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bellingham home inspections: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) Perimeter Slope - 01/21/12 12:07 PM
One issue, often found to be present during the course of a home inspection, is perimeter pavement or soil that slopes toward the home. Here in the northwest, more often than not, houses have crawl spaces and not basements. I have even seen soil or pavement slope directly toward a crawl space vent. Below is a shot from an inspection, this is my indicator to myself, often displayed in reports, to get the point across about the slope of the soil.
This is, in most cases, not difficult to correct by grading soil. But, if the problem is not corrected, … (3 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Frost-free Hose Bibbs - 08/31/10 09:14 PM
In a climate where it freezes in winter, like here in Bellingham and Whatcom County, WA, it makes sense to have the new frost-free hose bibbs. When I do home inspections and find that the faucets, or worse yet, the pipes to the faucets are exposed to the weather then I know that one of two things will happen in winter. (1) The homeowner is going to have to find a shutoff and drain the pipes or (2) they will end up frozen.
The best tip I can give is for the purchaser to install frost-free hose bibbs or frost-free … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Sellers: This May Not Be The Book For You - 08/28/10 03:06 PM
First, I will admit that I have not even opened a page in this book. But I will tell you that the title is enough to put me off. I saw this book in a hardware store just today and, being a home inspector, I see the results of people trying to do what is espoused in the title of this book. You can see the cover below.
Now this might be the greatest how-to-do-it book ever, but the title appeals to the lazy in people and represents a problem that I am seeing over and over again in the … (56 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Animals at Work - 08/27/10 10:14 PM
Here in Bellingham and Whatcom County I run into many helpful animals on home inspections. Once I ran into a herd or flock of goats, that danced on my vehicle. Then I have run into any number of deer out in rural, and not so rural, areas. And I have seen many helpful dogs and fewer helpful cats. Cats tend to hinder the inspection by vanishing and then showing up where you do not expect to find them.
My most recent helper was a very nice dog. She was in and out of the residence any number of times during the … (9 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: When Did We Get So Conservative In Our Color Schemes? - 08/15/10 12:25 PM
When I am in Italy or Mexico, one of the things that I enjoy the most is the bright vista one sees when looking at the houses. The photo below is from Burano, which is near Venice and one of the most colorful of cities.
The street scenes, vendors, music, all add to the vibrant atmosphere and that is one reason I like to visit these two countries. It is funny though how, over here, whenever anyone decides to paint a house like one of those above, the neighbors end up torqued off. In this town, on a number of … (13 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Wood Destroying Organism Damaged Wood As Interior Decor - 08/15/10 12:12 PM
I can only think of one wood destroying organism that routinely chews up the wood and then that wood goes on to being milled and sold for indoor decor. Nobody wants termite chewed wood in the house. But I have seen entertainment systems, and other items, that were made out of teredo damaged wood. The frame below is an example.
The teredo is a mollusk (clam) that enters and lives in and grows in wood in salt water. It is commonly called a seaworm, but the name is not really accurate -- being a clam and all. The species has … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House) -- A Government Freebie I Like - 08/12/10 05:43 PM
In this field of home inspection which is heavy on paper work, overwhelming at times, I am always on the lookout for anything that might simplify my life.
Here in Whatcom County, WA, the assessor -- you know those folks who figure out how many tax dollars to squeeze out of us and our homes -- have a nifty web site. For a home inspector, you can put in an address and search by address, parcel number or owner name. That is handy enough when trying to learn some information about a house prior to doing an inspection.
However, in scoping … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Draw Inspections, New Construction, Bellingham, WA - 08/08/10 04:11 PM
When I first began in this profession, I used to supplement my income by performing some draw, or progress, inspections for banks. That was back when more new construction was taking place.
Since that time, for the most part, I have gotten too busy to spend much time doing the lower cost draw inspections. However, there is a company that I did some contract work with for years so, if I can, I try to fit in a job or two for them on occasion.
With draw inspections they call you in for the first inspection and, usually, you can watch … (8 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: The Bellingham Bells -- Local Baseball - 08/07/10 12:40 PM
This dates me pretty badly, but when I was a grade school kid in Bellingham, the early 1960's, I used to wander down to Battersby Field for the Bellingham Bells games. The Bells were the local team, not exactly pros, but pretty good college age guys. Over the years they did have a pro player or two on the Bells, doing some rehabilitation.
This was all long before Washington had the Seattle Mariners, so there was no pro team in the region.
The Bells vanished for many years, but they were brought back to life a few years ago. And … (2 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Wow -- That Got My Attention - 08/06/10 12:12 AM
I had a moment today where I got quite a start. I had just popped open an attic hatch, then I turned my head. At first, what I saw looked like a woman's hat. It did not take me long to get my head on straight however.
My first impression was wrong. No hat -- Bee looking creatures, or more specifically yellowjackets.
Ths was way bigger than a basketball and it got me pretty excited, I admit it. Good news is that the yellowjackets did not seem to be active today but I was not going to go up there … (107 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Bellingham Home Inspector: Lyctid Beetles - 07/31/10 11:06 AM
Around here, almost always the term being used incorrectly, contractors and other individuals will reference damage from "powderpost beetles" in basement or crawl space lumber.
Fact is, they have the damage figured out but they are citing the wrong pest. The pest that is eating our joists and beams in the crawl space is the anobiid or "deathwatch" beetle.
Unfortunately for us, we do have some true powderpost (lyctid) beetles in the northwest as well. But they are imports to this area and they are inside the house munching on hardwoods and bamboo. They are most often seen in furniture or … (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Window Window On The Wall - 07/30/10 11:31 PM
One component at new houses that is sometimes "iffy" is the mechanical operation of new vinyl windows. On many occasions, I have found that the windows do not track properly. They stick or do not latch or, somewhere along the way, they bind.
This is usually not a big deal with new windows, appropriate adjustments can be made, but it sure is a good thing to discover this problem in advance so the builder can deal with the "fiddling factor" instead of clients who usually know nothing about windows and window installation.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. Smith
… (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Moisture Ants - 07/25/10 11:59 AM
It seems that everyone I have run into has heard of carpenter ants. Next to termites, carpenter ants are an infamous wood destroying organism.
Another ant, tends to be smaller, that can really raise havoc is the moisture ant, or cornfield ant. These ants are not as aggressive as carpenter ants. Carpenter ants will move into sound, non-distressed, wood.
The moisture ants move into wood that is extremely wet, soft and rotten to begin with. Below is a photo of what is called moisture ant "carton" and it is below a toilet that was leaking in Point Roberts, WA. Replacing damaged … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Whatcom County Home Inspections: Fine Dining Termite Style - 07/24/10 10:12 AM
I am working on a video presentation involving wood destroying organisms and my friend Dan Suomi, WSDA, brought me some photos of extensive damage from subterranean termites. For every other insect pest present in the state I have good samples and photos of damaged wood.
But that is not the case with the "subs". They are found in Whatcom County, but not with anything close to the frequency of many of the other insect pests. Here are a few photos that were provided to me by Dan. In the top photo the termites are caught in the act. But check out … (4 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Washington State Home Inspectors -- Structural Pest Inspector or Not? - 07/23/10 11:14 AM
When schedules can be worked out, Dan Suomi, of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, is a presenter at the Fundamentals of Home Inspection Training program at Bellingham Technical College.
In the old days, a year back, anyone who was a home inspector in the State of Washington was required to be licensed by the WSDA as a structural pest inspector if any conducive conditions (moisture or problems that could cause rot or attract insects) or instances of rot or wood destroying insects were cited in a report.
With the creation of the sole "home inspector", a result of licensing, a home inspector … (8 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: The Problem With Active Rain SEO - 07/21/10 08:39 PM
Don't get me wrong. Having great search engine optimization as a result of Active Rain is, how else can I say it -- swell and a very good thing.
However, now how do I say this gently, there are times when that SEO prominence sucks. You are probably wondering when that might be. The answer is when you are doing research on a topic that you have written on heavily in the past at Active Rain.
In the last few days I wanted to do additional research on the insect pest known as the anobiid beetle. When I googled "anobiid beetle" … (41 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Low Water Pressure -- Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House) - 07/10/10 05:41 PM
Water pressure at homes varies widely from house to house. What is just swell pressure for one party is wimpy to another person. To some degree, it depends on what the buyers are used to and where they are from.
People who are used to wells often have much more tolerance for low pressure than people who are accustomed to municipal systems. The faucet below is well below the accepted range for water pressure.
Normal range is 40 to 80 PSI. If pressure is low end, 40, many people think it is poor pressure. On the other hand, I … (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Greetings from Tacoma - 07/09/10 11:44 PM
This is a lazy weekend for me. My wife is attending a big bead festival in Tacoma. The biggest one in the state I am told, although I know practically nothing about beads.
I have my laptop and I am catching up in the active rain. We are on the 23rd floor of this quite spectacular hotel that I do recommend. It is called Hotel Murano.
Their website is here.
Anyone who has ever been to Venice, Italy will know that Murano and Burano are islands off of Venice. You get there by the boats from Venice. Burano is known … (3 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: Electricity and Metal - 07/06/10 11:37 PM
The proper screw(s) for securing the cover on an electric panel is not a screw with a pointy tip. That pointy tip, if anything gets out of alignment inside, can lead to the tip of the screw penetrating a live wire. And, depending on which wire that is, that could be followed by a big and exciting spark or a percussive sound. Over the years I have heard and seen them all, back when I used to work on radio transmitters.
The screw above, sharp tip, is a no no in an electric panel. Panel screws are made with blunt … (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspections: The Brand New Key -- Gas Fireplace Safety - 07/03/10 05:03 PM
Once again, we have a wonderful example of why we should not expect new homes to, necessarily, be completed in the correct or even a safe manner.
I was at a home the other day and fully expected to find a gas shutoff valve that was easy access inside the gas fireplace. They are always there in new homes -- right? Nope not this time.
I mentioned that to the client who was looking around the house as well. In a couple minutes he said to me: "Do you think that they never got around to installing this?"
This … (8 comments)
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Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector
Bellingham,
WA
More about me…
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc
Address: Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Sumas, Nooksack, Lake Whatcom, Lake Samish, Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Whatcom County, Bellingham, WA, 98225
Office Phone: (360) 676-6908
Cell Phone: (360) 319-0038
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