected newer houses where, for one reason or another, … (6 comments)
Best View, You Decide! - 11/24/07 10:20 PM
If you are logged on to AR tonight, you know that I am snooping through some of my photos from my recent trip. Enough time has gone by, a month, that I am actually finding them interesting. In the city of Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, my wife and … (0 comments)
Short List of Favorite Places In Italy: Lake Como - 11/24/07 10:02 PM
In the past, when I have posted photos from my recent trip to Italy, people have said that they enjoyed the photos. I was going through some of my pictures today and thought I would write about, and post these. We have visited Italy four times now and we are starting … (0 comments)
Unique Chimney Caps From Italy - 11/24/07 09:44 PM
In the past, I have written articles or blogs here at Active Rain about the benefits of chimney caps on chimneys. In my wet climate, they are pretty much essential for keeping the rain out. On my trip a couple months back, to Italy, I could not resist but … (0 comments)
Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Detecting A Multi-layer Roof - 11/24/07 09:24 PM
Actually, this title is a bit like the old question: "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" The way you detect a multi-layer roof is by looking. That can, however, be harder than you would expect. The photo below is the simple way, just tweak the shingles a bit and you see … (0 comments)
Crawl Space Water Calculations: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) - 11/20/07 03:52 PM
As a home inspector, there have been times where it was important, as a service to my client, to guesstimate the quantity of water that was collected in a given location. In one case, in a garage, I found an old pit for working under a car. This under the slab pit … (0 comments)
Real Estate Professionals: Great New Inspection Blogger - 11/19/07 08:57 AM
I know that many of the real estate professionals here at active rain, along with members of the public who find us through search engines, are very interested in obtaining information about homes, problems found at homes. I am aware of this because dozens of people have, for nearly a year … (0 comments)
Lynden Home Inspector (King of the House): Unsafe Wiring - 11/18/07 07:50 PM
In the blog just before this one, I wrote about why re-inspecting a home to make sure all repairs were done by qualified parties, in a workmanlike manner, can be high in liability. I was browsing some photos and thought this would be a good example. These were live 120V wires in a … (6 comments)
Re-inspection Complications - 11/18/07 06:33 PM
Frequently a home inspector is asked to go back and re-inspect repairs at a house where that inspector had previously done an inspection. This is typically done at a fraction of the cost of the original inspection.
On the surface, this sounds simple enough. But, for the record, most of those companies … (0 comments)
Kerbooooooom!!!! If You Refer Home Inspectors Watch This Video - 11/13/07 05:05 PM
I was told about this video and it really is worth seeing. I had dropped by the Bellingham Technical College today, where we are running a college level inspection training program, and Charlie Buell, a friend and instructor, told me to check out this posting at youtube. I cannot tell you, … (1 comments)
Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Conducive Conditions and Rot - 11/13/07 04:44 PM
People tend to take gutters for granted, that is for sure. Even at new homes, just being sold to someone for the first time, the builder will not clean gutters that have large quantities of accumulated debris -- from pieces of shingle and nails to organic matter that collected in the … (4 comments)
Whatcom County Home Inspections (King of the House): A Windy Topic - 11/13/07 04:32 PM
Here in Whatcom County, Washington, we had a big windstorm yesterday. There are still several thousand people without power. Winds up to 70 miles per hour knocked trees and limbs down and took power lines with them. Only three houses away from my home a large tree was "topped" by the … (0 comments)
Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Follow The Water - 11/13/07 04:14 PM
In investigative reporting, or trying to track racketeers, they always say: "follow the money." In Washington state, to be a competent structural pest inspector, one needs a similar philosophy and catch phrase. That catch phrase is "follow the water." Wood decay fungi or rot is common on wood with a moisture … (0 comments)
Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): What Is Wrong With This Photo? - 11/11/07 10:26 PM
If you take a look, you will see that there are a couple things wrong here. The cause of the second problem is the first problem. If that does not make sense, let me explain. The big tree over the roof is shedding onto the house. And the shedding tree has … (3 comments)
Oops, Why Your Clients Cannot Count On Code Inspections - 11/11/07 10:13 PM
From a safety standpoint, this is probably the most egregious error, or oversight, I have ever seen from a governmental code inspector. This photo is from a new home. The electrical code inspector had completely signed off on the electrical system, including the panel, circuits, etc. It was done and approved! … (6 comments)
Tip For Seller's Agents - 11/11/07 09:57 PM
This might be more applicable information in the Pacific Northwest than certain other areas, but I suspect it is a universal problem. It certainly wouldbe in any area with trees, especially deciduous trees. As a home inspector, I would suggest that realtors might want to recommend that their clients either clean … (7 comments)
Guess Who Is Coming For The Home Inspection? - 11/11/07 09:30 PM
I was doing a home inspection on Thursday. It was in a wooded area. Now, at home inspections it is common to run into the buyer, the seller, realtors involved or maybe a builder or even a worker who is going to do repairs on the home. In this case, I … (5 comments)
Whatcom County Home Inspector (King of the House) Pressure Treated Lumber, What Is It Good For? - 11/11/07 10:47 AM
Pressure treated lumber is advertised as having a long life (some say 40 plus years) with direct earth contact. The manufacturers soak the lumber in chemicals, it penetrates into the wood at the outside surface. The most vulnerable area is where the wood is cut, such as to length and then that … (2 comments)
Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Sodium Borate and Anobiid Beetles - 11/10/07 10:45 AM
I have done a number of posts here about the pest known as anobiid beetle which is so common in crawl spaces here in the Pacific Northwest. The insect leaves exit holes in soft lumber and will live for years and years if the conditions are right -- literally destroying … (0 comments)
Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector
Bellingham
,
WA More about me…
King of the House Home Inspection
Office Phone:
(360) 676-6908
Cell Phone:
(360) 319-0038
Email Me
Home inspection information designed to be educate the real estate buyer and the real estate professional. Blog posts include general information and information specific to the Pacific Northwest region.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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One thing you cannot take for granted in a home is that it will have sufficient heat sources. In older houses the situation could be as basic as a space heater that is being used to heat too many rooms. I have inspected newer houses where, for one reason or another, … (6 comments)
