The menace is there, almost in plain sight, but not quite -- slightly concealed. It is not unlike a tightly coiled rattlesnake waiting to strike, except the snake will give you it's telltale warning, a rattle, that your life might be in peril. Not so with the danger that is lurking at the house today, just under the eave of a home that is being sold at a premium price. You must be careful, you must be brave, you are fearless you are "Super Home Inspector."

Okay, enough with the drama. The photo below shows the situation. This wire, tucked back into the soffit was fully energized -- it was hot, make that live AC -- and there was not so much as a wire nut insulating the conductors. Glancing up at such a wire, the initial reaction is that nobody would be nuts enough to leave a wire like that hot. On closer examination, and with the help of a circuit tester, sure enough -- it was very much live.

A goofy safety defect like this provides a good example of why a home inspection is a necessity. A brave and all-knowing home inspector is able to identify this threat, and that reduces the chances that the average homeowner will stumble on this live circuit when putting up the holiday lights and while standing on an aluminum ladder with the legs sunk 5" into the wet ground below.

 

 

Thanks for looking.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector

        

        

Check out "This Day In History" -- music and vintage television from the 1950's through the 1980's.  I enjoy writing these articles because they take me back to my days in radio broadcasting. Click on Elvis' gold record, below, to revisit those golden hits of yesteryear.

           

 

9 Comments on Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House) -- Coiled and Ready to Strike

MAR
16
2008
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Steve, Steve, Steve----haven't you seen the latest in bird repellents?  Weren't there a pile of feathers on the ground?
5:02pm • #1
1,149,876 Points 52 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Huh, No but it did smell a bit like KFC.
5:05pm • #2
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This really happens.  Over the years, I've probably had half dozen home inspection that revealed live wired. 

I wonder how many are behind the homeowner finished basements and garages in the homes on which my buyers passed.

If the seller can't verify that the electrical was completed by a licenese electrician, we move on. 

5:28pm • #3
1,149,876 Points 52 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Lenn,

I wish all realtors had your common sense approach to this kind of issue. Years ago I was doing a re-inspect. I asked if the numerous wiring repairs had been done by a licensed electrician. The realtor told me no -- he had a cheapo buddy do it and that, if I was any good, I would still assess it all and sign off on it as having been done correctly. Guess he did not care that legally the wiring had to be upgraded by a licensed electrician since the homeowner (the only other person who could get a permit to do it) sure was not capable. The guy was a really bad experience and I dread it any time I find that he is on the other side of the transaction. He thinks his little buddies should be able to do all the work that should be left to trained professionals.
5:43pm • #4
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Steven, Charlie passed this question on to The King.  You do some blogs ahead and save as Draft.  I wondered whether the time is counted when it finally goes public or when it was drafted.  Say I write 12 blogs and draft them.  Do they put me over the 10 per week limit even though I don't post until later?  Thanks for helping me!  I just discovered draft and like it.  Charlies says you would definitely know this answer.
7:16pm • #5
1,149,876 Points 52 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Barbara,

It is like you have showed them to nobody until you post them. You can work on them, add things, save to draft multiple times. You could do ten in a day, along with all your for point blogs. The one I posted today on rain and roofs was one I had put photos in back in January but did not get around to posting it till today.

A couple things. When you do a post in draft mode it does create an oddity when you look at your points summary. The draft mode blog, as long as it is draft, will show in there as zero points, which you would expect. But once you post it, a week or months later, it will change the zero to 200 but it will still be way back in the points on the date you wrote it.

In other words, if you go to your points and count that you wrote nine blogs in a week because they are up near the top by date, you could be wrong if you forgot about the one from days or months before. It will now have points but it will be back in the dates on the day it was first written. This week, when I look at my points, I will have to realize that I wrote one blog in draft or I will end up doing eleven.
8:08pm • #6
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Steven, I think you answered my question because it counts on the day you wrote it, not the day it was posted.  So if you wrote 12 blogs in one day and had already posted 6 that week, eventually you'd be over the limit for that week and get no points?  Is that right?  I was hoping they'd count when they were posted.  That way we could have several saved and put them out one day at a time!
8:17pm • #7
1,149,876 Points 52 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Barbara,

It counts when posted. So you could write them and post one a day. The thing is that, in your points summary, it is back the day you wrote it but the real points are added, and count toward, the week you wrote it.
8:21pm • #8
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Now that is confusing isn't it!  Thanks!  I guess my plan will work.  : )
8:23pm • #9

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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

Email Me

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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