sumas home inspector: Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Water Heater Safety
- 04/15/10 02:53 PM
In my profession, operating King of the House Home Inspection, I see more than my share of water heater problems. The photo below is a creative arrangement. Since this is a summer home, when the residents vacate for the cold season, they simply discharge all of the water in the water heater into the crawl space below.
I guess that, in fact, they do not need to worry about later seeing problems as a result of this procedure. To avoid that, there was a simple solution -- they simply made sure that the crawl space was inaccessible. Fact is, nobody … (5 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Angle of Repose, Footing and Foundation Work
- 04/10/10 12:52 PM
Recently, I have been involved in a discussion between contractors and professional engineers regarding excavation work in the crawl space at an older home. The issue came up when the contractor, who is in charge of establishing proper clearances between structural lumber and the dirt floor of the crawl space, stated that he was concerned to dig anywhere near the foundation wall for fear of creating structural instability or undermining the foundation. That is, of course, a valid worry. During the discussion, the term "angle of repose" came up. I will explain how that term comes into play in a moment.
But first, … (6 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Bellingham Waterfront Development
- 04/07/10 06:14 AM
Ever since Georgia Pacific shutdown the tissue operation, a few years ago at a prime waterfront location in Bellingham, there has been a great deal of speculation as to what should, and will, go in to fill the space. Many of the old GP buildings are still there and few, if any, are of architectural interest.
And you have many public bodies involved in figuring this out -- the city, the port, Western Washington University to name a few. One hope, that fizzled, was attracting NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to move to, and to become an integral part … (3 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: All That Glitters Is Not Aluminum Wiring
- 04/03/10 09:47 AM
The other day a realtor told me about a mistake that was made by a home inspector. It was an easy enough mistake to make, but it probably should not have happened. The home inspector's incorrect guess was later straightened out by an electrician -- who came in to review the problem with "aluminum wiring" in the electric system. By then the alarmed buyer had abandoned the offer on the house.
The problematic single-strand branch circuit aluminum wiring was commonly used from 1964 up until about 1978. It is important for the inspector to remember those dates. Simply because a conductor, … (7 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Hide and Seek Smoke Detectors
- 04/02/10 10:44 AM
Often, at a home inspection, the inspector will find anything from most to any number of smoke detectors that have been taken down off the ceilings and the walls. Often you will see their tracks. You know they have been there.
And sometimes, along with their tracks, you will find the devices in deep hiding. They have often been taken down because they were beeping -- low battery -- and they were driving the resident crazy.
Sometimes, when they have been taken down, they do not go back up for months or, maybe, forever. The good thing about it … (1 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Crawl Space Vent Wells
- 03/30/10 01:41 AM
When a home has a crawl space with vents, often we will find that those vents are blocked by earth, leaves or organic matter. They are at grade and, in many instances, the homeowner needs to put in wells at the vents. These can be pre-purchased in plastic or metal. Sometimes people make them of pressure-treated lumber.
The wells are of little use when, over the years, the homeonwer than allows the wells to become full of debris which turns to soil and, once again, the vent is blocked and below grade.
This information applies equally to wells at basement … (7 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Refrigerator Gaskets
- 03/27/10 03:54 AM
Home inspection standards of practice do not usually call for such inspections, but most inspectors take a look at some of the appliances. One of the first things that I look at, at the refrigerator/freezer, is the gasket on the refrigerator door.
The photo below is a condition that I see, often way worse than this, at many of the refrigerators. It is, more often than not, at the refrigerator compartment and NOT at the freezer.
I had an appliance repairman tell me that this is usually the result of people and their juice. They store juice in the refrigerator … (6 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Pressure-treated Posts Won't Rot -- Not!
- 03/26/10 11:10 AM
The fallacy is that pressure treated wood will last almost forever. The truth is that it can rot quite quickly. The post shown here is pressure-treated. It has been in the ground roughly ten years. It is not an anomaly, many of the other posts on this same fence were rotted away. Sometimes this is contributed to by the installer cutting the end off and not treating that. Other times, despite the best of efforts, the wood simply rots.
Pressure-treated lumber, such as this, is okay in some applications -- even when buried in soil. Heck, this is a fence post for … (9 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Boom In Washington State Property Values?
- 03/26/10 01:51 AM
The buzz in the local news lately is that those of us in Bellingham should see a modest increase in the prices of homes in the coming months.
That applies to several Washington cities and the prognostication is from CNNMoney.com. CNN predicts that Bellingham, listed in their top 25 communities around the nation, will see a rise in prices this year. They suggest that the rise will be nearly 3%. It is interesting to note that eight cities, where they are predicting a rise, are in Washington state. Washington tops the list when looking at the numbers. Here is a link to the story, … (3 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Vehicle Barrier (Bollard in the Garage)
- 03/15/10 06:14 PM
We home inspectors use the term "bollard" frequently. We all know what a bollard is. But, I regret to say that about half of our clients have no clue what we are talking about. A friend who is an HVAC professional calls them "crash poles". Basically, in the photo below, it is the metal pipe that should stop or slowdown a car headed at the water heater or, usually, the water heater and the furnace. In days of yesteryear, instead builders used a concrete tire-stop that was secured to the garage floor. You know, the sort of thing you park the … (10 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Houses on Stilts
- 03/11/10 04:52 PM
If a home is located in a flood zone, and that house has a mortgage that the feds are involved with, then the homeowner will have to pay flood insurance. The higher the risk, the higher the premium. I know because I got stuck with such a mortgage on a rental property, until I paid it off.
One thing some homeowners do is they build the home so the living space is higher than the anticipated flood waters. The Skagit Valley, south of here, has some significant flooding about every year. Below is an example of a house built on stilts. … (14 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Oh Sure, Simply Steal My Contract
- 03/09/10 12:02 AM
I have google alerts setup to report back to me when my company name, or things I have written about, are found online. Every once in awhile I get an interesting or very strange google alert. Once I found an article that I had written, on water pressure, and it was posted on an X-rated page surrounded by naked women. I had written the article on one of the "expert" sites so I had agreed that others could republish the article just as long as they gave me credit. In that case I was not so sure I wanted the credit down there … (18 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Class Is In Session -- Fundamentals of Home Inspection
- 03/07/10 12:37 AM
This is the weekend before the next home inspection training class starts at Bellingham Technical College.
We get underway on Monday morning, 8am. This weekend before, as lead instructor, I get any number of student phone calls and Emails as students -- often from out of the area -- try to get themselves oriented and figure out what they need to pack and bring to Bellingham for their four week stay.
This session we will have students taking both the state approved fundamentals of home inspection course and the supplemental course for those with some training, but not enough to meet grandfathering … (4 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Gravel and Porous Materials
- 02/19/10 06:31 AM
At an inspection the other day I saw a heavy layer of gravel around the outside of a foundation and that reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a former student. The student was studying for a licensing exam and he wanted clarification as to the correct answer to an exam prep question.
The question said:
Which statement is the potential inspection concern when gravel (porous material) is in close proximity to the foundation around the perimeter of a home?
A. Gravel is easily disturbed, fine sand is better
B. Gravel is a primary cause of foundation cracks
C. The true … (10 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Iceman Cometh -- Unsafe At Any Speed
- 02/13/10 08:49 AM
The standards of practice for home inspectors in this state make it mandatory for a home inspector to traverse a roof if it can be done safely and without damaging the roof. This puts pressure on an inspector to, whenever possible, traverse the roof. There are times however when it is hard to follow through on this guideline. I try to start inspections fairly early in the morning and, this time of year in Bellingham and Whatcom County, that can lead to patches of ice on the roof.
I took this photo the other day from the ridge of the … (10 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Rodents -- Whatcom County Home Inspector (King of the House)
- 01/16/10 08:30 AM
Working in Bellingham and Whatcom County at King of the House Home Inspection, I know that, often, homeowners do not understand why there are mice or rats under the home. For the home inspector the answer might be quite obvious. That answer is that the rodents have easy access. These access points can be quite obvious, such as gaps at crawl space entry doors. Or the entry points can be more subtle.
In the photo below, while quite obvious in the photo, this entry point would not be readily apparent to a person walking around the perimeter of the home. This … (5 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Landscaping Style Steps
- 01/10/10 02:47 AM
Especially in wooded areas or where people garden, they often like "natural" steps. These are likely to be wood, such as logs, or stones such as in the photo below.
People can put in whatever kind of steps that they fancy. The fact is, however, that the risk of a tripping fall increases with these unconventional steps. Standard steps should have uniform risers that are not too high, virtually NEVER the case with these landscaping style steps. Also the tread will be too narrow compared to normal steps and, almost never, do they have handrails no matter how high they are. … (6 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Christmas Lights At James Street Estates (Part Two)
- 12/23/09 07:10 AM
Earlier today I posted a piece with photos from James Street Estates. In all of Whatcom county, over the last decade or more, several years, I do not think that any location is as recognized for the Christmas lighting as is James Street Estates -- a manufactured home park tucked back behind the local Kmart.
There is so much color there that I wanted to post a few more photos that I took last night.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. Smith
… (2 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Christmas Lights at James Street Estates
- 12/23/09 07:03 AM
Over the weekend, I wrote a piece about the shortage of city sponsored Christmas decorations this year. That does not mean there are not Christmas lights. Over the past decade or more, those of us in this area who want to see bright Christmas color need only take a drive through James Street Estates which is kind of tucked behind the local Kmart.
This is a manufactured home park and the residents there take their decorations seriously. I went through there last night with the family and I will be posting some of the photos here. There were so many bright … (3 comments)
|
sumas home inspector: Christmas Lights
- 12/20/09 07:17 AM
In my post yesterday, where I compared city of Bellingham Christmas decorations fifty years ago to now, I got the attention of a few people. Ends up that, as far as the city goes, tall trees and extravagant lighting are things of the past.
I did not wish to imply that the spirit of Christmas lighting has died in our fair city. Many homeowners still have vivid displays of lighting. It is just that the city fathers seem to have zipped shut the coin purse when it comes to holiday festivities or lighting that is sponsored by the city.
Below is … (13 comments)
|
|
|
|
In my profession, operating King of the House Home Inspection, I see more than my share of water heater problems. The photo below is a creative arrangement. Since this is a summer home, when the residents vacate for the cold season, they simply discharge all of the water in the water heater into the crawl space below. 
;)
;)
;)
