Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Exposed Structural Lumber - 12/31/07 02:56 PM
Over time, lumber that is needlessly exposed to rain will decay. The most common example of this is usually fascia or rafter tails that extend out from, and are exposed, at the roof. In my experience, quality roofers will put a small piece of shingle, sometimes a flashing, over the exposed wood … (4 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Lack of Flashing - 12/31/07 02:10 PM
Although at times it seems redundant, I am not sure that an inspector can overemphasize the importance of having a proper metal flashing at a deck that attaches to the exterior wall of the home. As a review, the flashing goes up under the siding, then comes down over the ledger … (0 comments)
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Traction But No Attraction - 12/31/07 10:01 AM
Composition shingles, roll roofing and carpet are something a home inspector really does not like to see tacked on a wood deck. People put these surfaces down, usually because they feel the deck is slick. The carpet, immediately, allows rain through to the wood, so the wood stays wet and rots. … (0 comments)
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Proper Cover For In-Service Use on Outdoor Outlet - 12/30/07 11:36 PM
It seems like we home inspectors spend much of our time posting photos and descriptions of problems. I saw this photo and decided to post a photo of something that is right. While it does not have anything plugged into it, this is an "in-service" cover for an exterior outlet … (4 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspections (King of the House): Water Intrusion - 12/30/07 11:27 PM
Below is a photo of a deck, actually a small landing, that is in front of a door that faces south. The southern exposure door receives heavy weather, wind and rain, and to make it even more harsh the home is not too far from the ocean. You can tell by looking … (3 comments)
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Bellingham Wa Home Inspection (King of the House): Attention To Detail Is Important - 12/30/07 05:14 PM
This is a photo of a sink located in the center island of a kitchen. The main water was shutoff at the home, so I could not perform all of the standard plumbing examinations that I normally do. However, even in such a situation, I do try to look for loose … (6 comments)
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Ferndale Home Inspector (King of the House, Inc): Beyond a Reasonable Expectation - 12/30/07 02:35 PM
A detail-oriented and thorough home inspector tries to look at as many standard components and systems in a home as is possible. This includes flipping the light switches and those that run fans, disposals, etc. Sometimes, even though the inspector has noble intentions, it is not possible to test, or … (4 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Conducive Conditions - 12/30/07 12:16 PM
In a blog yesterday I wrote about Washington State mandated conducive conditions. Conducive Conditions -- In this state, they are a big deal to any home inspector who is properly licensed and operating in a legal manner. Below is a photo of one of the most common conducive conditions. Over … (5 comments)
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It's The Law: In WA State This MUST Be Reported - 12/29/07 06:33 PM
In Washington State, any for fee home inspection, involving a structure and a real estate transaction, must have a complete wood destroying organism inspection. This must be performed by a state tested, licensed and financially responsible (bond or insurance usually) structural pest inspector. If that inspector fails to call out conducive … (5 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House): Private Wells - 12/26/07 04:11 PM
In an earlier post today, I wrote about septic tank inspections. Since septic tanks and wells often go together, I thought this information would be appropriate as well.
A private well is a specialized and complex system, mechanically and biologically. Generally speaking, these systems are beyond the scope of … (0 comments)
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The Home Inspector Is NOT A Specialist - 12/26/07 03:46 PM
I thought I would take this opportunity to better define the role of the home inspector. The home inspector is a generalist and, if properly trained, should know lots about many different systems and components of the home. With a few exceptions, however, the inspector is not a licensed electrician, licensed … (0 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Septic Tanks - 12/26/07 03:36 PM
Often homebuyers want to know why a standard home inspection does not include an inspection of the septic system. The truth is that the home inspector is not equipped to do a septic inspection. And, due to the nasty nature of the job, people would not want him or her doing it … (0 comments)
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Point Roberts Home Inspections (King of the House): Facts About Old Pipes - 12/24/07 12:42 PM
"Just the facts" that is what Joe Friday used to say in Dragnet, if you are old like me and remember the show. Providing facts to the client is what a home inspector attempts to do. Sometimes interpretations are made of those facts, for example, explaining why something is a problem … (8 comments)
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Mount Vernon WA Home Inspections (King of the House): Knob and Tube Wiring - 12/23/07 08:57 PM
Below is another photo of a situation that is frustrating to the home inspector. To begin with, as real estate professionals I imagine everyone here knows that knob and tube wiring is a concern in older houses. I am not saying it is automatically going to cause a fire, or is … (0 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Leaky Roof - 12/23/07 06:21 PM
The photo below was quite an opportunity for a home inspector. Frequently an inspector sees a roof that has seen better days. If a composition roof, such as the one at this home, that can include missing granular material, tears, holes and penetrations, moss, debris, tar repairs, bad flashings or just plain … (0 comments)
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Whatcom/Skagit County Home Inspections (King of the House): Damp Crawl Spaces - 12/23/07 02:11 PM
Here in the Pacific Northwest, due to our damp climate, those of us who do state mandated inspections for wood destroying organisms (as part of a home inspection) look for water or dampness in the crawl space. Damp conditions can be caused by a multitude of problems: poor management of runoff … (0 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): This Is A Shock - 12/23/07 01:47 PM
This Square D electric panel has a serious defect. In fact, it is a major life and limb safety issue. Yet, unless someone knows what to look for, the problem might be overlooked. Look to the left terminal in the photo, and you will see that there is a fairly small … (7 comments)
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My First Clue That Something Was Wrong - 12/22/07 05:32 PM
I have seen weird problems with water heater temperature pressure relief valves before, but this was the most "slap you in the face" startling discovery I have seen. Usually, the problems are pretty standard: There is only a plug where the TPR valve should go; there is no TPR drain line; … (3 comments)
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Beware: Yucky Photo But Proof Positive - 12/22/07 05:24 PM
In a post earlier this week I wrote about the problem an inspector might have in trying to determine if rodents are present in a home or if the inspector is seeing signs of a paranoid homeowner who thinks there are pests, but in reality there are not. Sometimes it can be hard … (6 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): High Deck Safety - 12/22/07 04:02 PM
When a home has a high deck, or a balcony, an inspector should look to see that lag bolts or screws were used to attach the ledger board to the home. Obviously, high decks coming down with party goers can result in some pretty serious injuries. In a related matter, at … (4 comments)
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Blaine Home Inspector (King of the House): Rodents In Our Midst? - 12/18/07 04:52 PM
Sometimes a home inspector finds clues without being able to absolutely, for certain, state that a problem currently exists. The photo below is an example. While I did not see rodent droppings in this crawl space, this big rat trap was conspicuously placed on a heat duct. The question was: Is … (0 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Deck Flashings - 12/18/07 04:42 PM
Sometimes, when doing a home inspection, even if you as the inspector know what you are looking for it can be hard to tell what you are really seeing. This is particularly true as no destructive testing is done. For example, the photo at the left is a deck where it … (0 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Slow Drains - 12/13/07 10:59 AM
One issue, usually not serious, that can be missed by an inspector unless quite a bit of water is run, is the slow drain. In most homes the slow drain at bath sinks is caused by hair. More often than not, if the P-trap is cleaned, the sink will drain okay. … (0 comments)
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Home Inspector's Hands Tied On The Job! - 12/10/07 03:24 PM
When I say the home inspector's hands were tied, I mean it as a joke. However, it is not uncommon to find this to be the situation in the real world of inspection. It is most often the case at a home that has been vacant. The seller decides to winterize the … (3 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Wood to Earth and Rot - 12/10/07 02:56 PM
This photo is a classic example of what happens when soil is piled against wood. This is the side of a garage. The garage, especially an unattached garage, is a common place to find this problem as the structure is often ignored compared to the house. There was a concrete foundation here, … (0 comments)
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Safety: Uneven Steps - 12/10/07 02:40 PM
The photo shows a couple typical problems often found at home inspections. In this case, the rise, from one step to another, varies by more than an inch. This is most noticeable at the top step, which has a short rise up to the landing. It is more common to find this defect … (2 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection Photos (King of the House): Carpenter Ants - 12/09/07 12:08 AM
I went hunting in a crawl space the other day and made a rather dramatic find. If you look at the top photo, this is evidence that a competent structural pest inspector will be on the lookout for. That is classic carpenter ant frass. Look above the sill plate. Now, honestly, sometimes an inspector wonders … (5 comments)
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Strange Truth From Fiction -- Toxic Kidney Beans - 12/09/07 12:06 AM
I was reading a mystery the other day. One of my favorite authors, Dick Francis from the UK. Every book of his, in some way or another, centers on horse racing. Although I know little about horse racing, they provide a good read and have been for 20 plus years. An … (2 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Crawl Space Vapor Barrier - 12/03/07 12:32 PM
This photo shows a crawl space that is missing the plastic vapor barrier. While not uncommon to find it like this on some older homes, the vapor barrier is an important part of the construction process. Basic physics makes it obvious that the plastic helps keep all the moisture in the … (1 comments)
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Why Gutters And Downspouts Help - 12/03/07 12:20 PM
In some climates they might not be necessary, but here in the wet Pacific Northwest, the runoff water and splashing from missing or damaged gutters or downspouts can lead to decay of structure. The photo below is typical. In general, the deck is holding up; however, just above this rot there … (6 comments)
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Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Flat Roofs - 12/03/07 12:12 PM
This photo is an interior ceiling area right below a flat roof. When I say a flat roof, I really mean low-sloped. Even a flat roof should be designed to have some drainage. The flat roof, from above, did not look too bad. But, from below, there was this stain and … (1 comments)
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Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): 240 Volt Circuits - 12/02/07 07:27 PM
I have been looking at some of my "bozo" electrical photos today -- compilations from a number of my inspections. This is not an uncommon scenario. In this case, someone removed the 240 volt circuit from the water heater and just left the energized wires hanging there with a couple wire nuts … (5 comments)
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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Wood Stove Safety - 12/02/07 07:08 PM
Wood burning stoves and fireplaces are a component of many homes that an inspector has to evaluate. Honestly, more often than not, there is some glaring problem that makes it apparent that the device requires professional service. This ranges from heavy deposits of creosote in the flue, to broken firebricks, … (3 comments)
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Beware: Hairy Homeowner Does Electricity - 12/02/07 06:34 PM
That is not a typo. In this case, when I say Hairy Homeowner, I spelled hairy the way I wanted. This is one of the more bizarre things I have seen in the last couple months. This was in an older home where the owner had done much of his … (4 comments)
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Remember, Privacy Is Where You Can Find It - 12/02/07 12:55 PM
On our recent trip in Italy, my wife and I really enjoyed Verona, a city not far from Venice with much the same architecture. But, instead of the canals, a river pretty much went around the city. We were out for a walking adventure on a September day and ended up … (1 comments)
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Vegetation and Siding: Cause and Effect - 12/02/07 12:34 PM
The photos below are one of the better photographic opportunities I have had to illustrate, in depth, the problem with vegetation touching siding. This is T1-11 siding, a veneer wood like plywood, and it is even less resistant to moisture than many other types of siding. In this case, you see the photo of … (6 comments)
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Marketing Jingles - 12/02/07 11:59 AM
Well, another week has gone by where circumstances were such that I did not get the time I wanted for AR blogging. However, I thought that some members might find this post interesting. As many of you know, prior to inspection, I worked as an engineer and finally the manager and … (0 comments)
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