Seattle Home Inspector's Blog

     The other day I was contacted by an agent, Carol Sterling, who I first met while running around to open houses in the beginning of my career as a Seattle Home Inspector.  She is a perfect example of an agent that only wants the best for her buyers.  She has a great sense of humor and I thought I would share with you an email I got from her-----introducing me to our buyer.  I think the email is a good example of how really good agents take care of their buyers and avoid the common misconception that there is some “inherent” conflict of interest when they recommend a particular inspector----or even a list of inspectors (some identifying information has been edited).

Hi Guys:
  Going for the shortest distance between two points here.  Charlie, please meet Robert, Robert I cannot say enough good things about Charlie, and his exemplary work. 
 
I'll be meeting Charlie on Tue at 5:30 pm to let him in to do the inspection at the condo……...  He will be working for you and Sandy.  He does not give a shit what I want or what I think. 
 
Sort of like my kids but polite.
 
I promised I'd put the two of you in touch with one another and so here we go.
 
Cheers.
 
I will get a copy of the report however (with your permission Robert) to use in case there are any concerns in the transaction. 

     I wish more agents had this attitude. 

     I am happy to say that most agents that refer me have this attitude.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     My regular subscribers may have noticed I have been a little absent from the rain the past few days.  I have been busy with a huge inspection that fellow rainer James Quarello flew out from Connecticut to help me with.  I needed a good thermographer to scan the exteriors of the buildings and I got to thinking why not invite Jim out here to see the great Northwest and to do the scans. 

     Yesterday we took the day off and went sightseeing.  Our first stop was to have breakfast with another rainer, Steve Smith.  It was a great visit----there is nothing like getting three home inspectors together for some great inspector talk-----you know----the kind that makes our wife’s eyes glaze over?  But as usual Nutsy and Steve got to fighting about the raise Nutsy wants and Steve left early and missed out on the group photo after breakfast.

     I suspect that as usual the Boss will break down and give Nutsy what for----I  mean what he wants.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     It is not uncommon, while inspecting roofs, to find the test caps still in place on plumbing vents.  Part of inspecting the original installation of the plumbing system for leaks requires that all openings be capped off.  After the test, the test caps are removed so that the plumbing system can function properly.  Here is a picture of a test cap I found still in place recently on a roof----most likely it had been there since 1980 when the building was built.

     Even 30 years later the “instructions” for how to remove the cap are clearly visible.  In light of the instructions, I got a good giggle out of how the problem was resolved----as shows in the next picture.

     Holy vent pipe Batman!

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     Well, it probably took 40 hours to fix the 40 posts, which was not too bad considering I only recommended that one be fixed----which would have taken only about 40 minutes. 

     A few weeks ago in my post called, “How many code inspectors does it take to inspect a crawl space,” I talked about a post that was not adequately attached to its footing.  

     When I went back for the re-inspection I found that someone had done an incredible job of attaching metal brackets to all 40 of the support posts throughout the entire crawl space-----like the ones in the picture below.

     As you can see there are two heavy metal brackets attached to each post.  Each bracket required roto-hammering holes to bolt the brackets to the footings and then the brackets were bolted to the posts.  This is how it was done, in spite of the fact that there is already the required metal strap attaching the post and footing (as can be seen on the left side of the right post).   

     This next picture is what the post I called for repairs to looked like----prior to repairs.

     This next picture shows what the post looked like----after repairs.

   As you can see, except for the angle of the picture, they remain pretty much the same, and most likely will continue to do so for another 40 days and 40 nights.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     As a Licensed Structural Pest Inspector, or even as a Licensed Home Inspector, in Washington State, I am always reporting on what is called “conducive conditions.”  Conducive conditions are anything that will tend to attract or lead to damage to wood structures by wood destroying organisms including decay/rot and wood destroying insects.

     The list of conducive conditions is almost endless.  One really common one is maintaining proper clearances to siding and trim-----6 inches in most cases.  This can be very difficult to achieve with older properties and sometimes if I see any amount of clearance at all I am happy.

     In the following picture I think almost anyone can see that the window sill being buried in the grass makes a perfect “condition” than any self respecting bug or fungi could appreciate.

     Open invitations will be answered-----I promise.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     Recent Horror Movies that you may have seen include: 

“Night of the Living Lead,”

“The Shining Vermiculite,”

“King Mold,”

“Mold of Frankenstein,”

“Alien Asbestos,”

“The Lead Thing,”

“Asbestos Stories,”

and “Dr. Lead & Mr. Mold.”

     These movies are currently so popular, and watched so frequently, that most movie goers have long forgotten the old classic, “The Shrinking Formaldehyde.”

     Urea-Formaldehyde foam insulation was very popular in the 70’s and was pumped into the walls of hundreds of thousands of homes around the country.  By 1982 it was banned in the US (even though eventually the ban was lifted because of lack of evidence).  It its hay day, “The Shrinking Formaldehyde” received considerable attention and was reviewed extensively in the press----rivaling the great movies of our day. 

      The problem with the stuff was that it out-gassed Formaldehyde after installation and supposedly made people sick-----it is after all, an embalming fluid.  Current science shows that many of the “studies” that the press latched onto, when reviewing “The Shrinking Formaldehyde,” failed to meet minimal scientific criteria for evidence of it’s causing health problems. One of the key elements of a good Horror Movie is that fear must be instilled and maintained in a heightened way.  Because the actual movie could not sustain this fear on its own, the movie has fallen into the Horror Movie dust-bin----nearly forgotten.

     Some of the current Horror Movies will also be relegated to the dust bin in time.

     Urea-Formaldehyde insulation had a second property that ultimately ended up making it “functionally” a poor choice of insulation.  The general principle was to inject two chemicals into the wall cavity which combined to create a foaming mass that expanded to fill every little nook and cranny----it did that VERY well.  The problem is that it rapidly began to shrink after installation leaving the mass pretty much floating in the center of the space----allowing for air to move around in the cavity through convection.  It is the stopping of convective loops that defines how good a job an insulating material is doing.

     As a Seattle Home Inspector I still come across homes insulated with Urea-Formaldehyde.  Today’s concerns with the insulation is more about informing the buyer as to what the material is, its history, and what the buyer can do about it----including nothing. 

     While it is likely going to mean the house is not as well insulated as it could be compared to cellulose fiber for example, the house will still be considerably better insulated than if there was nothing in the wall at all, as it still represents “some” restriction of air movement.  The health hazards related to the formaldehyde out-gassing are non-existent after the number of years that have passed since the last of it was installed.  Most out-gassing was complete after a few days of installation.

     The picture below shows a couple of things.  It shows how well the Urea-formaldehyde was able to fill even this abandoned electrical panel box on the exterior of the home----getting into the box through the holes that used to be for the wires.  But, also notice, the distinct marks where the foam has shrunk away from the edges of the box leaving us with a “classic” example of how the material has shrunk. 

     Can you see the line made by the edge of the box all the way around the edge of the foam block? 

     All the little dents are where people----including me-----could not resist touching it-----proof that this horror movie has been justifiably relegated to the horror movie dust bin.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     Take a look at the following picture for a moment.

     This is a picture of the fireplace in my living room.

     Can you see what is wrong?

     Yes, there is a cactus in the bird cage.  What is wrong with that?

     No----the fireplace is not eating the hassock.

     Yes there is a little burn mark on the floor where the corner of the hearth points to.  (That is what happens when you set a hot fireplace screen on wood-----but not what I am after.)

     No----nothing wrong with the bollard, but that is a good question----why DOES my fireplace have a bollard?

     Bad housekeeping?

     I wish. 

     Unfortunately when you see something like this in your home, you likely have Carpenter Ants.  As they excavate the wood for their habitat they have to do something with the “frass” so it gets kicked out somewhere----in this case there was a small hole on the underside of the window seat that was convenient for them----sometimes they create a little hole called a “window” to kick out the debris.  If you look closely at the pile of debris it will be distinguished from regular sawdust by containing other particulate----including body parts of Carpenter Ants.

     In this case you can’t just go to the hardware store and buy a can of “Antaway” and be good to go.  You have to call the Pest Control Operator and have the whole house treated for Carpenter Ants.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     Did you ever notice how interesting the word “decision” is? 

     We are all making decisions every day. 

     Some people can be very decisive----just forging ahead at all costs (listen up bungee jumpers), while others are so indecisive they can barely get themselves out of bed in the morning (Nutsy?).

     Still others refuse to make any decision at all----thinking that whatever they are dealing with will just go away if they simply decide nothing. Does that sound a little like Nutsy trying to cross the road?   A squirrels ability to get across the road is 99.9% luck.

     So here we have “deciding,” “indecision,” and “non-decision.” 

     My question of the day is:  would it help people to be more decisive if they were aware that all three are still ways of deciding?

     There really is no escape.  It is knowing which one is appropriate for each moment that matters----not that any one is "necessarily" wrong.  All can be the wrong choice however.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

     The other day I did an inspection for a renter that was considering buying the home they were renting.  I have done a few of these before and find it often helpful having the tenant being there as they can often provide “perspective” on concerns that I otherwise might not be able to get additional information about.

     One of their concerns was that whenever they flushed the master bathroom toilet---not only did the toilet make a lot of noise when flushed, but the water siphoned out of the sink and shower traps----or tried to anyway. 

     I said I would check it out and suspected some sort of venting issue.

     In talking to the seller, they echoed the tenants concerns and stated that it had always been that way----since it was built three years ago.

     When I inspected the attic this is what I found.

     Instead of the vents going through the roof all three vents were tied together and capped off.  As a result, when the toilet was flushed, it was attempting to “vent” through the sink drain and the shower drain resulting in the siphoning.

     One of the parties asked me how this could have ever pasted the city inspection.  I simply said that it would be unusual for a city inspector to go in the attic, and added that this is just one of the many examples of why I have a job.

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector