At an inspection today, I overheard two people speaking: One explaining to the other that the air-gap on the sink was an overflow for the dishwasher. She commented that, at her house, it always dribbles water back into the sink. This is the second or third time I have heard that conversation. Now I realize that most people do not know what the air-gap does. It looks like an oddity attached to the sink. Here is the deal. They are required, by most codes, for dishwashers and water softeners. The device, with no moving parts, is designed to eliminate a possible cross-connection between the potable water system and the sewage system. While not considered to be a large risk, without the air-gap there is always a possibility that unexpected discharge from the sewage system could siphon back into the drinking water. When these things spew, usually the hoses going to it or the device itself should be cleaned or replaced. Then again, if the hoses are reversed when the job is done, that can cause spewing too. In the realm of plumbing fittings, they cost little. The one below was an award winner in my book. I do not know if it was plumbed backwards or just plugged. At least the kitchen would not catch on fire when it was around and nobody needed a bucket to wash the floor.

Thanks for dropping by for a leak,

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA home inspector

www.kingofthehouse.com

I thought I would show you the photo below. It is quite illustrative of just how damaging to wood a water leak can be. That is the case, at least, if said leak is not noticed right away and goes on for a long time. I have no idea how long this leak had been going on, but it was not even that big a leak when I found it. It was under the shower drain and, when I went in the crawl, it was just a few drops of water. But it had done some longterm damage. There is plain old rot -- wood decay fungi -- present but there are assorted other fungal growths as well. No two ways about it, there is a job for a professional contractor here. Oh and a plumber too!

Thanks for coming on down.

Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

Bellingham WA home inspector

 Yesterday, when I posted part two of Crawl Space Horrors, a realtor mentioned that she could not understand how people could be so oblivious to what is happening under their home. With a few exceptions, I find that people have no clue. Now, if the toilet drain was never hooked up they might figure that out -- then again don't count on it. I have the photos to prove that point but will not be sharing them.  This inspection below is from more than a year ago. I saw clues that something was going on, but I do not think the people knew what was going on even though they were working around a problem. Virtually every room had a dehumidifier running. There was one in each bedroom, the living room and the den. They were fancy devices that actually vent outdoors with a vacuum cleaner type hose that routes to the window. Most of the windows were open to accomodate these devices. I asked the son of the seller why they had so many units. He said they just liked to condition the air. 

When I got in the crawl space, I realized what was going on. The people caught on that the house was too damp inside, but they had no idea why. So, instead of doing some detective work, they tried to dehumidify the air. The first picture was my first view. When I opened the door of the crawl space, I saw a sheen to the insulation. I touched it and it was like a wet bath towel. As I looked deeper inside, it was like viewing something from a haunted house. The insulation had collapsed. The crawl space vents were blocked or below grade so all of the moisture present was going up into the insulation and finally up into the house. You ask: Why was there moisture? Well, there was a plumbing leak -- I believe a tub -- and it was completely filling one half of the crawl space with about 3" of water every morning. It would have filled the other half too, but there was a low concrete wall down the center that acted as a barrier. The wood joists and beams had turned a black fungal color and it was rotten in many areas.

I changed my procedures a bit after this one. When I see a house, anymore, that has blocked crawl space vents and other conducive conditions, I take a reading inside with a relative humidity gauge. I have found that, usually, I know from that reading just how wet and icky the crawl space might be. This real estate deal, by the way, did not close. Too bad really. The sellers were nice people and had no idea, despite the clues they missed along the way, that the house had this leak. The problem was, the longterm leak was no longer the problem -- the whole crawl space had become the issue. Most people just do not go under there, period!

First view, wet, collapsed insulation

3" of water

The state of the lumber

Thanks for boating with me,

Steven L. Smith,

Bellingham WA home inspector

www.kingofthehouse.com

 Well, the sunshine was out today and I had a day off and some time out in the garden. It has been several days, but I took a look at the berries. I tend to grow some of the fruit, the wife does the flowers and vegetables. The first photo is the blackberries. They look robust this year, but they are not going to be ripe for a month or so. This plant is really neat, thornless -- no stickers at all. Below that is the raspberries. They are ripe now. If you do not know it, Whatcom County is one of the few, and among the largest, of the raspberry growing areas in the nation. I did an inspection yesterday, and a huge commercial raspberry field was just across the street. 

Thornless blackberry, 25 year old plant

Raspberries, 8 year old plant

Thanks for looking.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA home inspector