Some Problems Really are Intermittent

We have had some desperately-needed rain here in the Palouse over the last week or so. It good for the crops-the winter wheat is sprouting-and for home inspections. Most people think of roofs when they consider the helpfulness of rain during the inspection, but there are other features that can make themselves apparent.

In this case, it appeared that the underground drainage system for the storm water off the roof was blocked, so I had water overflowing the boot at the downspout. Unsurprisingly, this manifested as a water problem in the crawlspace in the same corner.

Half the battle in fixing water problems is understanding where the water is coming from. In this case, it was easy to present the client with the results of the inspection and a potential course of action to correct it.

Pipe Organs, from the inside

I can add to my list of firsts. Today, the inspection was at a church in Moscow and they had a pipe organ, so I had a chance to crawl around on the interior. Very neat to see the different structures that they use to create the sounds. Also, the wiring is impressive as heck.

Nobody ever said this job was boring!

Each one of those represents a different circuit to activate the pipes. Wickedly complex.

The mid-sized pipes. Look like they're out of a Disney movie.

The tops of the largest pipes were twelve feet over my head.

Houses Don't Levitate

I know we're closing in on Halloween, but last time I checked, house framing doesn't float in the air above the foundation wall like Casper the Ghost. There's a reason inspectors need to physically enter the crawlspace.. Here, the floor joists are a half-inch from the sill plate and there's also a gap below the sill plate (and no anchor bolts to be found!) Add to it cracks in the wall an inch or more wide with substantial deflection, and yep, I punted. This is one for a structural engineer like Evan Laubach of Pullman. He's terrific at finding solutions to major issues, usually in a cost-effective manner.

Order and Pay for Everything Electronically!

I've been making changes behind the scenes for the website. Among those changes are the ability to sign the inspection agreement online (just head to the Agreement tab under ABOUT) and, the latest change, the ability to prepay the inspection at the same time that you schedule.

As with everything I do, I aim for the most comprehensive level of service and convenience for you, while providing you with a great inspection.

Thanks - and if you have other suggestions on how I can make this process easier for you, let me know!

Autumn Joys

We're in the midst of a change of seasons to my favorite of the year - autumn. The heat of summer gets broken and replaced with simply warm afternoons and brisk nights. The trees begin their turn to ornaments, just ahead of becoming yardwork.

With the press of summer past us (not that work has slowed appreciably), let's celebrate the beginning of a new autumn.

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather And autumn's best of cheer. ~ Helen Hunt Jackson

I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time. ~ Robert Browning

And, lastly, because it suits my mood:

Autumn's the mellow time. ~William Allingham

Enjoy the week!

Traversing Attics

I have a few tricks for traversing the attic without destroying the insulation. One is to take advantage of physics by anchoring in more that one plane. In this attic, had my thigh leaning into the web on the left while my foot took the load on the bottom side. Traversed the whole attic with nary a footprint in the fiberglass.

Relax and have fun!

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. ~Michael Jordan

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun. ~Katharine Hepburn

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun. ~Randy Pausch

Have a great week! Don't work too hard and have a little fun!

Air Quality in a Forest Fire

With all the fires burning around us, air quality is horrid. As I write, both Moscow and Lewiston are in the hazardous range, and Pullman is only marginally better.

For those with central air or furnaces, you can use the blower on the system to help filter your air. The thermostat should have a fan setting that you can switch from 'Auto' to 'On'. This will start pulling air through the filter and clean it for you. The cost of running the system in this mode is pretty negligible.

For those of you challenged by the dust at harvest time, this will work, too.

Be safe, everyone.

Letting go...

It doesn't take a lot of strength to hold on.  It takes a lot of strength to let go. ~J.C. Watts

It seems like an easy enough thing to do. But, in reality, letting go of the things that hold us back is so much harder than you would think. That being said, I think that being able to let go of the things that are not helpful to you is probably one of the biggest steps toward being more positive and motivated in all areas of your life. Today, my goal is to let go of the things that make me moody or unproductive, because those are the things that are not necessary for me to worry about. The kids are fighting? No big deal. Tell them to figure it out, shut them in a room and stop worrying. Eventually they will figure it out. And if it suddenly gets quiet, you might just check to make sure WWIII hasn't just happened in your house. Feeling pulled in too many directions? Figure out which ones are absolutely unavoidable and purge the rest. It will make you feel so much lighter and happier. Take the weight off. It's not an easy thing to do, but it is worth it. So start letting go of the things that way you down or hold you back.

Have a great week!

Have compassion...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama

Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation. ~Henry Ward Beecher

The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no cares or understands. ~Arthur H. Stainback

Step back and breathe...

On a daily basis, we all have obstacles we must overcome to keep moving forward. Some days, those obstacles are less obvious than others. These are things like having trouble getting out of bed, getting stuck in traffic, and sometimes even our own impatience with the world.  Sometimes slowing down and taking a deep breath sounds like the opposite of being productive. So how could that possibly help keep us motivated? I'll let these folks tell you and let it simmer until next week.

Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow- that is patience.  ~Unknown

He that can have Patience, can have what he will. ~Benjamin Franklin

Patience is the companion of wisdom. ~Saint Augustine

It's a beautiful world!

Yesterday, my family and I went boating and swimming. As I was looking around, I was astounded by the beauty of it all. My children, who have been so afraid of getting in the water, were inner tubing and jumping in the water and having a wonderful time. And that was so beautiful. So when today didn't start as planned, I chose to focus on the beauty that I witnessed yesterday.  The beauty that we all see on a daily basis can be a huge motivator. Images like this one can have a huge impact on your day. Hold on to those images and memories and use them to help you get through each day. And look for more moments of beauty to help keep you going through the rest of your week. Happy Monday!

Hello! Welcome to my Monday Morning Motivator

I would say good morning, but I'm late. By about 12 hours. So, instead, I will say welcome to my Monday Morning Motivator. I'll be the first to admit that I struggle on Monday mornings, and today was no exception, which is why this post is coming to you at this hour.  I got very little sleep and morning came way to early for my liking. I was wholly unprepared for all the things I needed to do today. By the way, I'm a mom of 3 (ages 7, 5, and 1.5) and also do part time in-home daycare for 2 (ages 4 and 1) once a week. Today, my 2 borrowed extras came over at quarter to 5 in the morning. I turned off my alarm at 5:45 after coaxing my 18 month old back to sleep because my motivation had taken a vacation. When I did wake up, I did what I always do, and sometimes multiple times depending on the level of motivation I'm harboring for the day.  And that is: make coffee. That's right. Coffee. It was my best friend this morning. It is my motivational kick in the pants when I need one. If you drink coffee, or any other liquid form of motivation, it's sometimes that little something extra we needed to really get going. I will work on trying to improve my positivity about Mondays and will continue to bring my thoughts about how to do that to you here. So until next week, just remember:

Have a great week!

Surviving the Home Inspection Hits #1 On Kindle!

Very excited that my book, Surviving the Home Inspection, hit the top spot (probably briefly given the ephemeral nature of Amazon's bestseller lists) in the Kindle store in the Buying and Selling Homes category.

I'm already planning my next project- deciphering FHA, VA, USDA, inspections for the sellers.

How Much Difference Does Insulation Make?

I did an inspection in Lewiston late last year on a very cute little bungalow near Normal Hill. The home was classic brick with trees lining the street in front. The clients were a young couple buying their first home.

One the findings that we came up with is that there was nearly no insulation. The home had an old beast of a furnace that kept the home warm - when it ran, and it definitely like to do that.

Jack asked me for some advice about how to handle this. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of blown fiberglass and blown cellulose. One nice thing about our local Home Depot is that they will essentially lend you the equipment to insulate the home yourself if you purchase a set amount of the insulation from them. It's a pretty good deal, one that I took advantage of in my home.

Jack sent me these pictures, a before-and-after of the attic space. It's pretty impressive, though it's going to make it a lot tougher for the next inspector to traverse the attic.

Jack put in about a dozen inches of new insulation. One of the advantages of the blown cellulose that he chose is that it air seals much better than fiberglass. It's also much less expensive.

It always makes me happy when I get a chance to see my advice make a positive difference for the people that I work with. In this case, it's a young couple who just spent one afternoon and made their house much more affordable from an operating expenses perspective.

How more affordable?

Jack sent me the numbers - bear in mind that this has been a really mild winter, so the numbers are a little lower than in a cold year.

• Month 1 - $209 for gas and electric.
• Month 2 - $125 for gas and electric.

So, the bill dropped by 40 percent over the course of a month. Pretty darned impressive and I'm awfully happy for the family. Good job to them!

Surviving the Home Inspection

The Essential Seller's Handbook for Surviving the Home Inspection is now on sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I have the price discounted 50 percent for a short period of time.

The trade paperback edition should be ready in two weeks.

Avoiding Frozen Pipes

The Washington Post has an article on what to do if your pipes freeze. Not a current worry here, but worth filing away for the future.

Here's some of the advice that I left:

Let's throw some extra pointers out there . . .
1. Leave the sink base cabinets open to allow better air flow, especially in older homes with poor wall insulation.
2. Make sure you don't have any hoses hooked up outside and that the hose bibs are protected with insulating covers.
3. If your house is vacant, call a friend/realtor/somebody to check on it and make sure the heat is on.
4. If you have a crawlspace, close the vents for the time being. Ideally, any plumbing line in the space should be insulated.
5. If you have a basement look for water lines that are in contact with concrete. Put a piece of insulating material, even some rubber, behind the lines to get them off the walls and fill the air gap. Pay attention to the laundry lines in old houses.
6. Add portable electric heat to spaces where pipes are subject to freezing. Use as little heat as you can and make sure there are no combustibles nearby.

Better to go to overkill on precautions than to deal with a flood.

What are those stripes on my wall?

I had a chance recently to perform a "mold' inspection. The occupant of the home complained of mold growth and was particularly concerned about the stripes that were growing on his walls.

I performed a visual exam the walls but the issue was obvious as soon as I entered. .The striping effect I saw is typical marking that occurs in older homes that limited wall insulation and (generally) a four-inch wall cavity.

The striping is not a biological growth but the result of house energy dynamics and occupant behavior. In the wintertime, the studs are substantially cooler than the cavity spaces. The movement of warm air is to the cooler stud, consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. When the air reaches the painted drywall surface, it deposits oils, dust, and smoke on the surface. The reason that the nails show more on the wall surface is that they are metal and better transmitters of energy, and thus colder.

 A lot older houses that had smokers exhibit these types of stripes. Other causes are the cooking greases and smoke from the kitchen, oil-based air fresheners, wood fireplaces, and candles.

Candles are a biggie.

So my advice is not to panic. Clean the walls, and then assess which of the likely causes put the particulate matter into the air in the first place. Once you determine that, you have a means of control.

What if you lose the key?

You know you spend too much time inspecting when you watch a movie (Zodiac) and shout about the deadbolt lock.

In this case, the protagonist, while trying to deduce the identity of the Zodiac killer, visits a home occupied by a guy that qualifies as slightly north of spooky. Hero flees the basement (sensible), heads up the steps, sprints to the door and - Trapped!

He can't leave because the door has a keyed deadlock.

I normally recommend replacing these with a deadbolt that has a knob instead for fire evacuations, but hey, if you live near an ax murderer and need to leave expeditiously, make the change.

Testing Water Temperature during the Home Inspection

As part of my home inspections, I test the water temperature at a minimum of one fixture, and sometimes, more. The State of Washington Standards of Practice states that the Inspector will report "Whether or not the water temperature was tested and state that the generally accepted safe water temperature is one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit."

Most inspectors simply report the generally safe accepted level and let it go. I don't for reasons that I'll cover here in a moment. First, the following will give you a sense for how hot water can injury. Note that these are for average adults, not small children or the very elderly.

• Water at 100 degF or below is unlikely to scald an adult occupant at any exposure time.
• Water at 120 degF for 5 minutes can cause 2nd & 3rd degree burns on adult skin
• Water at 130 degF for 30 seconds can cause 2nd & 3rd degree burns on adult skin
• Water at 140 degF for 5 seconds can cause 2nd & 3rd degree burns on adult skin
• Water at 150 degF for 1.5 seconds can cause 2nd & 3rd degree burns on adult skin
• Water at 160 degF for .5 seconds can cause 2nd & 3rd degree burns on adult skin

My record for water temperatures, actually measured in a home in Moscow, was 179 degF, hot enough to make coffee with. 150 degF is not all that unusual.

The reason all this came to mind is a report of Legionnaire's Disease in the Bronx. For those unfamiliar with the disease, it is bacterial in nature and a particularly nasty form of pneumonia. It is water-borne but, to infect, it needs to be inhaled.  Think humidifiers or showers where the bacteria in the water is atomized to particles that can be breathed.

The types of systems most likely to create ideal conditions? Cribbing from OSHA, "Warm, stagnant water provides ideal conditions for growth. At temperatures between 20°C-50°C (68°-122°F) the organism can multiply. Temperatures of 32°C-40°C (90°-105°F) are ideal for growth. Rust (iron), scale, and the presence of other microorganisms can also promote the growth of LDB."

Sounds a lot like the well water we have here, conveniently heated to nearly ideal conditions for growth inside our water heaters.

Per OSHA, "Maintain domestic water heaters at 60°C (140°F). The temperature of the water should be 50°C (122°F) or higher at the faucet."

That's why I test the temperature and why, if the client is attending the inspection, we discuss the temperature. I don't call out high water temps as a safety hazard until I measure 130 degF. Even then, the discussion starts first with a question about who will be living in the home with the client.

I explain the state standard, which is based on manufacturer liability standards, as well as energy conservation standards. Then I explain the third leg of the risk triangle, bacteria control.

The reason that I might consider testing at more than one location in the home is that the newer faucets, especially for tubs and showers, have tempering valves. That is, the valve blends cold into the hot to moderate the temperature to safer levels. The place to get the most accurate reading on the output temperature of the water heater is usually at the utility sink since the hot and cold water controls separate.

If I get a low reading but a very fast rise on the temperature, I look for additional test points to confirm my reading. I don't want to inform the client that the temperature is under 120 degF if the test point is subject to tempering.

Depending on their particular circumstances, the clients may wish to leave the water temperature at a higher level than the standard. The point is to ensure that they are well informed on both the pros and cons of setting the water temperature for the home.