| |
lynden home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) Neoprene Stack Flashings - 04/16/12 09:54 AM
The commonly installed neoprene rubber stack flashings may be acceptable for a few years when used to flash the plumbing vents where they exit the roof. But these flashings are prone to problems, including deterioration as a result of the harsh environment up on the roof -- UV rays being primary, but also wind. This is a problem I run into frequently at inspections in Whatcom County and Bellingham.
If they are used with a roofing surface that has a fairly short design life, then they might last about as long as the roof or develop problems simultaneously with the roof. … (2 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words - 04/03/12 03:44 PM
We have all heard the expression -- "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words." Every once in awhile, on an inspection, there is a photo-op that turns out to be quite amusing. Often, for whatever reason, the photos, at least in my case, involve some pet that decides to help me out while I am on-site with my camera.
I think, even if this guy is innocent (or not) the photo is pretty funny with the report text.
The weatherstripping on the garage-house door is shredded, suspected pet damage. Recommend replacing the weatherstripping so the door seals when shut.
… (10 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Green Building, By Default -- King of the House, Bellingham Home Inspector - 03/25/12 09:09 AM
Green building is a buzz word in our society today. I hear many agents and builders discussing green building and I run into clients who wish they were buying a green building.
Despite there being considerable controversy over the whole topic of green building and just how environmentally beneficial it is anyway, there is a type of green building that involves no controversy at all. We see this one frequently in the northwest and we can all agree that it is not a green condition that you want to have going on at your own house.
That is a gutter … (5 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: You're In Hot Water -- Bellingham Home Inspection - 01/24/12 03:24 PM
My wife often tells me that I am in hot water. Actually, in most cases, that is an expression that refers to my poor behavior versus anything to do with water.
However, in the course of doing home inspections in Bellingham and Whatcom county, I often find water heaters that are set too hot -- the water temperature set so high as to lead to a high probability of a scalding burn.
In this photo, the water is almost 137 degrees F. To reduce the probability of a scalding burn, water should be set no higher than 120 degrees F. … (6 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Stepping Back In Time: Appropriate Song for Christmas Day - 12/25/11 12:42 PM
The first Billboard Top 40 Charts of the rock era emerged in 1955 when the Bill Haley classic "Rock Around the Clock" hit #1. Anyone who is into the era, and the evolution of the music, knows that rock 'n' roll was a derivative of the soul and gospel music that was created and popular with African Americans.
It is not surprising that the first #1 hit by an African American group was on the horizon, shortly after the inception of the Top 40 Charts. This group, today, is lesser known than some of the big 1960's soul groups -- Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops. However this … (6 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: You Can't Always Do What You Want (Bellingham Home Inspections) - 12/25/11 11:09 AM
It is my goal, at a home inspection, to try to look at all components and systems. That not only earns me repeat business from clients and agents, but it provides some insulation against potential client complaints. Logic prevails: The more you see the less important stuff you miss.
It is not possible to find everything that might be wrong at a house. Finding 100% of the problems is not achievable within the confines of a home inspection. Sometimes mother nature herself interferes. This time of year, it is not unusual for the home inspector in this region to have restricted roof access … (1 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) It's Cold Outside - 12/22/11 01:25 PM
Recently, as the weather has gotten colder, I did an inspection on a cold day -- at least it was cold based on our wimpy Pacific Northwest standards. It was 28 degrees F.
At first, I thought that someone had left the garage door to the outside ajar or open. On closer examination, the fit of the door was something less than ideal.
Since it was cold outside, and my little knees were knocking together, it made me think of an appropriate song for the season and the weather.
… (7 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Happy Thanksgiving from King of the House Home Inspection - 11/24/11 12:04 PM
On behalf of the King of the House staff, I would like to wish all of my Active Rain friends, and my associates in Bellingham, a great Thanksgiving and a holiday season. I was reading an editorial today, in the newspaper, that claims that the period we are going through as a nation, right now, only compares in misery to, in order, the Civil War, the Great Depression and WWII as far as national gloom. It stated that the "true" unemployment rate is 17% -- taking into account those collecting unemployment, those who have been dropped from the rolls because their benefits ran out, and … (10 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Short URL Tool for Google Maps - 11/07/11 02:01 PM
This information might save time, and be handy, for any Active Rain real estate professionals who send, or post, URL's or links to Online maps.
In the majority of the home inspection reports that I send out in Bellingham and Whatcom County, I insert a description of the home and provide a map link to an aerial view of the house. In the past, I have used mapquest, as the source of the map, because it provides a much shorter URL than google or bing maps. However, in the last couple of weeks, I have found that mapquest is inserting pop-up … (7 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Consumer Alert -- Outbreak of House Destroying Organisms (HDO's) - 11/06/11 04:10 PM
Just when people thought it was safe to get back into the housing market, it has been revealed that many houses in the USA are vulnerable to, and being subjected to, serious infestations by House Destroying Organisms. Inspectors have, for years, used the term Wood Destroying Organism or WDO to describe rot and insects that damage wood. In this post I will describe, logically and chronologically, the biology of the genus that has only recently been labeled as a virulent House Destroying Organism or HDO.
HDO's are deceptive and devious in every way. A known member of the HDO species might be masquerading as … (32 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House) Sometimes it is Easy - 11/02/11 11:22 PM
Often, in the course of doing home inspections in Whatcom County, detecting or locating a problem can be difficult and require lots of perseverance and utilizing one's powers of deduction. But, and it only seems fair, sometimes we get lucky and do not have to work or think quite so hard. For example, at a recent inspection, I had a huge and obvious clue that the newly installed range did not have an anti-tip bracket installed.
I felt inside that package (I squeezed it good) and viola, the bracket was still inside it. And, guess what, when I pulled on … (9 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House) Multi-layer Roofs - 10/25/11 10:16 AM
At an older home, it is quite common to find multi-layer roofs, composition material over old comp or even over wood shingles (a real no no). Despite the popularity of shingling over a worn out roofing surface, the practice is marginal at best. In the photo below, the rust colored shingles are the old roof below.
The psychology of the consumer is such that clients tell me they plan to put yet another layer over a roof that already has two layers. And somewhere in folklore, they have been told that it is okay to have three layers.
There are many problems with … (5 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House) Sliding Glass Doors - 10/22/11 05:38 PM
At about seven of ten houses, that I inspect in Whatcom County and Bellingham, there is at least one sliding glass door. Often these can be difficult to operate or test. Sometimes a seller will have a keyed lock on the lower track, that keeps it in a stationary position. In that case, it may not be possible to check the door. Other times, you have to fish a wood stick or similar bar out of the track, security measures.
Once the door is free, so it can be tested, I often find that the latch is out of adjustment. In what … (2 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: 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)
|
lynden home inspector: Knowing When To Hold Them, Knowing When To Fold Them - 09/04/11 03:08 PM
Anyone who is a gambler, or has been successful in business, knows that, based on the hand that you are dealt, sometimes you have to hold them and sometimes you have to fold them. It all depends on circumstances, risk, consequences and throwing good money after bad.
This nail-biting gambling scenario often comes up during the course of a short sale or a foreclosure sale. I have seen times when the homeowner, realizing that the end was coming, managed to get a distressed property on the market and that person was able to come out okay -- at least minimizing losses or even making … (10 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Remembering the Legend: #1 Single in America, 55 Years Ago - 08/21/11 08:10 PM
In the hallowed archives of musical history, this is a big deal. One of the most important, and pivotal, rock 'n roll records ever recorded, sat on top of the Billboard charts 55 years ago this week. This vinyl single held the longevity record, the longest run at #1, for any single from 1956 up until 1992 -- that is 36 years at the top of the heap until anyone matched the feat.
That is some hot vinyl we got there and it got more than it's share of airplay. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the radio station that made the hits … (3 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: The Blues Revisited, Top 10 Song In America, 1966 - 08/19/11 03:13 PM
Many of us, who were kids back in the late 1950's and 1960's, did not realize that the music we were hearing, called rock and roll, had it's roots in the black American music known as the blues.
One of the most recorded songs ever, with pure blues roots, goes back to at least 1925. American blues singer, Ma Rainey (above) made it popular back then and, historically, the tune is considered to be one of the most famous of all of the blues songs. It has been recorded, at one time or another, by Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Janis Joplin and others.
In … (7 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Picking The Right Boy For The Job - 08/13/11 05:20 PM
I announced earlier in the year that my grandson, Mason, is assuming more and more responsibility in my inspection firm. He is four years old, almost five, and it is time that he started making his own way and contributing to the family business.
He made a giant leap yesterday. For the first time, on his own, he did the full inspection and report on a high-end home that is overlooking the bay. It is a big house so it took him quite some time to do a thorough and detailed job.
Here is a photo-op, prior to his starting this … (9 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) Leaking on the Job - 08/10/11 09:47 PM
We home inspectors inspect all kinds of domiciles. We go in modest houses and some very fancy, and expensive, homes. And, regardless of the cost of the house, we never really know what we are going to find. Sometimes, what you do find, is surprising.
Several months back, I was inspecting a main level bathroom at a nice custom-built house in north Bellingham. It had been lived in for a few years, prior to being sold. The bath was located right above another bathroom in the finished basement. I was, simply, running water into the tub -- nothing fancy or exotic.
All of a … (8 comments)
|
lynden home inspector: First Tex-Mex #1 Hit Single In America - 08/07/11 11:22 PM
There had been hits by Hispanic artists in years gone by. Once the official era of rock began, in 1955, the best known hits by Latin artists included Ritchie Valens with the classics, Donna and La Bamba, in the late 1950's. And, in the early 1960's, The Girl from Ipanema, featuring a vocal by Astrud Gilberto, was a hit. The album, featuring that single, went to #1 on the album charts. The whole bossa nova and samba craze was upon us. But that craze did not produce a #1 single.
That huge Latin or Tex-Mex single did not smack us in the palate, like … (4 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
Email Me
 Listings
Links
Archives
|
;)
;)
;)
