Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, WA Home Inspector (King of the House)

My wife and I are back home, in Bellingham, after our annual jaunt down to Oaxaca, Mexico. Secret: We missed the big winter snow and wind storm that took place here in Whatcom county. Oaxaca is near Guatemala, so almost to Central America. We love it in the city and we have made some fine friends among the Mexican people since we have been going there for four years now.

We enjoy the color, the sounds and the lively atmosphere. The environment is anything but bland. The public square or zocalo is full of poinsettias in bloom, people in bright clothes, vendors with handmade wares, women balancing heavy loads on their heads as they walk (you see some of that in the video) and lots of music.

This video I shot on the spot is an example. My wife and I were walking home from the zocalo, after dinner, and we ran into this joyous wedding procession, complete with a marching band, about 9pm in the center of town. That is much of the fun of visiting this city, you never know what you might see next.

Years ago there was a famous movie called Night of the Iguana. It was first a Tennessee Williams play that became a movie and it took place in Mexico in the 1940's. Richard Burton was a priest in the movie that went on to win an oscar for costumes.

My wife and I have been in tropical southern Mexico for going on two weeks now. And we were sitting on our terrace  when we heard a noise -- looked over by a pot and there was a big lizard.

This is the third time, in as many years, that we have visited Aqua Azul La Villa, and we have heard about the iguana in residence. This is the first time he has come out so we could see him.

I went inside and, a few minutes later, my wife heard a scuffling noise behind her. She turned around and there was an iguana about twice the size of this one. Just about that time, my assistant, Nutsy Wallenda let out a yelp that startled the iguanas and they spilt prior to our getting a photo of the larger one. My wife has a better closeup shot of this one, but that is on her camera.

My wife often tells me that I am in hot water. Actually, in most cases, that is an expression that refers to my poor behavior versus anything to do with water.

However, in the course of doing home inspections in Bellingham and Whatcom county, I often find water heaters that are set too hot -- the water temperature set so high as to lead to a high probability of a scalding burn.

In this photo, the water is almost 137 degrees F. To reduce the probability of a scalding burn, water should be set no higher than 120 degrees F. In order to get a burn, at 120 degrees, it takes several seconds. However, the higher the temperature is, over 120 degrees, the less exposure it takes to cause a serious burn that will require medical attention.

Water temperature can vary, depending on how recently the tank heated, so homeowners should check the hot water periodicially with a meat thermometer and have it adjusted so as to never exceed 120 degrees F. Usually, with a gas hot water heater, setting the temperature is as simple as turning a dial. At an electric water heater, a person is potentially exposed to high voltages at the internal thermostats, so setting such a tank should be done by a qualified person.

 One issue, often found to be present during the course of a home inspection, is perimeter pavement or soil that slopes toward the home. Here in the northwest, more often than not, houses have crawl spaces and not basements. I have even seen soil or pavement slope directly toward a crawl space vent. Below is a shot from an inspection, this is my indicator to myself, often displayed in reports, to get the point across about the slope of the soil. 

This is, in most cases, not difficult to correct by grading soil. But, if the problem is not corrected, it may not be a benign issue. It can lead to water entering the crawl space or the basement, when a basement is present. Soil should, as a guideline, be graded with a slope away from the house. A slope with a drop of about 1" per foot for 6 to 8 ft away from the house is beneficial. And, if it is pavement sloped toward the house, not allowing water to soak into the soil at all, this problem can be exacerbated and it will be necessary to re-slope or replace the pavement.

Assessing the adequacy of water pressure, among residents of a home, is often a case of perspective. I have seen people, used to a well system out in rural Bellingham or Whatcom county, move into a city home that had marginal pressure, per city standards, and they were thrilled. Other times, I have seen people look upon what I considered to be adequate pressure as poor pressure. It is all relative to what you are accustomed to. 

Despite my saying it is relative, there are tests, and parameters, for pressure -- done with a simple water pressure gauge. The gauge above is showing water pressure over 120 PSI. That is high. Standard plumbing guidelines state that water pressure should run between 40 PSI and 80 PSI. Once it hits around or over 80, I give people the basic norms for water pressure and suggest that they contact a plumber. Pressure that is too high can shorten the lifespan of some appliances, valves, etc. At the other end, low pressure really does become relative and a matter of preference. It is not going to hurt anything, but it might also mean poor flow at sinks, showers, hoses, etc.

Typically, the ideal pressure at a one-story house is about 50 PSI and when you add on more floors, also, add about 5, or a bit more, PSI per floor.

I was online reading a news story about how many people found 2011 to be one of the worst years of their lives -- unemployment, no money, the usual things reported these days. One person interviewed referred to last year as shared misery.

It made me grateful to have my niche here in Whatcom County. I found last year to be a year of modest growth, although I did pretty much the same as the year before. I have gotten to a point where I can only do so many inspections so I have been sending overflow to some other friends who do a good job. That technique keeps me sane and helps out my friends, however, it does keep my overall numbers fairly flat unless I raise rates.

Anyway, happy new year to all of you. One member of my staff finds this a great opportunity to wear flashy seasonal outfits.

I want to wish all of my Active Rain friends -- internationally, nationally, statewide and locally -- a great Christmas. As I write this post, we have a really windy day here. I am hoping that the power does not go out. I am so glad I no longer am involved in being an engineer in radio, wind often led to power outages and real headaches. And, due to the time of the year, this often happened between Thanksgiving and New Years. That is a responsibility from my past life that I do not miss at all. Dead air meant no advertising revenue.

Hope the rest of this year, and the new year, brings everyone only the best and none of the worst. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of the King of the House staff, some of whom are really getting into the spirits, so to speak.

The first Billboard Top 40 Charts of the rock era emerged in 1955 when the Bill Haley classic "Rock Around the Clock" hit #1. Anyone who is into the era, and the evolution of the music, knows that rock 'n' roll was a derivative of the soul and gospel music that was created and popular with African Americans.

It is not surprising that the first #1 hit by an African American group was on the horizon, shortly after the inception of the Top 40 Charts.  This group, today, is lesser known than some of the big 1960's soul groups -- Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops. However this group, from Los Angeles, while not exactly rock "n" rollers, could sing like canaries and they were a dominant force in the 1950's and the early 1960's.

Back in 1956, those were simpler and less controversial times. It was exciting. Rock music was new, TV was new, the Second World War was over and people liked, and respected, the President. Ike Eisenhower was a universally popular President (a phenomenon that has eluded recent occupants of the oval office). Ike was a former war hero, who had helped engineer the defeat of Hitler and Nazi terror. Both political parties had wanted him as their Presidential candidate, he was coy about his political affiliations, but Ike ended up serving two terms as a Republican.

This group that goes down in history as scoring the first #1 hit for African American artists in the rock era, consisted of four guys and a 15 year old girl. In the end, these kids were the most popular vocal group during the first five years of the rock era. They had forty chart hits and that included fourteen songs in the Top 20, seven in the Top 10 and four that peaked at #1.

This is an appropriate post, here on Christmas Day, and you will know why when you hear the tune. To be taken back in time to remember 1956, and to hear original members of the group perform their hit (all be it a few years later), simply click on the 1950's TV. Make that test pattern go away and participate in the sound of music history.

It is my goal, at a home inspection, to try to look at all components and systems. That not only earns me repeat business from clients and agents, but it provides some insulation against potential client complaints. Logic prevails: The more you see the less important stuff you miss.

It is not possible to find everything that might be wrong at a house. Finding 100% of the problems is not achievable within the confines of a home inspection. Sometimes mother nature herself interferes. This time of year, it is not unusual for the home inspector in this region to have restricted roof access due to ice.

The state law, standards of practice, wants the inspector to go on the roof. It says: When it is possible to do so, safely and without damage to roofing materials or components,  a home inspector will traverse the roof. Problem is, sometimes you cannot safely traverse the roof. Case in point below:

That roof is a sheet of ice. All you can do, as an inspector, is put a ladder up to the eaves at some locations, view it with binoculars or a telescope and take zoom photos with a camera. Trying to go on that roof would be treacherous. I have gone on iced roofs, in the past, because I thought the ice had melted sufficiently. I hit slick spots, not a comfortable feeling!

Sometimes, the inspector can see obvious problems, enough so to comfortably state that the roof requires repairs and further review by a roofing contractor. Other times, the surface looks okay, but an inspector does not know for sure due to the limited access. In those cases, the inspector should explain to the client exactly what he or she could, and could not, see. Let the client weigh in on that information. It might be a less than perfect inspection scenario, but sometimes that is the best you can do -- You can't always do what you want! I wanted to get up on the roof but mother nature said "no."