Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House) : Conducive Conditions

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 the siding. This will lead to a lack of drying potential and moisture issues: fungal growth or even rot or easy access by insect pests. The photo below is vinyl siding. Look at how green it is where the plants are crowding the home. It is continually damp. Consider that, if this was wood siding, it would really be under duress. It is likely that with that much fungus, there would be rot present or beginning. You could almost count on the siding being soft and swollen if it was oriented strand board (OSB) -- a composition wood siding. And, even with vinyl siding, this is a situation to be avoided as this close proximity of plants to the siding is a favorite path for insects, such as carpenter ants. Trimming vegetation back by about a foot is a good idea, but a hard one to sell to lots of homeowners who love their gardens.

• King of the House home

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