Water pressure at a home should be in the normal range which is 40 to 80 PSI. Fact is, from what plumbers tell me, 80 PSI might be listed as normal but it is still, for appliance and fixture wear and tear, higher than what you want it to be. When I inspect new homes in Bellingham, and the plumbin
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07/25/2008
When an inspector checks a new home it is sometimes amazing what the contractor or his sub-contractors failed to take into account, or what tasks are only half done. Below is a good example. The wise sages knew that, in that location, the water heater should have a pan under it. Fact is, it wa
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07/25/2008
I found out yesterday that N/A does not necessarily mean not applicable. I went up to Canada, which is only about 20 miles from Bellingham. Now that the Canadian dollar is worth more, many Canadians come to the US to shop. Then, with school being out, that is quadrupled. Supposedly, to help trave
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07/24/2008
Aggressive hornets and yellow jackets outside the home can really spoil the barbecue. While they are normally a mere annoyance, we have all heard of people killed by bees. Usually that only happens when that person had a bee allergy or was unlucky enough to be enveloped by a swarm while trapped i
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07/24/2008
This problem is a pretty obvious design flaw, and not hard to fix. More often than not, I see this mistake made outside a door at a bedroom to the backyard. The problem -- there is a small stairway, no landing at the top, and the door opens out OVER the steps. It does provide a certain element of
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07/24/2008
It is always nice to have a clue as to what might be happening next. I think we often get such clues but, sometimes, recognizing them is the trick. We are exposed to so much stimuli that it can be easy to have something pass right over our heads. Poof --- and the clue is gone! I had a major clue
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07/22/2008
I try to keep from getting downright dirty and seedy here at Active Rain. But sometimes, an honest man has no choice but to get down in the dirt in the trenches. This is a seedy blog! We are going to talk rodents, mice and rats. When an inspector goes into a crawl space, one of the first clues th
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07/22/2008
Homeowners notice problems and want to work around them. A common one they notice, real fast since they live in the house, is that they cannot see to get clothing in and out of the closet. The contractor is gone, did not put in a light, so what do they do? Well, they install their own porcelain s
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07/21/2008
I have been getting a number of comments, and a few private Emails, about my series on Pacific Northwest Music Legends. These blogs have, also, been finding their way into the new Localism. This blog focuses on the evolution of folk music nationally and is not aimed at the Pacific Northwest. Earl
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07/20/2008
This is another in my series on Pacific Northwest Music Legends. In my radio days I once introduced this group at a concert. That was back in the 1970's. Perhaps folk music is not the music you think of when Seattle comes to mind. Think again on that one because Seattle's Brothers Four was a bi
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07/20/2008
