Charles's Seattle Home Inspection Blog

If you take them for granted----they will drive you crazy!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:07:52 -0500

Hinges that is (nope----not talking about my sweetie this time).

Squeaky hinges.

Actually they are talking to you for a reason----in the only language they know.

Don’t you speak “Hinge?”

There are dozens of these devices in every home, on doors, on windows, on appliances, on cabinets etc, and they all require some amount of maintenance to keep them operating properly and keeping them from squeaking and wearing out.

When hinges squeak what is really happening?

Metal is grinding on metal. When metal grinds on metal little pieces of metal are coming off the hinge and creating additional grit that further grinds away the hinge.

The long and the short of it is that hinges need to be lubricated occasionally. Depending on how much the door is used, the hinges may need to be lubricated more frequently.

One thing that is very common with hinges that have removable pins----like bedroom doors----is that when the lubricant goes away, the hinge pin will work upwards out of the hinge. This leads to acceleration of the wear on the hinge. On this hinge we can see how far the pin has worked its way out of the hinge.

On the inside of the hinge we can see the “wisps” of dust at the seams of the hinge which is very fine metal particles from the deteriorating hinge----a sign that the hinge is under great stress for lack of lubrication.

Properly maintained hinges can last pretty much indefinitely----let them get like this and they will talk to you incessantly.

PS: Much thanks to Kate Ford, for figuring out that HINGES are VERY common in houses.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Spain

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:01:33 -0500

Things we take for granted!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:41:34 -0500

Today I would like to start with a simple question.

A----“What Am I” ----kind of question.

What is the most common single component in most people’s homes? (It is implied that the “component” is permanently attached to the home) I did a quick count in my house and there are at least 180 of them.

The question refers to things like windows (and components of windows), sinks, faucets, towel bars, etc. (And no----I don’t have 180 toilets.)

For the purpose of this exercise, I do not want to hear answers like: individual studs, joists, shingles, sheets of toilet paper, floor boards, tiles or pieces of siding.

This item is probably something that gets “taken for granted” and yet it is not just important, it is essential; and allows for the proper function of a tremendous number of things.

I have a post that I want to do about this absolutely essential component but first you have to tell me what it is.

So, What Am I?

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Rats----close your eyes before you look!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:08:16 -0500

In an attempt to obliterate the stressful memories inflicted on my readers with my recent post of me as the Naked Inspector, I thought I would replace it with images of Naked Rats.

At a recent inspection I was reminded of the fact that Rats are barely human. We all know what rats human beings can be, but actual rats are rarely to be outdone by human rat wannabe’s.

Rats bite!

Rats bite everything and anything-----they are required to----otherwise their teeth would grow around into their skulls leading to a nasty death----no matter how well deserved. Humans have a long history of hating rats and I am sure the feeling is mutual----except the rat is much more evolved in that they still see his enemy as food. While some cultures do see rats as food----this delicacy is not widespread----and I am grateful for that. I am more than willing to let this plentiful source of protein go to waste.

Back to my recent inspection.

I noticed that many of the vent screens in the crawl space were points of entry for these creatures of the night and they had apparently eaten through the hardware cloth screening of many of the crawl space vents.

Now I have heard of them eating through wire screening and even concrete, but this amount of damage seemed excessive. I finally realized that this hardware cloth was plastic! No wonder they had such an easy time of it----this realization returned them safely back to the realm of being more like humans. I can’t stand the thought of competing with something that can eat through wire and concrete. I am still trying to figure out why anyone would think that plastic would make an acceptable screening material against any kind of rodent----even humans could bite though the stuff.

Alert: My more squeamish readers might want to skip the next paragraph (even though I know you won’t).

I once had a barn in Cato, New York---near Syracuse----where I had lots of rats due to some stored grain. I started trapping them and caught perhaps 30 during the course of the winter. One morning I checked the traps and found a large rat with his head still in the trap----the rest of his body out of sight inside the hole in the floor. (Now this is where Edgar Allen Poe or the Marque de Sade would toss their cookies----but probably not Vlad Tepez. Trust me when I tell you, if this makes you squeamish, you do NOT want to Google Vlad Tepez----proof of who the real rats are.) When I picked up the trap to dispose of the poor critter I discovered much to my horror that his buddies had eaten everything below the floor level.

This was pretty much the final straw of whatever respect I had left for these lowly creatures.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Handrails and drunken squirrels!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:59:26 -0500

After all my years of building homes and inspecting homes, I sometimes lull myself into thinking that at some point I will have seen it all. The reality is that----with 6,770,700,212 people on the planet (as I write this post)----there may very well be “at least” 6,770,700,212 ways to do everything just a little bit different----or totally different----from everyone else.

As most of you that are already regular readers of Steve Smith’s blog and my own blog know, Steve is extraordinary----as in EXTRA-ordinary! He never ceases to amaze me. Whether it is with his hopeless and futile attempts to rescue Nutsy from himself and various “slugs-of-prey” that continuously stalk him, or in his total disregard for my musical tastes with his music posts. But nonetheless, it is painfully obvious that Steve does care for the little miscreant----even if he could care less about my hearing.

The latest proof of his strange and unnatural relationship with Nutsy was evident at his home the last time I visited. It also happens to be one of the “coolest” things I have seen in a house in quite a while and it pointed out that I have NOT yet seen it ALL.

Leave it to Steve to raise the bar----no pun intended.

As frequenters of our blog know all to well, Nutsy is known to slide on down to the corner bar to “tip a few” and then slide on home in the middle of the night. Apparently Steve had finally had enough of hearing a barely conscious Nutsy struggle to the top of the stairs----only to go tumbling all the way down till he crashed into the wall below. Perhaps Steve got secret pleasure in these late night acrobatics or maybe he got sick of patching the wall at the bottom of the stairs. My opinion? He actually felt sorry for the little alcohol flavored fur ball.

At any rate he installed a hand rail on the stairs just for Nutsy.

I know----I know----TOOOO hard to believe, but I swear on the mountain of crushed beer cans under Nutsy’s bed that I speak the truth.

All that remains is to teach Nutsy to use it!

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Inspectors GONE WILD!!!!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:14:10 -0500

The sight of most of the inspectors I know----myself included----running naked through a home doing inspections would NOT be a pretty sight. After September 1^st in the State of Washington some inspectors will in fact choose to “go naked.”

Not in the “bare-ass-naked” sense of the word, but they will be choosing to carry no insurance----theoretically “exposing themselves.”

On September 1^st, 2009, all home inspectors in the State of Washington will be required to be licensed (with a grace period allowed for some). As of that date they will no longer be required to be licensed Structural Pest Inspectors in order for them to report on Rot and conditions Conducive to Wood Destroying Organisms. Currently, to report on any of these conditions, including reporting on wood destroying insects, home inspectors are required to be licensed as Structural Pest Inspectors which required maintaining somewhat expensive insurance and doing continuing education.

The new law that requires the licensing of home inspectors----requires NO IN$URANCE. Inspectors are looking to save anywhere from $2,500.00 to $5,000 annually by dropping their Structural Pest Licenses. They are banking on getting around the reporting of the discovery of wood destroying insects with language that allows them to report on rot and conducive conditions. If they see so much as a beetle exit hole, a dead carpenter ant or a termite mud tube they will be required to call for “further evaluation by a licensed Structural Pest Inspector or a Pest Control Operator.”

This seems like an incredible disservice to the home buyer, further complicating the home-buying process and leaves the buyer with possible additional costs if a separate inspector has to be called in. All of this is in addition to the fact that the inspector will no longer be carrying insurance.

Many of us plan on keeping our Structural Pest Licenses to take better care of our buyers and to protect everyone involved in the transaction.

Can you imagine the following scenario? The Naked Inspector calls for further evaluation of what looks like wood destroying insect damage and says, “We need further evaluation here, but why don’t you save a step and just call the Pest Control Company----then they can tell you what kind of critters you got and then they can kill them off all in one smooth operation?” We all know that ALL pest control companies are beyond reproach and are ALWAYS honest, but hey-----is this REALLY a good idea? Is this really looking out for the best interest of the consumer?

Most of the existing inspectors that have in the past been Licensed Structural Pest Inspectors will no doubt continue to find a way to adequately take care of their buyers. But what about the newer inspectors that will not even know what they are seeing----or not seeing?

So my question to agents out there: will you be recommending Naked Inspectors?

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Unique “Free” Auxiliary Heating System!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:22:49 -0500

Since 1991, there has been a requirement provide a mechanical means of changing the air in homes. This came about as we started making houses too tight for them to do it on their own----the way they would when they were just naturally leaky as a sieve.

There are probably at least 10 ways to meet this requirement----and I don’t’ want to use up all of these blog post possibilities in one post, so today I only want to discuss the method I saw at a recent inspection.

It is very common to utilize the bathroom or laundry fan in conjunction with a 24 hour type timer so that the timer can be set to automatically turn the fan on at set intervals. This particular installation was one that I favor (over some of the others) when there is a forced air heating system in the home. This method employs an air intake from outdoors into the air distribution plenum. There is an automatic damper installed so that the duct is only open to the outdoors when the timer tells it to be open and won’t open when the furnace is running. When the timer is set it will turn an exhaust fan on (in this case the laundry fan) and open up the damper at the furnace. This allows outdoor air to be pulled through all the ductwork into the individual rooms on its way to the exhaust fan in the laundry----and in this way very effectively change the house air. This picture shows the air intake pipe and its attachment to the furnace plenum. It also shows the automatic damper location in the intake duct.

The interesting thing about this set-up was that the air intake was run up through the garage ceiling into the attic space----instead of to the “actual” outdoors. Now some would argue that the attic is “sort of outdoors.” But let me ask a question----how outdoors is it if it is 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the attic? Now in the winter this might not be too much of a problem and might actually reduce the heating needs of the home but what about all summer when the fan turns on and pulls hot air into the home. This gets even more problematic if there is air conditioning in the home.

In this picture you can see my infrared thermometer pointing at the air intake.

I did not wait to see just how hot this duct would get but there was 80 degree air being delivered to the rooms. The sun beating on the black roof would likely keep up with the demand of the fan. Of course the simplest solution would be to only run the fan at night---but that would not fix the issue of the intake in the attic being inaccessible.

These intakes typically need a screen over them which need to be periodically cleaned.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The House of ActiveRain---NOT your average Disaster House!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:02:57 -0500

The other day I got a call from The Do It Yourself network and the TV show “Disaster House.” One of the producers of the show had done a Google search for “bad stairs” and had landed at my blog on ActiveRain. We chatted for awhile----with the end result that I gave the guy permission to use a few of my pictures on one of their shows they have in the works.

It is one thing to see your own info come up when you do a Google search about yourself, but when someone else does it and finds you it feels different. My blog is not particularly geared towards ending up on TV, but I will take “exposure” in whatever form it shows up as. Most of the time I think about my SEO in terms of making myself visible to people looking for home inspections. But in the bigger picture, when someone finds me for information that they can use for other purposes it still all goes to building my overall visibility----and that seems like a good thing!

As I keep plodding along with my blog, doing my best to post consistently, a kind of momentum builds up where you realize you are reaching into other people’s lives in ways you never imagined. The SEO I was desperate to figure out when I only had 3000 points now seems to be so much more apparent as I cross the 300,000 point barrier with this post----even though----I still have no “real” clue of what SEO is all about!

Thank you ActiveRain.

Thanks to all my subscribers (and dare I say fans?)

A special thanks to all of those who regularly comment on my blog----you know who you are---and if you are not sure, comment more!

I don’t have the balls to make a list of my most loyal commenters for fear I would leave someone out.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Your Home Inspector WILL miss things!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:59:36 -0500

We only see what we see. This seems obvious enough, but I think there is the perception that inspectors see everything.

While I like to think that issues of “significance” won’t be missed on an inspection, there is a whole host of “less significant” issues that WILL be missed in the context of a home inspection. This is a “promise” I feel that I can keep. If the home is heavily staged or packed to the gills with storage and belongings the odds of missing things goes way up.

It is important for the buyer to realize that in the “relatively” short time the inspector is at the home the inspector will do their best (hopefully) to be as inclusive of defects as possible. However, it would be unrealistic to expect the inspector to find everything. The inspection report can be seen as a guide to the kinds of defects that are present and should be anticipated. For example I might report on a missing junction box cover in a particular location. When all belongings and storage are removed from the home---others may be discovered.

I was reminded of this the other day when I found something that could easily have been missed----for some reason I did not miss it---but would not have been surprised if I had.

Inside the crawl space under the front porch there was a “less than professionally wired” receptacle that I noted.

The more curious thing about this receptacle was that I had not noticed it on the outside----and with good reason.

It was not there to notice.

If it was there, the area outlined in red would be its approximate location.

The siding was new and the receptacle location had been sided over.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Structural Pest Inspector, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Is “missing” duct tape an Oxymoron?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:01:33 -0500

First I would like to set the visual stage of this next post.

In homes that are occupied, it is not uncommon for the cabinet under the kitchen sink to look like the following picture. More often than not when one opens the cabinet door something falls out. Just as often it is next to impossible to really see what is going on under there. Most inspectors----me included----will have some sort of basic CYA for such occasions.

I will come back to the storage in a minute, but right now I want to discuss the disposal----which I had to kill due to a large crack in the side of the unit. This crack had been caulked but nonetheless leaked considerably when operated. In this picture I think you should be able to see the black caulk material used to cover over the crack on the side of the disposal----the area enlarged in the photo on the right.

After moving a few of the miscellaneous spray bottles from around the area below the crack the evidence of past/present leaking became apparent.

There is no “fixing” a crack like this----with or without duct tape.

Time for a new disposal.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Seattle---where else.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:01:06 -0500

Deal killer coffee!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:09:18 -0500

Everyone knows that Seattle and Starbucks both begin with “S” and are “S”ynonymous with coffee.

The other day I was inspecting a house and someone had made a heating system duct grille out of a coffee can. It was probably not very functional as it could neither be completely closed or completely opened as it depended on just a few permanent holes to allow heat out of the plenum.

It was only providing a little bit of heat to a storage area of the basement and may have been effective enough. I like to think that when it was new it made the basement smell like coffee----I could find no way to brew it into a deal killer.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

They have no redeeming social value!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:31:29 -0500

I like to think I am a “live and let live” kind of guy----but some things----for lack of a better way to put it----HAVE NO REDEEMING SOCIAL VALUE!

I am talking about your garden variety, Big Orange Toolbox, chrome plumbing traps. I know you were hoping for something more controversial but this is the best I can do today.

Back in the “good ole days”---(you remember: before penicillin & Novocain, when women rode side saddle, and it took a year to get across the country)----chrome traps were made out of brass that was thicker than a termites wing and lasted long enough to perhaps warrant making them out of brass.

Today it is a waste of natural resources to make them out of brass because they begin to fail as soon as they are installed and can fail within a couple of years----sometimes sooner. To make them affordable they HAVE to be as thin as a termite’s wing. I always recommend “pre-emptive strikes” on these traps. If you have these traps in your home, just reach down and feel the bottom of the trap. If it feels “rough” it is starting to fail. They corrode from the inside out.

Take a look at this trap. It is not leaking yet but will soon.

All of those yellowish brown and green spots are where the trap is starting to corrode from the inside out.

PVC traps will last indefinitely and will clog less as well----and they are easier to install with less leaking. If you must use chrome ones on sinks where the plumbing shows----spend a $100.00 on the good ones----they still won’t last as long as the “dollar-three-eighty-seven” ones.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

A chimney’s crowning moment.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:01:47 -0500

Perhaps the most important component of a chimney is the Crown (mortar cap) around the flue at the top of the chimney----and a proper hat on the flue itself. This post is not about the kinds of damage that can be done to chimneys from the inside by the appliances that are connected to them. Today’s post is about the kind of damage that happens to chimneys from external forces----namely WATER! Water can be just as hard on masonry as it can be on wood, and like wood, must be properly constructed to protect it the best that it can be from water damage. This Mortar Cap, or Crown, rarely gets done properly. The mortar cap should hang past the edges of the chimney so that water sheds off the top of the chimney---kind of like the overhang on the roof of the house keeps the roof water from running down the siding----if there are no gutters. This necessary overhang is not present 99% of the time on chimneys and 99% of those that have overhangs have no drip groove on the underside that prevents water from wrapping around the overhang. Most chimneys suffer from lack of an overhanging cap.

The basic purpose of the crown (and the flue hat) is to keep water out of the chimney structure. This is especially important in regions where temperatures drop below freezing. Water that freezes inside of chimneys expands and destroys bricks and mortar----which allows for even more water infiltration.

It should be obvious from this first picture that water WILL enter the chimney structure.

The mortar joints can deteriorate to the extent that holes will become visible all the way through the chimney----as was the case with this chimney.

Can you see the metal flue furnace-flue liner between the bricks?

Most chimneys have a crown of mortar that is merely a think layer of concrete troweled around the flue and terminated flush with the face of the brick. This creates a very thin area at the brick edges that cracks and loosens easily. It is much better to pour a more monolithic concrete slab that has enough thickness that it is not subject to the expansion and contraction cracking typical of very thin mortar crowns. Ideally this crown will overhang the face of the brick on all sides and have a drip groove on the underside of the overhang to prevent water from wrapping around onto the brick face. In any event the crown must be kept sealed so that moisture cannot get into any cracks that do form in the cap as well as at the connection of the cap and the flue. A large hat on the flue can also aid in protecting this vulnerable area. This next picture shows a poorly made and badly deteriorated mortar crown that no longer protects the chimney structure at all.

This particular chimney (and there are many like them) is constructed of bricks that are hollow. These types of chimneys are particularly vulnerable to damage from water once the water finds its way into the structure.

One particular method of attempting to create a more functional crown is for the mason to overhang the top rows of bricks. While this is “somewhat” better than NO overhang, it still has no drip groove on the underside and the mortar cap is still too thin at the edge of the bricks. If you look closely at this next picture you will see the failing of the thin edge of the mortar cap, the gaps around the flues, and the obvious crack through the mortar cap extending down the center face of the chimney. All of these conditions allow for large amounts of water to enter the chimney structure.

Now if you would like to see how they are “supposed” to be done, check out this schematic from the Masonry Advisory Council.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

I live under a log----now GO AWAY!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:34:55 -0500

Home Inspector Licensing has happened to Washington State.

I for one am excited about it. I see it as a starting point for turning what, up until now, would best be described as a, “rag-tag band of alpha-wolves roaming the local real estate” into an ACTUAL profession.

Some of these wolves were (and are) very good inspectors and do their best to provide the best of service to the consumer. There have even been home inspector associations that attempted to raise the bar by creating their own Standards of Practice and minimum requirements for membership. The problem is that there were (and are) many associations with very different qualification protocols, and agendas---not to mention that they only affected whomever chose to join them----which left the majority of inspectors outside of anyone’s oversight.

The process of bringing Licensing to Washington State has been going on for many years, but very specifically, the last five years. The whole process of licensing involved years of hearings and public meetings that were well publicized, televised and made unbelievably accessible on the internet. The pros and cons have been argued on all the major home inspector internet forums until most inspectors’ monitors could have resulted in the “blue-screen-of-death.” The result has been a licensing law that, while not perfect, is a good start by establishing minimum educational requirements (including testing) for all inspectors in the state, providing a common Standards of Practice, providing a common Code of Ethics, and requiring continuing inspection education.

Some of the “old guard” are being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century of Home Inspection.

And this brings me to the real topic of this post.

HOW CAN THERE BE ANYONE IN WASHINGTON STATE THAT DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS LAW???

And yet, this is apparently the case as the state has had to set up some special meetings to give inspectors that may have literally been living under a log for the last five years a chance to understand what they must do to become licensed. To have not heard about licensing would mean that they never heard about it on the news;

Never read about it in the papers;

Never heard about it from the WSDA (where it was discussed at most continuing education sessions----leading one to conclude that perhaps they are not Licensed Structural Pest Inspectors as required by law);

Did not hear about it as a member of any of the National Inspection Associations (again begging the question if they are operating under anyone’s Standards of Practice and continuing education);

Did not hear about it on the Internet (begging the question of how much they access internet inspector forums etc);

Did not hear about it from other more involved inspectors (making one wonder if they ever consult with, or have communications with other inspectors); or,

Are pretending to not have ever heard about it, with the hope that it won’t be true (and we all know that hope is frosting on a turd).

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT OTHER OPTIONS I AM MISSING!!

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Steeped in Wordless Wednesday

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:09:44 -0500

Sing it: “Yes time, time, time is on my side, yes it is!”

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:32:01 -0500

One of the basic principles of roof shingles is that each course of shingles overlaps the previous course. This is not rocket science. Birds do it with feathers, lizards do it with scales. With shingles, feathers, or scales, if the lower courses overlap the upper courses, the shingles won’t shed water, the birds will get all wet, and the snakes won’t be able to slither.

At a recent inspection, as I approached the house there was nothing that “jumped out” as problematic with the roof from a distance----from what we call the “big view” of the home.

It was obvious that the carport did not have the same “type” of shingles as the rest of the home but that is not necessarily problematic. Once on the roof however it became apparent that someone forgot something about 10 years ago when the house was re-shingled.

They forgot to shingle more than half of the carport.

For ten years, whatever amount of rain that hit the roof above the last course of newer shingles has had the opportunity to run under the newer shingles. One would think that the roof structure below might be a mess, but in this case the underlying original roof was still protecting the roof from damage----pretty amazing really----since every nail hole of the new shingles is an opportunity for water to find its way into the roof structure.

Time is not on its side however----time to finish the roof.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Getting back to where we are!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:21:41 -0500

First of all let me state right up front that my understanding of economics and the current melt down would best be described as somewhere between marginal and margarine. Based on what I hear other people saying about it----I would gather that I am not alone.

If there is any “consistency” in what I hear it is that EVERYONE has the “right” answer----or at very least everyone else’s answer can not possibly be right----and most seem to be willing to have their own personal “melt-down” in support of their opinions. This seems to go beyond the typical rhetoric spewed by political parties----that have their own agendas----and seems to touch something much more personal. It is usually difficult to have a “bigger view” of things when we are talking about things that appear to be robbing our wallets.

A common thread that seems to run through these opinions is that most people define their view from a position of LOSS----“WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS?”----or, from a position of WAITING----“HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR US TO GET BACK THERE?”

The other day I did a post equating the situation to a 6” balloon that had been blown up to be twice as big as it should be. Regardless of its 12” size it was still “really” just a 6” balloon----and even more vulnerable than a balloon already is.

To accept that the current economic climate is a “crisis” we must first accept that the place we have fallen from is some place we should strive to get back to. Perhaps that place was merely an illusion to begin with. This goes way beyond the idea of “bubble busting.” It is almost as if we have succumbed to some sort of collective hypnosis that compels us to actually believe we have lost something. The concept that anything can “burst” seems flawed to me in itself, and in a way seems like a way to justify our feeling sorry for ourselves for our poor choices or "unluckiness." After all, if something “actually” falls apart, as opposed to returning to some logical paradigm, it is easier to save face in the light of losing millions in “artificial value.” Kind of like, since we are all in the same boat, we all sink or swim together. What this type of thinking does not take into account, in my opinion, is that, “WE HAVE ALL ALWAYS BEEN IN THE SAME BOAT ALL ALONG!”

I have made LOTS of mistakes in my life and have lost everything (Material things) twice----it is only now that everyone else is loosing everything, that I have come to realize that I never had anything to loose to begin with----that all the money that I have never been able to put away, or invest, has also evaporated for everyone else that did put some away or invested it "wisely." I always knew that I would never be able to retire, and so I made sure that I always loved what I was doing----now it looks like I will have lots of company in non-retirement.

As long as we think that what is “valuable” can be totaled up on an Excel spreadsheet, stored in a garage, worn to the mall, or put our kids through college, we will always be vulnerable to blowing up the balloon past its intended size. We don’t need a tea-party to throw off the oppressors that are taking everything away, we need a tea-party to celebrate how rich we are----and everyone is invited.

So you see the real question does not seem to be, “How can we get back to where we were?”

----but more about, “How can we get back to where we are?”

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Pandora’s Box----you just need the right key!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:13:04 -0500

Locked treasure chests--and even long lost ordinary trunks & briefcases----have always fascinated people, and most people would admit to unwarranted curiosity and unrealistic expectations as to what might be inside them.

Money is probably the first thing that most people think of.

Or perhaps old love letters?

Directions to another hidden chest?

False teeth?

Stuff I never inhaled?

A lock from baby's first hair cut?

The REAL will of Howard Hughes?

My Luv Bug has such a chest---well not really a chest so much as a tiny metal jewelry box. If you didn’t know the scale, you might think it was huge----it is actually only about 5” long.

The problem?-----there was no Key.

The other night she asked me if I knew anyone that might be able to make a key for it----a nice Brass Key----like the box & lock. I said I would give it a try.

First I had to go buy a piece of 3/8” diameter brass rod----not the kind of thing one can find at the Big Orange Toolbox. Of course the shortest piece I could find was 36” long (I only needed a two inch piece)-----and I had to drive 15 miles round trip to get it. So eight dollars and an hour later I am back home and hunkered down in my workshop.

It is amazing what you can attempt to do with a hacksaw, a pair of vice-grips, a belt sander, and some sand paper----no duct tape in sight.

The next few pictures will take you sequentially through the steps to the finished key.

This is my first try at the basic shape of the key----and where the belt sander comes in. Unfortunately my first attempt was too short, so I had to make a second one (good thing I had plenty of rod). The second try looked just like this next picture---except longer.

Here the "key blank" is starting to look more like what it is supposed to look like.

Of course every key has to have a hole----how else is it not going to get lost again.

Now for the sandpaper to get rid of the rough edges.

The key does fit in the lock---how did that happen?

With every treasure-chest opening adventure (remember the safe on Titanic?) there comes.......

....the “moment of truth.”

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Kicking some frass to get the job done on time!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:29:38 -0500

The Shoreline, Washington chapter of the Local Carpenter Ant Union has a brand new headquarters.

The union hall sports a shiny metal roof with natural cedar siding----in an all natural setting. Rooted in the traditions of NW logging, and in conjunction with the local Bird Watchers Society and the Shoreline Arts Council, the structure was designed with many bird houses and galleries throughout.

What is truly unique about this building is the "look" of having NO windows! The remarkable, "look-just-like-whatever-siding-you-happen-to-be-using-type-glass" is expected to revolutionize building design----allowing us to have entire cities that look just like forests.

The day I visited, there were many Carpenters on site busily completing last minute details. Everyone was getting antsy with the grand opening only days away.

About all that remained was for the grounds crews to recycle the sawdust piling up around the entrances to the building----kind of a pain in the frass---but all in a days work for the grounds crew, which took their “green mandate” very seriously.

It’s all just compost anyway.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

The Last Dance of Sparky the Mouse!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:45:42 -0500

Do you have a Wireless Mouse?

I am sure this is one mouse that wishes he was “wireless”---if he can wish at all. This little guy was probably doing OK roaming around inside this electrical panel until he touched two wires that were on different “poles.” Mice, like all mammals, are not designed to BE 240 volt appliances and death would have been instantaneous.

This little guy, in spite of being quite dead, still represents a health safety hazard. (I am assuming "he" is a “he” because something like 99% of all electricians are guys----and why else would he be in the electric panel? Women do make mistakes regarding things they are clueless about----can’t believe I thought that out loud, but messing with things electrical seems to be primarily the domain of Mice and Men.) This particular mouse is a White Footed Deer Mouse, and as such is a known vector for Hantavirus.

While instances of Hantavirus are quite rare, these critters and their feces/urine must be handled with a fair amount of respect due to possible health concerns---no matter how remote.

They are generally considered to be more of a problem in rural areas. The primary approach to protection from exposure to Hantavirus is geared toward keeping mice out of the house----and out of electrical panels.

Let’s leave fooling around with electricity to the “stupid”----not the “ignorant.”

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Does your house wear a Johnson Tee?

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:51:36 -0500

What the heck is a Johnson Tee?

Most people are familiar with the air gap device that is present at the kitchen sink that prevents drainage water from flowing back into the dishwasher (nice thought). When they are plumbed backwards they make nice little fountains into the sink.

There is another method of venting the dishwasher that, while a little less common, does the same thing----the “Johnson Tee.” These things have been around for a long time----at least 1976 when I built my first house. With this method of venting you won’t find the washer drain connected to the disposal or drain under the kitchen sink the way it would be with the countertop air gap. It leaves a much cleaner look and doesn’t use up the extra hole in the sink---which can then be used for something else---like a soap dispenser, a hot water tap or a push button vacuum switch for the disposal.

With the Johnson Tee, the drain and washer connections are all behind the dishwasher and inside the wall cavity. The actual vent portion is at the exterior of the home (although sometimes it might be found on the backsplash). This is what the assembly looks like inside the wall before the wall finish is installed. Note near the very bottom of the picture is where the drain from the washer will hook to.

At the top is where the Tee portion goes through the wall to the exterior and will have a finish cap installed that looks like the one in this next picture.

Like the countertop type air gap device, if you see water or foam coming out of the cap it is an indication of problems with the dishwasher drain and a plumber should be called to make repairs. The biggest problem that the Johnson Tee encounters is that the holes at the exterior get painted over----which prevents proper function----so the holes must be maintained open. Another thing that is common is that the test caps get left in place and never properly finished.

This can be remedied by simply drilling a few small holes in the cap or by cutting the cap off and installing the more decorative type pictured above.

So make sure your house is wearing its Johnson Tee properly.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Wordless Wednesday in Washington State

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:14:40 -0500

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

If the furnace can’t vent----I will.

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:06:16 -0500

HVAC Technicians bug me.

Believe me when I say that I wish I could put down my broad brush of criticism----but I can’t---and I have tried.

Of course your HVAC service person would never have to be painted with my broad brush.

It is very common to call for servicing of heating equipment in the context of the home inspection. I am perpetually amazed at what “servicing” means to these guys. I have had to become much more “proactive” in specifying exactly what I want included in “servicing”----otherwise things rarely look much different “later” than they did “before.”

For example, did you know that it is “unusual” for servicing to include checking for carbon monoxide?

Or that it does not include vacuuming dirt and debris out of the interior of the furnace compartment?

That it does not include inspection of the interior and exterior of the furnace venting?

Lets take a typical furnace that has not been serviced for a while and the inspector notices large amounts of white “condensate” all over the vent connectors, inside the furnace compartment and perhaps all over the floor. The combustion by-products of a gas furnace are made up of slightly acidic moisture. Under normal furnace operation this particulate is vented to the exterior of the home. For various reasons it can condense inside the vent and drip out of the pipe connections and back into the furnace or onto the floor---leading to corrosion of furnace components and/or the venting system itself. Here are a couple of pictures of what this condensate looks like.

If the HVAC Service Person comes in and services the unit and leaves all of this condensate in place how is anyone coming later going to make any kind of reasonable statements about its presence. We would be foolish to assume that it means nothing just because there is a sticker on the furnace that states it was serviced yesterday.

There can be lots of causes of the presence of condensate at furnace components and almost all of them are not good----hence the reason inspectors will call for the furnace to be serviced.

It just feels really weird to call for servicing when it was just serviced yesterday----or even a month ago.

The next two vent pipe pictures were taken in the attic. The vent pipe is for a furnace that had a service record that showed “annual” servicing. It takes a long time for vent pipes to get to this sorry state----a lot longer than a year.

Why wouldn’t checking this pipe---both inside and out---be a routine part of every furnace servicing?

I have seen bees completely block a vent during the summer when the furnace is not being used and then the furnace does not vent properly when fired up in the fall.

I am done venting now----so is the furnace.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Have a nice trip----and see you next fall!

Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:56:17 -0500

Is the walkway that leads visitors to your front door “welcoming” or is it a law suit waiting to happen?

Homeowners love to get “creative” when it comes to making decorative walkways and patios. What they often forget is to think about the safety of these surfaces. Combinations of interesting looking materials can result in conditions that could lead to trips and falls----especially when trying to negotiate the walkway in the dark.

Ones first impression of the walkway in the picture below is, “Wow----that is cool!” Well at least that is what I thought, when I saw it in the listing photos and couldn’t see the all important details.

When faced with the task of actually using the walkway, one can imagine it might be better to have no walkway at all.

Walkways should be without uneven surfaces----and should not have trip hazards.

When it comes to creating safe walkways, form should follow function----before entertaining notions more “artsy-fartsy.”

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, Charles Buell Inspections Inc, Seattle, WA

Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.