bellingham home inspection: Helloooo Dooown Theeeere!
- 10/05/10 12:31 PM
This is a photo I took today while standing on the roof of a three story condo that overlooks some of Bellingham's prime waterfront. The photo gets two things across (1) I felt like a kite way up there (2) we have some pretty incredible views in Whatcom County. And, compared to many areas, the prices are still reasonable. Oh oh, I sound like a realtor now.
I am a jaded home inspector so I seldom take view shots. But this gives a pretty nice idea of the view from some of the condos along State Street on Bellingham's south … (13 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Knob and Tube Wiring: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House)
- 09/26/10 09:53 AM
One of the things that buyers often wonder about, assuming they have heard the term, is whether or not an older home they are buying might have knob and tube wiring. Any old house, up through the late 1950's approximately, might have some knob and tube wiring. And if they are really old they are pretty much bound to have had it at one point or another. The house I grew up in as a kid had knob and tube and that was an upgrade -- it had been gas lights.
Knob and tube is outdated, and insulation might be brittle, … (5 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Exposed Lumber and Rot
- 09/22/10 03:35 PM
This is one the home inspector in the wet northwest sees often. Here you see lumber that extends out from underneath the roof. As a result of that, that lumber is subjected to extreme moisture. The way it rains here that has to be at least half of the time.
Since wood will rot at 20% moisture or higher, such wood is often decayed. It this case the blue rot probe tells the story.
In all situations such as this, either the wood should be trimmed so it terminates under the protection of the roof covering, or an appropirate … (5 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Two Thumbs Up: Lummi Store Cafe -- Lummi Island, WA
- 09/19/10 02:04 PM
This morning I had to do a quick roof re-inspection on Lummi Island. This is an island that is only about a ten minute ferry ride from the mainland. Of course, from my house, driving to the ferry landing takes about a half hour. I was trying to talk my wife into riding along and she was hesitant. I suggested that we ride over and then stop for breakfast at the Beach Store Cafe. I had heard good things about it so we had a deal. You can see, from the sign below, that it is an attractive and atmospheric older … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Packing My Bags: Fall Season of Change
- 09/19/10 10:42 AM
In some parts of the country, the first indication of fall is the change in color of leaves on the trees. Up here in the Pacific Northwest, often shortened to read Pacific Northwet, we are likely to see heavy rains prior to our paying any attention to the color of the leaves on the trees. Below is a photo of my driveway at 11:00 this morning. If you think it looks wet, well it was wetter than the picture is able to get across to you.
When the weather changes like that, you might ask how a moss back … (16 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Gutter Problems
- 09/03/10 12:03 PM
Gutters and downspouts come in many materials -- plastic, steel, aluminum. While plastic does not rust, it generally is a poor gutter material. Plastic gutters are usually assembled by homeowners from a variety of parts they find at home stores. The gutters tend to come apart, break and be low capacity.
Then there are steel gutters and downspouts. When these are new they might not be bad. In fact, they might be okay for many years. But, eventually, since steel rusts, the gutters and downspouts will start going the way of the gutter in the photo below.
In my … (11 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Inaccessible Crawl Spaces
- 09/03/10 04:29 AM
A general guideline, reinforced by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, is that substructure lumber must have minimum clearances from soil. The clearances are defined as 12" from grade to the bottom of beams and 18" from grade to the bottom of joists (they rest on top of the beams.)
These clearances were not dreamed up to be mean, or to give inspectors an easy excuse to duck going in the crawl space. The fact of the matter is that, if wood is much lower than that, it is extremely difficult for workers to do any jobs in the crawl space … (12 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection: Vented Sub-structure Areas
- 08/29/10 08:30 AM
When a home has an unconditioned (unheated) crawl space, most building codes require that there be some form of crawl space ventilation. This comes in various forms but, at least in Bellingham and Whatcom County, more often than not the builders put in foundation vents -- typically a few feet from each corner and spaced quite evenly from one another, every few feet.
The preferred vents are those with wire mesh, typically 1/4" galvanized screens. Often, instead, I will see vent screens like the one below.
This is a louvered vent screen and the average person may not know it, … (5 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Use Caution When Cutting A Pet Door
- 08/29/10 04:53 AM
People love their pets. They want to make the pets comfortable and make them part of the family. Instead of giving the pet a key to the house, they often choose to make a pet door or two so the pet has unfettered access from the backyard into the house, maybe clear through the house into the garage.
When there is a large pet door, such as the one shown here, it is a potential security breach into the home. A human could easily go through that door. And often they allow rain and moisture into the home as well. … (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Crawl Space Swat Gear
- 08/26/10 12:49 PM
I was moments away from entering a crawl space which the seller told me had, in the past, been a hangout for rats. This was an inside the house crawl space hatch. I had just opened the hatch, put on my respirator and it was time to go down under.
It just so happened that, next to me, was a mirror. I took this photo of one home inspector who is dressed in his SWAT outfit to deal with the unknown creatures below.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. Smith
… (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Blocked Fans
- 08/24/10 01:22 PM
I probably see this more often on older homes than newer ones, but I see it a whole lot at both types of houses. Somewhere along the way, the house is painted. And, in so doing, either with tape or paint, they end up sealing shut the louvered vent hoods or the backdraft dampers. I always try to run fans and see if air comes out. It is often amusing to hear the range hood, the bath exhaust fans or even the dryer cranking like crazy, but there is no airflow.
This is an easy one for a seller or a … (10 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Another Builder's Oops
- 08/22/10 03:42 AM
At an inspection of a recently built home, while looking at the water heater, a thought came to me. Many water heaters, if located in garages, route the temperature pressure relief valve down toward the slab in the garage. Therefore, I had not thought much about not seeing a TPR drain termination outside the garage at the perimeter of the home. But, inside the garage, I saw that the TPR drain was routed though the wall. So, when it is routed through the wall, and never comes out the other side, well, where does it go?
The answer was simple enough. … (24 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspection (King of the House) -- Commonly Wrong
- 08/20/10 05:57 PM
Often a builder will complete a job, as in a house, and the buyer or someone down the road decides that he or she wants to have a patio put in. When that patio is poured right over the siding, well, that is a bad thing. This photo, of the corner of the house, makes it all pretty obvious. The lower siding is covered by the concrete.
Moisture collects in the crack between the concrete and the siding, simply physics, and more science -- the wood being at 20% and higher moisture will decay. That is the long and the short … (5 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: 40-Hours State Approved Field Training -- Bellingham Technical College
- 08/13/10 10:23 AM
Previously, I had voiced my surprise at how quickly the time is racing this year. In checking my calendar, I see that there will be another home inspection training class at BTC in two more weeks, beginning August 30, 2010.
The last week of that fundamentals of home inspection course includes 40-hours of approved field training. Students, in small groups, go on actual inspections with the instructors, all of whom are licensed and experienced inspectors. This method makes lots of sense since the students are just coming out of the 120-hour course so it gives them a chance to put their … (4 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Paul Bunyan's Gutter Splash block
- 08/12/10 09:57 AM
For those of you who are unaware of it, the famous logger Paul Bunyan is supposed to have come from the wilds of Canada. When I was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan a couple weeks back, I took a look at a gutter splash block I decided that everything, like Bunyan, must come big north of the border.
That is a view of a gutter splash block at a small condo unit. I am used to these little wimpy green splash blocks but these were substantial.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. Smith
… (3 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Speaking of Canadian Cousins
- 08/07/10 07:32 AM
Earlier I posted about my recent visit to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I was back there on family business and had a great time with my Canadian cousins.
This seems perfectly natural to me but, Charles Buell and some of his ilk, were genuinely surprised, or feigned surprise, when they found out that my wife and I took my certifried home inspector assistant, Nutsy S. Wallenda, along.
When push came to shove, I really could not leave him at home because, at the 11th hour, he convinced me that he too had cousins in Saskatoon.
It ends up that he was not kidding.
… (15 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Home Inspection Field Training (40 Hours) -- Bellingham Technical College
- 08/07/10 03:53 AM
Since home inspector licensing began in this state later last year, it has been mandatory for those people entering the field to acquire 40-hours of approved field training.
In addition to the field training, those individuals must, also, take a state approved course in the "fundamentals of home inspection." The content of this 120-hour course is regulated by the state of Washington. The first such course offered in the state was here at Bellingham Technical College.
We have been running the class every couple months with the advent of licensing.
Anyone interested in the field training, or the full … (4 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Fundamentals of Home Inspection Class Update -- Bellingham Technical College
- 08/07/10 03:43 AM
Since home inspector licensing began in this state later last year, people (yes men and women) who wish to enter the field of home inspection are required to take a 120-hour state approved course in the fundamentals of home inspection.
The first state approved course was offered by Bellingham Technical College, a part of the state technical and community college system.
The next course, which will include 40 hours of approved field training, will begin on August 30, 2010, here on the Bellingham campus.
The course is four weeks long, with one week dedicated to the field training. For … (0 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Technical College: The Best Looking Students In The State
- 08/04/10 05:39 PM
There is no question about it, in my mind, but the Bellingham Technical College Residential Home Inspection Course attracts the best lookin' students in the state college system.
I mean, for guys and all, these fellows could come from a Chippendale's photo shoot.
Of course, nobody would ever know it because of the way me make them dress.
On second thought, the one on the right kind of looks like a wannabe terrorist. If you like this look, the next Fundamentals of Home Inspection Course begins on the Bellingham Technical College Campus on August 30, 2010.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. … (7 comments)
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bellingham home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspections: Roof to Wood Contact
- 08/01/10 02:09 AM
Builders seem to know that, where the exterior wall meets the roof, there needs to be a metal flashing and the siding should not touch the roofing materials. They usually get that right at newer houses around here.
The detail that they often miss involves the wood trim. Even more so than with much of the siding used today (cement-based) it is important to keep the wood trim above the shingles by a couple inches.
When wood is in contact with the roofing materials, moisture can and will wick up into the trim and, over time, that will lead to decay. … (9 comments)
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This is a photo I took today while standing on the roof of a three story condo that overlooks some of Bellingham's prime waterfront. The photo gets two things across (1) I felt like a kite way up there (2) we have some pretty incredible views in Whatcom County. And, compared to many areas, the prices are still reasonable. Oh oh, I sound like a realtor now.
;)
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