Absolutely nothing ! I performed an inspection of a 7 unit multi-family rental complex yesterday. One of the rental townhomes is occupied by a mother and a daughter. There are (2) flights of stairs within the townhouse, each with 14 treads. Each tread has (2) pairs of shoes placed at the sides. Doing the math, that is 56 pairs of shoes or 28 pairs per person ! (there were a few pairs that could not fit on the stairs) I was impressed by the organization of the shoes. … (3 comments)
home inspection seattle: A Fire Tragedy Waiting to Happen
- 01/14/12 01:57 PM
A Fire Tragedy Waiting to Happen | Home Inspections Seattle Bellevue Everett At a recent Home Inspection in the University District of Seattle, I found numerous problems that could result in a fire tragedy. This 3,000 s.f. home had been remodeled int a 9 room multi-family rooming house for students. Aside from the fire hazards created by messy students (stuff and garbage everywhere), I found the following additional fire hazards - Knob and tube wiring buried in insulation
- Improper electrical wire splices - Broken electrical outlets with live components exposed
home inspection seattle: A Fair Inspection Contingency
- 12/01/11 05:25 AM
A Fair Home Inspection Contingency | Home Inspections Seattle Bellevue Everett In this era of foreclosures, bank owned properties, and short sales, there is a good chance that the home has been "winterized" and/or the utilities are turned off due to non-payment. At least twice a week, I run into a situation where utilities to the home were to be turned on (per the listing agent) and when we arrive for the inspection; no active utilities. At this point panic sets in with the buyer as they are running out of time to complete the inspection before the inspection contingency expires. … (2 comments)
home inspection seattle: Survival of the Fittest: Galvanic Corrosion
- 11/23/11 04:03 AM
Survival of the Fittest: Galvanic Corrosion | Home Inspections Seattle Bellevue Everett The image below is of the junction of copper and galvanized steel domestic water pipes in a home near Seattle.
It is common in older homes to find the replacement of galvanized pipes with copper pipes. Typically, all of the galvanized pipes are not removed due to lack of access to the pipes or excessive cost. In this example, galvanized pipes were embedded in a concrete slab. New copper pipes were installed at all other visible areas in the house. As copper and galvanized steel are dissimilar metals, … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Infrared Detection of Roof Leak
- 10/31/11 08:43 AM
Infrared Detection of Roof Leak | Home Inspector Seatte Bellevue Everett Below is an infrared image that clearly shows a roof leak at this vaulted ceiling.
The straight vertical darker areas are the wood ceiling rafters. The random line between the rafters is evidence of the roof leak. The dark blue area is where the moisture collects at the top plate of the wall. There are also moisture stains on the drywall and building siding at the exterior below this area. Unfortunately the roof leak was the minor problem. The home has consistent annual flooding from the adjacent river. Schedule … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Stop Mickey at the Source !
- 10/26/11 05:48 AM
Stop Mickey at the Source ! Home Inspections Seattle | Bellevue | Everett Rodents can cause thousands of dollars in damage to crawlspaces. Findings extensive rodent activity is also a real turn off ( gross out factor) to many buyers. Here is an example of a homeowner that tried to fix a rodent problem by setting traps rather than just fixing the source of the problem. Installing a drain pipe through a foundation wall is a good idea as there is a way to get water out of the crawlspace. Unfortunately, most of these drain pipes are a wide open path … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Who needs the ground wire anyway
- 10/06/11 08:56 AM
Who needs the ground wire anyway | Home Inspector Bellevue Seattle Everett While inspecting this 10 year old home in the Sammamish - Issaquah area, I noticed that the homeowner had installed a nice doggie door from the garage to the exterior. There were empty wiring holes at the adjacent studs. They must have removed or relocated some type of wiring. It turns out that they cut the electrical service grounding wire from the electrical panel to the exterior ground rods. The grounding wire was in the way of the doggie door location.
And of course a new ground wire … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Stalled Draft at Furnace Flue
- 09/14/11 05:12 AM
Stalled Draft at Furnace Flue | Home Inspections Bellevue Seattle Everett This home located in the Bellevue, Washington area was constructed in the 1950's. Since that time, it has been extensively remodeled and updated.
The newer mid-efficiency furnace has a flue diameter of approximately 5". It qickly transitions to a connection to the original flue with a diameter of approximately 10".
With the furnace activated, the gases from the furnace begin to condensate and drip onto the floor of the mechanical room within a few minutes. There is substantial corrosion at both the flue and furnace. When changing the … (2 comments)
home inspection seattle: Electrical Service Wire Overheating
- 07/13/11 06:33 AM
Electrical Service Wire Overheating| Home Inspector Seattle Bellevue Everett This home located in suburban King County was built in 2005. During the Home Inspection, I found that one of the primary power service wires to each of the (2) panels indicated overheating. The temperature measured 110 deg F
As part of the Home Inspection report, I recommended review and repair by a licensed electrician. The repairs were made by the Seller at a cost of $1,300 +-. This repair also included replacement of a few defective GFCI breakers. Per the electrican "The main breakers showed signs of heating at the … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: What is wrong with this remodeling project ?
- 07/12/11 05:33 AM
What is wrong with this remodeling project ?| Home Inspector Seattle Bellevue Everett This home in Snohomish County was built in 1995 + and is bank owned. There is no prior owner available to answer questions or provide disclosure. It is obvious that the floorplan was changed since original construction. A permit had been issued for a remodeling project which primarily consisted of removing the wall between the Living room and Family Room. A beam was added to support the floor joists above. It appeared that a new shear wall was added in the crawlspace. The walls are straight, no sag … (2 comments)
home inspection seattle: Galvanized Water Pipes; just like a clogged artery ! | Home Inspections Bellevue Seattle Everett
- 03/28/11 06:46 AM
Galvanized Water Pipes; just like a clogged artery ! | Home Inspections Bellevue Seattle Everett This (1) story home has new copper pipes throughout. When the new plumbing was installed, the contractor left the old galvanized pipes in the crawlspace which gave me a great photo opportunity. Galvanized pipes rust from the inside out. They become clooged like a clogged artery. Functional water pressure becomes very marginal, especially when multiple fixtures are turned on.
As this home was only a 1 story home with crawlspace, replacement of the galvanized pipes was not too complicated. In this home all of the … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: An Emergency Egress Window ? | Home Inspection Bellevue Seattle Everett
- 03/13/11 07:02 AM
Emergency Egress Window ? | Home inspection Bellevue Seattle Everett Many older homes have attic spaces which later become bedroom areas. These remodeling jobs are typically completed without appropriate permits or building jurisdiction (code) inspection. Among the common deficiencies are a lack of proper egress windows. Many of these emergency egress windows are too small, even by "older code" standards. The images below are of (2) different homes that had emergency egress windows that were marginally an acceptable size, however the primary power service line to the home was directly in front of the window.
The power line is within … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Problem Electrical Connection | Home Inspection Bellevue Everett Seattle
- 03/07/11 07:11 AM
Problem Electrical Connection | Home Inspection Bellevue Everett SeattleThe service wire for this home has electrical tape wrapped around the wire from the electrical connection at the service panel up the wire approximately 3-4". The history of this electrical connection and the reason for the electrical tape is not known.When viewed using a thermal imaging camera, the connection was substantially warmer than the other connection and what is typically found at most electric connections.
As part of my Home Inspection report, I recommended that the wire and connection be inspected by a licensed electrician and appropriate repairs be made as … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Dual Purpose Gas Piping | Home Inspector Bellevue Seattle Everett
- 03/01/11 04:11 AM
Dual Purpose Gas Piping Bellevue Seattle Everett The gas piping in the mechanical-utility room had been modified to supply gas to a new on demand water heater. Although the workmanship appeared OK, the pipes ran almost 12" below the ceiling and at a skewed angle to miss a light fixture. The pipes could have easily followed close to the ceiling around the outer walls of the room. I was unable to verify if this modification was completed with appropriate permits. The owner or contractor took the quick low cost approach that gave the appearance of a sloppy job. It may be … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: A Very Slow Shower Leak | Home Inspections Everett Bellevue Seattle
- 02/24/11 06:56 AM
A Very Slow Shower Leak At a recent inspection of a FNMA owned home in the Bellevue, Everett, Seattle area, I noticed a prior drywall repair to the Kitchen ceiling. There was a substantial amount of cosmetic repairs recently completed including new paint. The shower was run for approximately 15 minutes then turned off. After about another 30 minutes later, I checked the ceiling with my infrared camera. There was a small cold area which may be an indication of moisture.
I ran the shower for another 15-20 minutes and turned the shower valve off. The area in question grew … (2 comments)
home inspection seattle: Unbalanced Heating System | Home Inspection Seattle Bellevue Everett
- 02/09/11 06:35 AM
Unbalanced Heating System This 1960's home located in the Bellevue, Washington area has an excellent 90 percent efficiency furnace. The heating distribution system appears to be be very unbalanced as the bedroom areas had minimal heat gain. When inspecting the crawlspace, I found the heating system ductwork in marginal condition. The unbalanced heating system was not the result of a design problem, rather several disconnected heat runs. The first discovery was under the Kitchen area. The Kitchen appeared to have been remodeled in the past 10 years +-. There was no heat register in the Kitchen (including at the cabinet toekick). … (1 comments)
home inspection seattle: Why so much shaking ? | Home Inspections Bellevue-Seattle-Everett
- 01/19/11 04:54 AM
Why so much shaking ? | Home Inspections Bellevue-Seattle-Everett Hergert Inspection LLC About Hergert Inspection Contact Hergert Inspection Washington State Inspector License 619 WSDA Structural Pest Inspector license 79988 Over 25 years new home construction experience Custom Reports including digital and infrared images Weekend appointments available Damaged crawl-space shear wall This home had substantial shaking from front to back during the earthquake a few years ago. The blueprints for the home showed a full height foundation wall up to the floor joists in the area that had excessive shaking.
During the Home Inspection of the Bellevue-Seattle-Everett area home, I found … (2 comments)
home inspection seattle: Wind Driven Rain | Home Inspections Seattle-Bellevue-Everett
- 01/17/11 07:25 AM
Wind Driven Rain | Home Inspections Seattle-Bellevue-Everett Hergert Inspection LLC About Hergert Inspection Contact Hergert Inspection Washington State Inspector License 619 WSDA Structural Pest Inspector license 79988 Over 25 years new home construction experience Custom Reports including digital and infrared images Weekend appointments available Possible Wind Driven Rain The upper corner of the floor 2 bedroom showed evidence of moisture. An infrared image shows evidence that moisture has traveled as much as 3' down the wall.
There was no evidence of a roof leak visible inside the attic or any damage to the roofing. To see the exact area of … (0 comments)
home inspection seattle: Structural Failure | Home Inspection Seattle-Bellevue-Everett
- 11/04/10 04:28 AM
Structural Design Flaw | Home Inspection Seattle-Bellevue-Everett Hergert Inspection LLC About Hergert Inspection Contact Hergert Inspection Washington State Inspector License 619 WSDA Structural Pest Inspector license 79988 Over 25 years new home construction experience Custom Reports including digital and infrared images Weekend appointments available This Seattle, Bellevue, Everett area home has a ridge for a roof posted down to a ceiling joist. The ceiling joist rests on an exterior wall and an interior wall between the Master Bedroom and Bathroom. During the Home Inspection, I saw that the bedroom door would not stay open. There was also a depression in … (1 comments)
What does this picture have to do with a Home Inspection ?
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