Bellingham WA Home Inspector's Blog -- King of the House Home Inspection

Follow me
By
Home Inspector - King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Home Inspector Lic #207
Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, is a licensed and working home inspector and lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College. Smith was a two-term member of the WA state licensing board and is adjunct faculty for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. ASHI certified inspector. The information in this blog is designed to appeal to residents of the Pacific Northwest.

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2008 

This blog talks about work done by carpenters that would fit into the category of "unwelcome work." These carepenters are not human. They are insect carpenters -- the well-known and much feared ant known as the carpenter ant. The photos below are evidence of a significant carpenter ant infestatio...
05/30/2008
I thought you might get a kick out of the photos below. They are good examples of city government planners trying to figure out a way to solve a problem that does not exist.  In my view at least, what they came up with was more amusing and silly than beneficial. Regarding the Bellingham warehouse...
05/21/2008
If a homeowner or handyman plans to install a new roof or put in plumbing stacks or roof vents, it sure makes sense to do some reading about the process before getting the ladder out and going up onto the roof. The two plumbing stack flashings below have obvious problems. The one on the left was ...
05/19/2008
In Washington State, there are laws regulating wood destroying organism inspections. The laws even define what qualifies as a "WDO". Clients sometimes find the definition, or what makes that list, confusing. They are surprised that a mouse or a rat is not included, nor are certain bees or wasps. ...
05/18/2008
Active Rain members, I was mulling over a great blog written by Barbara Duncan. She was describing a  scam, that is used to take advantage of consumers with poor credit.   She wrote of one person who lost a property as a result of foreclosure. It was interesting information describing how some cr...
05/16/2008
Minimizing the number of phone calls a real estate professional needs to make is always popular with the real estate professional. I think all of us, who work in real estate and related fields, have to make and return what seems to be more than our share of important telephone calls.Many realtors...
05/15/2008
It is odd to be out and about and to, suddenly and unexpectedly, run smack dab into a storybook house. When I say I ran smack dab into it, I mean it figuratively. Today I was many miles away from Bellingham, in the woods up by Mount Baker, and I could not resist taking a photo of this place. I wa...
05/13/2008
10 Comments
Mix and match might work for some things. However, it does not make for a pretty or safe sight when working with electrical wiring when circuits include both copper and solid-strand aluminum wiring. The panel below has both -- mix and match. The terminal on the left clearly has a solid aluminum w...
05/12/2008
4 Comments
Many new homes in the Pacific Northwet, older homes too, have gutters installed that have open ends. These are almost always on dormers so they drain the water from that smaller roof down to the end of the gutter where it keeps on a movin' down the rooof to the main gutter system. Many builders, ...
05/06/2008
Crowding. Crowding. Crowding the house. How else would you describe this? I am sure the homeowner likes this plant, probably likes the way it covers the siding. But the problem is that siding needs some space between it and the vegetation. How much? Well usually a foot is recommended. In actualit...
05/04/2008
Rainmaker
1,248,786

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector
local_phone(360) 319-0038
smartphone(360) 319-0038
Contact The Author
Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, provides information for real estate buyers, sellers and real estate industry professionals. Blog posts emphasize issues commonly found in Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Smith is Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207, a state licensed structural pest inspector, ASHI certified inspector #252760 and one of the most experienced inspectors in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest. Steven L. Smith is lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College and teaches classes for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Steve was a two-term member of the state licensing board.