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blaine home: Oh Rats! -- Past, Present Or Future? - 09/20/11 11:48 AM
In northwest Washington, we are having an insurgence of rats. It does not seem to matter whether I am inspecting a high-end house or a modest home or a foreclosure, rats may be present at any property. Dan Suomi, field officer with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, says that we are having an infestation of roof rats and Norway rats. They are probably coming from ships that pull into ports at the various harbors.
Sometimes, when a home inspector enters a crawl space, the odors and the conditions, such as damaged insulation, make it obvious that rats have been partying. Other … (5 comments)
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blaine home: There Is More To Paint Than Being Pleasing To The Eye - 06/16/10 09:54 PM
People like their clean and brightly painted homes. That was a fun aspect of visiting Burano, in Italy, a few years back -- all the garish colors.
Most of our painting around here is more conservative, or the neighbors talk. However, even if the colors are conservative, you need to keep paint on the wood. That is essential if you want to protect the wood from moisture. When the wood starts looking like this.
It becomes soft and spongy and you end up with this.
Once rot, or wood decay fungi, has developed, then you have more work … (7 comments)
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blaine home: Cat In The Toilet And Other Tails - 03/27/10 11:31 AM
We home inspectors are processing a huge amount of information as we pass through a house. Distractions can lead to the inspector forgetting something or making a mistake. While most inspectors use a checklist of some type, part of the job is intuitive and there is lots of data to record and any number of curve balls might be thrown at us along the way. Sellers who bring the wild kids along and, while the inspector concentrates, various underage family members tinker with things --- like the burners on the range -- can be a real risk as well.
There are situations that … (32 comments)
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blaine home: Move it A Little To The Right - 09/26/08 09:01 AM
I think the photo below might be the classic example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. Or it is a case of doing jobs in the wrong order -- guessing instead of knowing how things will turn out. As you probably know, when furnaces and water heaters are located in the path of a forward moving vehicle, they should have some means of protecting the appliances from the car. In my area, the norm is a metal pole, a bollard.
At this home, the builder knew about the concept but put the bollard in the … (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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