Sewer Scoping and Home Inspections
Sewer Scoping and Home Inspections
Having a sewer scope done while the home inspector completes his works looks like a no-brainer. After all, the home inspector will not be checking the plumbing under the slab of the house or underground.
I agree. That's why I recommend professionals to do sewer line inspections with professional grade equipment.
Why don't I do it myself? All the home inspector organizations say it is a great add-on that will make me a lot of money.
The truth is that I did offer sewer scoping with home inspections in Moscow and Pullman and Lewiston. But, the same as with home inspections, a person who does six a day is going to be far better at sewer scoping, finding problems before their YOUR problem, than a home inspector who does it on an occasional basis.
Also, in the State of Washington, a contractor's license from Labor and Industries is required to perform sewer scoping. I let my lapse when I stop sewer scoping. None of the inspectors in Pullman or Clarkston carry the license, either.
So, I recommend the following companies for sewer scoping here:
All will do a great job for you. They're pros in their field.
And, if you need a pro in the home inspection field, please give me a call. I'd be delighted to be of service.
Welcome to the Great Hunkering Down
What is the Great Hunkering Down, you ask?
It is a term I invented to describe the current real estate marketplace. We have, at the moment, next to no inventory in a time of year where we normally see houses hitting the market in droves. And we’re not alone in this - it is a national phenomena.
The reasons that I see - and feel free to disagree - that there is great uncertainty upon the land. We’ve just come through the traumatic shock of Covid, we had violence in the streets in many major cities, inflation is at levels not seen in four decades, and the war drums are beating. On top of that, you are trying to buy a home which is highly stressful all by itself.
I don’t know about you, but my crystal ball is totally fogged. I have no idea how any of this plays out in the next year and the next decade.
Human nature is such that, when faced with this level of anxiety and stress, human beings tend to shut down. It is a survival mechanism left-over from our days on the savannah. We focus on the core necessities of the moment. Long-term planning, creativity, and deep thinking are all effected.
But, we are not being threatened by a lionesses salivating over the tasty morsel that we might be. That kind of threat triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response that we know so well.
Instead, we have a bunch of perceived threats combined with no means of adequately influencing the outcomes. We don’t know if flight is better - though the mass exodus from certain cities shows that is some people’s answer - or fight is better.
Without a clear course of action for the majority, we freeze and consolidate our resources. So, if you have a home in an area that is not threatening to you, you stay put, hunker down.
When it happens on a scale this large, I think capital letters are warranted, thus the Great Hunkering Down. If people are not moving, up-sizing, down-sizing, right-sizing, selling their homes, we get the constrained inventory supply that we see today.
I’ve seen a version of this before. In 2008, we had the financial crisis that brought “too big to fail” into our lexicon. Then, like now, great uncertainty invaded our mostly happy world. The biggest difference was that was a sudden event in the news. Today, we are dealing with a rolling litany of negative news.
The good news is that this too shall pass. For all the frustrated buyers out there, be patient, take deep breaths. As with 2008, everything runs in a cycle, the pendulum continues to swing, and you will find that home.
The best of luck to you. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know - even if it’s a question you need answered instead of an inspection job. I’m a fount of information and have a wealth of answers for you about homes and home inspections,
Holding The Line On Price
Reading the news has become a somewhat depressing event - almost as bad as grocery shopping and getting gas. Yep, even without the headlines, I could see inflation surging on the stuff I buy.
Most businesses are responding by doing the logical thing - they are raising prices. Again, I understand. My E&O insurance went up, my credit card fees have gone through the roof, gas prices are up everywhere, and all the little incidentals have nudged higher. Profits? . . .
Depressing. (pun intended.)
To all of you buying houses today, the prices are up and interest rates are headed that way. Likewise, my competitor’s prices increasing.
Mine aren’t, not now, not until July at the earliest.
I have traditionally been the highest priced - and the best! - inspector in the region for home inspections based on my surveys. Now, competitors are raising their prices and I’m somewhere in the middle.
I’ve never been inclined to try to take advantage of my customers. I discovered in the first year of the home inspector business that I wasn’t particularly money-motivated.
I’m a craftsman - I want the best possible inspection for my customers. This often puts me at loggerheads with Realtors. Too bad for them (though a group of them in Moscow have now started blacklisting me. I’ve got the documents to prove it.)
So, the prices on my website today will be the same ones in place on June 30th.
So, to the home buyers - the best of luck to you. I hope that you will find your dream home and I hope that I can be your inspector so you know exactly what you’ve purchased.
Home Inspections and Coronavirus Covid-19
I wrote the following for one of the local associations. Sharing here . . .
Good morning, everyone. Wow, are things moving and changing quickly. From a home inspection perspective, I'm implementing the following protocols to protect your sellers:
All tools, especially my phone, will get cleaned with an anti-bacterial wipe prior to entering the home. I’ve taken the phone out of the otter box protection since that’s almost impossible to clean.
Only those tools necessary will enter the home and only when they're needed. Once used, they will be returned to the tool bag outside the home.
I will be cleaning all surfaces that I touch with an anti-bacterial wipe - door knobs, windows, bath fixtures, all of it. For more information on cleaning, see the CDC Guidelines.
I'll be trying to avoid touching my face - as you know, that's a hard one, so . . .
I'll be washing my hands - a lot. I'll bring my soap and a clean towel.
On the exterior of the home, in the attic, in the crawlspace, I'll be wearing surgical gloves. They will be disposed of immediately after use.
If you are the listing agent, expect a text or phone call to see if your seller wants me to wear a mask. While the government suggests they aren't necessary for healthy individuals, the goal is to make your buyers and sellers feel as safe as we can. If wearing a mask aids in this, I'll do it.
Traditionally, I've taken my shoes off to avoid making a mess. I'll be switching to disposable booties instead.
I'll be maintaining social distancing - this one is easy for introverts like me.
I will be adding even more videos to my reporting. If buyers wish, I can Facetime from the home.
If anyone else has suggestions, please send them along.
Be safe.
UPDATE On Covid-19 Home Inspector Protocol: March 20, 2020
After a week of working with this protocol, I found a couple of spots that needed tweaking. A big one is customer management. Once the buyers get to the property, they have a natural inclination to touch things. Not making a value judgment on this, but facing the reality of the situation. So I’ve added a final step of cleaning every surface that they touch with sanitizing wipes. If it sounds as though I’m following behind them with a wipe in each hand, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Another change is in my outdoor protocol. With the warmer weather we are experiencing, I can set up my cleaning station outside, so I don’t need to glove up there. I do the exterior of the home, wash thoroughly and resume the rest of the protocol.
If you are a Realtor reading this blog entry, may I suggest that you and your broker have each home inspector provide you with their protocol for the inspection process?
Ice Damming In Pullman
After skating for most of the season, Old Man Winter showed up with a shovel and has proceeded to bury us. So far, several areas have reported record snow falls including my home town of Asotin. For those of you that scoffed when my sweetie bought me a snow-blower, HAH! The Snow Joe has earned its keep this month.
The view from the roof at an inspection in Pullman.
Also happening this month - business is picking up. This time of year gets pretty treacherous for walking roofs, though sometimes it can be done. It requires a careful consideration of the underlying structure of the snow and of the point of access, but snow by itself is not a primary limiting factor.
What is a primary limiting factor is ice. And, by golly, we are seeing a lot of ice on the edges of roofs lately due to ice damming.
What Is Ice Damming?
In its simplest form, ice damming is a build up of ice on the eave of a roof. The formation is from snow melting at a higher point on the roof, typically over the heated portions of the home, and flowing down the roof slope to the eave. The eave is at nearly the same temperature as the air outside. As the water hits this frigid zone, it re-freezes.
In the process, the dam blocks more water from flowing freely off the roof deck, thus extending the ice dam. Because the velocity of water drainage plays a part in the process of re-freezing, lower slope roofs are more susceptible to ice damming.
On a low enough slope, the ice can build up many feet along the roof deck. That is what I found with the roof in the second picture. My best estimate is that the ice extended 8-10 feet up the roof from the edge.
Damaged Caused By Ice Damming
The presence of the ice is not the major cause of damage to the home. While the accumulation can cause problems, it is the water behind the dam that causes the most concern. Our roofs are not designed to act as pools and are not water-proof. They are water shedding. That is a huge difference. Obstructed water will not drain down the roof. Water being water, it will try to find a way to flow with gravity. This means flowing under the shingles, finding gaps in the underlayment, and getting into the ceilings and walls of the home.
It is not just a matter of getting a roof stain on your ceiling, though. This moisture in your attic can be a major contributor to the growth of mold and wood destroying fungus.
How To Recognize an Ice Dam
Ever drive by a house and admire the long glittering icicles hanging from the roof? Well, admire those from a distance. If you see those on your house, you likely have an ice damming issue.
Likewise, if there is a four inch iceberg on the edge of your roof, you’ve got a problem.
Also, a couple people a year get killed by falling ice or icicles from a roof.Do not walk right under the icy spears admiring them. If you are walking around a house with ice on the roof, stay near the wall under the eave or well clear of the fall zone to the perimeter.
Just a heads-up - if there is ice at the edge like this, I’m not getting on the roof.
How To Fix Ice Damming
The first thing to do is figure out where the heat is coming from to allow for the excessive snow melt. Usually, the first and best answer is that you do not have nearly enough insulation in your attic. You don’t even need to go into your attic to figure this out - if your roof is the first in the neighborhood to lose snow cover, you probably need more insulation. (I take perverse pride in having snow on my 1910 built home long after everyone else has exposed their shingles.. It a great sign that I did a solid job of insulating the home. Lower energy bills are nice, too.)
There are other factors that come into play. If you have canned ceiling lights, they can create enough heat to cause problems. Have a contractor insulate the boxes.
Check to make sure that you have enough effective attic ventilation. If you do not, the attic will retain warm air and lead to ice damming. Also, to mold growth.
If you have a furnace in the attic, make sure all the joints in your duct work are tight. Leaky ducts will cost you in more than dollars.
Insulate all your ventilation fan ducts. Bathroom fans and dryers move warm air to the outside. If they pass through the attic on the way, they will transfer much of their heat to the attic space. Insulate them and limit that possibility.
If these steps do not work to control your issue, it is time to call in a quality contractor to perform a thorough analysis of the heat transfer taking place, including thermal transfer through air exfiltration from ceiling penetrations or up the wall cavities.
Good luck! As always, if you have questions, feel free to call. I may have a tidbit of information that can help.
I’ll leave you with one more scary picture . . .
Water is actively leaking and two different fungi are growing.
Raised-Heel Trusses
Since the late 1960s, most houses have been built with engineered trusses (click on the link for more information than you need) instead of traditional rafters. Trusses offer greater spans to open up our interiors with great rooms, require less time and labor to erect, and provides a more uniform pitch to the roof, which may not seem important to you, but your roofer loves it.
Early truss systems resembled a triangle with a bunch of triangles inside the outside one. The problem that we ran into, from an energy usage standpoint, were those skinny angles at the ends of the truss. Often, there was not sufficient room to get an adequate amount of insulation into the space. I see a fair number of homes with shadowing on the ceiling at the outside edges of the rooms from precisely this.
A 1970s Engineered Truss
Note how skinny it is at the low edge. Not much room for insulation.
When energy was really cheap (raise your hand if you can remember $.25 gasoline!), this was not a big priority. Today, with more expensive energy and an improved awareness on how to heat and cool our homes efficiently, what happens on that edge is important. One solution was to re-design the truss. Meet the raised-heel truss.
The raised-heel truss
Raised-heel trusses are engineered to provide enough space for the insulation. By design, they are taller than older truss designs at the point where they cross the wall. This section, called the heel, intersects at the perimeter wall and lifts the top chord of the truss. From my research, it looks like the energy-saving qualities of the raised-heel were not the primary reason they were developed, though. Initially, the were built to match roof lines and increase curb appeal. Go figure . . .
Even though the cost for these trusses are not substantially higher than with other truss systems, I still don’t see that many of them. When I do, it’s good news for my clients!
(A quick note on the video - I shot it in an attic while hanging from the framing - it might not sound smooth and polished.)
Receptacles over Baseboard Heaters - A Fire Waiting to Happen
I took a trip down to Boise a couple of weekends ago. Just because I was off the job doesn’t mean the eyeballs quit working. We stayed at a converted residence but it was pretty clear that not all the work done to upgrade the traveler’s spaces meets the current safety standards.
In this case, it was a baseboard heater with a receptacle located immediately above it. This is a pretty common finding in older homes in Pullman and Clarkston, but it also represents a fire and shock hazard.
Don't Let Your Hose Cost You Big Money and Aggravation
Winter’s coming. You know what that means?
I’m going to start finding frozen pipes. Bummer. Here’s a quick, easy way to avoid the most common source for broken pipes.
Why I Didn't Test the Air Conditioner Yesterday?
When the original Advisory Board wrote the inspection standards for the state, they included a special provision for air conditioners. The standard specifies that the home inspector working in Washington State test the temperature differential on the air conditioner.
Temperature differential is just a fancy way of saying that we measure the temperature of the air going into the air conditioner - say it is 80 degrees - and measure it as it comes out of the air conditioner - 61 degrees. We do rudimentary math and arrive at a 19 degree difference. The range that I use (and most inspectors are close to these numbers) is 14 to 24 degrees of difference. Too little cooling and we have a problem. Too much cooling is also a problem, though, as this can indicate poor air flow and a host of other issues with the cooling plant. For the actual diagnosis of the system, I punt it to the experts.
The exception is when the outside temperature drops. The condenser unit for the system (that’s the part outside) gets too cold, the oil in it gets ‘thick’ - that is, the viscosity, its ability to flow, is low. Trying to move that cold oil through the system can damage it. Thus, when the outside temperature is below 60 degrees, the standard allows us to note that fact and not test the air conditioner for operation. That does not mean it is not inspected - we’re still required to examine the readily accessible components and report any deficiencies that we see.
Why Are Heat Pumps on Pedestals?
Ever walk past an a/c unit and wonder why it had 'legs' under it? Okay, maybe not, but there's a reason that some due and some don't. Watch to see what clues those legs provide us.
Isn't the Water Supposed to Drain AWAY from the House?
The crawlspace vents are lower than the surrounding soil. It's a fairly common occurrence and easy to fix.
More often than not, your builder is not to blame - it is the landscaper who is beautifying the home without the awareness of the rest of the home systems.
360° Pictures are Here!
Want to show your parents, your kids, your friends your new home but finding the photo options limited?
Safe@Home has a solution for you! We've invested in new software and cameras that will allow us to put 360° pictures into your report. We're excited about this new feature and are offering it without any additional charge! All you have to do is ask!
Roof Design Flaws, Pt. 1
If your inspector never climbs the roof, he's going to miss potentially important flaws that stem from the design of the roof, not just from poor construction practices or sloppy maintenance. Watch the video for an example!
When Should the Inspector Walk the Roof?
Here is a short video that I did back when things were a little cooler than today. (Today, it hit 111 degrees in Clarkston! Yikes!)
With a little luck, I'll get more of these out on a weekly basis.
Why the Siding on Your Brand New Home Doesn't Have a Warranty
Let’s chat about siding. Specifically, siding on new homes. New homes should be the easiest to inspect since they’re built to the newest codes by licensed contractors and tradesmen. {insert eye-roll here}
Most of the new homes in our region are built with either a cement fiber-board such as Hardie Plank or a wood-resin composite such as LP’s SmartSide materials. Just to be clear from the top, these are both quality products and nothing I have to say that follows is a slam against them.
No, my complaint is that these sidings are all to often compromised during the installation process. This won’t be readily apparent for a decade or two, but I do expect that we’ll see a wave a failures. Complaints to the companies are going to leave a lot of consumers unhappy because the consensus opinion will be that the warranty was voided at the time of installation.
Why is My Warranty Voided?
Speaking bluntly, your warranty for the siding is likely voided because the contractor couldn’t be bothered to read the installation instructions provided by the manufacturers. It’s not as though the specifications are unduly complicated or long. The James Hardie instructions run four pages. The LP SmartSide runs five. Both have plenty of pictures for the literacy-challenged.
Top Four Ways Your Siding Gets Installed Wrong
A Failure to Adequately Flash Openings and Band Boards
The single most consistent failure is to not install the flashing the windows, doors, and band boards. Each of these have a horizontal surface that can accumulate water which can lead to leaks or degradation of the trim pieces (and then leakage.)
There should be a piece of metal flashing installed in these locations. This flashing is commonly called head flashing or Z-flashing. It is installed under the top piece of siding, extends over the vulnerable horizontal surface, and finishes with a downward leg to clear the water from the trim. In the first picture, if you look closely you can see the flashing (it is painted the same color as the siding) over the horizontal trim at the front porch. In the second, the flashing is plainly missing.
Flashing installed over the band-board correctly
Flashing missing over this window trim
Not only is this flashing required by most, if not all, manufacturers, there is even a code reference. This flashing has been in the International Residential Code since 2009 (R703.8 Flashing).
A Failure to Leave Proper Clearances
There are a variety of clearances to consider when installing siding. Clearance refers to the gap we leave from the siding to another material. For example, by code we leave six inches between the bottom-most edge of the siding and soil. By specification, we are supposed to leave two inches between Hardie Plank and the roof deck. SmartSide only requires one inch in this location. This is a consistent difference between the two materials. Your inspector should be able to recognize the difference between them and apply the correct specification.
That said, good luck in getting most contractors to actually follow the guidelines.
Damage evident at the base of the wall due to water contact.
Brand new and prepped for failure. Poor clearance to the deck and soil.
A Failure to Install the Water-Resistive Barrier
“ . . . felt or other approved water-resistive barrier shall be applied over studs or sheathing of all exterior walls.” That is a direct quote from the IRC. It does not differentiate between the top of walls on gable ends or the garage against those at living spaces. So why do I see this on local job sites?
Seen recently on a job site nearby.
A Failure To Add Kick-out Flashing
Kick-out flashing is supposed to be installed at the intersection of a roof and a vertical wall. This piece of flashing is angled so that water running down the roof deck is directed away from the wall and into a gutter. If the water is allowed to flow unimpeded against the siding, there will be damage. The only question will be one of degree.
Mr. Fix-it has a wealth of great information at his website! http://misterfix-it.com/
So there we go. Four reasons to keep a sharp eye on your siding contractor. Just an FYI, this doesn't just apply to new homes. I've seen the same types of failures on older homes that were re-sided.
Washington State License #215
Former SBCC Member, Former Chairman State Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board.