orinda: The Dark Side of Ivy
- 03/07/12 11:28 AM
Ivy can look beautiful on house walls and brick chimneys, if maintained. The thick, green texture gives your home a woodsy feel. It can provide a canopy over a trellis or pergola.There is a dark side to ivy, though. As the ivy tendrils (a slender, whiplike or threadlike plant strand specialized to anchor and support vines) dig deep into brick; it can actually grow through the brick and mortar, damaging your home and chimney.Ivy had fully engulfed this chimney. From the roof, the home inspector could barely make out the spark arrestor/raincap assembly on top; and could not see the … (6 comments)
orinda: Telltale Signs
- 02/17/12 12:29 PM
A good property inspector is always on the lookout for telltale signs. A door that rubs its frame… Exposed electrical wires… Loose handrails… Missing smoke detectors, etc. High water marks under a house; usually gets people’s attention. In the photo, the bottom of a heating/cooling duct in the crawlspace is rusted in a straight line… A telltale sign that the duct sat in water approximately 6-8” deep. This isn’t good. Who knows what grows inside a duct when water intrudes. Can’t be healthy. High water marks or silt marks can occur when:-There are no installed roof gutters-Downspouts discharge water next to … (4 comments)
orinda: What Happened?
- 01/20/12 03:03 PM
The crawlspace... You know it as the dark, creepy place under the house, filled with spiders and other critters. For the plumber, the electrician and the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) contractors... It's the shallow unfinished space beneath the first floor to provide access to the plumbing, wiring and heating/cooling ducts.Home inspectors ‘love’ crawl spaces, which is why they save crawling under the house usually as their last inspection step. Put a group of seasoned home inspectors together and ask them what they've seen in crawlspaces. They'll tell you they've seen it all. The shoes...What happened? Do they belong … (5 comments)
orinda: Under the Sink
- 01/05/12 02:54 PM
What is a P-Trap? Take a look under any bathroom or kitchen sink. If the plumbing was professional installed, you'll see a u-shape pipe with a pipe 'leg' running to the back of the cabinet... It looks like the letter P laying down.
This is called a p-trap. Its design has two purposes: First, to allow the water from the sink to flow out and to keep sewer gas from coming in; it's in the U portion of the drain that water literally sits and forms a seal (water seal)...
...and Secondly, the p-trap can catch items that might go … (3 comments)
orinda: Amazing Tenacious Termites
- 01/04/12 04:53 PM
Happy new year! Termites have lived longer than the dinosaurs and continue to eat their way through all the wood they can find. Termites are 24/7 bugs, which means they eat non-stop - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have hard, saw-toothed jaws that help them to eat lumber, wallpaper, plastics and fabric make of plant fibers. These pests cause up to $2 billion of damages per year. Termite Fact: The total weight of all of the termites in the world is greater than the weight of all the humans in the world... Believe it or not... (don't … (3 comments)
orinda: Plugged... Not Good
- 12/18/11 12:22 PM
This is a temperature pressure relief valve (TPR valve) on a water heater.
A TPR valve is a safety valve.
If something goes wrong with the water heater (i.e., the water heater doesn't turn Off after reaching the set temperature)... the valve is designed to open when a certain internal tank temperature or pressure is reached... and the hot scalding water under pressure flows out a discharge pipe to the exterior per today's requirements.
In this photo, there's no installed discharge pipe and the TPR valve has been plugged... Defeating the purpose of a safety valve... Not good.
The purpose of a plumbing trap under your house sinks is to prevent odorous sewer gases from entering the house back through the sink and tub drains... By having water sit in the trap, it effectively blocks sewer gas. There are two basic types of traps: P and S configurations. Both configurations have a trap section, which is a U-shape pipe where water sits in the U and creates a water seal between the sewer gases found at the street sewer system and the house interior. The P-trap water discharge is a horizontal pipe to a wall, rather than … (1 comments)
During a recent Walnut Creek home inspection, it was discovered that a homeowner had plugged in 5 extension cords and a washing machine into a power strip located in a Walnut Creek garage. Every year, thousands of fires result from surge protectors, power strips and electrical cords. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that about 3,300 residential fires originate in extension cords/power strips each year, killing 50 people and injuring about 270 others. What’s the big deal? The most frequent causes of such fires are short circuits, overloading, damage, and/or misuse of extension cords. Surge protectors, … (3 comments)
orinda: A Different Way
- 11/11/11 01:15 PM
Just when the seasoned home inspector thinks he’s seen it all… a new photo op presents itself. To connect electrical service to a house...the non-insulated electrical service cable is secured to the house service mast with a wire holder clamped to the mast. In this photo, someone used a rope instead of a wire holder… Not good. The end result (at the time the photo was taken) is that the insulation on the black cable has been damaged by the cables rubbing together in the wind. If the non-insulated cable contacts the metal conductor of the black cable … (1 comments)
orinda: Just When You Think You've Seen It All
- 11/05/11 07:00 AM
Take one oscillating fan, wire for attachment and an extension cord... And you have all the makings of a low cost attic fan in the truest sense. On the plus side: very creative thinking... On the downside: a portable fan at one exhaust vent is not effective... consumes electricity... adds more heat from the fan motor... and creates an electrical safety hazard using extension cord wiring. Attic ventilation is one of the single most important aspects of your home when it comes maintaining high energy efficiency and interior comfort levels. A good attic ventilation system is designed to expel solar heated hot air … (1 comments)
orinda: Makes You Wonder
- 10/21/11 05:31 AM
The crawlspace… You know it as the dark, creepy place under the house, filled with spiders and other critters.
For the plumber, the electrician and the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) contractor… It’s the shallow unfinished space beneath the first floor to provide access to the plumbing, wiring and heating/cooling ducts.
Home inspectors love crawl spaces, which is why they save crawling under the house usually as their last inspection step. Put a group of seasoned home inspectors together and ask them what they’ve seen in crawlspaces.
They’ll tell you they’ve seen it all… … (0 comments)
orinda: A Sign
- 10/17/11 04:07 PM
Merriam-Webster: Definition of SIGN: 6b - something indicating the presence or existence of something else <signs of moisture> Every so often, home inspectors encounter mushrooms in damp crawlspaces. When water seeps into a crawl space for many reasons, it creates the perfect environment for mushroom spores to begin growing, if present. For the inspectors at Pacific Coast Inspections… it’s not uncommon to identify several other property conditions (signs) associated with mushroom growth: No gutters… Partial gutters… Clogged downspouts… Downspouts terminate next to building… Negative grading… Walkways slope to foundation… Poor yard drainage... Crawlspace ventilation… Bio-growth under house… Sprinklers… Hillside… … (1 comments)
orinda: Photo Worth 1000 Words
- 10/10/11 04:28 AM
Sometimes the home inspector discovers more than one condition requiring attention from a single photo. A 10" floor beam supporting a 1986 Danville, CA house subfloor had been over- notched to accommodate a drain pipe from an addition... Not to mention that the cut end of the beam wasn’t supported with an added post and pier. This can affect the condition of the floor above… such as a sagging floor, a floor that deflects when walked on, cracks may develop in a tiled floor, or cause a door to rub its frame. The 4” ABS plastic drain/waste line didn’t … (0 comments)
orinda: Glass in the House
- 10/06/11 12:15 PM
When ordinary window plate glass is broken, it breaks into angular shards which are very sharp, and can seriously injury someone… not so good.
One of the major disadvantages of plate glass is that it can be very brittle. For this reason, safety glass is used in situations where glass might be broken.
When safety window glass is struck, it breaks into small pebble-like pieces, without sharp edges as shown in the photo… a good thing.
Tempered (safety) glass is now required in specified locations including all door glass, most large windows which have their bottom edge … (1 comments)
orinda: Rock 'n Roll Time
- 09/29/11 03:40 PM
Out in California, we're in earthquake country. Residential building requirements revolve around seismic bolting, bracing and retrofits - all in concert to minimize earthquake damage. Each time there's a sizeable earthquake in California, seismic engineers often study the damage done to buildings... in an effort to learn more and update residential building codes for seismic safety. For the most part, if a house was built, modified or upgraded by a licensed contractor... the various components of a house meet the current residential building codes. There seems to be homeowners, who want to make a modification themselves to save a buck. Take … (1 comments)
orinda: Electrical Wiring 101
- 09/29/11 03:03 PM
It was obvious to the home inspector, that whoever installed this electrical wiring, failed Electrical Wiring 101.
Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder what else in the house could be a potential electrical safety concern. This is a great example why home inspections benefit homebuyers. With the number of forclosures and shortsales these day, many real estate purchases are 'as-is' sales... with no warranty and in its present condition. If you're an investor with a crew that flips houses and has a licensed electrican you can call... It's probably no big deal. The typical homebuyer may … (2 comments)
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