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When you have to go—you have to go!

May 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

At an inspection a while back, my buyer asked me what this pipe sticking out of the side of the garage was. 

roofdrain1

Based on the washed away area (impact mark) on the ground under the pipe, I said that it was likely a drain for the flat roof.  Because the roof had sagged a bit, and was holding water, a drain had been installed in the low spot to aid in draining the roof. 

One of the interesting things about ponding water on a flat roof is that water is heavy—DUH! 

The weight of the water causes the roof the sag, which over time stays sagged, which means the roof can hold even more water, leading to even more ponding/sagging—–and on and on.  Now the roof might not “break,” but it does affect the resilience of the roofing materials and eventually the roof will start to leak.

Once I was on the roof I could see there was a lot of standing water.  I waded out into the middle of one of the puddles to unblock the drain.  The drain location is right where the arrow is pointing.

roofdrain2

The result?

When you gotta go—-you gotta go!

roofdrain3

Is this what they mean when the listing says, “Water feature?”  Or perhaps it is a “Water Peeture.”

 

 

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, Precautions, Roofing, Type, Water/Drainage

The natural cycle of life

May 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Fungi play an essential role in the environment.  Without fungi we would pretty much be stuck with only fire and fungi11extreme pressure to get rid of all of the vegetative growth that has occurred on the planet since the beginning of time.

I think it is pretty cool that nature not only figured out a way to create plants and animals (and creatures in between), but also created other plants, and animals (and creatures in between) that could come in and break down other plants and animals (and creatures in between).  All this to aid in recycling their body parts back into the food chain for other plants and animals—-and creatures in between.  

Whether you are a 9000 year old Swedish Spruce Tree or a 24 hour virus—-there is something that will have you for lunch and be lunch in turn for something else.

It is a cycle of life and death that never really “ends” because it never really “begins”—-it just “continues.”

We are all part of this endless process—-as are our houses and the stuff in them.  It is part of the process of life itself—-where all living matter will eventually be returned to the “bigger picture.”  

While it serves man’s purposes to slow it down a bit—-we must keep in mind that we cannot stop it entirely.

fungi22We are all living and dying proof that we cannot stop this process.  All we can do is slow it down, get lucky—-and enjoy the process—-savor the ride. 

Sooner or later some other critter is going to enjoy us—as much as we do ourselves.

We probably should not feel bad about this—but be grateful to be part of the process and be thankful for the tremendous gift of awareness we can have about it all.  As far as we know, there are no other creatures on Earth that have the level of self-awareness that we humans do.  That this is both a blessing and a curse is beside the point.

I could probably successfully argue that there are other beings that use the small amount of self-awareness that they do have— more wisely than we humans do.

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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Filed Under: Featured, Inspiration

Pipe Dreams

May 12, 2013 by 1 Comment

If you go to the Big Orange Tool Box you can buy a self-tapping clamp-type water connection to supply water to an ice maker or other fixture.  These taps are problematic in that they rely on a gasket that is subject to failure—-and thus prone to leaking sooner or later.  These things work by clamping the device onto the pipe and then by turning the handle clockwise it literally “pierces” the pipe with a sharp hollow barb.  Once pierced, the water flows until the water is shut off by turning the handle the rest of the way in.

I have seen these things tapped onto galvanized pipe, copper pipe and even CPVC plastic pipe.  But this is the first time I have ever seen one clamped onto a braided flexible plastic supply line.

Saddle tap gone wrong

Saddle tap gone wrong

One has to wonder what someone was smoking in their pipe!

I guess the installation was a little more forgiving by the water pressure being barely 40 psi.  A much better solution is to put a “T” in the water line and install a proper valve to supply the ice maker—-and skip the pipe dreams altogether.

 

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, Plumbing, Precautions, Type Tagged With: ,

I’m melting! I’m mmeeeeeeelting!

May 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

Who doesn’t like those flaming, charred clouds of sweetness known as marshmallows?

I am pretty sure that most things will burn or melt if one gets them hot enough.

I am also pretty sure that “most” plastic materials typically found within ones home are susceptible to burning and/or melting.  Take your average Corian type “plastic” countertop.  While they are pretty resistant to heat, if we get the material hot enough, it will melt—-even if it does not catch on fire.  Of course the wood cabinets below the countertop might not fare as well.

Hot pan melting countertop

Hot pan melting countertop

This countertop is in a commercial kitchen—but I see the same type of installation in residential kitchens as well. 

Because the countertop is higher than the adjacent stove, the overhanging pot was able to direct flames and heat onto the countertop—-making it look more like a marshmallow over a camp fire—-than an appropriate countertop material.

Plastic water piping for homes is becoming the standard and these too need proper clearances from heat sources. 

Take the exhaust hood on your water heater—-you certainly don’t want anything plastic near that.  The same goes for the vent pipe from furnaces and water heaters.  Even double wall vent pipe like B-vent, typically requires at least an inch of clearance.  In this next picture we see the plastic PEX-type pipe right next to the draft hood of the water heater and jammed right between the single wall vents of both the furnace and the water heater.  Single wall pipe requires at least 6” of clearance to plastic pipe.

How long before these pipes start to melt?

How long before these pipes start to melt?

This is all a fairly new installation—-but, over time the piping will succumb to the heat—-and those nice white fittings will look more like marshmallows too.

 

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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Filed Under: Featured, Heating & Cooling, Home safety, Home Tips, Plumbing, Precautions, Type Tagged With: ,

Telling the difference between a dream and a nightmare

May 4, 2013 by 6 Comments

 How can a buyer that cannot afford an inspection afford a house?

The American Dream

The American Dream

It is my understanding, that in some areas of the country, it is common, or becoming common, for the home inspector to not get paid until closing.  I am doing my best to understand the reasons for this practice.  Where is the money coming from if it is not ultimately coming from the buyer?

What I am seeing all too often is a lot of first time home buyers that are buying homes—-usually foreclosures and short sales—–and they have “0” reserves to handle the many repairs associated with these homes.

While the “Dream” of owning a home may be strong, if it just creates more houses that end up in even more houses deteriorating and/or ending up in a second wave of foreclosures and short sales, have we “really” served the buyer well?  Aren’t we just adding to the “Nightmare?”

These buyers used to be called “Renters”—–why are we so intent on turning them into “Home Owners?”

I find it difficult to not think that somehow the sale has become more important than the people involved in the sale.

I can easily argue that if a buyer can’t afford the inspection fee—-they sure as hell can’t afford the house.

 

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

If you enjoyed this post, and would like to get notices of new posts to my blog, please subscribe via email in the little box to the right. I promise NO spamming of your email :-D

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