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

I looked at the calendar today and, surprised, realized that the week after next is the beginning of the next fundamentals of home inspection training class at Bellingham Technical College. Monday, March 8, is the day.

The beginning of the class, without fail, means I have to watch my schedule. Although there are several of us who teach the class, classroom duties on certain days, shall we say, make scheduling inspections for clients a challenge.

This is a four week course and the first three weeks are comprised of 120 hours of fundamentals training and instruction while the last week consists of 40 hours of field training.The student who passes the course, both sections, will be approved to sit for the state home inspector licensing exams. This is, of course, a fully state approved course, approved by the Washington State Department of Licensing, Home Inspector Division. Anyone wishing to obtain more information may call 360-752-8796.

Steven L. Smith

One of the most common problems seen in the new house is a vapor barrier that is not complete, builder shortcut. Along with that, much of the time, the inspector will also find scraps of wood and cardboard left over in the crawl space.

Since moisture from the ground will pass around the vapor barrier, and that moisture will end up inside the house, it is important to have the vapor barrier cover the earth. In a related matter, scrap wood and cellulose, including paper and cardboard, serve as shelter for wood destroying organisms. That is to be avoided by the homeowner for sure. The good news is that usually these problems can be pretty easily solved, especially in the new home.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

One tough find, especially at a new house that looks good otherwise, is discovering a wet crawl space.  Dry is necessary in a crawl space. It is important to keep not only the lumber in the crawl space dry but the humidity levels upstairs will be a problem if water from below evaporates up. I once had a client query if it was not okay to have substructure water, just as long as there wasn't a plumbing leak causing it. 

The resounding answer to that question is "no." In a practical sense, seasonally, we northwest inspectors see some crawl space water at some houses. That might even be the case when a sump pump is in place. However, often the sump pump is not installed properly. A homeowner sticks one down at a wet corner but there is no means used to route all water to the pump. For a pump to be effective, in most cases, the catch basin and pump must be sized properly and water from all wet areas has to be routed or sloped towards the pump. Water does not run uphill in excitement, even to meet a new sump pump. 

Resolving crawl space water issues is sometimes easy: fix a plumbing leak, control runoff water. On the other hand, the resolution might, also, include expensive repairs: pumps, grading, adding gravel by people who charge lots of money to crawl around under there. The builder, the inspector and the homeowner need to have a low tolerance for crawl space water.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

I was out at Sudden Valley the other day. That is a community south of Bellingham. You go by Lake Whatcom and suddenly you are at Sudden Valley. It has it's own little lake -- Lake Louise. I remember going to see Lake Louise as a kid, before Sudden Valley was a thought in anyone's mind. My dad would drive there, with me in tow, and no one was ever around except an old guy, probably a squatter, who lived in a tar paper shack. There were deer too, and I still take photos of deer almost every time I go out there. Today was an exception, I did not see deer, but I got a nice photo of a little park and the lake and nearby houses.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

I had a chilling experience the other day while up on a roof that was icy on one side. I did not go over to that side, for safety. But there was an interesting phenomenon in play. Have any of you ever heard of spirit photos? During the days when spirit seances were taken very seriously, in the early part of the last century, spirit mediums would produce photos that would shock people by having an unexpected ghost in the photo. I always guffawed at those. But wait!

Last Saturday morning I was up on this roof. I swear that only I was there. Nobody else was on premises, not even a mouse or a squirrel (who was sleeping in). When I got home, and processed my photos, my heart stood still. In those photos, plain as day, was a spirit. I was standing clear over at the other side of the roof, yet this presence emerged just slightly in the first photo and we will go from there.

It was as if this spirit was emerging, like an ethereal object from the valley of the roof. Then I got another shot as it became an amorphous blob.

And finally it showed it's true colors and emerged in full size.

I am so glad that the ghost became present on the photos and that I did not get a startling start, and become acutely aware of its essence, while I was up there. I might have, in fear, clattered over and off the icy slope .

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

I have, over the last several years, made a habit of posting my deer photos at Active Rain. Deer are very photogenic. Over and over again, when I see deer, it is at home inspections at Sudden Valley. Heck, they might be on the road but, more often than not, they come right up to me to visit. Here is one that I took a shot at (camera shot) right after the creature went meandering by.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

This photo is very descriptive of the topic of this post. See the gimmick in the gutter? It looks kind of like a badminton birdie.

Here in the northwest, where we have lots of runoff water, it seems like people are always looking for gimmicks and gadgets that will perform miracles so they no longer have to do routine maintenance on these critical drainage systems.

The miracles that often do not work include elementary gutter guards which are a good enough idea but I find that the gutters below them are always blocked with crud anyway. But, due to the gutter guard, you often cannot even see the problem without performing acrobatics. Then there are the crazy downspout extensions that are big green retractable plastic bladders with numerous holes. If they even operate at all, then they still dump all the water next to the foundation. An amusing video showing just how wonderful they can be is at this link. Be prepared to be underwhelmed.

Then of course there are the guards, shown above in the photo, that, in theory, keep the water flowing and the downspout clear.  If you buy that idea, then look at the photo a second time. Spending a couple bucks on a gimmick or a gadget does not mean that one can ignore home maintenance concerns from that date forward. The cheap and easy way is often not the best way.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham Technical College is now an approved provider for the supplemental training course that is mandatory for those home inspectors who require more education in order to meet state licensing requirements.

Many home inspectors had previously taken home inspector education, but the courses did not meet current state guidelines. If students had taken a sufficient number of hours, then they are allowed to take 40 hours of supplemental training and that will qualify them to take the state exam.

BTC is offering the supplemental course in conjunction with our regular fundamentals classes. Those requiring supplemental training will attend key refresher classes. Because we have limited classroom space at BTC, typically rooms that hold no more than 12 to 16 students, space for the supplemental program is limited. Most students taking the supplemental course will, also, wish to take the 40 hours of field training.

Anyone interested in this course, beginning March 9,  may obtain more information by contacting Bellingham Technical College at 360-752-8796.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham Technical College has another Fundamentals of Home Inspection training course beginning on March 8. This state approved course will provide instruction in structure, exterior and interior inspections, electrical, plumbing, wood stoves, chimneys, insulation and ventilation, HVAC and the laws that regulate the profession including rules that apply to home inspectors and structural pest inspectors.

One guest who we have come in to the class, when it is possible, is Dr. Dan Suomi of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Dan is the regulator who oversees licensed structural pest inspectors. Dan also is an educator and believes that the more he speaks to classes, the less time he will spend citing those who make mistakes. Prevention is the word. 

You do not see this one often at older houses because the yard is usually done. But you see it fairly often around my area at new construction. This is a photo from a new home that is being purchased in the near future. The buyers want to make sure that they are first in line at the house, so they have ordered an inspection prior to everything being complete. The house is there but the site work is not complete.

The builder has some soil piled against the siding and the decks. It is not all like this, but this side is a good example. In the future, the yard will be finished and grass/sod put in place. From the standpoint of an inspector, I gave some suggestions on how to do that: Keep soil six inches away from wood, keep soil four inches below the cement-based siding and grade the soil with a slope of an inch per foot away from the house for six feet. That advice is a good start that the builder should be able to follow through on.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith