Seattle Home Inspector's Blog

     The other day James Quarello, Connecticut home inspector, did an excellent post about pull down attic stairs.  And if you want some good additional information regarding installation of these stairs I hope you will visit his post.

     This post is about one of the worst installations of these stairs I have ever seen.  While they are almost always installed improperly or have other serious defects that can result in collapse or maiming, this installation also resulted in serious structural damage to the roof structure.

     Most of these stairs are conveniently designed to fit between ceiling joists or trusses that are spaced 24 inches on center.  The installer of these stairs decided that they wanted the stairs to run perpendicular to the trusses.  This required that two of the trusses be cut----bottom chords as well as diagonal web members.

     The blue dotted lines show the trusses that have been cut.

     These next two pictures show the cut trusses in the attic space.

     It is a safe bet that the same installer also did the wiring visible at the light.

     Now a structural engineer will need to be called in to design proper repairs to the damaged trusses----one of the hidden costs of not knowing what one is doing, or worse---not caring.  Hopefully the stairs will be abandoned in favor of the access opening visible at the right side of the first picture.  These trusses are not designed for the weight of storage and using the space for storage will hopefully be abandoned as well.

     Truss me---this is a better approach .

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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 have been missing from the Rain for a few days so that I could travel to Connecticut for the funeral of my dad who passed away on April 10^th----just shy of his 92^nd birthday. 

     I was going to say that he passed away after a long illness but that is not as accurate as saying that he passed away after a long, full and interesting life.  Sure the end was perhaps drawn out, and----he was blessed with never loosing his great mind----right up until the end.

     It is often said that, in the end, the person with the most toys “wins,” but I find that, since you can’t take those things with you, it is the person with the most “stories” wins.  Not only does the person get to take the stories with them, but the people left behind get to remember those stories even more “accurately” than the person that lived them.  We also get to embellish them in ways that give them an even bigger life.  Certainly that person lives on through those stories more than through anything physical that the person leaves behind.

     My Dad left with, and left behind, a lot more stories than most are blessed with----stories that will counter for a long time the “sound-bite” that represents most of our obituaries----unless we are lucky enough to die an ex-president.  Some would likely not choose to have lived some of the stories he lived.  Some of them perhaps even my dad would not choose to live a second time.  But the point is to “live” the stories----not to let them “live” you.  To become a “character” as the result of your life as opposed to a character in your life.

     My dad’s life reminds me of the story of the two monks walking along the river.  Now these monks were sworn to a life of celibacy and were not allowed to have any contact with women.  This led to many monks simply shunning all contact with women to avoid the possibility of any issues-----or the “appearance” of impropriety.  When they got to the river-crossing there was a woman trying to get across but she was afraid of the swift current.  The older monk whisked up the woman in his arms and carried her across the river much to the amazement and disapproval of his younger companion.  They continued along on their journey in silence until the younger monk could no longer contain himself.  Suddenly he asked the older monk how he could possibly have carried the woman across the river----and did it not bother him at all to have done so?  The older monk replied, “Oh----are you still carrying her?  I left her at the river.”

     My dad was able to live his life this way----sometimes those of us around him did not “get it” either, and spent unnecessary time dwelling on things that no longer existed for him---or more importantly were quite possibly not the truth to begin with.

     He was able to claim a fair amount of fame for himself as one of the first hybridizers of commercial Gloxinias in the world----creating many hybrids of his own, and introducing them to the US market place.  Gloxinias are now common all over the world as the result of what he started more than 70 years ago in a porch window.

     I can not begin to tell even a reasonable portion of his many stories here (but they will no doubt continue to come out in my blog), and the point of this post is not so much the stories themselves but the idea that he was able to instill in his children and the people around him of the importance of collecting our own stories----to eliminate the need for an extensive bucket list at the end.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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 like to post “WHATZIT” pictures, and during my time here at ActiveRain, I have been no exception.  Today’s picture will perhaps be no effort at all for most of my readers-----as it is a simple ordinary nail-set.

     Today’s exercise is more about entertaining you with an exceptionally “inventive” and “unordinary” use of the nail-set.  A use that would not likely be the first thing one would think of as a solution for such a problem.

     Being a recovering New England Yankee, the concept of finding a workable solution to almost any problem is not foreign to me.  I posted to my blog awhile back about a similar solution for this problem----but that solution was done with wood.  In a way----if you have to choose one as a better solution over the other----I would have to declare the nail-set the winner---but only because it would likely last longer.

     This solution has worked for a long time----who can argue with success.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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.

     At a recent inspection I was in the crawl space (where else) evaluating some cracks in the foundation.  This house was at the precipice of a very steep incline and the seller of the home had already purchased a Geo-technical engineer’s evaluation of the slope and how it related to these cracks in the foundation.  There was some sloping of the floors in this 32 year old house.  Doors and windows still operated normally (for the most part) and many people would not even notice the sloping.  Regardless, we had the engineer’s information about underlying soil conditions that likely accounted for this settlement. 

     I would say that, 9 times out of 10, settlement of foundations happens at the corners resulting in cracks away from the corner that are open at the top and closed at the footing-----kind of like a hinge as the corner drops.  There will usually be a corresponding crack either diagonally in the wall perpendicular to the wall or it will be perhaps across the foundation in a parallel wall indicative of the whole end of the house settling----as opposed to just one corner.

     This house was the 1 out of 10.   The settlement occurred in the middle of the run of the wall resulting in a crack that was open at the footing and closed at the top.  Its corresponding cracks were at the corners and these cracks were predictably open at the top and closed at the bottom.

     What was interesting was that someone was thoughtful enough to write on the wall the width of the crack at the time of inspection.

     What would have made this measurement useful would have been a date.  If I knew whether the date was written 20 years ago or 2 years ago would make the job of what I could tell my buyer a whole lot more meaningful.  With no date----the measurement might as well not be there.

     While at first glance one might look at this crack and say, “so what?”  Well, a crack like this that is open 38” on a wall that is 24” tall is evidence of much more settlement than a wall with a 3/8” gap that is 10 feet tall.  From this crack, it can be deduced (without laser levels) that the point of cracking away from the corner has settled approximately 2-1/2”----given the length of the wall.

     No wonder the floors feel like they slope.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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.

     One of home inspector’s favorite conversations with other inspectors is how quick they can do an inspection----and conversely how long they sometimes take.  While I (and hopefully others) would never sacrifice “quality” while considering “speed,” we still like to remark on an inspection that is exceptionally short due to there being very few defects or because the house is very small----or one that takes an extremely long amount of time because of its size or its horrible condition.

     It is not uncommon for a very small condo to take 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  I have taken as long as 9 hours on a property with two houses.  The other day I inspected a house in “5” MINUTES. 

     Yup----the whole thing---ALL 9 sq ft. 

     Gotta love slab on grade houses.

     I elected to neither walk NOR ride this roof.

     The biggest defect was that Snow White was nowhere to be seen even though I had previously seen some of the dwarfs in the garage apparently preparing to mow the lawn.

     Where the heck was Snow White anyway?

     It was such a nice sunny day----perhaps she went to the mountain.

     Perhaps the mountain IS Snow White.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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 other day I was visiting my son at the beautiful Evergreen College, near Olympia, Washington.  I parked in one of the public parking lots and was hanging out waiting for my son when I noticed this pile of dirt around one of the trees in the grass medians in the parking lot.  In this picture you can see that brown dirt patch.

     As I got closer to this brown patch I realized that the brown patch was ALIVE.  Yes, everything visible in the picture at the base of the tree that is dark in color is ANTS!   These are thatching ants and the large mound has been there quite a while as is evidenced by the grass and other vegetation growing up the sides of the mound.  The activity on the surface of the mound would increase and decrease as the sun went in and out behind the clouds.

     As I watched their activity it seemed almost incomprehensible that each one of these ants, on a genetic level, knows exactly what it is doing.  What appears as total chaos to the observer from above is not the truth at all.

     When we extrapolate this mass of interactions to human activities, it certainly gives one a reason to pause regarding notions of “individuality.”  If one were to look down from above at the activities of human beings would it seem this chaotic? 

     On some level, is the mass of human activity following unseen laws or rules that would actually make sense if we were capable of seeing the whole picture---or would human activity be “truly” chaotic as opposed to the very ordered chaos of the ants?

     Here is another picture of a Thatching Ant nest I found on Whidbey Island last summer.  These nests are very common in Washington State and can be very large.  This one is at least 24 inches tall and 36 inches in diameter.

    The darker shadow-like arc visible on the left side of the mound is actually a covering of ants as they stay out of the direct sun.  The entire mound is constructed of bits of grass and twigs----which is a bit like “thatch” and has earned them the name of Thatching Ants.

     These ants take “finding oneself” to a whole new level.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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.

     One of the spin-offs from the energy “crisis” of the 70’s was an increased interest in wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts.  Wood burning stove companies, like Vermont Castings and Jotul, were literally resurrected from the terminal disease of disinterest.  Efficiencies were greatly improved----including reductions in pollution emissions, making the units even more attractive.  It also fit in with many people’s interest in a return to “basics” and romantic notions of wood burning.  Another thing that gave these heating units a push was the advent of factory built insulated metal chimneys.  These chimneys allowed for the stoves and fireplaces to be installed just about anywhere because the weight of bulky/expensive masonry chimneys did not have to be factored into the equation.

     Some of these chimneys were what are called “triple wall” chimneys in which air brought from out-doors circulates between the layers to keep the outer layer cool enough to be close to wood structures.  These chimneys have a stainless steel inner liner with the outer two layers being galvanized steel.  These chimneys are vulnerable to the same aging issues associated with any galvanized materials that are exposed to the elements and have a much shorter life expectancy than their more expensive cousins that were constructed (usually) of two stainless steel layers and the space between was filled with insulating materials----originally asbestos.

     Both of these types of pipes had very specific installation requirements.  Proper clearances to combustibles needed to be created and maintained.  It is common for problems to occur when these clearances are not maintained and the surface of the pipe is allowed to overheat.

     As a builder I had a very real and very scary “learning moment” of my own regarding what can happen if these clearances are not maintained.  Often this pipe is run in chases within the walls of the interior of the home until it exits through the roof.  Baffles in the attic are installed to prevent insulation from coming in contact with the pipe.  Care has to be taken to keep debris and insulation from getting into the baffle space as well as into the space around the pipe where it is concealed inside the wall.

     One day as I left the job site and headed off to the lumber yard to get materials, I looked in my rear view mirror to see black smoke billowing out of the soffit vents above the clerestory windows----kind of like what the oven looks like when turkey catches on fire.  It did not take a rocket scientist to know what had happened.  Somehow there had been a breach of the enclosure around the pipe and the chase had filled up with blown-in cellulose fiber insulation. 

     My workers thought I had a usual screw loose as I came roaring into the house and up the stairs.  At the base of the chimney chase, the drywall was too hot to touch and the drywall screws were melting the paint.  Whoops.  Fortunately there was no actual “fire” in the sense of flames.  The cellulose fiber, while being the unwitting accomplice in the problem, was doing a good job of containing the smoldering and preventing the whole chase from going up in flames----which in all likelihood would have destroyed the home. After we tore off the drywall, it was a fairly simple matter to remove the smoldering insulation and hose down the charred framing of the chase.  Several of the studs were completely turned to charcoal at the base of the wall.  This was the closest I ever came to losing a house during construction.  (I had another one where I could not get to the house for a month because the area was off limits due to a raging forest fire---but that is another story.)

     The event has made me very pro-active when it comes to evaluating homes that have this type of chimney installed.  Many of them can not be inspected at all due to being concealed in chases.  As these chimneys age, it behooves anyone buying a home with a metal chimney (or any kind of solid fuel chimney for that mater) to have them carefully and invasively inspected by a qualified chimney sweep.

     Take a look at the cap on this  1981 metal chimney.

     It is difficult to see in the picture, but the spark arrestor/vermin screen is badly deteriorated and there are obvious holes through the top of the cap.  At the very least this cap will need to be replaced.  This next picture was taken looking up through the chimney from the fireplace.  All those white spots are holes through the cap.

     I often have buyers ask me, “So, how does the inside of the chimney look?”  I think you can see from this picture why that question is very difficult to answer within the context of a home inspection and why having the chimney professionally cleaned and evaluated is important.  It is impossible to tell much of anything about this flue other than it needs cleaning, there are holes in the cap, and there are no birds or bees nests in the pipe.

     This next picture shows a pipe connection visible in the attic that did not get put back together properly when the roof was replaced.  Discoloration from where smoke has entered the attic at the gap is obvious.  At least this connection was visible in the attic.  It would not be so visible inside a chase.

     One solution to a lot of these aging installations is to convert the chimneys to gas fired stoves and fireplaces.  Here is a picture of a chimney that has been re-lined and capped for a new gas fireplace insert. 

     Crude but hopefully effective-----all of that caulking will at the very least need considerable maintenance----or perhaps a more appropriate adaptor to the smaller pipe liner would be a better long term solution.  Removing the original chimney below the roof line would be a better solution and let the new vent come through the roof on its own----but this would require some patching of the roof.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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.

     As long as there are minds to think, people will create their own versions of the “real-thing.”

     On a recent inspection in Seattle, I came across this version of a light fixture in the basement.  One can motor over to the Big Orange Tool Box and find all the requisite parts (to add to the crap lying around the home) ----and put together such a contraption.

     I especially like the use of the piece of aluminum duct pipe as a “reflector” and can only wonder what the original lens cover must have looked like.  The metal cross pieces that attach the fixture to the joists are edge “J-channel” used for plastic laminate around countertops.  A junction box for the exposed wire connections above the fixture would have been a good improvement to the overall installation.  One more trip to the Tool Box for bulbs and it will be good to go.

Charles Buell

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 "etherial" 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.