Seattle Home Inspector's Blog

No matter what your chosen career---there is a learning curve.

In the trades when the boss tells the helper to go do something, the boss may assume that the helper knows more about the details of what he has been asked to do than he actually does.  In some respects this accounts for how so many defects happen in new construction and in newly remodeled homes.  It is not that the contractor doesn’t know the right way to do it---the right way just hasn’t been adequately communicated.

Take this brand new home’s master bathroom shower. 

Any electrical contractor is going to know that the light fixture inside the shower has to have a water tight cover.  But when the contractor leaves instructions for the helper to install all the decorative trims on the can-lights---while he is off skiing for the day---you might end up with the wrong trim installed on the can-light in the shower.

It is a pretty simple fix---and one the helper will not likely forget the next time.  This is of course unless this is not the first time and he ends up getting fired.

 

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

It was 90 degrees along with 90% humidity---it might as well have been raining.

It was August.

Henry and his cousin were drenched in sweat from the stifling heat and their hard work in the haymow. Hay chaff stuck to their sweaty skin like salty sand at the beach---stinging like nettles.  Sweat ran off Henry’s nose like a drippy faucet.

The bales of hay were lined up on the hay elevator about five feet apart and were dumping off the end monotonously.  They were timed to give Henry and his cousin almost enough time to organize and stack them in the mow.

Henry and his cousin worked feverishly to overlap and layer the bales and still keep up with the never ending stream of bales.  They had to stack the hay so that the pile would not collapse as it was taken out of the mow during the winter.

On the farm there were always games to be found in any job there was to do. With stacking hay, Henry and his cousin liked to build hidden forts inside the hay piles.  The mow was filled by tightly packing the bales one layer at a time on the floor.  They would leave out one bale in a line all the way to the center of the layer of bales---maybe 15 feet.  The first time they did this the tunnel was straight---later versions it was serpentine. The second layer would cover this missing row to create a tunnel.  As each layer was added, the end of the tunnel was left uncovered to create a shaft up 4 or 5 layers.  At this level, several bales would be left out around the top of the shaft and the next layer would repeat the pattern---leaving the bales out in the area of the previous layers.  They would keep doing this for four or five layers and then the opening would gradually be reduced in size by overhanging the bales until the entire space was covered over by the bales.  When it was all done there was no evidence that there was a cave built inside the stack of bales.

 Henry and his cousin could pretty much play this game while keeping up with the bales being excreted from the elevator.  The elevator made rhythmic clanking sounds as the chains and paddles dragged the bales up and dropped them off the end. Sometimes they would get behind and have to scramble to catch up. Sometimes the elevator would break down and they would have more time to fool around---this was an opportunity to make things more elaborate.

It usually took a good part of the summer to fill the haymow, but when it was done, and the barn was stacked high, Henry and his cousin would have a fun place to explore with flashlights in the winter.

They would imagine themselves famous archeologists exploring the tunnels of some ancient Egyptian pyramid---looking for mummies, gold and ghosts.  They snaked through the tunnel on their bellies---along the hay-polished floor---until they got to the vertical shaft.  They had to contort their bodies into a standing position and then climb the few bales to reach the mummy’s secret chamber.

As Henry peered over the edge of the shaft into the great chamber he could see two gold eyes in the blackness.  He lost his footing and slid back down the shaft.  He gathered his courage and climbed back up to the top of the shaft.  He aimed his flashlight to where he had seen the eyes, but they were gone.  Was he imagining things?  He heard something moving and quickly aimed his light at the movement.  It was Mud!  That danged cat had found her way into the tomb.  Mud was the most dreadfully ugly, multicolored brown cat anyone had ever seen---hence the name of Mud.

Inside the chamber there was a silence bigger than the night sky----and darker too when they turned their flashlights off.  Henry would stick the lit flashlight under his chin and start to tell his cousin ghost stories about how sometimes mummies come to life, decapitate intruders and suck the blood from their headless bodies---which was obviously how they lived forever.  These stories would go on in the dark until his cousin could not take it any longer and would turn his flashlight on. Even Henry didn’t dare leave is flashlight off for very long.

They laid back and listened to the silence----all they could hear were the sounds of their breathing and their hearts beating----everything in the outside world was drowned out by the silence.  The blood was pulsing in their veins but they couldn’t tell whether they were hearing it or feeling it. After a while Mud started to “motor.”  It was louder than any cat he had ever heard---kind of like the old Fordson diesel tractor’s engine knock---but it was really just the contrast with the silence of the place.

Their make believe tomb was a cozy refuge from the cold of their winter chores.

One day Henry fell asleep in the cave---he could sleep anywhere.  When he awoke his flashlight was dead and it seemed even darker than normal. He had no idea what time it was. His heart started to race as he felt his way around in the dark.  He slid down the shaft and into the tunnel.  He crawled backwards out through the tunnel until he was in the open area of the haymow.  He could hear the cows clanking in their metal stanchions below.  His whole world was suddenly and completely drowned in a cacophony of sounds. The pulsing vacuum of the milking machines told henry he was late for chores.

He threw a couple of bales of hay down the hatch---scattering the cats below.  He climbed down the worn ladder and broke open the bales of hay by pulling off one of the strings and then he bent the bale in half with his knee as he pulled the other string toward him. He hung the loops of strings on the wooden peg sticking out of the beam that made up one side of the ladder to the haymow. As he started to feed the sections of hay to the cows his uncle smiled at him curiously as if to ask where he had come from. 

His sudden arrival, and his appearing to be already doing his chores, made it look as if he was not late after all.

 

Springtime

Henry went to the haymow to throw down some hay. 

There was a large bite out of the hay pile now---almost all the way to the mummy’s chamber.  Henry had done his best to take bales that would leave the hideout intact as long as possible.  On this day he heard a faint mewing sound coming from the tunnel that was much shorter now.  There at the end of the tunnel was a rose-orange kitten. As Henry approached the kitten it disappeared down the tunnel. 

Henry went to the milk house and came back with a flashlight and then dove into the tunnel after the kitten.  At the end of the tunnel the kitten was stuck, unable to scale the bales of hay.  The kitten hissed at Henry as if Henry was no big threat.  Henry picked up the kitten with one hand as the kitten clawed and chewed on his hand harmlessly.  He worked his way into the shaft and up to the mummy’s chamber.

He flashed the light around and there was Mud laying on the far side with 6 more kittens---nursing.  Mud lifted her head and flipped her tail easily as she eyed Henry---and then she put her head back down and went back to work.  Henry put the “explorer” down and the kitten quickly scampered back to its mother.

It looked like Mud had found a good use for the hideout too.

I guess that made her the real “Mummy.”

 

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

 

Key to understanding the whole "MOLD DEBACLE" is that "certified mold inspector" has virtually NO meaning.  Now the average person would think that "certified" does or should mean something, but in fact trained professionals that are truly qualified to assess indoor air quality would never call themselves "certified" because they will have advanced degrees in micro-biology, mycology etc.  Essentially if you have a "certified mold inspector" on your property you are risking receiving poor information, no information, wrong information, misleading information, misguided information----and succeeded in parting with a good deal of money.  And this of course is all on top of possibly losing a perfectly good house causing a seller to spend money unnecessarily to fix something that didn't need fixing to begin with.

If you have concerns about mold please see the following links:

Indoor Fungi

Health Effects of Molds

Is Testing for Molds Necessary?

 

It is not uncommon to have curious neighbors show up at the inspection to welcome the new hopeful homeowner to the neighborhood. 

Some neighborhoods are just magical like that.

Homeowners of close-knit neighborhoods don’t like to see homes sit vacant for long periods of time---and any interest in the vacant home attracts a lot of attention.  Vacant homes symbolize that "something" is missing in the neighborhood---that somehow the neighborhood is not complete.

During this Christmas Season, it was easy to imagine that the only thing my buyer wanted for Christmas was a nice home to call her own.  I have no idea whether she put “new home” on her wish-list for Santa Claus or not, but when we heard a loud knock at the door and saw who was there, I began to think maybe she had. 

Standing there in full regalia---was none other than old Saint Nick himself.

 

 

 

 

I am kind of glad he didn’t decide to make his entrance down the chimney.  I had already noted how dirty the flue was and he would have made a heck of a mess on the nice white carpet. Besides that, creatures bounding out of the fireplace during an inspection are not usually a good thing.

If Santa had removed the vermin screen and hat from the flue, and gone sliding down the chimney, he would have likely either hurt himself---or torn his coat on the disintegrated damper---likely putting quite a damper on the season.  And who wants to think of Santa as “vermin” anyway?  I find it absolutely dumbfounding that Santa is able to slide down 800 million chimneys around the world and the white of his coat never gets sooty.  How does he do that?  There must be a lot of chimney sweeps that would like a touch of that magic.

But such is the Magic of Christmas.

Apparently, some very large gifts like houses have to be delivered in broad daylight.  It reminds me of the movie “Miracle on 34th St.” In the movie, all that Susan wants for Christmas is a house for her mom---well, and a dad and a brother too.  Of course her mom dosen’t believe in Santa or in Dads---consequentially little brothers were unlikely too.  It is absolutely dumbfounding how some people don’t believe in Santa Claus when there is so much proof of his existence.

There is always a need for the Magic of Christmas.

As jolly old Saint Nick and my tickled buyer happily demonstrate---there clearly IS a Santa Claus.

 

After exchanging welcomes and congratulations, he headed off down the driveway, with a “HO-HO-HO!”  

We watched as he adeptly ducked behind my truck---to avoid being seen by the kids next door.  And then he was gone in a flash.

Such is the Magic of Christmas.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

I cannot play “holier than thou” when it comes to taking care of tools.

I have always been really hard on tools of all kinds.  I operated under the assumption that tools were made to use as hard a possible for whatever their intended purpose was---and then I would routinely invent several dozen other uses for them besides.

This post is about ladders. 

Now I could go on and on about how to set them up and use them safely, and even tell you about some unorthodox things to do with ladders---but what about when you are all done with the thing?  You have cleaned your gutters, put up your dish antenna, put up your Holiday Lights, gotten the cat out of the tree and cleaned the bees out of your bathroom exhaust fan vent---now what are you going to do with the dang thing?

Perhaps you have a nice place to hang it in the garage---or under the porch.  If not---how about just leaving it laying in the back yard?

There are a couple of things wrong with this idea. 

For example, you might come home early and find your sweetie somewhere he or she shouldn’t be, with someone he or she shouldn’t be with.  Then you chase that someone through the house, out through the back door, across the porch and through the back yard.  That “someone” could trip on the ladder and get seriously injured----possibly even resulting in a law suit.

Or how about this scenario.  The neighbor’s dog gets into your yard and starts chasing your cat.  The cat darts howling through the ladder and the dog wipes out trying to follow the cat through the rungs.  Now that is just not right!  How happy will your neighbor be when the dog comes home whimpering with only half an ear?

So I guess the moral of the story is---or at least this part of the story--- don’t leave your ladder lying around---because lovers and pets could be seriously injured.

 

 

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

What is so special about Seattle?

This is a question I get asked a surprising number of times every year. 

And it is not just directed at Seattle, but at the entire NW---GIVEN ALL THAT DAMN RAIN! 

 

It is asked, almost without exception, by people who have never been here.

 

Everyone knows the old statement about Art and pornography:  “I can’t define it but I know it when I see it!”

Well Seattle and the NW is kind of like that.

The other day I was on a roof in downtown Seattle using my new Fuji S2700 and took this picture of Mt Rainier.

 

Like I said---I know it when I see it.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

The following picture is of a water heater that is doubling as the heater for domestic hot water (sinks, tubs etc) as well as the hot water for the heating system.  These systems are VERY common in my area and Seattle Home Inspectors find them on a huge percentage of Townhouse type structures that have hydronic heating systems.

The jury is still out on the long term practicality of these systems as it makes the water heater work harder than a regular water heater.  The jury is also still out on whether this dual function will result in shorter life spans for heaters that are also more expensive.  I suspect that in about 10 years we will know the answer----mighty glad I missed out on that jury pool.

But back to the picture.

In this picture you can see pretty much all the components that should be there for the system to function.

1.      The Heater Itself (big strapping white thingy). The system would not accomplish much without it.

2.      Expansion Tank (at the very top center of the picture---just the bottom shows). These tanks (or at least some means of dealing with thermal expansion) are required in most jurisdictions by modern standards. So you will see these whether it is a space heating system or not---on newer installations.

3.      Circulator Pump & Timer (green thingy). This pump circulates water through the system.  It might go to in-floor pipes, in-wall heaters, or wall radiators.

4.      Tempering Valve (grey thingy under the green thingy). While the heating system needs water around 145 degrees to do its job this temperature is WAY to hot to be coming out of your shower head.  The tempering valve allows us to mix a little cold with the hot to regulate the temperature to fixtures throughout the home---typically not more than 120 degrees.  In fact, in Washington State, Licensed Home Inspectors are required to note whenever the temperature is above 120 degrees and recommend appropriate action. Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

For those of you that have REALLY been paying attention you may be saying to yourself, “Where the heck is this ‘timer” he is talking about?”

You mean you don’t see it?  How can that be?

First of all let’s talk about what the timer does. 

Since the heating system does not operate year round, we don’t want water to sit in the pipes for long periods of time.  If we did, bacteria could grow in the pipes----including Legionella bacteria.  With a timer we can circulate the water periodically whether the heating system is calling for heat or not.  The timer can also be used to control circulation during the day or when we go on vacation.  The system will function fine without it but then the circulator might run 24/7---or only when the thermostat called for heat---not the most ideal situation in terms of energy consumption.  Sometimes “control” is a good thing.

Now back to the timer location.

If you don’t see it, I am not surprised----I had a hard time seeing it as well.  It IS there however---behind the green circulator thingy---FACING THE WRONG WAY.  This position makes it almost impossible to operate/set as needed.

The following picture is looking up under the circulator toward the bottom of the expansion tank---and there is the timer---sitting on top of the green thingy.

It is not difficult to relocate this timer to a more practical location---just needs an electrician and about an hour of his or her time.

 

I am not going to attempt to discuss the entire topic of mold in this post. 

Even though mold may not be visibly present in the building---its spores are literally everywhere.  For mold to grow, it needs air, food, suitable temperatures and water. 

In the indoor environment the one of these that we can effectively control the most to prevent its growth is water.  If we can’t control moisture we are going to have a real problem controlling mold.

Mold can grow on most surfaces.  Even dust is a suitable food for mold growth.  In the cleanest of households there is going to be dust in the air that will circulate and find the wettest (coolest) surfaces.  As this dust collects on even glass or metal surfaces it becomes a medium suitable for a mold feast.

The temperatures that humans are comfortable at are ideal for mold as well, so there is not much we can do regarding temperature to control mold.

Unfortunately humans don’t do well without air---so it is a good idea to keep air in the building as well.

But air is something we have to consider---because it is air-quality that is at the heart of the issue.

It has been demonstrated that there is a connection between damp household air and a “slight” increase in health related issues. There is scant info to support that it is mold in this damp air that is the sole culprit in these health issues.  Other things that are also often associated with damp air, such as dust mites, bacteria, termites, protozoans, endotoxins, VOCs, formaldehyde, pesticides, viruses, and overall poor ventilation, must be considered in the whole picture of how the air in a home is affecting occupants adversely.  In fact, in most instances household dust (translate dust mites) makes up the biggest percentage of this mucky air.

In light of this, it makes more sense to fix conditions that contribute to excess moisture in the building and to focus on ensuring that we maintain good air quality in the building---than it does to focus on mold.

Thanks to faulty media-induced-hysteria, mold has become “Gold” for some---a multi-billion dollar industry based on next to nothing, other than being able to count on people’s vulnerability, fear, and lack of good information----victims of misinformation and disinformation. 

 

 

For additional reading on the topic as well as supporting documentation for the contents of this post see the following three documents:

Indoor Fungi

Health Effects of Molds

Is Testing for Molds Necessary?

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

Literally!

While it is not uncommon to find a furnace in a closet of a room being used as a bedroom, when they are directly in the room, as part of the furniture in the room, it seems to somehow be a more obvious problem than if it was hidden in a closet.

This “bedroom” had no secondary egress window----for escape or fresh air.  With the door closed, there would likely be insufficient combustion/dilution air for proper operation of the furnace.  This condition would increase the likelihood that combustion by-products would not only enter the room but be of a type that would be more harmful than what would be emitted from a furnace that is functioning properly.

Open flame combustion appliances should never be located in sleeping areas (even though there are some that are “allowed”).  As an inspector I would not call this room a bedroom even if the property was listed that way----and even if it had a nice bed to watch the warm glow of furnace from----or to sleep forever in.

 

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

 

 

How many vent caps can you count on this roof top?

The vent cap, front and center, in the picture, is the vent cap for a bathroom exhaust fan.  This picture captures perhaps 70% of the total number of such caps on this condo building roof.  Since I don’t inspect from a helicopter I could not get a picture of all of them.  I also was only really interested in the 6 involved with my unit of this condo building.  When I climbed over the edge of this roof and into this forest of vent caps, I marveled at how cool and how wrong they looked.

I occasionally see this type of cap used as a vent cap, but to find an entire building’s vents terminated this way---in relatively new construction---threw me for a loop.

For a long time now----since at least 1991 in Washington State---it has been required that all exhaust fans terminate at the exterior of the building at a cap with a back-draft damper.

Here is what the code that was in place at the time these vents were installed said: "Outdoor air intakes and exhausts shall have automatic or gravity dampers that close when the ventilation system is not operating." (Underlining is mine)

NONE of these caps have back-draft dampers.  I count 33, “for-sure-and-a-couple-of-maybe,” vent pipes in the picture----how many can you see?

Every one of these vent caps is actually a little chimney.  Cold air can drop into the pipes leading to condensation inside the pipes.  They also have no screens to keep out vermin----so insects and birds might think they are nice places to call home.

Because they are little chimneys, they also “act” like chimneys.  In other words as wind blows by the caps it will put the chimney under negative pressure.  This can pull open the dampers that are built into the fan units----drawing warm air out of the building in the winter and conditioned air out in the summer.

It begs a question.

How does this get by the jurisdictional inspectors?  This was no cracker box structure either.  It was a very high end Condo building that paid the big bucks for a PVC roof system and many other similar expensive upgrades throughout the building---inside and out.

What would you tell your buyer?

And how would the fact that it is a condo building affect what you would say?

 

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector