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The picture below is an interior ceiling area that is located right below a flat roof. By a flat roof, I mean a low-sloped roof --even a flat roof should be designed to have some drainage so the water runs off the surface. The flat roof in the photo, looking from above, did not look bad. But, from below, there was this obvious stain and another one nearby too. This visual evidence creates a dilemma. The question is: Does the roof presently have a leak, or has the roof been repaired since this damage occurred? If it has been raining, the inspector can get a clue if it is leaking by checking the moisture levels at the ceiling but, if not, then it is all a big guess. Especially, if there is ceiling damage like this, about the only thing to do is to call for…

As a home inspector, I see quite a lot of standing water in crawl spaces and, less frequently, in basements. I have found, over the years, that the amount of water that is actually in the crawl space can be deceiving and way more than is initially expected. For example, once I was in a crawl space with two different large "pools" of ground water.  One was at one end and the other was at the other side. At the first location, the area was about 15' x 15' and the water was an average of 3" deep. If you put that into one of the handy and easy to use online calculators, for converting to cubic gallons, that ends up being 56 cubic feet of water or 420 gallons. At the other side of the crawl space, the water was in an area about 10' x 10' and it was 2" deep.…

I have done a number of posts online about the anobiid beetle -- which is so common in crawl spaces here in the Pacific Northwest. The insect leaves exit holes in soft lumber under our homes and will live for years and years if the conditions are right -- literally destroying much of the home. As a home inspector, I knew more about locating the pest and its biology than how to chemically treat it. In this state that must be done by a licensed pest control operator. A week back, while I was teaching at Bellingham Technical College, Dr. Dan Suomi of the WSDA offered to speak to the class. He is an entomologist, the main state enforcement officer we home inspectors might see, and did graduate level research a few years back on a common chemical control used…

A few times I have seen homes where the wood stove (burner) was some concoction designed by the homeowner. This dual arrangement of old metal barrels (photo below)  probably took the cake in my book. I remember seeing a number of single barrels like this, as wood stoves, in the 1960's but not in more recent years. This fellow wanted to get a roaring blaze going with two ganged together. Devices like this would not even come close to meeting today's wood burning emissions guidelines. Basically, when I see something like this, I state that it is an old fashioned, probably homemade, system that is certainly no where near the quality of today's wood burning products and it should be fully gone over, and likely replaced, by a wood stove professional prior to…

Magazines are full of people taking tests for all kinds of mostly silly reasons. Since this is a website for real estate professionals, I thought these three tests I created might be of interest. I designed them primarily for prospective home inspection students at Bellingham Technical College. They are not too difficult, but they should draw attention to the fact that the field requires retaining a lot of knowledge. If you would like to try your luck, they are all private and no information about you is being gleaned, and they score you on the spot. You will know how you did, and get a correct answer instantly, for any questions you miss. Give it a try if you like. And if I can ever answer any questions, or you would like to speak with me, please contact…

In the state of Washington, unlike many other states, those of us who do real estate property inspections are required to perform structural pest inspections and to be state licensed to do so. A number of states exclude home inspectors from discussing wood destroying organisms but, in this state, we are mandated to do so and are trained, tested and deemed to be proficient in the field.

One term in Washington State law is "conducive condition". A conducive condition can be any number of things, but refers to a condition that would be likely to attract wood destroying organisms. Examples would be leaking gutters, leaking plumbing pipes, wood to earth contact. The list goes on pretty much forever, but one common one is vegetation growing too close to or on…

I guess it is a cosmetic thing, they hate the look of the electric panel, but many homeowners insist on putting up obstacles that make access to their electric panels unsafe. That in itself is a defect that should be called out on a home inspection report. To be considered accessible, a panel needs an open area at least 30" x 3 feet deep at the front; about 5 1/2’ of space from the floor to the center of the panel -- eye level; at least 6'3" of headroom in front; walls, below the panel, must be unencumbered and clear down to the floor.

If you have ever tried to open a panel with inadequate clearances, you would know exactly why those dimensions are specified. I think that if, like inspectors, homeowners ever opened their own panels, they would…

As a Bellingham home inspector I always try to be on the lookout for fogged thermal-seal windows. Truth is, sometimes they can be hard to spot, depending on how cloudy they have become and how many blinds and drapes are pulled over them. Another factor that can make it hard to identify them is the general cleanliness of the windows. More than a couple times, I have found myself trying to wipe a window, both sides, just to see if it cleaned up. When looking for failed windows, hard to see locations can include skylights and windows that are high off the floor. One mandatory place to look, because it can be costly to replace them due to size, is at the sliding glass doors. In the photo, this is a condo that looks out over the ocean. This fogged vinyl sliding… Read Full Post