Donald Hester NCW Home Inspections, LLC

I regress on egress- Bedroom Windows- Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspection Service

As home inspectors and those in the Realty business we have had many discussions on bedrooms and what constitutes one.

But I found the bit on emergency escape/rescue (egress) windows still confusing to some so I thought I would spell it out.

(Maximum sill height above floor is 44 in)

An emergency escape or rescue (egress) window must satisfy all four International Residential Code (IRC) requirements:

· Minimum width of opening: 20 in.

· Minimum height of opening: 24 in.

· Minimum net clear opening: 5.7 sq. ft. (5.0 sq. ft. for ground floor).

· Maximum sill height above floor: 44 in.

Many take this to mean that a 20 x 24 window will do, right? WRONG!!!!!

A 20” x 24” window is only 3.33 sq ft. So this does not meet the requirement of a minimum 5.7 sq ft required by the code or even the 5.0 sq ft for a ground level room.

To meet the requirements a 20” wide window will need to be 42” high to meet the requirement (36” high at ground level) and for a 24” high window it would have to be 35” wide (30” at ground level).

So if you had a 30” wide window you would need it to be 27’ high and so on. A square window will need to be technically 28.6” by 28.6” (or 26.8” x 26.8” at ground level).

“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I assure you that mine are greater.”

Albert Einstein

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

www.ncwhomeinspections.com

A New Year- It really is just another day but there always seems to have some significance. It is a new beginning and a chance to make changes in ourselves.

So my New Year resolution is to do a random act of kindness whenever possible and be more understanding of others. We all can effect our world around us in a positive manner one act at a time.

I find we all much more in common than differences and we should acknowledge it. If we all do this we will have a better place.

Start by doing it for a loved one. Most often we do not treat them as we would a stranger.

“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.”

John Ruskin

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

Permitted but not inspected…The Shocking Truth- Cle Elum Home Inspection

One item a buyer should be aware of is if any permits have been issued to a home that has not been completed. This will be especially true if the plan is to perform any work on the home that will require a permit. Uncompleted permits can hold up and complicate any future work to be performed.

Here is an interesting example-

There have been 6800 electrical permits pulled in Washington State that have never been inspected between January 2009 and August 2011.

Washington State requires that any electrical permit that is pulled must have the inspection within 12 months of the issue date.

In addition the permit holders are required by Washington Administrative Codes (WAC 296-46B-901(10)(a)) to make inspection requests within: 3 business days after completing the installation; or 1 business day after energizing circuits or equipment, whichever comes first.

Washington State has offered an amnesty on electrical permits. Their reason is to ensure safe electrical installations have been performed and completed per these expired permits. The amnesty is from any compliance action for any electrical contractor that purchased an electrical permit: Since January 1, 2009, and is expired with no request for an inspection of the electrical work.

To qualify for the amnesty, the contractor must obtain a new permit and request inspection for the work before February 15, 2012.

The contractor must apply for a new permit and let the local supervisor aware that the new permit is replacing an expired permit.

After February 15, 2012 the department will take compliance action on all identified permits with inspection request violations.

Ensuring compliance has been performed can save you some headaches in the future.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

Steve Jobs

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

Foundation and Footing- Wenatchee Home Inspection

Every home needs to have a system in place to carry the weight of the home to the ground below it.

Almost every house has a foundation and most foundations have a footing (we hope). These are items we really do not think much about and are critical on the long term performance of the home. The main function of the foundation and footing is to do nothing and transfer the load to the soil and hold everything in place as it was built.

Most modern construction uses a stem wall and spread footing design though pier foundation are not uncommon.

In most soil conditions footings are typically 12 to 24 inches wide and can adequately carry the weight of an ordinary house.

Footing requirements are usually covered in the building code and sized in accordance with the bearing capacity of the soil and the weight of the building and will vary from area to area.

In those areas subject to seasonal frost, the bottom of the footing is installed below the frost line to prevent movement due to frost heave.

If the home is being built on soft clay or if there is soft areas under the footing or where water is not properly controlled there could be trouble around the corner. Outright failure is very uncommon but excessive settlement in areas is not.

If a home settles slowly and mostly evenly settlement may be no big deal. If settlement is uneven there most likely will be some damage. Just a 1/4 of an inch of uneven settling is enough to cause cracks in many finishes such as masonry, tile, sheetrock or plaster.

Another issue as homes settle over time the floors may become uneven, depending how it settled repairing unevenness can cause damage to finishes. This is very common in older homes.

Correcting foundation issues can become very expensive and almost every situation is different and may need further evaluation.

Having a home inspector that understands the fundamentals of load transfer is very important.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

Steve Jobs

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

Winters Ornaments

This has been a very frustrating few days. Chelan PUD who owns the fiber optic network did some maintenance work. In doing so they knocked out the node I was on and down the system went. No Internet and no voice over IP, Ouch!

My back up connection are too slow so getting in and out of ActiveRain is a bit painfull.


Here is a picture from this morning on the Entiat River. I call it “Winter’s Ornaments”

This is a picture taken back a ways for perspective, you can see where this photo was in relationship on the river. (Kids do not try this at home ; )

To everyone out there in the rain Happy Holidays.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

Steve Jobs

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