Charles's Seattle Home Inspection Blog

Far OUT and out-of-sight, MAN!!!! Groovy!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:19:06 -0600

Garage overhead doors are the single biggest moving component in most people’s homes. There are many aspects of these doors that must be inspected and maintained to not only provide proper operation of the door but to prevent injury to persons either using the door or even in the vicinity of the door. In this post I am not going to discuss all of these things.

For further information about how to inspect and test your garage overhead door check out the DASMA Testing Protocols.

Today I just want to share with you this picture of one person’s solution to installing the automatic opener for a door. In the 60’s when everything was “groovy” we would say that it is “out of sight.” In this case that is also where the opener is. In order to make it “out of sight” the garage ceiling under the upper bedroom had to be compromised. This violates the fire-rated surfaces and could allow the spread of fire into the ceiling structure, and would not be considered “groovy.”

There are some “far out” openers that can be installed right at the door opening when there is no room on the ceiling "far out" from the door opening.

Charles Buell

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PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Honey----what is that irritating noise out in the garage----I had to wear ear plugs all day?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:32:22 -0600

Current requirements call for their being GFCI protection of ALL 120 volt receptacles in your home's garage. There used to be exceptions for dedicated refrigerator circuits and garage door openers but now these exceptions are no longer allowed in most jurisdictions.

Some people argue that putting refrigerators and freezers on GFCI protected receptacles could result in the refrigerator or freezer not having any power and this might go un-noticed resulting in the thawing of foods.

I think in time refrigerators and freezers will all have lights and alarms to let you know when power has been lost----some do already. There are also some handy little devices called the: THP 207, POWER FAILURE ALARM & SAFETY LIGHT, that can be purchased to do the same thing.

These devices plug into the receptacle that the refrigerator or freezer is plugged into. They are also great to use in conjunction with sump pumps. When power is lost, an alarm sounds and emergency lighting comes on. They are designed to hold a charge for up to 8 hours----enough time for the homeowner to wonder what the heck that noise out in the garage is----and go turn the tripped GFCI back on.

Inspectors will love these things too when they inadvertently trip a GFCI and they can’t find the location of the GFCI.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Sacrificial Lambs

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:56:13 -0600

When I first started building houses over 40 years ago in Upstate New York, I got to know the local electrical inspector pretty well. At some point he told me that when I called for an inspection I should always leave some minor glaring defect right out in plain sight. This way the inspector---if it was not him----would see the obvious defect and feel that they had “accomplished something” and would not have to dig so hard to find “something” else.

While I never did this intentionally----I did notice that inspections did seem to be a lot shorter when the inspector found something right away. I suspect that if it was something major this might not be the case, but in this scenario we are talking about established relationships between builder and inspector where the base level of expected quality of workmanship was well established.

I was thinking about this the other day in relation to me now being an inspector and whether homeowners might leave some glaring defect right out in plain sight to give me something to write about. Unfortunately, if this is the motive of a homeowner, someone forgot to tell them that to a home inspector, defects are like “seeds” and once they get planted they tend to grow----not wither. They also don’t take into account that I don’t know them at all and do not have a “working relationship” with them that would allow me to conclude anything other than that this “sacrificial lamb” is but the tip of the iceberg.

Nothing was moved in the above picture----this is the way the ceiling looked at the time of inspection.

Charles Buell

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DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Saga Nodara----your home could be next!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:27:28 -0600

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the bunker, a new scourge has descended upon us.

“Saga Nodara.”

This insidious, odiferous, barely visible, gaseous bacterium is very common and pretty much everywhere! It can be found under your toe-nails, on your toothbrush and even in your refrigerator. It can freely move about by the wind, rain and even the USPS. Children can easily pass it amongst themselves while at school or at the local swimming pool.

The EPA has stated that this gaseous bacterium is another huge contributor to global warming and depletion of the ozone layer----second only to cow and termite flatulence. It has also been implicated in tooth decay. Citing some early 20^th Century studies that indicated that more than 1MM parts per BB of NOdara in the air could cause serious tooth decay in people who eat sugar and are also pre-disposed to tooth decay, the EPA has declared that repairs to the home’s indoor environment should be made when testing reveals levels to be above 900K parts per BB. The CPSC agrees and cites the EPA’s findings. WHO agrees, citing the CPSC. Ralph Nader and Al Gore agree, citing WHO? (I know WHO is on first, WHAT is on second---but I am more interested in WHY.)

A group of Nobel Price winning NOdara specialists met several months ago to establish a set of protocols to follow in order to test and mitigate this newest scourge that is threatening to make a big stink----and end all life as we know it.

They have found, that until further research can be conducted (government grants are supposedly in the works), people should brush their nails vigorously with tooth paste and use a new toothbrush each time they brush their teeth. People are cautioned to NEVER (on their own teeth) use the same toothbrush that they have either brushed their toe-nails with, or have brushed their dog’s teeth with. They also recommend that EVERYTHING in your refrigerator be kept sealed in Tubberware containers.

Already, a fledgling industry of opportunistic entrepreneurs has blossomed like Stachybotrys across the country. These companies are trained to test homes for NOdara, and to provide the necessary toothbrushes. On line schools to train and certify these NOdara specialists have popped up all over the internet----enabling those that are VERY serious about getting started in this growing field to get certified over night.

Homeowners can opt for weekly, monthly, or yearly plans for a never ending supply of toothbrushes. Most of these Certified NOdara Specialists can also provide handy decorator Tubberware containers as well. These containers come in a huge variety of sizes and colors and have a pleasing odor reminiscent of Lilac.

On the National level, economic advisors to the President state that this growth industry could aid in creating millions of jobs and speed recovery of the stagnant economy. Employment at toothbrush and toothpaste factories alone is expected to double in the next 12 months. Obviously Tubberware stock went through the roof at the end of trading today.

The State of California became the first State to introduce legislation that will require NOdara testing of all homes involved in a Real Estate sale or transfer----others are expected to follow suit.

What do you do if you suspect that your home may have been invaded by Saga Nodara?

First of all, this is NO TIME TO PANIC!

Just Google: “Certified Saga Nodara Specialist in XXXXXXX” (your area) and get your home analized. The only indication of the presence of this gaseous bacterium is a very faint odor of what smells like the inside of a gymnast’s shoe. If you smell this odor in your home (This IS a perfect time to panic!) call this toll free number right away (888 028-0028)----operators are standing by to assist you----and can direct you to a Certifiable NOdara Specialist in your area.

In other news: Nutsy the Squirrel is entertaining himself at his very own Fruit Extravaganza.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Who wants a box of crayons with only three colors anyway?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:08:38 -0600

Red was in charge of everything Red.

This had been true as long as Red could remember.

One day Red noticed that some things were not quite Red, but were instead closer to Purple. Red also noticed that a small amount of Red had been misplaced.

Who is this Purple anyway?

Purple said, "I am Purple and I am in charge of all things Purple -----and I 'borrowed' some Red and some Blue when you and Blue were not looking."

Red began to think that perhaps Red was not totally in charge of everything Red.

Red decided that Red was going to hoard all Red and not allow any other colors to have any Red -----period.

Blue was in charge of everything Blue.

This had been true as long as Blue could remember.

One day Blue noticed that some things were not quite Blue, but were instead closer to Green. Blue also noticed that a small amount of Blue had apparently been stolen.

Who is this Green anyway?

Green said, "I am Green and I am in charge of all things Green-----and I 'borrowed' some Blue and some Yellow when you and Yellow were not looking."

Blue began to think that perhaps Blue was not totally in charge of everything Blue.

Blue decided that Blue was going to sell Blue to the colors that would pay the most-----and then perhaps Blue would be able to bribe both Red for some Red and Yellow for some Yellow.

Yellow was in charge of everything Yellow.

This had been true as long as Yellow could remember.

One day Yellow noticed that some things were not quite Yellow, but were instead closer to Orange. Yellow also noticed that a small amount of Yellow had wandered off.

Who is this Orange anyway?

Orange said, "I am Orange and I am in charge of all things Orange -----and I 'borrowed' some Yellow and some Red when you and Red were not looking."

Yellow began to think that perhaps Yellow was not totally in charge of everything Yellow.

Yellow decided that Yellow was going to give Yellow to anybody that wanted Yellow----free of charge----since Yellow seemed "powerless" over Yellow anyway.

These three independent decisions raised havoc in the Color World. It was pretty clear that all three of the "primary" culprits in this fiasco would have to get in the same coloring book if rainbows were to look like rainbows and sunsets were to look like sunsets. It would certainly not be good for the World of Color if: Red would not share, Blue was out to get rich, and Yellow was giving it away for free. They each realized their perceptions were color blind----missing the full spectrum of colors.

The Three Primary Colors decided to hold a color summit----sort of a “Crayola Convention" in an attempt to get on the same wave length.

Each color presented its case, and after much coloring and doodling (and a few melted crayons), Red and Blue had to admit that Yellow had the brightest approach. It was obvious that if all of the colors freely gave themselves away----the result would be the most colorful world of all----making for the biggest and most colorful crayon box of all.

PS: Don't eat the crayons.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Seattle

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:35:23 -0600

Righteousness.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:56:14 -0600

We all know people that are more interested in being “right” than in being “correct.”

Now in a perfect world they would be one and the same thing----but in this world it is not always the case.

The “truth”----about anything----is merely what is “so.” The truth has nothing “invested” in being “right” because, it is merely what is so.

How many of us are willing to be wrong?

Gosh, even the mere question grates against the one good nerve I have left. Doesn’t it you?

Take for example the simple “truth” that the sun comes up in the morning. This can be countered with the “fact” that the sun does not come up at all, but rather the earth’s turning makes it “appear” as if the sun is rising. There are those that will cling to the “truth” that the sun rises without ever being willing to leave the door open to what is actually “so” about the sun. Will our thousands of years of looking at sunrises and sunsets eventually be reflected in “language” as to what is actually happening? Only time will tell----and none of us will be around to find out the answer.

I am sure we have all found ourselves in that uncomfortable place where all we can focus on is defending our “position.” We easily loose sight of the fact that there is likely a simple “truth” about whatever it is that we are defending, but our extreme “close-up” view cuts out the “bigger view.” Sometimes this defensive posture even prevents us from seeing the correct path and we manufacture a truth that fits the story we have built around whatever it is we are defending. We close the door to learning something new. It is a little bit like finding 5 pieces of a puzzle that go together and it actually makes a picture of something we like, so we say the hell with the rest of the puzzle---I am done---who is to say that all puzzles must have straight edges?

It takes a certain amount of vigilance and commitment to always leave an opening for the possibility that what we hold as true might not actually BE true----or be completely true. Almost everything we hold as “absolute” is susceptible to coming back to bite us in the butt-----as few things are ever absolute and the truth (like the Genie in the bottle) always wants to be free of the box we try to keep it in.

It is always a good idea to be willing to hold up what we believe to be true to the light of day to make sure that the sun shines on it the same way for everyone. Not that everyone WILL see the truth the same way----but at least the door-of-possibility will be left open for everyone to be able to see it the same way.

Every day of my life I come face to face with the fact that something I “know” to be true is not in fact true at all. This is very humbling and makes it easier to understand why most of us would rather cling to things that “appear” absolute.

It takes an incredible amount of hard work, vigilance, willingness, commitment and trust to embrace so much uncertainty and ambiguity in our lives----continually being willing to refine and/or redefine what is true in our lives. But it is hecka fun too.

It is always easier to be right than correct----until and/or unless----what is correct is also right.

Charles Buell

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DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Mom----why is it raining in the Bathroom?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:09:41 -0600

A lot of the defects we find as home inspectors involve installations where someone knows that something is necessary but either doesn’t know quite how to do it properly or tries to make something work that would be proper in another installation----but not this one.

For example exhaust fans. I see exhaust fans improperly terminated so often that it is rarer to find them “properly” installed----especially in older homes. Take the roof vent in this first picture. This is a proper roof cap with a back draft damper---but it is not a type that is designed to sit on a flat roof.

One can see where roofing tar has been painted all around the vent to create a “curb” to prevent water from running into the vent and into the roof structure. In this case, the tar was not working and it was still leaking into the roof structure.

Sometimes I find them nicely installed. In this next picture we can see the care the installer took to get the same type of cap raised high enough above the roof surface to prevent leaking.

It is not likely that water will ever get high enough to flood this vent.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Can you tell me what this is?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:48:13 -0600

This is a picture of some debris on the floor under the basement stairs in a home.

Can anyone tell me what it is?

I am always having “Holy Moses” moments on inspections----it is one of the gazillion things I love about my job----this was one such moment. I think you may have a “Holy Moses” moment yourself when you find out what it is.

WHAT IS IT?

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Some times we can be grounded and not grounded all at the same time.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:34:28 -0600

A common way that defects happen in homes is they simply get done wrong from the get-go. Improper installations that involve, clearances, types of materials and code violations are all common.

Another way that defects happen is when repairs to existing, properly installed, components get done wrong----during the repairs. This is often the case in areas that involve multiple trades. For example Uncle Harry knows how to do plumbing----or at least good enough to make water run down hill and not leak---but does not fully understand electrical systems.

Take for example, this outside faucet repair. One can see where the wall inside the garage has been opened up and new copper piping has been added, replacing the old galvanized pipe and non-frost free type faucet. While there are issues with attaching the copper to the galvanized pipe (electrolysis is possible due to the dissimilar metals), at least it was not leaking.

To make this repair or upgrade of the faucet however, the house grounding electrode was disconnected. One can see the disconnected wire at the left of the pipe. The electrical system was still grounded via the ground rods driven near the meter, but this defect results in the incoming water pipe no longer being used as part of the grounding electrode system and also results in all the metal piping in the home being un-bonded to the electrical system. This is how we can be grounded and not grounded all at the same time. Without being overly technical, this condition creates a second pathway to ground. In the event of a ground fault and a person could become part of the pathway as the electricity was trying to figure out which way to go to ground. In other words----bad electrical juju.

Obviously the ground wire needs to be properly reconnected to the water pipe by a licensed electrical contractor. Not a difficult fix----but certainly a life saving one.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The Pail Princess!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:15:47 -0600

She sits on a red, white & blue green five gallon bucket that says, “drywall-compound.”

Most of the fingers on her gloves are missing and frayed.

She wears an army-green trash-bag raincoat that is big enough to cover all but her Nike sneakers.

Her breathing makes little clouds in the icy drizzle.

She is almost always at this particular corner and she always waves when I go by---even though I sense that if the car was empty she would still wave.

I do what I can to avoid eye contact---but never succeed in avoiding feeling guilty.

Her haggard cardboard sign says that she is homeless, hungry and that she wants God to bless me.

For sure----by comparison----“something” has truly blessed me.

It is more likely that I have merely won the lottery----and that I am just not willing to accept that God would make such choices for our lives.

The parent in me can’t help but think that she is, or was, someone’s Princess. Also, I can’t help but wonder what her parents wrestle with every day as a result of what she has become or not become----but then again perhaps they themselves are on a street corner somewhere----or somewhere worse.

Do they care?

Can they afford to care?

On their best days do they merely forget?

And what does the Princess think?

Does she care?

Can she afford to care?

On her best days does she merely forget?

Thanks-giving.

I find it impossible to comprehend my own good fortune relative to what I see in the lives of some others.

For the large majority of us in this great country, the current economic “crisis” pales in comparison to how fortunate we actually are.

The choices we make----that bring each of us to where we are----are not as predictable as we almost have to believe.

I am sure it soothes our consciences, to think that people like my Pail Princess got to where they are totally of their own making----refusing to accept that we are all closer to our own cardboard signs than we can afford to admit. We may even be co-conspirators in their presence----if not co-dependent.

As we gobble our turkey today (or its substitutes), I would like for us to wonder: if we plucked off all our own feathers what would we find underneath?

Hopefully we would each find the best turkey that we can be----and there would be plenty to go around.

Let us each dig down deep and muster all the thankfulness we can.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Charles Buell

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DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday Redux

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:51:06 -0600

She loves me----she loves me not!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:19 -0600

One of my favorite Monte Python segments was the one about the Black Knight in, “In Search of the Holy Grail.” The story is about King Arthur coming to the Black Night that is guarding the bridge that “No man shall pass.” King Arthur ends up cutting off all of the knight’s arms and legs but the knight is still threatening King Arthur with biting him to death.

I was reminded of this story the other day while inspecting a home when I saw this ceiling fan.

Then again perhaps it was some advanced version of “She lo♥es me----she lo♥es me not.”

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Don’t you just HATE cats!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:07 -0600

It is bound to happen----that sellers and repair persons and I are not always going to see “eye-to-eye” about the things I find wrong in the homes I inspect. How could it be otherwise, they have one agenda and I have another----it is an almost naturally adversarial relationship. I have to say though, that I rarely hear much from either----sometimes I do through the agent on the other side----but really, quite rarely given the number of houses I inspect and the number of opportunities for me to find things wrong that they MUST not think are wrong----or why would they have done them that way?

The other day when inspecting a newer automatic garage door opener, I noticed that the sensor beams were not where they should be. You have probably seen these devices with the little red and green lights mounted near the floor at the bottom of the door track that are designed to extend the lives of the nation’s ever growing population of cats. If a cat were to lie in the sun in the doorway, the door would not operate because the sensor beam would be interrupted by the warm body of the cat. The same would hold true for a dog, a child or Billy Bob passed out at 3am in the morning.

These things function because they have to see “eye-to-eye” in order for the door to function----unlike homeowners and inspectors.

This homeowner or handyman came up with a way (which I see about 3 times a year) that guarantees the sensors will see eye-to-eye.

In this case the cat is NOT going to be happy----and neither is the inspector----whom cats seem to like a lot.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Probably not a “deal breaker!”

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:22:16 -0600

I frequently post a picture and ask what the defect in the picture is, or even what it is a picture of. This time I am going post a picture and want to know what the “oDdest” thing in the picture is. There are plenty of actual defects----and you are welcome to see how many of those defects you can find---but what in the picture is merely an oddity?

Probably not a “deal breaker----but certainly one of the oddest things this Seattle Home Inspector has seen in a while.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Breakfast of Bloggers!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:54:55 -0600

Yup---I am going to blog about breakfast cereal!

OK----if you have kids you know what it is like to go to the kitchen cupboard and find the cereal box empty----and most of you will appreciate that I did not say “gone.” (Don’t pretend you don’t eat the kid’s cereal when they aren’t looking either.)

Well, the kids are grown and they are not around much to eat the cereal anymore---but that still doesn’t mean there is always plenty of cereal.

I can still go to the cupboard and discover that there isn’t any.

There is a solution.

“Toast cereal.”

Yup.

Just take some of your favorite whole grain bread---even raisin bread----especially raisin bread----and toast it up all nice and dark and then let it get hard in the toaster.

When it has cooled off, just crumble it up into tiny pieces----add sweetener and/or sliced fruit----add milk----and you are all set.

This method actually has advantages over boxed cereal. It is cheaper. You will never get caught adding sugar to the pre-sweetened store bought cereal again. You are also less likely to run out.

I don’t even buy boxed cereal anymore.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Seattle

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:19:08 -0600

We are going to: “Party-down”----in the basement!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:56:40 -0600

In Seattle there are a lot of older homes with partial basements. The rest of the house will typically have a crawl space under it.

Ever since we started putting basements under houses people have wanted to use these basement spaces for all kinds of things. Typically they started out as a place for the furnace and other utilities. People quickly realized these spaces would also be a great place to put the laundry. The next obvious thing to do with these spaces was to turn them into living spaces----rec-rooms, bedrooms, work-shops, grow-ops----you name it.

The various transformations of these basement spaces were more or less successful depending on several variables. There might be height considerations, light considerations, egress considerations and moisture considerations----to name a few. Often these changes of use would not meet current standards, and some represented serious safety issues.

This post is not really about all of these considerations----I will save them for another time.

The space between the basement area and the crawl space was often simply open to the basement----at least orginally. There sometimes would be a little short wall to hold the dirt back where it stepped up to the crawl space height. Other times it was just a gradually sloping earthen embankment as the basement area transitioned to the crawl space.

Finishing off the basement required dealing with this slope. Sometimes people would dig away the slope in the crawl space area and build a wall to retain the dirt. This increased the size of the basement space while providing a means of retaining the dirt.

Some of these walls were more satisfactory than others.

Often, the masonry or concrete retaining walls would not be tall enough. On top of these walls people would build a wood wall to close off the basement space from the crawl space area. If the foundation wall does not go high enough, the un-retained dirt wall inside the crawl space, over time, collapses against the wood wall----resulting in decay/rot and places where wood destroying insects can “party-down.”

I think you can get the idea from the next couple of pictures.

The solution? Proper retaining walls and clearances need to be created, and the solution would vary with the installation.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Forget Green----it is the next Ice Age!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:47:29 -0600

Can anything really “spiral out of control?”

It sure seems so.

What do we mean when we say things are “spiraling out of control?” I am sure there are times when the concept of spiraling out of control has validity----like the circumstances that led to the Titanic not having enough time to turn before it side-swiped the iceberg. In the physical world there are all kinds of examples like this. But if we dissect these events they are merely playing out natural forces like: "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

I am talking more about the “non-physical” areas of our lives that seemingly spiral out of control. Sometimes these circumstances have a physical component, but generally, “spiraling out of control” means that things are not going in the direction we want them to----or are used to----or the way we "expect."

But isn’t it all a matter of perspective? Sometimes it is ALL about perspective. Examples of this can be seen in individuals that do not see that their circumstances are merely different sides of the same coin. When people find themselves spiraling down this kind of drain, they simply have to “act” to change the spiral (assuming there is no physical component like Crystal Meth). Take for example this spiral stairs. Whether you look at it from above,

or from below,

it is all a matter of perspective as to which is better.

One shows the way to go down----the other shows the way to go up. Neither is better than the other----and equally useful at one time or another.

However, other times, it is more the case that one person’s misfortune is another person’s windfall. I think it is pretty logical to have issues with people that are able to manipulate circumstances so that they seem to have “control” over the lives of others. We see this every day all around the world as our current economic situation makes “adjustments”----or worse.

Ironically, the total amount of money on the planet has not changed dramatically----not counting what is being printed every day, because that money should “theoretically” increase the total amount. The problem appears to be that it has been distributed to places where it has “solidified”----frozen like that iceberg that the Titanic hit.

In fact the money supply can in many ways be equated to the earth’s total water supply.

The total amount of water on the planet doesn’t change much (All 336 million cubic miles of the stuff). Some areas have too little and other areas have too much----these are “distribution” issues----people generally can move from areas that have either too much or too little. Historically this does happen, and civilizations have come and gone or relocated based on water supply---either from too much (New Orleans, hint, hint)----or from too little (Acoma, hint, hint). Much of the water on the planet stays liquid----oceans, rivers, lakes, rain etc----and circulate around the planet in an endless cycle of evaporation, rain, puddles, evaporation, rain, puddles, evaporation etc. Some of this precipitation comes down as snow, which builds up and forms ice---which sits there---sometimes for tens and hundreds of thousands of years. When this happens distribution has been GREATLY s l o w e d d o w n. During the ice age tremendous amounts of water becomes trapped. This water may still be slowly evaporating and melting---but not at a pace necessary for adequate distribution to where it is needed.

Isn’t this a bit like what is going on now with money? Isn’t the glacier actually getting larger? Isn't the next Ice Age coming? Is even the little bit of the iceberg that is melting and evaporating still not going where it is needed? Instead it is being sponged up and taken away by the few people lucky enough to have ice melting equipment.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Why are there Monkeys and Rhinos in my Chimney?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:54:09 -0600

When we bought our house----long before I was a Seattle Home Inspector----and started making it livable, I was heavily influenced by a couple of fun movies playing at the time: Jumanji and Jurassic Park.

The house had wall-to-wall shag, puce-green carpeting----if one could really call it carpeting. There probably was a microscopic Jurassic Park of critters living in the thing. The carpet was more reminiscent of one of those cat clawing poles that people have in their homes.

In the dining room, there was a 2’ x 6’ runner on top of the carpeting. This runner covered over a humongous hole the sun had burned through the carpet. This runner had been nailed all around its perimeter with roofing nails----an inch apart----kind of like the nailing pattern you might see on the underside of an upholstered chair or like the rivets in a jet wing. The nail heads were all shiny from wear----quite attractive and “sparkly.”

Most of the rooms had wood strip flooring under this carpeting that did re-finish quite nicely. The hallway however was another matter. It had been patched numerous times and covered over with linoleum. The adhesive was not about to be removed either. So I decided to do a “painted rug” to deal with the matter. Here is a picture of what it looks like.

I think you can see the Jurassic Park influence. I took actual ferns from the garden and rolled them in paint and then pressed them onto the floor----bunches of different colors----bunches of different layers.

I had another Jurassic moment on an inspection the other day---or perhaps it would be more correct to say the chimney was having a Jurassic moment. Hopefully a bunch of manic monkeys, two hundred pound mosquitoes and raging rhinos are not going to come flooding out of it----like in Jumanji.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

“Breaker-Breaker-1/5”

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:54:08 -0600

Little Billy Breaker was 15 and had a job.

Quite a simple job.

A total “trip” really.

A perfect job for a teen like him.

All he had to do was sit there. Whenever someone sent too much stuff his way, it was his job to just shut the line down----giving everyone working along the line a chance to catch up and for things to cool off a bit.

For a whole week----seven days in a row----he did his job, just like he was supposed to do----shutting everything down perfectly----and still----everyone was mad him.

In fact it seemed to him that the better he did his job the madder everyone got.

They would just come right up to him, get right in his face and make him get back to work.

This confused Billy to no end.

He could not understand. If it was his “job” to shut things down, then why wouldn’t anyone let him do his job?

One day, he came to work and found that he had been replaced----no notice or anything----with a bigger, version of himself ----this replacement was 30, “at least”----and totally full of himself.

Well, this was not good.

No one bigger than he could do his job as good as he could---he was sure of it. He knew that when it came to his particular job---bigger was certainly not better.

Changing the job description would surely result in disaster.

WHAT IS THAT SMELL?

Do you smell it too?

Billy's protests fell on deaf ears as he asked, “Don’t you guys remember when the same thing happened to Frankie Fuse?”

I swear I smell something burning!

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

When was the last time you played, “Dress up?”

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:20:51 -0600

People sometimes ask me how I come up with all my crazy ideas for blogging (well they don’t actually say “crazy”---but I know what they mean).

First of all there are a couple of techniques I use to keep myself focused.

#1. The total number of blog ideas is infinite.

#2. When you have the cojones to think that #1 is not true---reread to #1.

I think an important component in coming up with fresh ideas is more about being “receptive” than is about “giving.” If we have our eyes and ears----and all our other senses open----things will come to us. But if we start with the notion that we must hunt and find something to give away, it will be very difficult indeed----especially after one has been blogging for awhile.

Rather than offer a list of ideas that one might try, I instead will share some of the specific things I do to “encourage” the flow of ideas.

Think of your brain as “Google”----your own personal, caffeine (or chocolate) powered, 24/7, search engine (yes---even while you are sleeping). Your total life experiences are “tagged” in infinite combinations so that even a single word, song, picture, cloud, dream, color, or even a smell can trigger an idea.

When that idea floods in----all you have to do is start playing with it.

Sometimes I will let the idea float around in my head for days (marinating so to speak---some might say fermenting) as I fiddle with different ways to “Dress it up,” to make it interesting, palatable----or sometimes even “plausible” to a reader. Also I like to conjure some way (if possible) to connect the idea to my activities as a Seattle Home Inspector or the real estate industry in general----otherwise I just toss it out there anyway.

In conjunction with the whole business of coming up with ideas, is the conclusion by some that what I do must take an incredible amount of time.

Well----sometimes it does (like this one). More often than not though----they do not take as long as one might think. Much of the post is written before I sit down to the keyboard. It is written in my head or on a napkin while waiting in a restaurant. Others get written while waiting for everyone to arrive for the inspection, stuck in traffic, driving here and there, sitting on the toilet (come on you know I had to say it), standing in the shower, -----WHATEVER! The point is, that there are lots of times when whatever I am doing will not prevent me from working out ideas in my head before I actually get to the keyboard.

Here is another rule: All ideas are OK----they will lead you “somewhere.” Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that some ideas are more valid than others. And remember----you have very little control over what you think. Even “bad” ideas can be transformed into “good” ideas. Think of ideas as being like “seeds” that you can plant and nurture and watch grow----and then PRUNE, espalier or compost as deemed appropriate. Every thought that runs through your brain and everything that stimulates your senses has the potential to trigger some tag in your brain----we just need to pay attention. (Man this post is going to need some “Roundup” before I am done)(Where the heck did that tag come from?)

NOW: about “Dress-up.”

Doesn’t everyone like to play dress-up?

Steve Smith does.

So, once you have this “great idea”----what kind of clothes are you going to put on it? You can’t just send it naked into the blogosphere (and trust me----I have tried).

Dressing-up, IS your own personal voice.

This is where we make the post appear as if it is about “sex, drugs and/or rock-n-roll”----things that people can relate to. Think of it as cake. People like cake, but if you put the kind of frosting on it that they REALLY like, they will eat it up like crazy. Lately I have been having a lot of fun dressing mine up in children’s stories.

How you dress-up your idea will be what makes your idea look different from everyone else’s version of the same idea.

Not only does an idea trigger tags in your brain, but the words you write will trigger other tags which will trigger other tags----thus making the process even easier. This is where it all starts to be actual fun.

And this brings me to perhaps the most important point I can share.

JUST START—

stuff

will

follow.

Pretty soon, if you practice these simple steps, you will notice yourself letting ideas go floating though your consciousness without doing anything about them---without jotting them down---without taking their picture. Then you will find yourself in the unfortunate position of beating yourself up because although you can “remember” that you had a great idea to play with, you now can not recall it to save your neck.

Not to worry---like any good drain, another idea will float on by soon enough.

All that remains is----are you listening?

P.S.

The original “seed” for this post was, “What are you smoking?”

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Jack & Jill----Singing along in the shower----to the Dead Band

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:33:48 -0600

Sorry----this is not about the Grateful Dead Band----and only “loosely” about Jack & Jill in the shower----and certainly not about them being in the shower together.

Once again I am going to venture into the never ending world of water heaters.

Put on your seat belt for this one Barbara Duncan, this is perhaps the most difficult thing I have ever had to explain to people about water heaters.

Water Heater “DEADBAND”

The question varies, but it usually goes something like this. Jill asks, “How come some times there seems to be plenty of hot water for both me and Jack to take showers----and other times there is not?”

Well Jill, it is probably due to “deadband.” While deadband can be an issue with gas water heaters it is very common with electric water heaters. You see, the thermostat on your water heater has a range at which it turns itself off and turns itself on (Jill could not help but think about how this might apply to her and Jack in other more interesting ways). It is this “range” that causes the problem (how true, how true, thinks Jill). Some water heaters are worse than others (DEFINITELY true, thinks Jill).

Let’s say that Jill starts out with a fully heated water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. She takes a nice leisurely, relaxing shower and uses most of the hot water----but not quite enough to get to the low point of the thermostat to make it kick back on to heat more water. Now Jack comes along an hour later (after the lazy butt sleeps in)---all set to take a nice long hot shower (Jill is thinking cold shower)----only to run out of hot water as the thermostat finally kicks in to heat more water.

To simplify things, I have drawn a little graph to help visualize the basic concept.

So what is the solution? There really isn’t one that doesn’t involve keeping the heater at higher than safe, recommended temperatures (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Keeping the heater at higher temperatures (so that there is more water to dilute) also means that the thermostat’s low range is always going to be higher than what is a satisfactory temperature for a nice long shower. Installing tanks with more storage capacity is another solution as well.

Perhaps the best solution would be to install what is called a “tempering valve.” This is a clever device that allows you to have the water heater set at say 130 degrees Fahrenheit and mixes a little cold water into the stream whenever you use hot water so that you don’t ever get more than 120 degree water out of your faucets. This also protects the heater from the growth of bacteria in the tank that is encouraged by 120 degree water.

Sounds like Jack will be in plenty of hot water now.

Now you can crank up the other Dead Band when you are in the shower----with or without your sweetie.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Kentucky

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:20:37 -0600

Hide and Seek----it is for kids of all ages!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:59:43 -0600

Kids L♥VE to play hide and seek. When my kids were little we used to have some really great hide and seek “events.” The little ones would always want me to hide them----before I hid myself. You see, they used think I knew all the really cool places for them to hide. Often time right out in plain sight was effective.

One of their favorites was on top of the refrigerator behind the cereal boxes. Of course, after the first time, that only worked with someone new was playing the “seeker.” Another one I remember was behind the screen inside the fireplace----a little messy but very effective!

Inside kitchen cupboards.

Rolled up in carpet.

Behind the couch.

Behind window curtains.

In a bureau drawer.

All of these were great places to hide----especially in the dark. They would usually get caught because they got tired of hiding and would give themselves away as they peeked out of wherever they were hiding or because they were giggling too much.

Kind of the same way this receptacle got “caught”----fortunately not from giggling too much.

Charles Buell

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.