Donald Hester NCW Home Inspections, LLC

Can a Home Inspector work on a home? Chelan Home Inspection Services

Is your Home Inspection firm or Home Inspector soliciting repair work during or after an inspection?

The State of Washington has made it very clear that any licensed home inspector may not solicit any work on a home that has been inspected for one year. This includes any employees or affiliated firms.This is to ensure you receive an unbiased and objective home inspection.

From The Washington State Home Inspection Standards of Practice-

“Not for one year after completion of the inspection repair, replace, or upgrade for compensation components or systems on any building inspected - this section applies to the inspector's firm and other employees or principals of that firm or affiliated firms.”

If you hire a home inspector that solicits repair work or you feel is unethical you should report them to Washington State Dept. of Licensing at the link provided.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/homeinspectors/hicomplaint.html

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.

Abraham Lincoln

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

509-670-9572 or on the web atwww.ncwhomeinspections.com

Information versus Minimums- Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspection

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Walt Disney

Curiosity, asking questions and challenging the paradigm should always be the forefront of any professional.

In the world of home inspection there are two schools of thought when performing the home inspection. Do what the SOP (Standards of Practice) states no more, no less versus providing the best and most inclusive information you can provide.

This seems to be one of the great debates and a business decision. I want to challenge the current paradigm.

For those who just doing the minimums of the SOP the feeling is that it is most consistent and is the best protection from being sued. Then there are those who see it as a starting place to move forward. I am of the later persuasion.

For those of the later persuasion the next juggling point is how much information.

Case in point as I perform a home inspection.

I evaluate a HVAC system and I know that the said system has R-22 refrigerant system (information on R-22). I know there are trying to phase this material out of the homes and in doing so will incur additional cost at some point. Now the standards say we must report any defect we see with the system. And this is not a defect. This is how this system is designed. But I feel this is valuable information for my clients. In my report I will give my clients this information.

Another case is the vent boots on the roof. All too often I see these rubber vent boots that are installed on a newer 30 year roof. So here is the crux. These boots are usually only lasting around 10 to 12 years before the rubber becomes so brittle that it cracks and splits which leads to leaks. The roof will last 30 years and the boot 10 years. I will let my clients know that they will need to be evaluating these boots to ensure they are not leaking.

These are just two examples of information that I think my clients will benefit from. Is it in the SOP’s, no! But as a home inspection professional I want to give my clients the best information that I can provide so they can best protect their investment.

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.

Abraham Lincoln

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

509-670-9572 or on the web at

www.ncwhomeinspections.com

Sparks, Grounds and Fire- Wenatchee Home Inspection Services

As home inspectors we are hired to observe and report. Home inspectors are hired to provide professional evaluation.

One of the areas that many people feel very uncomfortable with is their electrical system. There is good reason for this. Electrical fire does happen.

FEMA reports that home electrical problems account for 26,100 fires and $1 billion in property losses annually. About half of all residential electrical fires involve electrical wiring.

One thing that I seem to see quite often is wiring in areas that is exposed and has potential for damage. Codes state that any wiring in an area where they may be subject to physical damage needs protection. (NEC 300.4). Common sense says of course it does.

Here we have an example of little electrical busy bee that needed a 50 amp connection in a garage. Maybe a little arc welder is in the plans.

Well this fit the exposed to physical damage. Garages tend to collect a lot of materials and storage and the potential for damage may be greater here that most other rooms.

Oh should we mention that ground wires are optional?

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.

Abraham Lincoln

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

509-670-9572 or on the web atwww.ncwhomeinspections.com

You know what you know, or do you? Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspection

Let’s start this blog with a quote from Mr. Samuel Clemons- “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

Well this may very true, and I may be guilty as charged. Funny how memory works, and as I progress in my years it seems that I trust what I think is so is less and less assured.

As a home inspector there are things I do know and luckily for me I have sources to check to ensure that it is so.

Case in point in a recent home inspection the home I was evaluating was maintained at a much higher level than most. The home owner hired a contractor/handyman to do maintenance and repairs on the home.

With any older home you are grandfathered in with regards to many new building code requirements. But soon as you do a remodel that all changes… you now may be required to bring up the home in the areas remodeled to current standards. The only way this can be relieved from this responsibility is from the local municipal building inspector or authority having jurisdiction. (Washington Building Code resource)

The owner had to have the deck guardrails replaced. This deck is at the second level of the home. This is where the knowing comes in. When any project is performed you should call to see if you need a building permit. This would set the standards that need to be met with the work to be performed.

The contractor/handyman replaced the deck guardrail. But it did not meet the requirements for a guardrail. Decks attached to single family detached homes are regulated under the rules of the International Residential Code (IRC).

From the 2009 IRC-

Code reference R312.2- Height. Required guards at open-sided walking surfaces, including stairs, porches, balconies or landings, shall be not less than 36 inches (914 mm) high measured vertically above the adjacent walking surface, adjacent fixed seating or the line connecting the leading edges of the treads.

Code Reference R312.3- Opening limitations. Required guards shall not have openings from the walking surface to the required guard height which allow passage of a sphere 4 inches (102 mm) in diameter.

So the home owner was trying to maintain the home but due to someone “Not Knowing” this work was performed substandard and should be redone.

Knowing in the long run most likely will save you money. Hiring a professional more times than not will be the most cost efficient choice. If a contractor balks at wanting to pull a permit it is time to get a new contractor.

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.

Abraham Lincoln

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

509-670-9572 or on the web at www.ncwhomeinspections.com

Placebo Myth or Reality? Wenatchee Home Inspection

I know this may be a bit of an off subject topic from Home Inspections. But in a way it is not. Perception is a very valid parameter when it comes to Real Estate and most other commodities. There are what they are worth based on that perception.

Having come from the world of bio-pharmaceuticals and Cancer research I have always wondered on the placebo effect. When a company does a clinical trial on a new drug they will measure the effectiveness of a drug against those who take a placebo.

Here is an article that used the scientific end points in Illness duration of the common cold based on neutrophil counts and interleukin 8 levels from nasal wash at enrollment and 2 days later were secondary endpoints.
Article link - “Beer Goggles of Medicine”

Quote from article-
“No surprise that for the hard endpoint, WBC (white blood cell count) and interleukin levels, the sciencey part of the study, there was no difference. Placebo and Echinacea (as if there were a difference) had no effect on measurable reality.”

The total net difference of healing from the study group was whopping 0.16 days (about 4 hrs).

What the study found is that people perceived that felt better but they really did not heal any quicker. Perception is reality, so thought the actual duration of the illness was negligible it shows you that for you mentally it may still be effective, you think you are better.

This is true of a home, a car and so on. The truth is the home is the home in a current state, no better and no worse. How you perceive it is your reality.

(with recent repairs the roof will last another 5 to 10 years ; )

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Mark Twain

NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

509-670-9572 or on the web atwww.ncwhomeinspections.com