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bellingham wa business blog: Nice Roof Work - 01/08/08 12:08 PM
When a home inspector is out working, this is the sort of thing you do not want to see. You might think this is someone in a rural area with a TV antenna. Wrong! This is part of the support for the main electric service mast. First, the bolts are not tight, so the mast wobbles around. Add to that the whole issue of this being a likely source of a roof leak. The more the mast moves, the more it wiggles the bolt, and the cycle continues. Once an inspector sees something like this, it is usually the tip of … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: The Rains Came - 01/07/08 02:58 PM
The rains came and suddenly the crawl space was full of water. The issue of crawl space, and even more serious usually, basement water, is a real concern. It is also tricky for the home inspector. In the Pacific Northwest it is possible to inspect a home in dry months and think it looks good, or at least not alarming, underneath. Then you end up going back in October to February and the piers and posts are underwater or the vapor barrier is floating. At least that kind of situation can apply in the crawl space. In a basement, people's belongings might … (2 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Reference For Realtors: ID of L-P Siding - 01/01/08 06:15 PM
I have posted about this before, probably almost a year ago, but the issue comes up enough that I think it is worth spending some time on it again. If you are a real estate professional, you might want to save this for easy reference. Realtors, often the seller's realtor, have to deal wit the home inspection and a home inspector called out that the home had Louisiana Pacific (L-P) innerseal siding. If the siding is composition wood and the home was built from the early 1980's until 1995 or even later into the 1990's in some cases, then that is certainly possible … (2 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Traction But No Attraction - 12/31/07 10:01 AM
Composition shingles, roll roofing and carpet are something a home inspector really does not like to see tacked on a wood deck. People put these surfaces down, usually because they feel the deck is slick. The carpet, immediately, allows rain through to the wood, so the wood stays wet and rots. The asphalt roofing material is not waterproof in such an application, and is not designed to be walked on, so it breaks down and is nothing but a cover over the wood which means that it stays soggy underneath -- at least in the Pacific Northwest climate that is what … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Bellingham WA Home Inspections (King of the House): Water Intrusion - 12/30/07 11:27 PM
Below is a photo of a deck, actually a small landing, that is in front of a door that faces south. The southern exposure door receives heavy weather, wind and rain, and to make it even more harsh the home is not too far from the ocean. You can tell by looking at the threshold just how wet this area gets and the black coloring on the wood and on the floor covering is a sign of heavy moisture, likely decay is underway in this area. This is an example of why qualified builders or carpenters, who know how to properly fit … (3 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Bellingham Wa Home Inspection (King of the House): Attention To Detail Is Important - 12/30/07 05:14 PM
This is a photo of a sink located in the center island of a kitchen. The main water was shutoff at the home, so I could not perform all of the standard plumbing examinations that I normally do. However, even in such a situation, I do try to look for loose faucets, shoe goo used to hold pipes together, rusted fixtures, signs of past leaks, etc. In this case, after locating the door to look under the island sink, I got quite a surprise. Despite it being an older home, the sink had never been plumbed in! There was no drain … (6 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Conducive Conditions - 12/30/07 12:16 PM
In a blog yesterday I wrote about Washington State mandated conducive conditions. Conducive Conditions -- In this state, they are a big deal to any home inspector who is properly licensed and operating in a legal manner. Below is a photo of one of the most common conducive conditions. Over and over again, the home inspector sees decks that have wood to earth contact in many different locations. In this case, there actually is a concrete pier under the post, but the homeowner has piled dirt around it and up onto the post. It has probably been this way for … (5 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: The Home Inspector Is NOT A Specialist - 12/26/07 03:46 PM
I thought I would take this opportunity to better define the role of the home inspector. The home inspector is a generalist and, if properly trained, should know lots about many different systems and components of the home. With a few exceptions, however, the inspector is not a licensed electrician, licensed plumber, licensed professional engineer or an HVAC trained technician. It is the job of the inspector to detect problems and then pass the upgrade or repair on to the proper professional. It is not unlike the GP who sends a patient to the skin doctor, who specializes in skin disorders, … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Whatcom/Skagit County Home Inspections (King of the House): Damp Crawl Spaces - 12/23/07 02:11 PM
Here in the Pacific Northwest, due to our damp climate, those of us who do state mandated inspections for wood destroying organisms (as part of a home inspection) look for water or dampness in the crawl space. Damp conditions can be caused by a multitude of problems: poor management of runoff water; poor grading of a wet lot; plumbing leaks; poor caulking leading to water intrusion; poor ventilation. In our wet climate we want to see the structural wood with a moisture reading somewhat below 20 percent. Wood can rot at 20 percent so staying below that number is important. Usually it … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Beware: Yucky Photo But Proof Positive - 12/22/07 05:24 PM
In a post earlier this week I wrote about the problem an inspector might have in trying to determine if rodents are present in a home or if the inspector is seeing signs of a paranoid homeowner who thinks there are pests, but in reality there are not. Sometimes it can be hard to tell, if one sees a trap but no droppings or damage. However, in the situation below, it was pretty obvious that we could smell a rat. For those of you who are not home inspectors, the look of the insulation in the crawl space (top photo) is a classic view … (6 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Blaine Home Inspector (King of the House): Rodents In Our Midst? - 12/18/07 04:52 PM
Sometimes a home inspector finds clues without being able to absolutely, for certain, state that a problem currently exists. The photo below is an example. While I did not see rodent droppings in this crawl space, this big rat trap was conspicuously placed on a heat duct. The question was: Is the owner of the home paranoid, or had rodents been present from time to time and the owner was trying to eradicate them. In my view, it is usually better to be safe than sorry. I stated in the report that I did not see rodent droppings but that a … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Deck Flashings - 12/18/07 04:42 PM
Sometimes, when doing a home inspection, even if you as the inspector know what you are looking for it can be hard to tell what you are really seeing. This is particularly true as no destructive testing is done. For example, the photo at the left is a deck where it meets the exterior wall of the home. A home inspector wants to verify that there is a metal flashing that goes under the exterior siding and down over the ledger board. This reduces the chances that moisture and, even decay, might move into the wall of the home. The problem here … (0 comments)
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bellingham wa business blog: Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Slow Drains - 12/13/07 10:59 AM
One issue, usually not serious, that can be missed by an inspector unless quite a bit of water is run, is the slow drain. In most homes the slow drain at bath sinks is caused by hair. More often than not, if the P-trap is cleaned, the sink will drain okay. Kitchen sinks often have food blockages. Like water pressure, different people have different expectations for drains, which makes it harder for the inspector.
Tubs can be more difficult to assess, especially if they are at a second story with no access from below. Again, hair can be a problem. As home … (0 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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