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.
Oregon has several sets of rules for smoke alarms. Some rules apply to newly constructed houses, some apply to renovated houses, and some apply to rentals, but the rules that I’ll write about today have to with houses that are being sold. (Note: If you’re interested in the very important and surprising differences between ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms, read our blog about that [...]
