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

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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

2011 

The on-again, off-again saga of the Lummi Island ferry, Whatcom Chief, seems to be off-again. At the end of 2009, here in Whatcom County, there was a rumbling that the county was going to lose the mainland dock -- that they were going to have to find an alternative way to get the 700 or so Lummi ...
02/27/2011
Moisture ants are wood destroying insects that many people have never heard of. Actually, if you havea wood destroying insect on premises, moisture ants are better to have than many of them -- such as anobiid beetles or subterranean termites. Moisture ants are not, specifically, a single species ...
02/27/2011
I am happy to say that, when I drove downtown this morning, the mercury was on the rise. Some of the ice and snow is now retreating. I was going to drive down to Skagit County last night with a friend for dinner, but it was so slick and frigid out there that we stayed in Bellingham and helped the...
02/27/2011
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When the insulation that was tucked between wall studs was pulled back in a crawl space, it became readily apparent that there was something, shall we say, "fungal" going on here. The moisture meter is showing well over 20% moisture content and wood can start rotting at 20% and above. As the Wash...
02/27/2011
This was an Active Rain Challenge that I could sink my tiger teeth into. I had put off this task because, as a general rule, I am not inspired to write book reviews. I am making an exception to that general rule of mine by writing this review of the soon to be released, and much publicized, book ...
02/25/2011
I checked enrollment today, one more day of registration to go, and we have a home inspection training class that is near our maximum number of students -- not quite there but close. Anyone who is interested in taking a state approved fundamentals of home inspetion training course ASAP should co...
02/24/2011
First, if I am going to have snow I want it over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. That way it is less likely to screw up one's business. I do not much hanker to do home inspections where the realtor, the clients and me, the inspector, are looking out at the snow piling up -- each person won...
02/24/2011
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Back a few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the long-standing Cost Cutter store being boarded up, shutting down. The store went way back, to my high school days. It was a budget store and owned by Brown and Cole, a large grocer in this county. The other day, when having breakfast at the nearby Rho...
02/24/2011
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Here in the Pacific Northwest, a multitude of homes were built with L-P innerseal siding as the cladding. Many people do not know it, but this product came not only in the lap siding that is so common, but also in 4ft x 8ft panels. As a home inspector, when I find oriented strand board (OSB), or ...
02/20/2011
One issue that comes up at any inspection at a home that is not so new, is this: "Gee, just how old is the range, how old is the refrigerator, the microwave, the dishwasher?" You know the drill -- the buyer is curious as to the age of the household appliances. Sometimes the visual clues let you k...
02/20/2011
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Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector
local_phone(360) 319-0038
smartphone(360) 319-0038
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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.