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

This post is not concerned about losing the key to the door. This could be a mere annoyance, or it could be a bigger problem.

When a gas fireplace is installed, it requires a gas shutoff valve that is accessible. The old-fashion key entry in the wall, for a shutoff, is common and I see it frequently.

The other thing that I notice frequently is that I do not see the shutoff key anywhere nearby. Obviously, for looks, people may not want to leave it in the wall. But if there should be an emergency, it would sure be a good idea to have that key somewhere close-by so every resident of the home could get his or her hands on it if need be.

Got your key?

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Sometimes builders know better, maybe the workers do not, or maybe they are just so busy trying to get a job done that good building practices go away for awhile.

Below is an example. This is common. I see it at least half the time even at new houses. The contractors install the wood trim so that it goes right down onto the flat surface pavement at the garage. I see it on the houses too, but the garage is a favorite place for this short cut.

This garage is not ten years old yet, already, there is some decay in that lower wood in two of the four places where this problem exists. The wood should end an inch or two above the flat surface to keep it above the water. Pretty simple really.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a zillion crawl spaces. Seriously, they are way more common than slabs or basements. And, in these unconditioned crawl spaces, foundation vents are required.

They are usually put in place but then, often, the soil around the house is shoved up against the vents. A good plan is to put in "wells" at the vents. The builder clears soil back in front of the vent, hopefully fills the area with pea-gravel up until a few inches under the vent. They use metal, plastic and pressure treated lumber for the wells.

So far, okay. But the problem comes in when someone makes the well but does not seem to understand the point of the well, so the soil is left at the same level to the vent as it would be if the well was elsewhere. Makes no sense but common practice. This is not a complicated fix -- dig out the well, make it deeper.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

The next session of state approved home inspector field training, through Bellingham Technical College, will get under way on July 30 and continue through August 6. This follows on the heels of the Fundamentals of Home Inspection Training Course which will begin at Bellingham Technical College on July 12 -- a Monday. The Fundamentals course is three weeks long and it fulfills the state's requirement of 120 classroom hours. The final week is the 40 hours of approved field training. Students who successfully completes the program will be eligible to take the state licensing exam.

I pulled up at a house today out by the bay at Sandy Point and, right away, I knew that something fishy was going on. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure it out. All it took was one look at the mail box.

I thought it was a pretty funny but fishy mailbox. I have a friend who I would love to give it to. He is a fisherman and a fanatic. On second thought, I should have bartered the home inspection for the mail box. On third thought, nobody there owned the mailbox so it would have all been illegal and I would have been incarcerated. And how fishy is that?.

It was a very fishy day.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

To learn more about the state approved home inspection training course at Bellingham Technical College, simply click the start button on the video above. BTC is an approved provider of home inspection training in Washington State. The four week course is offered several times a year on the Bellingham campus and it includes three weeks of fundamentals of home inspection training and 40 hours of field training.

A term used by home inspectors and masons is "spalling". It refers to a masonry surface that it coming apart, pieces breaking off.

This is related to weather exposure and below is a very clear photo of a chimney that is being seriously afflicted by spalling. 

In fact, those pieces are large enough that they could actually be a falling hazard -- down onto some unsuspecting person's head.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

For many years now, those individuals buying older homes have been informed by inspectors, appraisers and the government that pre-1978 houses might contain lead-based paint and/or asbestos products.

The following general information applies to lead-based products and asbestos.

The manufacture of lead-based paint, applied for decades on both the exterior and the interior of homes, was discontinued in 1978; however existing product was used  through 1982.  In a related matter, up until the late 1980's, copper water supply pipes were "sweated" together with solder that contained some lead. Generally, that is considered to be a minor health risk but, if older copper pipes are present,  it is recommended that water be run for a minute or more prior to collecting drinking or cooking water from a tap.

Asbestos products were commonly used for decades and it can be assumed that they might be present in homes that were built even up into the mid-1980's. Common building materials that sometimes contain asbestos are "popcorn" textured ceilings, acoustic tiles, linoleum or vinyl (which might have another surface over it), siding and vermiculite attic insulation or wrap or tape on heating ducts.

Lead-based paints and asbestos products are not necessarily considered to be problems as long as the surfaces are in sound condition and not disturbed -- not flaking or airborne. 

Additional public attention was drawn to lead-based paint protocol in 2010. At that time, the EPA implemented a law that regulates the manner in which repairs and renovations must be performed, and the procedures that must be adhered to, at any home that was built prior to 1978. The law impacts both contractors and homeowners.

Often homeowners build decks based on tips from neighbors or some how-to-do-it guide that they purchase or are handed at a building center. The information that they glean, and what they understand, can lead to problems. Some of the common issues include decks not properly secured to the house, unsafe steps, handrails and guardrails.

One of the more subtle ones, is the deck that is secured right up against the wood siding and there is not a proper metal flashing in place.  Below is an example.

Water pools on the flat surface and that leads to moisture accumulating against the wood wall. Given some time, the wood decays. This can lead to an unsafe deck or faulty attachment to the home. Or, it can lead to not only rot of siding but decay or water damage inside a wall at the structure.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

When I do an inspection at a large house, that is very spread out, I use every technique I can think of to remind myself of what problem was found at what locations. When you have about seven hose bibbs and a number of GFCI receptacles, some hidden, it can be challenging to at least give some guidance to the client as to where a problem might be found. I really do not like to be too generic.

I use notes and I also use photos and sometimes, in my photos, I use symbols. In this case, call it my own code -- call it a hex -- the crossed fingers mean this hose bibb has problems. Using mnemonics and memory games and all, the good news is that I also remember where it is located. 

When a person is trying to remember a lot of things, any crutch will do in a storm.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith