sequim wa home inspector: No one wants a money pit!
- 06/08/10 08:58 AM
No one wants to buy the house of their dreams only to find out that it's a money pit. Lisa Pemberton-Butler with The Seattle Times, in her article The ins, outs of a home inspection, does a nice job of walking through some of the reasons why having a home inspection helps you avoid such an occurrence. With the help of Steven Stanczyk and Hugh Kelso, LIsa answers some common consumer questions, such as: I'm planning to buy a new home that comes with a one-year warranty. Why would I want a home inspection? Are there any training or licensing requirements … (5 comments)
sequim wa home inspector: Ladder Safety – Can you really catch yourself if you fall?
- 05/07/10 08:08 AM
It's been just over four weeks since I had the unfortunate experience of falling eight feet from the gutter edge of a house I was inspecting. I had set up my ladder on a composite deck and as I was stepping onto the roof, the bottom of the ladder slipped out and both the ladder and I came crashing down onto the deck. I feel very fortunate in that my injuries--that is, three compression fractures in my middle back--are relatively minor and with another two to four more weeks I should make a full recovery.
The incident got me thinking about ladder … (7 comments)
sequim wa home inspector: Things to Know About Galvanized Piping
- 12/12/09 07:18 AM
Up until the 1950s, galvanized steel (sometimes referred to as "iron pipe") was the most common plumbing pipe being used. So when you're looking at a house that's more than 40 years old, you can be pretty certain that it will have at least some amount of galvanized steel piping. And the older the home is, the higher its probability of pipe problems. The average life span of galvanized steel piping is approximately 40 years but that estimate largely depends upon the acidity and mineral content of the water. The main failure method of galvanized piping is to rust from the … (12 comments)
sequim wa home inspector: Concrete form wood: Why removing it from your crawlspace is so important
- 10/21/09 10:31 AM
Concrete form wood is often left in place in crawlspaces. According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, who oversees Structural Pest Inspectors like myself, form wood left in crawlspaces is a conducive condition for Wood-Destroying Organisms (WDOs). If left in place, form wood can attract and harbor unwanted WDOs, which can then get into other parts of your home. For this reason, I always recommend any form wood be removed as completely as possible. In some homes, removing form wood is a snap; they pop right off with a few taps of a hammer. In other homes, removing the form … (6 comments)
sequim wa home inspector: Exposed fly rafters and rake fascia ends… it’s all in the details.
- 10/21/09 08:27 AM
One of the more common roof flashing details I often find missing is over the tops of the fly rafter and rake fascia board ends. Fly rafters are the outer most rafters of the gable overhang and the rake fascia are the vertical trim boards installed over the fly rafters. Over time, lack of flashing or roofing material over the tops of these exposed ends will allow wood decay fungi (rot) to occur. Below is an example of what I am referring to.
Whenever I find this condition, I always recommend installing cap flashing or roofing material on the tops of … (4 comments)
sequim wa home inspector: What's that funky smell?
- 09/21/09 07:27 AM
As most of us are aware, there is an increased number of short-sale, repos (and the like) on the market right now. When I am called in to do an inspection on one of these types of homes, I am always leary of what I might, or might not, find--that is, some folks can get pretty dang malicious before moving out of a house. I have seen complete kitchens and bathrooms (cabinets and all) ripped out of the house; all the light fixtures and door hardware removed; all the appliances (including the generator and wood stove) taken; all the heat ducts … (15 comments)
No one wants to buy the house of their dreams only to find out that it's a money pit. Lisa Pemberton-Butler with The Seattle Times, in her article The ins, outs of a home inspection, does a nice job of walking through some of the reasons why having a home inspection helps you avoid such an occurrence. With the help of Steven Stanczyk and Hugh Kelso, LIsa answers some common consumer questions, such as:
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