Steven L. Smith's Blog

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Deadbolt Lock Considerations -- Give It A Try

I have been working this weekend on some potentially new study guides and test revisions that we could use at Bellingham Technical College to prepare students to learn the basics and to work in the field of home inspection.

This is associated with the state approved fundamentals of home inspection training program that is offered through Bellingham Technical College several times a year. I thought that some of the Active Rain people might like to give this sample question a try.

 

This deadbolt lock, interior view, is on a door that provides egress at a private residence. Of the choices below, which is the best statement about this lock?

A. it provides good security

B. these keyed deadbolts are mandatory per code

C. it is a safety hazard

D. the lock is easy to pick, so a security risk

 

Which answer will you go for? Inspectors might do us a favor and pass on answering this one, as it is pretty basic.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

Old-Fashioned Progress

During my recent visit to Oaxaca, Mexico, it was impossible not to notice the major work going on to improve the infrastructure. The initial impression was that they were improving the roads and sidewalks because all of the streets were torn up. 

In fact, they had to tear the streets and sidewalks up to make it possible to get to and replace the old sewer lines. And, in so doing, they were also upgrading water lines into some of the buildings that were located by the streets and sidewalks.

The most obvious difference to construction methods as seen in the USA, was the amount of work that was being done by hand. I would count up to 40 workmen at a time working with picks and shovels.

These workmen work seven days a week from about 8am till 9pm. They brought their lunches and, typically, wives or girlfriends came by with dinner and they dined together on the street. These guys were working hard. There was no "lazy" going on here and I only ever, once, saw a foreman with a clipboard and no other tools. Near the end of a project, once the masonry streets and sidewalks were removed and the new pipes were in place, they did bring in a road grader and a steam roller.

Often people look down their noses at this kind of "old-fashioned" work project, but I am not so sure they should. As would be the case in the USA, where you tend to have a zillion heavy machines and lots of flaggers and a handful of workers, I thought this project was moving along with amazing and similar speed. I really think that the workers were getting the job done just as fast, or faster, than it would have been done here. And, in so doing, the city employed a ton of people and cut down on lots of diesel exhaust.

I know that such work will never be that way here, probably for any number of good reasons, but I do not think that we should automatically frown and look down our noses at these societies that depend more on human power and less on heavy machinery. From what I can see, human workers can get the job done and, by doing the work that way, it keeps lots of people working in a downtrodden Mexican economy.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

Butter You Say? -- A Traveler's Saga

My wife and I have an amusing time communicating in Mexico. We go to Oaxaca, not nearly as touristy as some of the Mexico destinations, so some of the locals speak good English, others very little. Back in high school, forty years ago, I took two years of Spanish. I learned many words and pronunciations at the time, but many of the words have flown the coup.

My wife speaks reasonably good Italian. She has been studying it now for about five years at a local college and with a private tutor. Italian is, in many ways, similar to Spanish. For example, days of the week are not quite alike, but they have many similarities. There are other ways in which the languages veer in opposite directions from one another. It can be hard to guess just when that might occur.

Case in point:  We were in a nice restaurant

And we wanted some butter for the bread (Pane in Italian, Pan in Spanish)

I, for the life of me, could not remember the Spanish word for butter, if I ever learned it. So, in this case, figuring that a basic product like butter might be said much the same or "close" in both Spanish and Italian, my wife asked for butter in Italian.

Oops. You can click on the photo of the butter dish below to see what it is that she actually ordered when the Italian word was translated back into Spanish.

That is the long and the short of it. We ordered a burro brought to the table. The Italian word for butter is burro. Unfortunately, the Spanish word for butter is not even close -- "mantequilla".

Oh well, you win some and lose some but who cares if you have a good time. By the way, the burro we ended up with was very stubborn but fun and we got to ride him around the block twice.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

 

Rock and Roll -- Disco Bus To Bless Your Soul

You have got to love some of the strange sights, at least based on what we are used to around here, that you see in Mexico. They worry less about litigation I think. In Huatulca, which is an ocean front community, they have one of the more unusual tourist attractions that I have ever witnessed.

If you go into La Crucecita, the city center, at night you will find the famous Disco Bus. This bus is colorful, decked-out with bright paint, and it is a double-decker with the roof cut out up above at the top deck. It takes a "party on wheels" from one night spot to another.

Now, to be honest, I never got on the bus, nor did my wife. But we got a kick out of it when it went by. It was a common topic of conversation among us tourists. We tourists wondered just how safe it is for the dancers if the bus makes any quick stops.

 

The bus has loud music, flashing lights and a crowd of people dancing and rocking-out as the vehicle toodles down the road from one spot to another. It stops at some of the scenic outlook points and it, also, even takes revelers to some other bars and nightspots, such as the renowned and beloved "Tipsy Blowfish" bar.

It just so happens that a reveler, very enamored with the disco bus, shot a video of the action inside the bus as the party was going on. You might not want to watch the whole video, but you will get a kick out of watching part of it. So strange.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

The Day the Music Died -- 51 Years Ago Today

I have not written a music related blog post in some time. I have been too busy or otherwise preoccupied. I had an enquiry asking if I would write a post about the tragic events that transpired on this date 51 years ago.

This day is referred to in popular lore and music as "The Day the Music Died." Three young, shining talents in the field of rock n' roll, which was emerging as a major force in those early years of the genre, perished in an airplane crash in the early morning hours of February 3, 1959.

The performers were part of a three week tour across the Midwest -- The Winter Dance Party. Below, I have selected what I consider to be interesting historical videos of the three performers whose lives were snuffed-out in that plane crash.

First, and foremost, we have Buddy Holly. You cannot fail but to be amused by the introduction that he receives from the hostess as he performs on the Arthur Murray Dance Party. 

Next, we have Ritchie Valens. Ritchie was one of the first of the Tex-Mex stars. He is best know for La Bamba and Donna, but this is the only video I could find that actually shows him in action. It is quite amusing even if it is not one of his signature songs. 

And, last of all, the world of entertainment lost J.P. Richardson, best known as The Big Bopper. He was a former deejay and, to a large degree, talked his way through his hits. The best known of his tunes is Chantilly Lace.

And, for those of you who have no memories of this event, since it occurred so many years ago, it was immortalized in this 1970's song by Don McLean. American Pie may be almost as famous as the event itself.

For more "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections

Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207

Wordless Wednesday

Fundamentals Of Home Inspection Training

The next fundamentals of home inspection training course will begin at Bellingham Technical College on March 8. The course is fully approved by the state of Washington.

  

This is a four week course. The first three weeks consist of the 120 hours of fundamentals training and the last week is field training, 40 hours.

The student who successfully completes the course, both elements of it, will be qualified to sit for the state home inspector licensing exams. Anybody who would like additional information on this course should call 360-752-8600, extension 8796. The cost of the course, including the text books, is $3,500.00.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

Ancient Stucco

During my recent trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, my wife and I visited an archaeological site that is called Yagul. There are several such sites in this region, the most amazing of the group being Monte Alban.

However, Yagul was interesting as well. This ancient civilization dates back to several hundred years B.C. Much of the residential building took place between 1200 and 1500 A.D.

One of the things that I found interesting about it, being a home inspector, was that certain areas of the construction were finished with early stucco.

Stucco is one of the most common exterior finish systems in this region and, obviously, it has a rich and successful history of having been used in that capacity. In Washington, we see stucco but it is more of a job for the homeowner to keep it up than in the dry climates.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

GeoLogo207

Urgent message to all Washington State Real Estate Agents!

I do not know of any other standards of home inspection that state an inspector must attempt to locate all of the possible mold. Inspectors, if we see it, will inform clients that there is an apparent problem. We are not, however, expected at this time to be responsible for any mold that might be found at some later date when the person moves in. This is a can of worms and liability that is way beyond what those who are not inspectors believe it to be. They think it is simple, it is not.

Via Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com):

     Actually this message is directed to anyone involved in any part of the real estate transaction in Washington State.  All agents, appraisers, loan officers, and inspectors should be concerned about several bills currently working their way through the House and Senate in the State of Washington that in one Mushrooms on a termite nestway or another relate to home inspectors that will affect the entire real estate transaction.  This will be the first in a series of posts designed to bring to your attention the major concerns around these bills.  While some of these bills may never even make it out of committee, all deserve a quick email to your Senator or your House representative to voice your concern.

    The first one I will discuss is Senate Bill 5644 that would change Home Inspector Licensing to require home inspectors to include “looking for mold.”  Since home inspectors are not generally qualified to identify mold, and are not likely to get trained to identify mold, this bill could literally bring every real estate transaction in the state to a halt or at least slow it down while a mold expert is brought in to test the house for mold. 

     Mold is the result of conducive conditions----in other words there are: roof leaks, plumbing leaks, foundation leaks, ventilation problems, drainage problems, and other building science issues that must be addressed to get rid of this one of the many results of these problems.  Home inspectors, while not specifically required to identify mold are already mandated by law to discover and report on conducive conditions, so adding the word “mold” into the law is unnecessary.  As long as there is considerable controversy over the effects of home-environmental mold on occupants of the home, blanket legislation regarding mold is not necessary to better protect the health & safety of Washington residents.

     No one would argue that particulate in the air, whether mold or dust or other contaminates, can affect anyone’s breathing, but these are “building science” issues not mold issues.  Knowledgeable home inspectors are trained (or at least should be trained) to identify conditions that contribute to poor indoor quality including conditions conducive to the growth of mold.  Any inspector that found conditions that they didn’t understand related to these issues would already be calling for further evaluation by the appropriate building science expert----calling for a mold expert to evaluate every real estate transaction would seem draconian to me.

     While calling for the “mold expert” would not be “required” by the current bill, can you imagine any inspector “signing off” on a house as being mold free?  I think not.  To paraphrase Chicken Man, “Its everywhere, its everywhere.” 

 

     If you click on this paragraph you will find the bill and its current status.  You will also find links to the sponsors where you can email them directly about this bill.  You can also find links to your own legislators that you can email as well.  Please take a moment to give them your opinion on this matter.

 

Other Important Bills:

Senate Bill 5644 PART 2

Senate Bill 6434 

 

Charles Buell

 

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Click on the Rose A Group by any other name. 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)sunsmileall pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.Just quack on me to subscribe

Raven DeCroeDeCroe, 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 Human Rights Campaign

PART 3: Legislation that affects Home Inspectors in Washington State

This is a significant blog, and of importance, written by Charles Buell.

Via Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector (Charles Buell Inspections.com):

     This is the 3rd in a series of posts I am doing on pending legislation that affects Licensed, Washington State, Home Inspectors----which in turn affects the real estate industry as a whole.

Perhaps they are under this log?     Senate Bill 6433  would extend the deadline for persons to meet qualifications for classroom training and field training until July 1, 2010.  The various deadlines around grandfathering for experienced and “newer” inspectors was somewhat convoluted, and some would say downright confusing.  Now that some of these deadlines have passed and most inspectors have done what it took to meet the requirements of the new law, there are a few that would like to turn the clock back so that they could be allowed to meet grandfathering provisions that were not intended for them.  While due to the perceived confusion, this might seem “fair,” it most certainly would not be fair for those that missed the deadlines for one reason or another and have taken it upon themselves to meet the requirements of the law without whining.

     I can imagine that these folks would be justifiably annoyed if these time tables were now changed.

     It is surprising to me that there are still those that claim to have never heard about licensing when this has been ongoing for more than 3 years.  To have been doing home inspections and never heard of upcoming licensing, the “inspector” was not likely the member of any Inspection Association (The proposed licensing was regularly “ripped-a-new-one” on most of the forums of the various associations).  They were not likely a Licensed Structural Pest Inspector (Being licensed as an SPI was required to perform home inspections in Washington State prior to current licensing.  Structural Pest Inspectors received notices about upcoming changes in the Home Inspection profession).  They also most likely did not read the papers.  In other words they would have had to have been living under a VERY big log to have not heard about what was coming----and in a way not part of the inspection community at all.

     While I have sympathy for these folks, I have more sympathy for those who did what it took to jump through the various hoops to get themselves licensed.

 

     If you click on this paragraph you will find the bill and its current status.  You will also find links to the sponsors where you can email them directly about this bill.  You can also find links to your own legislators that you can email as well.  Please take a moment to give them your opinion on this matter.

 

Other Important Bills:

Senate Bill 5644 

Senate Bill 6434  

 

Charles Buell

 

                                                        * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Click on the Rose A Group by any other name. 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)sunsmileall pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.Just quack on me to subscribe

Raven DeCroeDeCroe, 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 Human Rights Campaign