bellingham wa home inspector: Properties Taking Out The Home Inspector - 11/07/09 09:25 AM
Most of us in the northwest, when we think of decks, probably think of a flat walking surface comprised of either wood decking or a composite decking material with rain gaps to allow rain between the boards. That is usually the case. However, it is also not uncommon to find a solid … (4 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: The Problem With A Cantilevered Deck - 11/05/09 12:49 AM
An inspector needs to be on the lookout for structural problems with cantilevered decks. That is especially true here in the northwest where we have so much rain.
Do you know what a cantilever is? Here is a pretty good photo that I took at a recent inspection.
See that beam: … (5 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Clues - 11/01/09 06:05 PM
In older homes it is not uncommon to find that the house, at some point, had an underground storage tank -- either gasoline or, more likely, heating oil. Since underground tanks are buried, not visible, probably any number of them go unnoticed. However, we home inspectors are on the lookout … (9 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Happy Halloween - 10/31/09 04:22 PM
I would like to wish a happy and safe Halloween to all of my Active Rain friends and relatives (hi there Heather) and Nutsy and I have decided to even extend our good graces over to those three low-life rats in the rain with the last names Buell, Ford and … (11 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Moss-backs In Washington State - 10/26/09 09:42 PM
There are people who refer to those of us in the wet northwest as "moss-backs." It is not really such an inaccurate description -- even if it is not so flattering. We get lots of rain and we have many shade trees. You put that together and we end up … (12 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Making Do With What You Got - 10/18/09 05:55 PM
Earlier today I wrote about the difficulties of inspecting a house where storage and clutter is everywhere. That link is here. When a place is like that, certain areas just cannot be inspected. One thing that I try to do, every home, is check all heat ducts to make sure … (7 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Excluded, If You Please - 10/18/09 01:23 PM
Sometimes, as a Bellingham and Whatcom county home inspector, simply trying to navigate around a house can be death-defying. I know this is a problem for all inspectors. A while back I had a sore back and, of course, then I got super busy. I had a heck of a … (9 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: The Wrong Screw Is The Cause Of This Problem - 10/10/09 11:54 PM
Every once in awhile I run across electric panels that are using sharp, pointed screws to hold the front cover in place. Metal screws, conductors, that have sharp tips that can cut into wires and penetrate insulation are a really bad idea.
Sometimes the condition is not as bad … (5 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Gutter Cleaning - 10/09/09 05:03 PM
As a Bellingham WA home inspector, I see this one a lot. I see both sides of the coin: Sellers who have done no maintenance on the home they are selling, to those who have gone all out in their efforts.
In the Pacific Northwest we have many trees growing around … (6 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Manufactured Homes and Oriented Strand Board - 10/08/09 09:17 PM
I did an inspection at a manufactured home recently. As is often the case, the siding and trim was a composition wood material, essentially a waferboard, that is called oriented strand board. Working as a Bellingham home inspector, I see lots of this product. Some of it is newer and … (5 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House) -- No Gutters - 09/03/09 10:44 AM
In this wet corner of the Pacific Northwest, when a home does not have gutters and downspouts, the uncontrolled runoff water ends up in all those places you do not want to find it -- like running down the siding or collecting at the foundation and entering the basement or … (4 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Busy Carpenters Are A Bad Thing - 08/28/09 06:08 PM
In Washington state, at least up until recently, most of us home inspectors are also licensed structural pest inspectors. I have seen plenty of carpenter ant activity and damage over the years. I teach the course in wood destroying organisms for Bellingham Technical College.
I have seen more ants on … (18 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Great Bagels in Bellingham -- The Bagelry - 08/11/09 05:44 PM
Anyone who has tried a savory bagel would probably want to try another. There is no comparison between a bagel one gets from a plastic bag and a freshly prepared bagel. We are lucky here in my northwest corner of the state. Because we have great bagels in Bellingham because of … (7 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- Who Wrote the Song? - 06/20/09 03:32 PM
Recently I wrote about Whitney Houston and her famous second cousin, Dionne Warwick. According to the Billboard charts, Whitney Houston holds the record for the 8th most popular song ever. That puts her up above the Beatles, the Stones and Elvis.
You have probably all heard the song I am … (17 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Music Trivia: Twin-Pick Contest - 05/21/09 09:20 AM
People often make fun of baseball statistics because the statisticians keep such detailed and esoteric information. You know -- a rundown of which players had the most home runs on a holiday afternoon in 1953 and every year since.
Fact is, some music charts keep track of similarly esoteric information. Billboard Magazine has … (9 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due - 05/15/09 04:13 PM
I appreciate it when somebody does something that is creative. I am not talking far out here, simply something innovative, interesting and different.
In this case, I decided that I did not want to do a re-blog but to actually re-feature and comment on a blog from another Bellingham Active Rain … (15 comments)
bellingham wa home inspector: It Is Better To Snuff Out One Tiny Candle - 05/09/09 04:13 PM
"It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness." Okay, we have all heard that expression. Generally, it seems like good advice. However, I was on an inspection one day and I realized that this is not always sage advice. The circumstances described here took place in … (18 comments)
Home inspection information designed to educate the real estate buyer and the real estate professional. Blog posts include general information and information specific to the Pacific Northwest region.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Most of us in the northwest, when we think of decks, probably think of a flat walking surface comprised of either wood decking or a composite decking material with rain gaps to allow rain between the boards. That is usually the case. However, it is also not uncommon to find a solid … (4 comments)
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