Bellingham Wa. Home Inspection Blog, Steven L. Smith

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Hold the Peanuts --- Please! - 06/29/08 05:20 PM

I told my wife, an avid gardner, that I would write this blog. She has a chip on her shoulder about people feeding squirrels. We have a conflict of sorts. She likes to garden and has a green thumb. I like to feed the squirrels. This fellow below I consider to be one … (10 comments)

Clarity of Information (Bellingham Home Inspector) King of the House - 06/29/08 01:57 PM

There are many people, primarily sellers and sometimes realtors, who prefer it if the home inspection report is brief and has only the most vital information. There are others, who like detail and clarity of information. The side that wants minimal information usually feels that too much detail spooks or unnecessarily alarms or … (10 comments)

Dispatches From The Land of Louie Louie - 06/27/08 02:45 AM

Some people who observe or visit our fair state of Washington think that we are weird. That is especially so if they attend a parade or a professional sporting event. There is an underlying musical anthem present here that encourages others to smirk at us. That anthem would best be described as "Louie … (16 comments)

But It's Mechanical Dummy! - 06/26/08 01:30 AM

When I use the term "dummy", I mean it in a generic way. That is, I am not accusing any specific person or social group, but there is a certain lack of reality or understanding out in the real world regarding mechanical devices. Sure I could be speaking of household appliances, but … (27 comments)

Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House)--The Sky is Falling - 06/22/08 12:58 PM

I remember, in my family, the adults used to say: "Boy, with all the dangerous things they do, it is amazing that kids make it to adulthood." That is probably a pretty perceptive statement. Fortunately, in spite of all of our falls and the goofy risks we take, most of us … (4 comments)

Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Can You Identify This Photo? - 06/21/08 10:50 AM

I am posting this photo to see if you can figure out what it is. After you look at it, it tells you below what you are looking at. Or, maybe you figured it out.

That is the fan up under a range hood. It was just as icky as … (70 comments)

Chicken In the Morning, Noon and Night - 06/21/08 09:16 AM

On an inspection the other day, waterfront home, they had unusual yard art. There was one piece that I first saw from quite a long ways away. At first I thought it was wood pecker art, which made sense it being up in a tree and all. However, it ends up that it was, … (4 comments)

Ma, Is That A Radio Tower Goin' Through The Roof? - 06/20/08 07:16 PM

I didn't get too good a picture of the overall site. Why? Because the bloomin' tower was too tall to get it all in the shot. What I did capture is in the photo below. This is something I have not seen before -- a radio tower that extends through the roof … (6 comments)

Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Underground Fuel Tanks - 06/15/08 11:28 PM

I saw the telltale signs the other day. It was an underground oil tank. Actually, this was a pretty easy find. Often there is way less to see than what I had to go on at this site. The photo below tells the story. You can see the fill tube and the … (8 comments)

Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House) -- A Pest Infestation - 06/09/08 08:36 PM

Everybody knows what a pest is, or at least I think they do. In the field of home inspection, the pests include the wood destroying organisms (wood boring beetles, some ants, termites) and also members of those species commonly referred to as "vermin." But, even if those species are present, what … (8 comments)

My Achin' Gutter - 06/08/08 06:43 PM

The list of problems an inspector might find with gutters and downspouts goes on, seemingly, forever. A few of the most common problems include: bent, rusted, sloped wrong, cheesy plastic material that leaks, metal gutters or downspouts that leak, assembled wrong, missing gutters, missing elbows, downspouts that dump next to the … (4 comments)

Hello In There -- When Only the Camera Tells the Story - 06/08/08 10:48 AM

Sometimes, and this sounds crazy, it is impossible for an inspector to directly view a crawl space or an attic. The reason is plain and simple: lack of access. In this blog, I will refer to lack of crawl space access as I consider that more serious than lack of attic … (8 comments)

Triple-tapping In Real Life - 06/04/08 12:40 PM

People hear inspectors talk about double-tapping. It refers to attaching two or more wires to a lug in an electric panel that is designed for but one wire. While an inspector should cite that as a potential problem, it is seldom the case that we see any obvious consequences of the decision to … (7 comments)

Little Kitties Morphed Into Hideous Pod Shaped Creatures - 06/03/08 04:41 PM

Well, in my country type neighborhood, Cornwall Park area of Bellingham, there has never been a shortage of wildlife. We have possums, squirrels. Then this installment all started a few years ago with a feral cat. She had kittens, we had the three kittens "fixed" but could never catch the mama. … (14 comments)

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