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lynden home inspection: Get Off The John -- So I Can Inspect It! - 11/27/11 04:23 PM
They follow me everywhere, I cannot get away from them. This last week I had to work with, and around, five house destroying organisms at various residences in Bellingham and Whatcom County. Their stalking me might have been revenge for the widely circulated expose piece that I wrote about the species.
At one home, they followed me into all the bedrooms and hid under the beds. They tried to follow me out onto decks where they were not supposed to be. There is no question about it, house destroying organisms love to hang out with the home inspector. The home inspector has … (10 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspector (King of the House) Composition Shingles - 08/28/11 11:04 AM
Here in Bellingham and Whatcom County, it is common, with composition shingles, to find that some of the self-sealing strips have failed to seal, or melt, properly. When new shingles are put in place, if the weather is warm, the tar strips should seal. That holds the front edges down so they are not so prone to being blown off in the wind. When the inspector finds that most of the shingles easily lift
That usually means that it is an older roof, and the strips have failed, given up the ghost, or less likely, the roof is new and … (5 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Charlie Chapin Wrote The Songs -- Huge 1967 Hit - 08/15/11 09:51 AM
Probably the single most popular female solo performer of the 1960's was Petula Clark from the UK. Her biggest smash was Downtown, but she had a whole string of hits, including several that made #1 or the Top 10 in the USA and Canada.
The song I am writing about today, went to #1 in Ireland and Australia, and it got all the way to #3 on the hot 100 here in the USA. Needless to say, that is still a big hit.
The interesting thing about her hit from April 1967 is the origin of the song.
Charlie Chaplin, yes the legendary American … (5 comments)
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lynden home inspection: #1 Hit In America 38 Years Ago, 1973 - 07/24/11 08:09 PM
Some time ago, Kristin Johnston, a member here at Active Rain, said that she would like to see a music post in this series that referenced the year in which she was born, 1973. Well, being an old radio guy, of course I do requests.
Remembering back to 1973, the blockbuster movie of the day was Serpico. It was a crooked cops and crime movie that introduced most of us to the young actor, Al Pacino.
In the 1970's, it was prior to the advent of compact discs, we were still buying vinyl (45's and 33's) and spinning our hot wax.
… (28 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Is Your Washington State Home Inspector Licensed? - 07/24/11 04:04 PM
Many consumers, and others, are having trouble finding the official website that lists licensed home inspectors for the state of Washington. This has led to frustration on the part of people trying to find licensed inspectors -- that includes realtors and other inspectors. To be most effective, licensing data should be easy to access and there are unlicensed inspectors out there.
Since I am on the licensing board, I figure I need to be able to pass that official link on to others. So, if you are an agent, in Washington State, and you wish to be able to, anytime night or day, search the … (1 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Berried in Rain - 07/24/11 11:43 AM
Well, the wet and cool northwest summer has been a big story in this area. Nationally it is, certainly, not the big news that the heat has caused in other parts of the country. In the past week, the Seattle weather forecasters said that, defining summer as 80 degrees F or better, then Seattle has had a 78 minute summer.
Well, yesterday, the local paper had an article that says that, so far, Bellingham has yet to have ONE DAY this year to reach 80 degrees. So, as of now, we have yet to have an official summer day.
There is … (3 comments)
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lynden home inspection: #1 Single In America, July 1964, 47 years ago - 07/17/11 09:13 PM
One of the groups that has been classified as, perhaps, the most all-American of all singing groups, had a #1 single for two weeks in July 1964. The song hit the #1 slot on July 4th and it stayed there for two weeks. As a result of the British Invasion, the single had the distinction of being the first #1 hit on the U.S. charts by an American "boy" band in eight months.
The band had formed in high school as Carl and the Passions, from there the name changed to the Pendletons. Needless to say, the numerous tracks of "hot … (8 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Garden Timbers -- Conducive Condition - 07/16/11 10:53 AM
When it comes to the exterior inspection at a home, at least in the northwest, probably one of the most commonly cited problems is labeled as the "conducive condition." A conducive condition is a circumstance that makes it more probable that structural lumber will rot or become infested by wood destroying insects.
Some conducive conditions are pretty apparent -- wood to soil contact, brush and trees growing against the house, green fungus on siding and trim. Three conducive conditions that even the careful homeowner might miss include: Planters hung against the side of the house, the fence that touches the ground … (3 comments)
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lynden home inspection: From England With Attitude -- 45 Years Ago Today - 06/21/11 11:49 PM
The year was 1966. What was happening in San Francisco was in the news all over the world.
There were new words "hippie" and "flower power".
Some music critics claim that rock music was at its best in those years -- that it would never be better than the music that was created by the artists of the mid to late 1960's. The band that held the #1 position for that two week period in mid-June 1966 was from the other side of the ocean.
The guys in this band were known as that "other" super group from England. Despite their European … (7 comments)
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lynden home inspection: King of the House Home Inspection -- Bellingham Home Inspections - 06/08/11 01:22 PM
I have completed a video about the home inspection process and my firm, King of the House Home Inspection, which operates in Bellingham and Whatcom county, WA.
After going to the effort to produce this narrated slide show, I have tried to post the youtube link at some other sites that I use for my online marketing. For some reason, the video link is rejected at some sites but my Active Rain links always work great. Therefore, I am embedding the video here and writing this explanatory post. I am going to post the Active Rain link at the various sites.
If you … (3 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Excellent Spewage Photos - 05/25/11 01:34 PM
The average home inspector sees a fair bit of spewage, of various types, while on the job. The spewage from drain or waste lines tends to be the least popular spewage in the eyes of the inspector. Spewage from rodents, down in the crawl space, tends to also be pretty high on the list of not so pleasant things to find.
I was looking through my photos and found an excellent shot of major spewage. This is an outside faucet that requires a bit of work.
This type of fresh water spewage is certainly preferable to some of the other … (12 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Coffee: Two Times Around If You Please - 05/18/11 10:43 AM
Part of my morning ritual, when I go out into the field for an inspection, is to get a warm cup of coffee at a drive-thru coffee stand. Grande Americano if you please.
For years, I did this strictly as a treat. But I found out, sometime later, that there is an added benefit to getting that morning cup of Joe. Here is the scoop. I often test built-in microwave ovens, at least as far as to see that they heat.
I used to, still do actually, carry with me plastic beakers for heating water. Problem is, it is easy to … (20 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Gutters -- Not As Benign As Homeowners Think - 05/13/11 11:38 PM
Homeowners look upon blocked and clogged gutters as no big deal. To them, a clogged gutter is not unlike having mud on the tires. Instead of worrying about it, no harm done, simply wash the mud off when the spirit moves you.
That might work with tires, but it can be a costly attitude to have when dealing with gutters. Below is a photo of a bank owned property. It is not hard to imagine, in the hard rains we have had this year in the Pacific Northwest, that the gutter overflows on a regular basis.
When the gutter overflows, … (9 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Christmas In April -- BURRRRRRR - 05/03/11 03:14 PM
Retail promoters always speak of Christmas in July. Well, here in the Pacific Northwest, it felt like Christmas in April.
The photo above really was from the winter, but we did get snow in April on a couple occasions this year. I have read in the news that it was the second coldest April in the 120 years that temperatures have been officially recorded in the state. And, in the city of Seattle, April 2011 was the coldest recorded April on record.
The 30 days of cold were accompanied by rain and major wet -- always an appealing combination … (7 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Happy Easter from King of the House - 04/24/11 10:26 AM
As I have done previous years, I would like to take this time to wish all of my Active Rain friends a good Easter. Our Easter, today, will be a family time. We are getting together with my wife's family at her mom's house. Her mom still lives here in town. Not having had brothers and sisters, over the years, my immediate family has shrunk due to time, age and passing.
After that dinner, we are thinking about going out to a local jazz concert but the jury is still out on that one. Hard to go out past 6pm at … (3 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Name That Wood Destroying Organism - 04/10/11 11:18 AM
Below is what is left of foam insulation that had been inside a home. I know, foam is not wood, however this foam was damaged by a wood destroying organism that we have here in Washington State. There are several species that will mine in foam insulation. In fact, there is some evidence that this particular wood destroying organism might prefer to work in foam versus actual wood. Can anyone guess what pest has been chewing?
To help out, here are all of your choices -- subterranean termites, dampwood termites, carpenter ants, velvety tree ants, moisture ants, anobiid beetles, lyctid beetles, teredo, … (13 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Beautiful Frass - 03/04/11 09:36 PM
Frass: "By-product of insect tunneling and feeding activities."
In this state I not just a home inspector, also I am a licensed structural pest inspector. Without that license, an inspector is not allowed to identify or make specific recommendations regarding wood destroying insect species or damage.
Sometimes we inspectors appreciate it when we get some real big clues as to problems early on. Recently, I was entering a crawl space at an older house. Based on the moisture present and the condition of the crawl space I expected to find the wood boring beetle known as the anobiid beetle.
It leaves … (3 comments)
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lynden home inspection: When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go - 12/16/10 05:35 PM
In show business there is the age old saying that the show must go on. As far as I know, there is no rule that prohibits the performer from pausing to take a potty break during the show.
Here is a quick outtake from my grandson's Christmas Pageant at A Child's Life Daycare in Bellingham. The original video was given to my daughter by a friend. I edited out my favorite part.
Mason is the second child on the left -- with the ears. He says he is an elephant but he looks more like mouse to me.
This is titled … (6 comments)
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lynden home inspection: This is Bellingham - 11/20/10 04:45 PM
This is one of those days. The weather prognosticator was saying, all week, that there would be snow this weekend. I was having a psychological avoidance conflict with that concept. I am not ready for crappy driving conditions and chattering teeth that make my head rattle. Well, we had our first snow of the year. The photo below was Bellingham at 7:00AM.
Snow must be charming for kids, it does not appeal much to those of us who have to get around in it.
… (4 comments)
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lynden home inspection: Welcome to the United States: The View From Up North - 08/26/10 11:37 PM
I have lived on the Canadian border for my whole life. I take it for granted that everyone knows all about crossing the border at Canada and the Peace Arch, etc. Fact is, I even run into people from Seattle, or Bellingham for that matter, who have never, or rarely, travel north.
I do many home inspections in Point Roberts, a US enclave that requires going through Canada. When you come back into the US, Canada side, there is quite a cool wooden sign. I realized that probably most people have never seen it. I see it about every week.
Thanks … (10 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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