bellingham property inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House): Pest Inspector Methodology - 02/22/08 03:13 PM
When performing a structural pest inspection, an inspector is likely to "sound the wood." The basic idea is two fold. One possibility is that the wood will, hence the name, "sound" different if it is damaged, hollow, soft. This is a technique that works quite well on exterior logs on log … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Botched Up At the End - 02/22/08 12:29 PM
Inspectors see any number of decks. Some are well built. In this wet climate, we like to see the structure built out of pressure treated lumber and concrete piers that isolate wood from soil. As the composite deckings get better looking, to look much like wood, they are becoming more common. … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Mount Baker Home Inspector (King of the House): Uncontrolled Runoff Water - 02/22/08 12:12 PM
There is a tendency, when homes or cabins are at alpine regions, to ignore the runoff water from the roof. That means, they do not bother installing gutters and downspouts. The argument against them, by those who do not install them, is that the gutters can be bent, damaged or torn off the … (1 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Coffee And A Light - 02/22/08 12:19 AM
I saw a recent blog about can-lights written by Charles Buell. He was explaining the finer points of can-lights, inspecting can-lights, and can-light safety. In the comments, he and another AR member were talking about safety features found in some can-lights -- that cause them to shutdown if the bulb is overrated … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Two Problems, One Attic - 02/21/08 04:48 PM
This is an interesting photo in that there are two problems, or at least possible problems. The knob and tube wiring, which had been modified in various places, is the most obvious problem. Some insurance companies will still cover knob and tube wiring (with a higher premium) but many of the … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspections (King of the House): Scenes From This Old House - 02/21/08 10:54 AM
This Old House -- a famous song and a famous expression. As a home inspector, I see lots of old houses. The one below was a classic example of a 100 year old plus farm house that had been built and lived in over all those years. The modifications and repairs were not always, in fact seldom, done … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Blaine WA Home Inspector (King of the House): Oh Rats! - 02/19/08 10:55 PM
It is odd. People do not want rodents in their homes. Yet they often fail to do something as simple as putting one plus one together. That something simple is realizing that rodents are going to enter a crawl space when they have a window of opportunity, such as through numerous holes … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Home Inspection: It's All About Straightening The Pictures On The Wall - 02/17/08 05:22 PM
The title of this blog is deceptive, down right silly -- if you know anything about the scope of a home inspection. Silly as that title above might be, it is apparent to any working inspector that some naive sellers are under the false impression that the home inspector comes to a house to … (40 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Manufacturer's Recommendation: Repair With Duct Tape! - 02/14/08 11:56 AM
I know an individual who, sarcastically and with a smirk, makes fun of duct tape repairs. Can you imagine that -- making sport of the greatest repair miracle cure of the past 100 years. It is a product well known around the world, and in Canada too. This same person is a stickler … (10 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Big, Mean, Nasty Termites: At Least They Are Not In Your House - 02/11/08 10:34 PM
As a home inspector, who also teaches a class in wood destroying organisms through the state college system in Washington State, I always take a camera along with me on hikes or vacations. I have some cool, and very illustrative, photos that I have taken of all kinds of wood problems, … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Garage and Appliance Safety - 02/11/08 09:39 AM
I would not say that this is a frequently seen problem on my inspections, but it certainly is not uncommon either. This is a new house and nobody bothered to put in a barrier to keep someone from accidentally running into the water heater. A metal bollard (post) should be put … (1 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham WA Property Inspection (King of the House): Shade On Me - 09/10/07 10:45 PM
While the two photos below are not from the same home, they are presented to make a point. The top photo gives a great example of the way people let trees smother a roof. This kind of vegetation, pretty much no matter what you do, will create additional stress on the roof. … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House): Neglected Maintenance - 09/09/07 06:54 PM
At home inspections, sometimes at otherwise good houses, I am often surprised at the simple things that are easily corrected but were not dealt with by the seller. For example, the dirt will be piled on the siding near the gardens. The one maintenance issue that I see over and over … (3 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House Inc): A Common Appliance Problem - 09/09/07 05:55 PM
While it is not necessarily in the standards of practice, most inspectors do a limited inspection of appliances. From my experience, I find that one appliance problem seems to be the one that I see more often than the others. Some of the more common things I see are leaking food … (1 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Seeking Experienced Realtors: Zero Lot Lines - 09/09/07 04:03 PM
I would be interested to hear from some of you out there. In this area of the country where, historically we had lots of room, we did not have many, or any, zero lot line homes. Over the past few years a number of them have sprung up. I look upon … (7 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Shifting Sands and Murky Waters: Condo Inspections - 09/09/07 03:43 PM
In my part of the country, we are seeing more and more condos. Often like the condo in the photos below, these condos afford residents spectacular water front views. A private homeowner frequently cannot afford a lot in such an area, but common ownership by all the unrelated parties makes it possible. … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Oh My Leaking Roof: Chimney Flashings - 09/09/07 12:58 AM
While I would not say it is unusual, it is also not all that common to be able to capture the photos below which go together so nicely and illustrate a point. Home inspectors see a multitude of problems with old metal chimney flashings. Often roofers do not help matters when … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Connecting those dots! - 09/08/07 05:57 PM
I was doing an inspection at a nice condo. Checked the dryer vent outside, or what I thought was the dryer vent, just to see if it had lint inside of it. Prior to looking, I had turned on the dryer. I was surprised to find that no warm, or cold, … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Just To Prove I'm Not A Model A! - 09/08/07 03:23 PM
I recently wrote a blog explaining why I think there is limited validity to attempting to train serious home inspectors merely by supplying them with videos and Online courses. Now, I did not say that I do not think there is a place for modern technology in the training of inspectors. Much … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Little Round Holes In The Logs - 09/06/07 11:11 PM
The photo below is something you prefer not to see at a log home. A log home, by its very nature, is more prone to possible problems with wood destroying insects and wood destroying organisms than most types of homes. The other problem is that it can be hard to impossible, … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Strange Things People Do - 09/05/07 05:35 PM
The crawl space photos below show, at least, a couple obvious concerns as far as the longterm well being of this home. The first issue, and I will cite it first as it is mandated as a concern by Washington State law, is that the so-called piers under the posts are wood. … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House Inc): Off With Their Pointy Little Tips - 09/01/07 02:54 PM
Okay, you are probably wondering what type of politically incorrect statement I am about to make here. In fact, I was wondering if I ought to post this or not. So, I decided that to backup my opinion, and to clarify the matter, I would supply a photograph of their little pointy … (7 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House): Counter that Flashing - 08/31/07 07:25 PM
It is kind of obvious if you think about it: Water runs down. So, when protecting against water intrusion, that is the direction it is most likely to be coming in from. Obviously there are times when wind-blown rain might be an issue too. This photo is not unusual. It is … (1 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House Inc): Log Houses - 08/30/07 11:48 PM
Inspecting log homes is a specialty in itself. In fact, there are specialists in that field. In our region of the northwest, even with mountains and woods there are still not that many of these homes. So such inspections ore only occasional things. A problem with logs is that the pests … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham WA Property Inspector (King of the House): Up On The Roof -- Tar - 08/25/07 10:13 AM
When a home inspector sees tar around the chimney are the vent stacks, or roof vents, it usually means one of two things: The roof leaked there and this was a repair or that the person who did the roof was not a professional and trained roofer. A professional roofer might, … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Washington Home Inspector (King of the House): Condo Wiring - 08/24/07 10:16 AM
Below is a photo of the main breaker at a condo. Inside a condo, people see an electric panel and assume that it is like the main panel inside a home. Usually that is not the case. At condos the panel inside is usually a distribution or sub-panel. The main breaker … (6 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Home Inspection Bellingham (King of the House): My Leaking Pipes -- Galvanized Pipes - 08/23/07 09:07 PM
The photo below is something seen a lot when inspecting older homes. This is an old galvanized system of drain pipe that is now beyond its useful life. You can see the moisture around the threads and there was water on the vapor barrier -- a conducive condition. Whenever such pipes … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Home Inspection Bellingham WA (King of the House Inc): Carpenter Ants - 08/22/07 04:20 PM
The state of Washington WSDA considers the carpenter ant to be the most "important" insect pest in the state. I kind of question the word "important" and think it might be better to just say the most "significant" insect pest. The carpenter ant is much misunderstood by the average person. For … (3 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Subtle Diversion - 08/22/07 12:33 AM
This is fairly subtle, but something a home inspector should check for in kitchen sinks and bathtubs with showers. There is a diverter valve, inside the faucet or the spout. This diverter valve is designed to sense a change in water pressure when the sprayer or the shower head is turned … (6 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Hot Photos From A Draw Inspection - 08/17/07 03:44 PM
As real estate professionals probably everyone at Active Rain knows what a draw inspection is. The bank, often through a third party, wants a confirmation that the work is being completed as reported, and as money is requested, by the builder. I do a few of these, as do many home … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Wa. Home Inspection (King of the House Inc): Deadly Voltages - 08/17/07 03:22 PM
It is my goal to delay indefinitely, or avoid completely, my personal Waterloo. Dangers go with the inspection business. Let's talk electricity. I spent years as an engineer working with 7000 volts or more and these were not low amp circuits either. As it involved broadcasting and paid airtime, often we had to … (3 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: $16 Bucks Will Get You Some Real Excitement - 08/10/07 06:30 PM
Boy, just look at what $16.00 will get you today. I had been under the impression that real excitement was more costly than that. However, just the other day I saw one of these gizmos in use and realized that a person could spend seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and years watching it. … (7 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Lillies - 08/10/07 05:54 PM
Folks seem to like my photos of my wife's flowers better than my graphic photos of termites. So here are a couple lillies that are responding well to the nice weather in the PNW. As the weather begins to get a bit colder, as the season moves on and the days … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: How Much Information Do You Really Want Your Client to Have? - 08/07/07 10:44 AM
This basic question comes up time and time again, sometimes from realtors and sometimes from associates. That basic question is, how much information do you really want your client to have? David Helm and I, who work together as adjunct faculty at a technical college, often compare notes. More often than … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: America's Most Wanted: Have You Seen This Criminal - 08/07/07 10:11 AM
This is, obviously, lower profile than the violent crimes or kidnappings perpetrated by vicious criminals. However, since we now have the goods on this criminal, I think it is time to see if the public can help identify him so law enforcement can, finally, track him down. First, let me setup … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Automobile Theft - 08/07/07 09:44 AM
Yes, this is a bit out of my field of expertise, other than having been a victim a few years back, I thought I would pass this along. As far as being a victim, I owned a Honda, driven by my daughter. She was at work one day at a large … (2 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Wa. Home Inspection (King of the House): Slower Than A Speeding Bullet - 08/06/07 09:38 PM
Well, here is a crawl space decimated by anobiid beetles. This pest works slowly, over the years, but when it has taken a hold -- BROTHER! Again, as always, it was a conventional crawl space and intended by design to have open crawl space vents. The primary conducive condition was vents that … (4 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bees on site: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) - 08/01/07 03:22 PM
Sometimes, when working as an inspector, it is easy to forget that unexpected, and sometimes dangerous, surprises could await you. Not only do you have to make sure you do not do a high wire act from your ladder but, also, you can run into pests such as the nest below. … (6 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Telltale Signs: Underground Storage Tanks - 07/31/07 11:42 AM
In this state, probably all of the country, the requirements have become more strict regarding the need for removal of old underground storage tanks. This has taken place over the past few years. Even five years ago, people would decommission them basically by draining the fuel and filling them with concrete. … (6 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Wa. Washington Home Inspection (King of the House): Oh Rot! - 07/31/07 12:37 AM
I inspected a house recently. The gutters and downspouts had been replaced in the past couple months -- all new and good quality aluminum seamless gutters. The funny thing is, whichever company installed the downspouts, they did so in a manner that helped perpetuate problems that already existed at the home. In the … (9 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Misunderstanding: Wood to Soil and Wood to Concrete - 07/31/07 12:18 AM
It seems that most people in the real estate field know that wood to earth or soil contact is not good. With pressure treated lumber, the wood might last several years but even pressure treated lumber lasts longer if it is not down in the dirt. The other side of that … (1 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Nice blog! Cheers - 07/30/07 09:20 AM
This post is primarily directed to newer members of AR. As people become serious about building a standing at AR, they have a few ways to do this: Invite points, localism, but most of us rely on blogging and comments as the mainstay of our quest. A person trying to get to … (13 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Washington, WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Veneer and Oriented Strand Board - 07/24/07 10:10 AM
Recently I posted on OSB, or oriented strand board, which is so often found as siding on manufactured homes. In fact, it is found on lots of different homes, however the vertical panel style (not lap) is what I am concerned about in this post and that tends to be on … (5 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Home Inspection Bellingham WA (King of the House): Siding and Your Manufactured Home - 07/22/07 05:13 PM
It might vary in different areas, but around here, most of the siding one finds on manufactured homes is oriented strand board. It is commonly called OSB. By the way, the famous siding that had so many problems -- L-P siding, was oriented strand board. Even though they have done some … (7 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Bellingham Property Inspections (King of the House): Condo, Manufactured Home, Apartment Electrical - 07/22/07 04:59 PM
Here is something that not everyone knows. As a realtor, ever look in a condo and find the "main" electric shut-off inside the panel in the house. Or maybe you saw that at a mobile home. Fact is, at least in my area, most of the time that panel is not the … (0 comments)
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bellingham property inspection: Creepy photo -- The crawl space that made Indiana Jones whimper - 07/14/07 11:38 AM
Remember in the first Indiana Jones movie, probably 30 years ago now, where he said something about "I hate snakes." People at AR, when crawl spaces come up, often talk about snakes. This is the best I can do. I borrowed the photo from a friend. We use it in class and … (12 comments)
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