Steven L. Smith's Blog

This is the electric cover removed from the main panel in a mobile home park. The burn or arc marks are from high voltage - 240V. At some point, the two legs of the 240 volt conductor came in contact with the metal cover. This was an old, and unsafe, main panel so that was not too surprising. Water had been inside of it for some time. In looking up inside the panel, the 220V wires were bare and in such a position that someone removing, or replacing, the panel cover could have, and obviously did, short the live 240V conductors. This is, in my view, the most dangerous panel I have ever inspected.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

It does not seem to matter if it is a shower curtain or a shower door, often the most significant water damage in a home is around the tub, especially when the tub has a shower. The problem is that people do not adequately caulk floor areas or they fail to caulk, properly install doors or monitor water that is getting out of the tub during showers and entering the wall. Sometimes that can be fairly subtle as the water gets around a shower door. Other times it is pretty hard to imagine that someone did not see what was going on. With so many people up in arms about mold, it is odd that such things would get this out of hand. See the photo below. Regardless, the solution is not merely to repair the wall and associated damage but to also trouble shoot the shower and find out why the water was getting out in the first place.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

As a home inspector, I see lots of odd crawl space structures and repairs that were not part of the original construction. These range from structures with an obvious purpose, such as stiffening the underneath of a tile floor, to the very weird. For example, this is among the poorer bits of workmanship I have seen. The floor, at the back porch, was unstable and, when you walked on it, the floor sagged. Someone decided to shore it up by tacking this in place. It consists of two 2x4's resting on a 2x6 that is flat and a couple bricks support it all as the footing -- or so they think. The wood is in the dirt; the structure has no strength and is cut too short anyway. Over time it will decay. Add to that, the fact that it is not even doing the job it was intended to do - the floor still gives significantly. Structural repairs should be properly designed, have adequate footings, and be built to last.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kinofthehouse.com

Over and over again, as a home inspector, I see easily accessed outlets and light switches that have no covers. If a home is older, it seems that is very often the case. In fact, there should be covers on ALL of the switches, junction boxes or outlets in a home. The worst offenders are connections in basement areas and garages. The rest of the house might be okay, but look out for those lesser-traveled spots. The biggest risk is plain old shock hazard. Especially young kids are likely to stick their fingers in these boxes and a shock is the logical conclusion. Just remember, if you are a realtor, to have your clients put covers on all the visible outlets, switches and junction boxes.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

One thing a home inspector should look at, at least in a wet climate like the Pacific Northwest, is the slope of the property. Is the slope of the land going to lead to water running back against the structure of the home? If the answer is yes, and soil is involved, it is hard to predict exactly what might happen. But if the soil is heavy clay, and drainage is pour, it could lead to moisture issues -- such as in the crawl space. On the other hand, if the soil has great drainage, then it may not be any problem at all. A more critical issue is concrete that has been poured or has settled in such a way that it slopes toward the home. The photo below, which just happened to be taken after a rain, shows that the rain is being diverted toward the basement. It would be much better if this concrete sloped the other way, so as to drain runoff water away from the home.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

You will probably have trouble figuring out the photo below. It is not a loose plumbing supply pipe. This is something a home inspector sees over and over again. The drain from the temperature pressure relief valve from the hot water heater is routed to drain under the house into the crawl space. There are a couple problems here (1) it is contrary to plumbing guidelines which state that the TPR drain should be visible, just in case the TPR valve develops a leak because you want to know there is a problem (2) should the TPR valve develop a leak, or if there is an occasional discharge, then that water will end up in the crawl space. And, as you know, water in the crawl space is to be discouraged. In this state this is labeled as a conducive condition for attracting wood destroying organisms such as termites, carpenter ants, wood decay fungi and anobiid beetles. A plumber should be contacted to route the line outside the crawl space to a visible location.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

A key to reducing the chances of attracting wood destroying organisms includes having a vapor barrier down on the soil in the crawl space. Without such a barrier, the moisture in the soil evaporates up into the crawl space and even up into the interior of the home. That leads to the wood being moist and damp all the time. In my readings and many homes, this one in Burlington area, I find that the relative humidity reading are much higher in homes that do not have vapor barriers. High relative humidity is a conducive condition and a contributor to mold growth. Wood destroying organisms that are attracted to moist crawl spaces, in my region of the country, include two species of termites, carpenter ants, moisture ants, anobiid beetles and wood decay fungi or rot. The crawl space below needs to have a vapor barrier. Also, if the plastic needs to be held on place, to keep it from shifting, never use wood. Instead use rocks, concrete or bricks - material that is not appealing to wood destroying organisms.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

Trees can cause a myriad of problems when they are too near, or hanging over, roofs.  Sometimes the damage is pretty apparent: Like when the big branch blows in the wind and rips or breaks shingles off. Perhaps more devastating long-term, because homeowners do not pick up on it, is the roof that is shaded by trees all the time and, as a result of that, moss and fungus take over. Typically, when that is the case, the tree also sheds needles or leaves down on the roof leaving organic debris. When that occurs, the best thing to do is to prune the tree back, so it is no longer over the roof. If you cannot bear to do that, then trim it so it is at least 10' above the roof. You should clean a roof of debris and apply commercially available moss killers as needed. If you let the moss grow, that will drastically shorten the life of any roof.

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

Shake, and wood roofs, in general, can be very pretty roofs. But, if they start going south, they can deteriorate real fast. Because they are wood, if rot begins and moisture levels stay at twenty percent or higher, that rot will continue. Shakes are popular in my Pacific Northwest Region, but our damp climate leads to moss, rot, algae and deterioration. In the fall, winter and early spring it is impossible to keep the moisture below 20 percent at almost any location outside the home. Our periodic high winds contribute to shakes that are soft or rotten being blown off. If you are a realtor, listing or representing a buyer, be skeptical if they tell you the shakes will last a lifetime. Do not assume this person knows what he or she is talking about. The photo below was taken on a roof that the seller insisted had at least 35 more years left in it. Wishful thinking!

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Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

While not a serious problem, and one that everyone seems to be able to deal with without anyone freaking out, the leaking faucet can be irritating and wasteful of water. The condition can be at any faucet in the home, you choose: Laundry sink, bathtub, shower, jacuzzi, kitchen sink, bath sink. Many of these fixtures were installed by consumers who bought them on the cheap at home stores. These faucets are seldom designed for exceptional life spans - at least they will not achieve longevity without periodic maintenance and replacement of internal parts. The problem is often visible as dripping from the spout but frequently the issue might be leaking around the faucet, as someone turns it on - as in the photo. The solution is to have the faucet repaired or replaced by a qualified party. That is usually a plumber but some homeowners can do a good job, depending on the guidance they receive and the quality of the products the buy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com