deq: Universal signs of trouble for Home Inspectors - 11/12/10 09:23 AM
Universal symbols are everywhere these days. Traffic signs especially have pictures and symbols instead of words so that any person, know matter what language they speak, can understand what is expected of them.  There are universal symbols that all good home inspectors should recognize as well.  Mushrooms growing out of your siding, large cracks in foundations and carpenter ants streaming out of a sill-plate are all things that any Marion or Polk county home inspector should recognize as a universal symbol of problems.
Another important universal symbol for home inspectors recognize in this area are two small copper lines, going into the ground in garages … (3 comments)

deq: Sorry, you can't heat with that anymore!! - 08/30/10 11:15 AM

Since the first of August of 2010 some major changes have happened regarding wood stoves and what
 needs to happen to them during a real estate transaction.
Just like the wonderful smoke detector laws (ORS 479.297) the new wood stove rules will be one of the few requirements that sellers will need to comply with before the sale of their home.
Under the guise of environmental protection the Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality has decided that wood stoves built before 1985 must be removed if the home is part of a real estate transaction.  To be fair, wood stoves that are 25 years old or older … (5 comments)

deq: Heating Oil Tank Program in Oregon - 03/10/09 04:28 PM
The presence of oil tanks is an issue that can rear its ugly head on an inspection every now and then.  Thankfully the Oregon DEQ is doing something to help.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) here in Oregon, has a program to help keep track of those oil tanks that may have been forgotten.
  The site is:  http://deq12.state.or.us/fp20/
If excavation or redevelopment is planned you can find information on known and suspected Heating Oil Tanks (HOT).  Information on: if the site has received a closure letter for the decommissioning, assessment and certification of a HOT is available.
  If … (4 comments)