blaine home inspection: Is Your Washington State Home Inspector Licensed?
- 07/24/11 09:04 AM
Many consumers, and others, are having trouble finding the official website that lists licensed home inspectors for the state of Washington. This has led to frustration on the part of people trying to find licensed inspectors -- that includes realtors and other inspectors. To be most effective, licensing data should be easy to access and there are unlicensed inspectors out there.
Since I am on the licensing board, I figure I need to be able to pass that official link on to others. So, if you are an agent, in Washington State, and you wish to be able to, anytime night or day, search the … (1 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Bivalve Bash, Bow, Washington -- July 16, 2011
- 07/10/11 10:04 AM
Just today I picked up a bag of clams at one of the jewels here in the northwest, Taylor Shellfish Farm, in Bow, Washington. They are located at the south end of scenic Chuckanut Drive.
Each year, at the lowest tide of the year in July, Taylor's is the site of the Annual Samish Bay Bivalve Bash and Low Tide Mud Run. Taylor Shellfish farm is noted for their oysters, mussels and clams. This year, the big bash is coming up on Saturday, July 16.
This is a wild day, with games, contests, food and beverages (heavy on seafood and bivalves) … (1 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Happy Fourth From King of the House
- 07/03/11 10:00 AM
I do not even know how many times I have wished my various Active Rain friends a happy Fourth of July. But I know that I have been doing so for many years now.
I was doing so even prior to my certifried home inspector assistant, Nutsy, joining the King of the House staff. And the first time I said "hi" to all the Active Rain folks was waaaaaaaaaay before Nutsy started dressing as a firecracker every 4th of July and every New Years Eve.
On behalf of all of the King of the House crew, happy 4th. Hope you have … (5 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Lummi Island Ferry -- Done Deal!
- 05/22/11 05:07 AM
Over recent months, I have written about the Lummi Island Ferry dilemma. Lummi island is a small island off of Bellingham. The ferry runs from Gooseberry Point over the the island. There are fewer than a thousand permanent residents on Lummi Island but those people count on this small car and passenger ferry for easy access to the mainland.
As of now, Whatcom County and the Lummi Nation have prepared a joint news release, dated May 18, that would provide for the ferry terminal to remain where it is for another 35 years. The county would pay the tribe $200,000 … (5 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Miracle by Duct Tape
- 05/07/11 10:31 AM
I will admit it for the group: We home inspectors tend to be critical of duct tape repairs. You have heard us complain about it before -- the rusted-out P-trap repaired with duct tape, the hole in the sink patched with duct tape, or the homeowner's favorite, the heat duct held together with duct tape. I am one of the leading purveyors of the theory that a duct tape repair is not the right way to go about one's business.
However, I must admit that, as of this week, I am not practicing what I preach. I have a home inspection camera that, at this point, looks … (12 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Whatcom County -- Dine Out, Help Somebody Out!
- 05/01/11 07:56 AM
We have a fun event in Bellingham that has, count the years and my gray hair, been going on for eleven years now. I think that I have made it out to dinner, to help out, for at least half of these charity events. After all, I like going out to dinner and, when doing so helps someone who is less fortunate, then that is a win-win situation.
The local opportunity council, a government agency, arranges the "Dine Out" for Maple Alley Inn. It is an all day event and many of the top local restaurants participate. The restaurants donate 20% of … (4 comments)
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blaine home inspection: They Took The P Right Out Of The Trap
- 04/30/11 08:05 PM
We pesky home inspectors, when looking at sink drains, want to see P-traps. That is the proper type of trap at a modern plumbing system. Sometimes, at old houses, we see drum traps and other ancient and antiquated traps. But, more often than not, what we see, when there is a problem to cite, is the S-strap. To the uninformed, it looks like a P-trap but it is not.
Imagine my surprise the other day when I saw not a P nor an S but, simply, no trap at all.
Do not imitate this job if you are a do it … (5 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Manufactured Home Inspection -- Oriented Strand Board (OSB)
- 04/01/11 04:58 PM
Here in the Pacific Northwest, at least 85% of the time, I find that the siding on manufactured homes is oriented stand board, either lap siding, panels or a combination of both. With real old manufactured homes, I find some metal siding but, most of the time, the cladding is OSB.
OSB has had much written about it and the most famous of the various class action lawsuits, at least in our region, involved Louisiana Pacific or L-P siding. Despite claims that the product known as OSB is better now than that product of 15 to 25 years back, I still … (8 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Lynden Home Inspection (King of the House) Foundation Cracks
- 03/27/11 02:50 AM
Foundation cracks are something that the professional home inspector has to think about, but not too much usually. There are foundation cracks that can indicate serious problems, certainly the case with horizontal cracks. But many, to most, of the diagonal or vertical cracks that the inspector sees are probably not a big issue. With a wide crack, well that can be a concern all right and any crack that could allow water through into the crawl space or basement is a worry in this wet climate.
The thing about foundation cracks, even though they usually are not much of a problem, is … (9 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Builder's Who Don't Mind the Gap
- 03/06/11 03:37 AM
Any of you who have been to London and ridden on the underground, or the tube, have heard the famous term "Mind the Gap."
The term references the risk that you might fall in the gap between the train and the side of the track. We home inspectors look for gaps in other locations. For example, we want to see a gap where the wood trim ends above a flat surface such as concrete or a deck. And, up on the roof, we want to see a gap where wood trim is located close to roofing materials. In most cases, an … (3 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Bellingham Technical College -- Structural Pest Inspector Training
- 03/05/11 09:58 AM
A Department of Licensing licensed home inspector in Washington state may report on rot, but if he or she is not also licensed as a structural pest inspector, that inspector is not allowed to identify or cite damage from wood destroying insects. And, in this damp state, we have lots of those -- carpenter ants, velvety tree ants, moisture ants, two types of termites and various wood-boring beetles. The home inspector, who is not dual licensed, who suspects wood destroying insects on premises must make a general statement suggesting that a pest control operator and/or contractor be hired to further evaluate the conditions.
… (5 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Lake Como, Italy -- Must See, Must Do
- 11/28/10 05:25 AM
This past vacation to Italy, a month back, my wife and I did not make it back to Lake Como. We had planned on it but, compared to our previous excursions, the weather in Italy was cold this year. And we figured that around the lake would be chillier. And, add to that, the fact that we both had nasty colds.
I love the region and it is only a few hours away from the large cities of Milan and Verona. The train rides are pleasant and affordable, assuming some Italian labor union does not suddenly go out on strike. We … (1 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Whatcom County Home Inspector (King of the House) Wide Handrails
- 10/10/10 11:45 AM
It is not a problem at guardrails, but when a handrail at stairs is supposed to be graspable then it needs to be something other than a 2x4 or a 2x6 on its side. Codes have all kinds of specifications that define the term "graspable." With outdoor building, at least around here, we see mainly flat handrails at outside decks and stairs.
More often than not the handrail is a 2x4, but I have seen 2x6's and 2x8's. None of those rails are graspable. A guidelines is that flat material needs to be no wider than 2 5/8". The rail below … (4 comments)
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blaine 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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blaine home inspection: Animals at Work
- 08/27/10 03:14 PM
Here in Bellingham and Whatcom County I run into many helpful animals on home inspections. Once I ran into a herd or flock of goats, that danced on my vehicle. Then I have run into any number of deer out in rural, and not so rural, areas. And I have seen many helpful dogs and fewer helpful cats. Cats tend to hinder the inspection by vanishing and then showing up where you do not expect to find them.
My most recent helper was a very nice dog. She was in and out of the residence any number of times during the … (9 comments)
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blaine 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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blaine home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House) -- A Government Freebie I Like
- 08/12/10 10:43 AM
In this field of home inspection which is heavy on paper work, overwhelming at times, I am always on the lookout for anything that might simplify my life.
Here in Whatcom County, WA, the assessor -- you know those folks who figure out how many tax dollars to squeeze out of us and our homes -- have a nifty web site. For a home inspector, you can put in an address and search by address, parcel number or owner name. That is handy enough when trying to learn some information about a house prior to doing an inspection.
However, in scoping … (7 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Wow -- That Got My Attention
- 08/05/10 05:12 PM
I had a moment today where I got quite a start. I had just popped open an attic hatch, then I turned my head. At first, what I saw looked like a woman's hat. It did not take me long to get my head on straight however.
My first impression was wrong. No hat -- Bee looking creatures, or more specifically yellowjackets.
Ths was way bigger than a basketball and it got me pretty excited, I admit it. Good news is that the yellowjackets did not seem to be active today but I was not going to go up there … (107 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Wood Destroying Organisms Everywhere
- 07/30/10 02:01 AM
At Bellingham Technical College, in the fundamentals of home inspection course the day students learn about wood destroying organisms, it is accurate to say that there are signs of wood destroying organisms everywhere.
Between the BTC collection of damaged wood, and a few pieces that are brought along by ace troubleshooter Dan Suomi -- Washington State Department of Agriculture -- we really do have a smorgasbord of damage.
I took a shot of a few of the samples of damaged wood during a break the other day. Everything, board after board, was piled one on top of the other, so it made an interesting … (4 comments)
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blaine home inspection: Bellingham Home Inspections (King of the House): Lot Grading
- 07/24/10 11:21 AM
In the wet Pacific Northwest, it is important to keep water out of the crawl space and/or the basement. There are many ways to keep runoff out of the substructure areas. For example, gutters and downspouts routed to adequate drains will help.
A much more basic means of shielding the home is purely common sense. Perimeter concrete -- patios, sidewalks and driveways -- should slope AWAY from the home. Taking this to the most basic level, the grade of the soil should also be sloped away from the house.
This can often be done in the course of gardening. The lot … (5 comments)
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Many consumers, and others, are having trouble finding the official website that lists licensed home inspectors for the state of Washington. This has led to frustration on the part of people trying to find licensed inspectors -- that includes realtors and other inspectors. To be most effective, licensing data should be easy to access and there are unlicensed inspectors out there.
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