It probably has less to due with deception, and more to do with ignorance, but many sellers paint right over the top of the rot. Anytime there is an older house on the market, if the home inspector has experience in the field, he or she will be on the lookout for fresh exterior paint that is in place to hide problems under the paint.

I have written articles on this topic before, but the photo below is a wonderful example of someone having painted right over the top of the rot at a rafter tail. The problem area is the wood at the left end of the gutter.

If the person who did the roof had put a shingle or a flashing over the rafter tail, so rain water coming off the sloped roof would have been routed over and past the wood tail, this might not have ever been a problem. In this case, and oh so common, the rain coming off the roof soaks into the wood and rot prevails. That is the simple science of rot and very important to remember, when building so the structure will last, in the wet environs of Bellingham and Whatcom County.

 

         

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6 Comments on Seller: You Can Cover It Up, But You Can't Hide It

NOV
26
2010
917,650 Points 179 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Steve, you forget that painters are trained to know what rot is :)
7:02pm • #1
1,378,531 Points 7 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Howdy and evening to you Steve

Steve, it sure is mighty amazing just what some sellers will do to cover, and hopping to keep a problem area from being seen.

Have a good one
Dale in New Hampshire
10:53pm • #2
NOV
27
2010
1,242,529 Points 158 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Good morning Steve. I wonder how much extra it would have cost to extend the gutter another 4-6". That would have been too easy now wouldn't it...
4:22am • #3
976,735 Points 352 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

You know, if you spray it first with shellac, it firms it up to accept the paint better!

Tell them to try that first next time.
8:28am • #4
568,010 Points 140 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I found some  wood very damaged by termites the other day. The seller had done the same painted over it. Maybe they thought the paint would reinforce the wood.
6:02pm • #5
976,735 Points 352 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Not without the shallac...

 

;>)
7:18pm • #6

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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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Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, provides information for real estate buyers, sellers and real estate industry professionals. Blog posts emphasize issues commonly found in Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Smith is Washington State Licensed Home inspector #207, a state licensed structural pest inspector and one of the most experienced inspectors in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest. Steven L. Smith is lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College and teaches classes for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Steve was a two-term member of the state licensing board.


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