Those darn drafty attics.

On a home inspection the other day I popped my head into the attic space of a vintage 1950 home. At first glance the attic felt unusually warm and moist. From the outside the gable vents appeared to be large enough and should have kept this attic effectively ventilated however the current renter had some other ideas. He told me that he had been in construction for years and was currently unemployed.

This vintage home had a minimum amount of insulation and the gable vents were covered with plastic!! All of the warm moist air coming up out of the home was being trapped in this unheated, unvented, ideal mold growing limbo. The roof sheathing was covered with a soft and fuzzy patina, very artistic but not very pleasing for home maintenance and air quality.

The moral of the story is those openings in your attic and there for a reason and very important. They are not there to make you suffer when it is time to pay the heating bill. Insulation should be used on HEATED surfaces. Your attic is not a heated space. The floor of the attic is next to a heated space and this is the only surface that should be insulated. The rest of the attic should have enough vents to keep the attic as close to the exterior temperature as possible. This will vent excess moisture, cool the roof system and provide a good environment for maintenance of the structure of the roof.

The Oregon Gardens and Home inspections

I had the chance to visit the beautiful Oregon Gardens this weekend with my family. This is one of those special places that realy needs to be visited many times throughout the year to enjoy the different plant displays.

The Gardens are located in Silverton,Oregon and if you like to grow things this is the place to be. I stay very busy inspecting homes in and around Silverton, OR and if you need to check on the condition of your new home contact me.

All content is Copywritten and is the property of Perfection Inspection Inc. Any usage that is not expressly permitted by Perfection Inspection Inc. is considered infringment and is punishable by law.

Custom Cabinetry

In the midst of the foreclosure boom there are more and more unexplained or questionable issues that arise as more and more banks become the sole owner of home. It is unfortunate that this is the current state of things and more and more history is being lost as banks repossess homes that they don't want in the first place.

I was doing a home inspection on one of these homes in Keizer, Oregon the other day and came upon a little oddity that I just couldn't help but speculate over. As the drawers in the cabinet were pulled the drawer slides (not just any slides by the way, these were high quality full extension slides) would bang into the doors after about ½ inch worth of travel. Every single drawer was installed with this same issue. This little "oops" rendered the pull out shelves utterly useless.

The section of "custom cabinetry," work had me envisioning a the home owner, (most likely a contractor or builder as well) behind on his bills and sweating away as he installed upgrades here and there in hopes to quickly attract a buyer before things went south.

Of course it was too late, and at that point and the market around him was crumbling as he tirelessly tried to bail water from his sinking ship.

His loss, my clients gain. My client knew his way around a tool belt and looked forward to the finishing touches he could put on this home that had some very nice features. And at the price he was paying it will be a very nice home for his family very soon.

Please give me more time.
I don't know what happened with the realestate market in Salem, Oregon recently but my inspection schedule is starting to force me to scramble.
I have been scheduled about a week out for about two months now and the bank negotiations are killing me.
They accept an offer and allow a 5 calendar day inspection window!! Weekends and holidays and the day the offer was written all count.
I guess there will be time to sleep in a few months. I feel like those guys on 'Deadliest Catch,' only I am warm.


All content is Copywritten and is the property of Perfection Inspection Inc. Any usage that is not expressly permitted by Perfection Inspection Inc. is considered infringment and is punishable by law.

Thermal imaging finds Missing Insulation

I just did a home inspection on a fine home here in Salem, Oregon. Overall the home was a piece of cake, and very well taken care of. There was one little section of insulation in the attic that had fallen (from the cable guy presumably). It was impossible to see visually but thanks to the magic of my fancy little thermal/infrared camera my clients now know of an area that could use some additional insulation.


Very simple fix, in fact the fallen insulation is most likely sitting up there in the attic just waiting to be reinstalled and protect the home from the hot or cold of the attic.











All content is Copy written and is the property of Perfection Inspection Inc. Any usage that is not expressly permitted by Perfection Inspection Inc. is considered infringement and is punishable by law.

Operation Love Boxes

Sometimes it can be hard to let people know that you are thinking of them. Especially if the people that we are thinking of are in other countries.

Operation Love Boxes is a program that has given me extreme pleasure. My friend, John Baker, a great local agent and philanthropist, and his church and local community, started the program in November of 2005.

The idea is to fill standard boxes to the brim with candies, granola, stationary, wet wipes, small books and even Christmas decorations. The boxes are sent with a domestic flat rate for very little postage. These are just simple things, from home, to remind our troops overseas that we love, miss and support them.

I have only been involved for a few months now and the thank you emails that we have received have been very special. I urge you to check out the website and start your own Love Box Operation. It is
easy, view the video here.

Operation Love Boxes is having party to stuff, address and send DVDs on Wednesday the 18th (tomorrow). The DVDs tell the Operation Love Boxes story and tell how to start your own operation.

If you are in the Salem, OR area and want to help out please come to:

2339 State St, Salem, Or 97301 on 3/18/09 @ 6-8pm.

If you want to start your own Operation Love Boxes please go here:
http://www.loveboxesforourtroops.com/
and view the video,

Or call/email John Baker:

john@nedbaker.com

(O) 503-364-6797 ext 302

(C) 503-871-2624

(F) 503-364-6798

Toll Free 877-893-6797

What has ActiveRain has done for Me Lately?

My presence on the web started kind of slowly. I guess that is normal but there is one thing I did that didn't cost me anything and I can thank it for all of my increase in Search Engine Optimization: ActiveRain.

I have been on Active Rain for a little over a year. In that time I faded in and out of posting blogs.

It was hard. The focus was just not there.

I didn't think that I had anything to write that anyone would want to read.

Melina Tomson got me here and I would see her, and she would be talking about her blog and how wonderful it was and how it was really neat the way people would read her blog and it was like they already knew her. She said she would go see them with a listing presentation and they would say,"…We already know we want you to list our home. No need for the presentation."

I would get inspired and light-up my own little blogging world. I would post and comment and post and comment. I would see my rank in Salem, Oregon climb and feel satisfied and a little
very hungry for that next spot.

Then my focus would fade. I would get busy with work and family and other things in general.

Even when I wasn't posting, I did try to get on to ActiveRain to comment as often as possible. Even without posting, the networking brought me in contact with some wonderful local agents that I would not have otherwise had the pleasure of working with.

That seems to be another nice thing about ActiveRain: the caliber of people. Every single person that I have met here has been the best of the best and the only kind of professional that I want to work with.

In about the 9^th or 10^th month of posting on and off my brain started to wrap its reluctant fingers around SEO and Blogging. My ActiveRain Blog started popping up on the 1^st page of Google! (my website was still a couple pages back) I started really seeing the bigger picture of how this infuriating world of Search Engine Optimization works.

I began my endurance training. I was still a flash-in-the-pan blogger but my flashes were getting closer together. I even started to get calls and emails from people that had been reading my blog (go figure).

ActiveRain provided me with information. More information than I knew and still know what to do with.

Last month I had the pleasure of finding one of my posts entirely plagiarized. I began my Web Log journey thinking that I really didn't have anything interesting to say, but when I read my words with someone else's name on them, it felt like I had just had my house broken into. ActiveRain was in my corner again and all of the information I needed was a short search away.

I have been telling other agents in the area about ActiveRain for a while now. I can hardly contain my enthusiasm for this virtual neighborhood of extremely knowledgeable professionals that welcomed me and let me learn as much as I wanted.

I seem to be the only Home Inspector in the entire state of Oregon that has gotten a clue about blogging and I have been very reluctant to tell other inspectors in my area. I am professional enough to know that there is plenty of room (and money) at the top; I just kind of enjoy my current monopoly. If you are an inspector you really owe it to yourself to get on ActiveRain and keep with it.

If you get on ActiveRain for the SEO stay for the networking. Both have paid me big dividends here in Salem, Oregon.

My March Garden

I started turning under my cover crops yesterday. A few days of sunshine on this side of Oregon is a welcome if not unusual occurrence in March. The ground was a bit wet but in my raised beds it will dry faster than if I was gardening on the flat.

Two years ago I harvested my first ripe tomato in mid October, and vowed to do better the next year. I discovered two books, written by the same author, that were a tremendous help. Anyone on this side of the Cascade Mountains that wants to grow their own vegetables should read these books: Gardening West of the Cascades and Growing Vegetables When it Counts both by Steve Solomon. These books cover gardening from general to specific and most importantly ideas for the Westside gardener.

Many books have been written about how-to grow vegetables. A majority of these books have been written by people in other parts of the country and even other parts of the world. There is a huge amount of useful information available however sometimes there are some specifics that can be confusing for gardeners on this side of Oregon. In most other parts of the country starting seedlings indoors on a sunny window sill is common. There is one big problem with that here: we don't get enough sun light. Starting seedlings requires artificial light. We just don't get enough sunshine to grow stout plants early in the year.

Last year I harvested my first ripe tomato on June 21st. With the help of lights and cloches I hope to repeat my luck with early season veggies again this year.

If you want to Replace your Flooring in the Bathroom DON'T do anythnig.

The science of building has created systems to prevent water infiltration and damage. Most of the systems that are exposed to water have layers of protection. If the top layer fails there will be a second or even third layer to catch the water and kick it out before it is able to damage teh home's components. This is true of properly constructed roofing and exterior components but not the other area in the home that sees a lot of water: the bathroom.

The seam between the bathtub and the flooring is especially vulnerable and is sealed with a flexible caulk. The subfloor is usually an engineered particle board and can be very sensitive to water exposure. The purpose of the caulk seam is to try to seal this joint as the two different materials move independently. The more water the seam sees the more likely it will open up, and particle board acts like a sponge that expands as soon as it is exposed to moisture.

I see grout used between the tub and the floor often, on home inspections, but it is not a very good solution. The tub is made of a different material and the grout will fracture and break.

Caulking is the best but it will need to be maintained. That means when it fails the caulk should be removed and a new, fresh seal should be applied. Seriously, when the caulking joint opens up, it is time to get in there with the razor blade and remove the old caulk. This should be done before damage to the flooring occurs.

Do not put this little maintenance item off unless you want some major changes to the flooring. If you want a comprehensive list of things in your home that you "ought to get around to," in the Salem, Oregon area, call me.

The Benefits Of Thermography Kiosk

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The Benefits Of Thermography Kiosk

View more presentations from SalemORHomeInspector.

Heating Oil Tank Program in Oregon

Oil tanks were very common between the 1920s and 1960s to store the relatively cheap heating oil for the oil furnace. If the home has exchanged hands a few times the underground tank may not be known about. The presence of oil tanks is an issue that can rear its ugly head on an inspection every now and then. Thankfully the Oregon DEQ is doing something to help.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) here in Oregon, has a program to help keep track of those oil tanks that may have been forgotten.

The site is: http://deq12.state.or.us/fp20/

If excavation or redevelopment is planned you can find information on known and suspected Heating Oil Tanks (HOT). Information on: if the site has received a closure letter for the decommissioning, assessment and certification of a HOT is available.

If a HOT is present there may be contamination of the surrounding area and a cleanup may be required. Decommissioning, assessment, and cleanup must be performed by a DEQ licensed HOT Service Provider.

For you agents out there check out this publication: What agents should know about underground oil tanks.

The Hidden Life of Leaks

Manufactured homes can be a wonderful home if you are prepared for what you are getting. The homes can be extremely efficient, even more so than a stick built home. But they do have some issues that should be carefully watched.

The roofs of many manufactured homes are relatively low slope and the interior ceilings are often vaulted. Both of these conditions add up to shorter than average roof life. Failure to the roofing materials and leaks can be chased and individually repaired if they can be located. Without an accessible attic space finding and fixing leaks can be tricky. Enter thermal imaging.

The other day I had the benefit of doing a Pest and Dry rot inspection here in Salem, Oregon after a different inspector had done most of a home inspection. Apparently his client had decided to end the inspection right before he inspected the crawlspace. I did get to see the other report and did not see any issues called on the roof. During my inspection I found three different issues with the roof. Right away I noted a very cool spot in the dining room. Surprise, surprise the cool spot was wet. At this point the leak could be repaired with minimal damage to the related building components.

This is just another example of the wonderful world that Thermography/infrared exposes.

Going green.

One very important aspect of shrinking our "carbon foot print," is re-using things to reduce our consumption of new things.

Being a home inspector here in Salem, Oregon I have the unique opportunity to go into other people's homes and poke around in their crawlspaces, on their roofs and under their sinks. All of this snooping around turns up some very creative solutions to everyday problems.

I am not sure if this is a new filter option or a very old one. This high-tech wool yarn filter may not be very effective at filtering out tiny particles but it appears to fit right in to the filter canister.

Problems Under the Surface

The wonderful world of residential construction can be very complex. A new home is a series of systems and components that rely on one another to perform properly. If the previous component is installed improperly all of the other systems that are built upon that component will not live up to their potential. I recently had the opportunity to inspect a beautiful new home here in West Salem, Oregon that was like a display home for just why you need a home inspection on a new home.

Cosmetically this home was very attractive. Vaulted ceilings, custom built-ins, crown molding and of course the ever present Brazilian cherry floors and granite counters. Under the fancy façade were a few very important details that the builder screwed up. One of those little things was a vapor retarder, big name for a very simple and relatively inexpensive component. It is basically a sheet of plastic stretched over the bare earth of the crawl space that prevents excess water vapor from leaving the soil (a normal and natural process) and being absorbed by the home's wood structure (also a natural process but very harmful to the structure of the home).

With the vapor retarder missing, the moist soil provides all the moisture and humidity necessary for an extremely conducive environment for wood destroying organisms. Wood destroying organisms like molds, termites, and powder post beetles and other critters that can call your home food.

When I popped the lid to that crawlspace a wave of mustiness (mold spores) slapped me in the face. Upon closer inspection of the very wet, very muddy crawlspace it could be noted that although the air was full of spores from actively producing molds, no visible growing mold could be noted on the structure. However the scraps of wood, construction debris, that had been left scattered about were covered with very healthy fungal colonies.

All of that excess wood was another little screw-up. All of these little mistakes, although ultimately the builder's responsibility, were also made by the contractors that were in charge of the vapor retarder, the contractors that left cellulose debris (plumbers, framers, and electricians), and the government official (building inspector) that is paid to ensure that these things don't happen.

This poor home had other serious issues. Homes like these sometimes makes me wonder about some people's integrity, however I guess it will always be job security for honest, independent building consultants.

Smoke Detectors detect more than smoke

Smoke detectors should be our silent watchmen. They should patiently wait, ready to alert us of the possibility of fire. Unfortunately sometimes they go off for reasons other than fire:

2:30am Instantly awake! All of the smoke detectors in our home are going off. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!! For close to 30 seconds then they turn off. I jump out of bed and run into the hall between the kid's and our room ready to assess the situation and get the kids out of the house......Nothing, no smell of smoke, no crackling fire. No indication of fire at all! At this point, the sudden rush from being totally asleep to totally awake and high on adrenaline for no apparent reason has me more than a little irritated.

Our home was less than a year old so the next morning I called our builder. He said he had never heard of that and didn't know what to tell me. I let it go. The silly detectors performed properly for another 6 months and the same thing happened! Middle of the night, sound asleep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!! for about 30 seconds.

A few months later I got a call from a client describing a similar situation. I called the detector company.

Within a few minutes I was describing the phantom alarms to a real person at customer service. He guessed that a spider was causing these false alarms! Our wired-in alarms has a little green light that attracts the spiders. When the spider gets to crawling around and exploring the crevices it steps into the ionization sensor. The sensor 'sees' the spider as smoke and sounds the alarm. All of this sudden vibration alarms the spider who promptly finds a new place to explore.

The best thing to do to (hopefully) prevent this arachnid exploration is to blow out the detector and sensor with 'canned air' every so often. Spiders are territorial and if they are disturbed repeatedly they will find new areas to hang-out.

It has been about a year and a half since the last false alarm. I hope this insight answers some questions for those of you who have had similar experiences.

Radon and the Crowd it Rolls with.

Radon can make you very sick and has been linked to more cases of lung cancer than tobacco. Radon is a radioactive gas that is produced when uranium degrades. Uranium has a tendency to geologically 'hang,' with granite. This is significant due to the fact that the geology of granite and other minerals can be mapped.

The EPA has a fantastic resource for general knowledge on all kinds of different environmental issues. They have a radon exposure map that is based on a geologic map of the United States. Basically it categorizes areas of the US depending on what type of rock is found in that area.

Unfortunately this map is only a good guess. It cannot tell your home or any other home has a radon issue. The only way to determine if your home has a radon issue is to (shameless plug) get it tested. If you live in Salem, Oregon I just happen to know of someone who can help.

Edge metal flashing on rake rafters

This flashing's improper installation is pervasive here in Keizer, Oregon. Despite the fact that there are instructions on every bundle of shingles detailing this as an improper installaion.

It must seem like a good deal to put the metal on the top. Maybe it seems like a good thing to cover the edge of the hand-cut shingles that, due to lack of experience, look like a rodent chewed on them.

No matter what the reasoning, putting edge metal on top of the shingles is always wrong. When rain is hitting and running down the top of the shingles, edge metal on top allows water to wick under the metal and access the wood rafter and sheathing. This condition will promote wood rot.

Unfortunately repair of this condition can become significant if the edge flashings have been in place for a few years. Ideally you should replace the shingles that were involved when the metal was nailed down. Although those holes could be filled, you would need to re-fill the holes every few years as the caulking/tar releases its grip. Depending on how long the flashing was installed incorrectly, there will also be sheathing and possibly rafter damage.

The repair of this issue is quickly approaching the exclusive realm of a professional contractor. Although I am a big fan of DIY sometimes the mark of a true craftsman is knowing when to sub out.

Comfort level: Regular, Delicate Sheer, or Permanent Press?

Home owners can be very creative people. This is especially true of people from previous generations and people here in South Salem, Oregon.

If I had a nickel for every automotive part used in plumbing repairs that I have seen....I would have enough for a happy meal....maybe.

Recently while diligently checking a home's heating system this dryer control knob was noted on a wall heater. I am not sure how hot 'permanent press' is or even 'Delicate sheer' but I am sure the knob fits tight and with a little training, might help dry the home's air.

If it was a snake….it would have been too late.

Ah, the hazards of poking around someone elses home. We do get a fair amount of rain during the winter months in western Oregon. All of that precipitation can sometimes lead to a high water table. That is one reason there are so many crawlspaces in this area. If water does come up out of the ground it is hopefully safely covered with a nice plastic vapor retarder, instead of wreaking havoc with finished surfaces.

It can be very common for inspectors to see standing water when it comes time to crawl around with the spiders. I am not afraid of water, however when water is present with electricity that is a different story.

I came upon this deadly little coiled booby trap the other day.

This wonder piece of homeowner electrical handiness was currently energized, thank goodness the crawlspace was dry.

Where is this Water coming from?

 

Being an inspector equipped with a highly advance thermal camera I have been called upon to find quite a few leaks.

 

Leaks can be very frustrating and challenging. Our modern, climate controlled, super insulated and immaculately finished homes do not respond well to storm water on interior surfaces. Window sills swell, drywall turns brown, and wood floors crack. How rude it is when Mother Nature invites herself into the world we control.

 

A very interesting pattern has developed after a few dozen, "....help me find where this leak is coming from," calls. A majority of the calls that were related to storm water had three significant things I common: the leakage could be noted in a window opening, the window was on the south side of the home and the siding was a lap type.

 

With properly installed flashing homes should not leak. However it is nearly impossible to ensure contractors install something properly especially if it is above and beyond those minimum building standards some call 'codes'. Caulking is always a good first line of defense but if the openings are flashed properly, caulking should not even be needed to keep the home water tight.

 

Before all of our modern, space aged materials it was common knowledge to crack open a leeward window in windy and wet conditions. With a modern understanding of hydro-dynamics we now understand that when wind hits a home a low pressure vortex is actually created inside the home. This means that in windy, wet conditions water is not necessarily blown-in but pulled-in. When the window on the leeward side of the home is cracked open, the pressures are able to equalize. Many intermittent leaks can be slowed, stopped or completely prevented.

 

If you do have a leak around a window or door, your flashing is not adequate and should be repaired. This can potentially mean thousands of dollars. In the mean time, if the wind is blowing rain at your home, try cracking a window on the other side of the home.