Insulation and Wiring - Rule #62 of home inspection: If a rodent *can* gnaw on a thing, it *will* gnaw on that thing. All rodents, including mice and rats, have four front teeth that never stop growing and must be worn down to keep them at a manageable size. If necessary, they’ll simply grind their teeth together to keep them at a manageable length, [...]
Avoid a "hot" summer. This electrical service drop contains a variety of defects: Both the utility splices are exposed at the "hot" legs of the service drop. The exposed conductors could shock or kill a person or animal. A strong wind could blow the splices into each other, causing an electrical arc that would damage them and pose a fire hazard to the house. [...]
Is this a plumbing drain or miniature golf course? The home inspector’s nemesis: a homeowner who’s willing to undertake any repair, regardless of ability. Every plumbing fixture with a drain requires a trap to hold a small plug of water and prevent sewer gas from entering the home. Even though this installation has two traps, neither will do any good because they’re both installed [...]
Drive nail through hole in metal bracket. Seven words that are difficult to misunderstand. So why do people misunderstand them so often? As any home inspector in the Portland area will tell you, attic pulldown ladders are rarely installed properly. They require, at minimum, four nails (or sometimes lag screws) through each of the four mounting brackets. Most people use drywall screws, which are [...]
Here’s a serious mistake that could be very dangerous. This is a picture of a gas furnace with an air conditioning evaporator coil above it. The gas pipe is made from black steel pipe and begins at the left. After running through a red-handled valve that is, thankfully, turned off, the gas pipe runs into the condensate drain opening for the air conditioner coil. [...]
Most of this house is clad with a traditional 3-coat hardcoat stucco. Stucco siding from this era was almost always installed without a properly doubled underlayment or any provision for draining water that gets behind it. Wall penetrations, wall bases, and wall/roof joints are common locations where water can cause damage. Here, we found areas of missing and rot-damaged trim at the base [...]
Don’t fence me in. This kitchen’s downdraft exhaust fan doesn’t have a chance of working properly when its terminal is buried in the ground.
Plumbing traps are like opinions: everybody has one. This sink should have one trap – no more, and no less.
It’s never a good idea to disable a safety valve by capping it. Perhaps this homeowner missed the MythBusters episode which showed how this mistake can allow the water heater to blow up.
Fashionable sinks haven’t sported S-traps for over 100 years. Like wearing white shoes after labor day, S-traps simply aren’t done. Of course, the lack of a high loop at the dishwasher drain is also a sad error. These mistakes will make little difference, however, to the poor soul who reaches a wet hand under the sink to turn on the disposer, only to [...]