Seattle Home Inspector's Blog

     Along with the Conservatory (and not too far from each other), there is another very cool place in Seattle to visit---whether you are playing tourist or live here all the time---called the Japanese Garden, at the Washington Park Arboretum. 

     Here is a little photo tour to give you just a taste of the trails and visual feasts at this little patch of serenity.  Every time I visit the Garden I wonder why I don’t go back more often.  Isn’t that the way it is though?  We will scrimp and save to visit some far off exotic place and neglect the things that are right in our own back yard.  The very places that someone in a far off place is scrimping and saving to come and see.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     There is a saying here in the NW that, “Good fences make good neighbors.”  Perhaps this is a saying in your area as well.   Where I came from, back East, there were no such saying that I can remember.  There were plenty of stone walls and barbed wire fences but they were more to control livestock----than to control neighbors.

     At a recent inspection of a bank owned property there appeared to be what may have been a neighbor taking things into own hands “in the middle of the night” so to speak.

     Sometimes it is actually hard to determine who actually owns the fences between homes and often maintenance and construction is shared between neighbors.  Regardless of how this fence got to be the way it is, it is pretty clear that “someone” wanted it shorter.  Three sections of the fence had been completely removed and then the next section cut down to about half of its original height.  The rest of the fence has been cut off to that height---but only half way through.

     The other side has been “marked” for cutting but remained the original height.

     I have to wonder if I went back to the site today whether the “remodeling” project has been completed.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     My grandfather, on my Dad’s side, was badly crippled with arthritis his whole adult life.

     I can only guess at the amount of pain he lived with----pain made visible in the gnarled fingers that could only sort-of grasp the ever ready cane at his side.

     I have to think that his occasional short temper and sometimes “crotchety” nature were in part a reflection of this pain he lived with on a daily basis.  There were six of us kids growing up in the big, old, two-family farmhouse----and there was always one of us that was deserving of one of his favorite admonishments, “Use your head for something besides a hat rack.” 

     Now, none of us kids would have ever been “clinically” considered to be, “A few bricks short of a full load.”  In fact we all had to carry our bricks with pride.  I like to think this was just his way of pushing us kids to perform even better----when we would occasionally not quite meet his expectations----or trip over his cane chasing each other around the house.

     I got to thinking about this the other day in relation to people being “smart,” and what it means to be “smart” as opposed to “dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers.”

     One would like to think that people that break the law are some how less “smart” than the rest of us.  I had something occur at an inspection the other day that made me think about this in a different way.

     I tend to think that really smart people can still do really dumb things----perhaps no different than my grandfather used to point out some 55 years ago.

     Try this question out on yourself----would you have thought of this?

     The house I was inspecting had been vacant for 9 months.

     Would you have thought to use the address of this house to have a “mystery package” delivered to it----in order to avoid having it delivered directly to your own address?”

     My grandfather would have still said, “Use your head for something besides a hat rack.”  

     I found it very clever----

----if not “smart.”

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     One of the most common things a buyer wants to know about the house is, “How old is the roof.”  This is code for, “How much longer will the roof last.”

     These questions are not all that easy to answer---especially the later one.

     While I do my best to give some “general” guidance regarding these questions, I make it very clear that whatever I say should be considered a “guesstimate” at best.  There are many factors that can contribute to the condition of a roof:  color, type, style, installation methods, exposure, maintenance, factory defects and many others.

     For example take your typical “15-year,” three-tab, composition roof.  Exposed to full sun, a light colored roof will tend to last longer than a dark black roof.  Protected from full sun all colors will last longer but if this protection results in the roof staying covered with moss the roof can be damaged anyway.  Frequent pressure washing will take years off the life of a roof, as will installing it over other layers of shingles.  Shingles that are stapled as opposed to nailed are more vulnerable to wind damage. 

    Roofs can be subject to other forms of mechanical damage such as from overhanging trees, shoveling off snow in the winter, hail, un-guttered water from upper roofs beating down on lower roofs, and downspouts from upper gutters flooding across lower roof surfaces.  Even pigeons and seagulls hanging out on the ridge pecking at the roofing granules can damage a roof.  Installing shingles when it is too hot can cause mechanical damage that will later result in a shortening of the life of the covering.  Of course using the roof for sunbathing and star gazing can cause damage to the roof----as well as uncontrolled falls to the bather/gazer.

     So when a buyer asks me how long is the roof going to last, these are the kinds of things I must consider in giving any kind of an answer.

     A roof that has few visible signs of aging is the hardest to predict in some ways.  We often have sources of information to give us clues as to when the roof was installed and then we can use rough rules of thumbs to give an “approximate” idea of how much longer the roof might last.  For example if the seller tells us that the roof was replaced when he bought it and we know he bought it ten years ago it is a “fairly” safe bet it is 10 years old.  That info, coupled with what it “actually” looks like at the time of inspection, one could reasonably expect to get another 5 years out of the roof----assuming that it is a 15-year-roof----and it looked like it might last another 5 years. Again, I always warn my buyers that these are “best guesses” and that there are many factors to take into account. 

    No home inspector is likely to “warrant” a roof and most are pretty careful to make their predictions “necessarily” vague.  The reality is, that predicting the life of a roof is very difficult and if one is accurate within 5 years one is probably pretty close.

    On the other hand, some roofs speak very clearly when they are past their expected life, as the following picture will attest. 

     There are no maintenance questions here. 

     There are no questions as to how much longer the roof will last. 

     This roof was likely past its expected life 20 years ago.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

      I used to love to play Jenga with my kids---it is a great game that requires skill, patience, planning and an “appreciation” of gravity.  One wrong move and the whole thing could collapse.

     Over the years I have seen a lot of chimneys.  In fact a chimney almost got me fired back in 1970 when I was working part time for one of my college professors.  This was all way before I could have ever imagined ending up being a Seattle Home Inspector 39 years later.  I spent weekends and breaks doing handyman work for him while his house was being remodeled.  I ended up working for this builder for about a year after he fired the guy he had working for him at the time.  While the following incident is not what got Jay fired, I am sure it did not help his case any.  The builder sent him up on the roof to start shingling the roof.  The roof had been covered with felt paper the day before.  We could here the dull thud of “occasional” nails being driven----until the builder couldnt take it any longer and he went up on the roof to see what kind of “progress” Jay was making. 

     Jay was shingling the roof from the top down! 

     When questioned about this “less than conventional” approach to installing shingles, Jay merely stated, “This the way I always do it.” 

     After this event----and some other events that ultimately got Jay fired, I figured this was my chance to ask the builder for a job.  I figured I could EASILY do better than Jay.

     The next day----or soon thereafter----the builder sent me up on an older part of the roof to tear down the chimney.  Seemed simple enough, and even sounded like fun.  So, there I was up on the roof and knocking the bricks apart and throwing them two stories down onto the lawn----having a ton of fun trying to hit the bricks that were already embedded in the grass below.  It was not long before I had a growing pile of bricks and a boss running and screaming out of the house like he had pulled up his trousers with a hornet’s nest in them.  He was waving his hat----his bald red head glistening in the sun----saying things I really can’t repeat here.  He wanted to know what the “H” “E” double hockey sticks I thought I was doing.  Like his previous helper I merely said (but a little baffled), “This is the way I always do it.”    After he calmed down a bit, he informed me that he meant the OTHER chimney.  “Oh,” I said. 

     But he didn’t fire me and the rest of the story----is my whole life.

     Like I said at the start of this post----over the years, I have seen a lot of chimneys.

     The chimney pictured below, from an inspection I did the other day, is perhaps the worst chimney I have ever seen.  And I am sure that left to its own devices it will soon find its way to the lawn below, “That is the way they always do it.” 

     Jenga anyone?

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     Well it is not as bad as elevators, but it is not unusual to smell gas at a home inspection.  Natural gas (as opposed to “un-natural” gas) has an odor added to the otherwise odorless gas that is not easy to ignore----like the other kind----“silent but deadly.” 

     It is designed that way. 

     When you smell it, you are supposed to know that you have a problem and do something about it----and I am not talking about asking someone to pull your finger, excuse yourself, leave the room or pull the covers over your sweetie’s head.

     Whenever you smell gas, you should call the gas utility (except the personal kind of course).  They are more than happy to come and figure out what is going on.  Now I am not talking about an incidental amount that occurs when you the light the gas stove.  I am talking about that lingering smell that you might encounter when there are no combustion appliances operating.  One very common place to find a gas leak is around the gas meter.

     During my walk around the exterior of a home the other day, I noted the smell of gas near the gas meter.  The nose is a really good tool for sensing gas leaks.  When possible I like to see if I can pin-point where the actual leak is.  If you get really close to the leak the odor intensifies.  (I think I better stop the allusions to "un-natural" gas right here.)

     Gas leaks are invisible and they can be made “visible” with a little soapy water----as can bee seen in this picture.

      I showed the buyer and their agent the gas bubble.  I then asked the buyer’s agent to call the listing agent and the gas utility to get the leak fixed.  Within about twenty minutes the gas company arrived and fixed the leak.  The gas company is very prompt at answering these kinds of calls----as one might imagine.

     If you have bad gas----make sure you call the gas company right away!  For the other kind, just open a window and smile.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

It is pretty rare for someone to post something more disgusting than I can come up with, so I thought I would reblog this thing from Jason.  If you haven't checked out Jason's Blog consider this your opportunity.  There is definitely something fishy about this post but not his Blog!

     Most inspectors will tell you “no” and yet I would be willing to bet that most inspectors do.  No inspection is ever truly just a visual inspection, even though most Standards of Practice say that it is.  Most Standards of Practice even give guidelines for moving certain things----like opening readily accessible electrical panel covers and access hatch covers etc.  Few inspectors however would move a refrigerator.  Most I would be willing to bet will move a garbage can out from under a sink, but probably would not move a heavy sofa to check electrical outlets.

     Every day inspectors must make judgment calls as to where the boundaries are of what they will move and not move.

     A fairly simple item I moved the other day gave me the idea for this post and how important it is for inspectors to be able to move things as they deem necessary and safe to do so.  While this item is purely “symbolic” of the point I am trying to make, finding similar and actually consequential defects are just as possible.

     I like for my buyer’s to be as informed as possible about the property.  Whether it is missing tiles behind a towel on a towel bar, or missing/damaged tiles under a soap bottle, seemingly “cosmetic” conditions can take their toll on a buyer when they start to move in. 

     While it is not possible to discover “everything” about a home at the time of inspection----it is always nice to do what I can.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     Everyone that regularly reads my blog knows how much I love to gross everyone out with stories about rats.  Finding them in crawl spaces is as common as finding the bathroom inside the house----as opposed to being an outhouse.  In other words----dang common.

     Perhaps the most common way that these vermin find their way into the crawl space in houses that have concrete foundations is through damaged crawl space vents and through the access door itself.

     Other common ways into the space is through or around pipes that run through the foundation that have not been properly sealed.  Common pipe-related entry points are gravity drains that have not been properly screened and around sewer pipes.  I don’t know exactly how or why rats like to follow the sewer pipes into the crawl space---perhaps it is easier digging.  I don’t even know how they find the sewer pipe to follow it----but they do.

     On a recent house, the main house sewer drain went out of the foundation on one side of the house and there was a second smaller drain that went out the other side of the house.  This type of drainage installation is common in this area and the drains will join together outside the home prior to getting to the city sewer at the street.

     In this house the rats were using the crawl space as a “Midnight Oasis” as they used the well traveled highway from one drain to the other.  There were very large deposits of dirt at both openings where the rats had mined their way into the crawl space.  On the right side of the picture the condition of the phone wire looks like the rats wanted to make a call----there is always a phone at a rest stop isn’t there? 

     In order to eliminate this pathway some means of blocking their ability to continue to build these tunnels will have to be achieved.  If the hole was merely an oversized hole around a pipe going through concrete, it would simply be a matter of blocking the hole with something harder than the rat’s teeth.  In this case, where the pipes run under the foundation, simply filling the opening will likely only result in the critters digging around the blockage.

     It is time to call the “Rat Busters” to set up a “feeding” station at the Oasis----and perhaps a few rat highway speed traps.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.

     Inspectors are always harping on keeping vegetation cut away from the home. 

     Hack them roses. 

     Pull off all that ivy. 

     Get rid of that crappy camellia.

     Ivy League schools would cringe at what we have to say about ivy.

     Espalier Apple tree lovers would protest our intolerance.

     Beside the mechanical damage that vegetation can do to homes they are a pathway for moisture and VERMIN into the home.

     What am I talking about?

     My favorite topic of course, RODENTS!  Whether it is Roof Rats, Warf Rats, or Nutsy the Squirrel, you do not want these critters in your house.  I don’t even want them in cages in my house----but that is just me, and to each his own.

     Ivy growing on chimneys for example, makes a great cover for rats to sneak unobserved up to the roof structures where they can either gnaw their way into the attic, or simply find an opening already there somewhere along the Aluminum Interstate Gutter System that wraps the whole house.

     This home showed much evidence of rodents in the attic.  Can you see where they were getting in (at least ONE of the places)?

     Sorry----but the vegetation has GOT to go.

Charles Buell

Seattle Home Inspectors, ASHI Home Inspector, Licensed 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.