Glenn, a.k.a. The House Whisperer

Ivy can look beautiful on house walls and brick chimneys, if maintained.

The thick, green texture gives your home a woodsy feel. It can provide a canopy over a trellis or pergola.

There is a dark side to ivy, though. As the ivy tendrils (a slender, whiplike or threadlike plant strand specialized to anchor and support vines) dig deep into brick; it can actually grow through the brick and mortar, damaging your home and chimney.

Ivy had fully engulfed this chimney. From the roof, the home inspector could barely make out the spark arrestor/raincap assembly on top; and could not see the brick. It appears the ivy was removed only as high as the gardener could reach with a small ladder before the house was put on the market.

Once the dead ivy is removed, the chimney in this picture may have to be tuck-pointed (repairing or replacing the mortar between bricks) because the ivy may have grown between the bricks damaging and weakening the chimney.

Count on the certified and experienced inspectors at Pacific Coast Inspections to identify this condition and recommend further review by a licensed chimney mason.

This is an exterior termination exhaust duct for a gas wall heater or decorative gas log fireplace.

This is called direct venting.

Direct venting uses a 2-layer pipe running through a hole in the wall behind the interior heating unit.

The outer pipe draws air in from the outside to create combustion for burning the gas in the heating unit... And the inner pipe takes the exhaust gases to the outside.

This design reduces the risks of carbon monoxide buildup within the house.

Note the soot above the termination on the the stucco siding... Not good.

If there is soot or a ‘scorched’ look on the home owner’s brick or siding, then there's a problem... mainly, incomplete combustion taking place in a wall heater or mis-positioned ceramic logs in a direct gas log fireplace.

My recommendation is to have a qualified heating specialist take a look before using the offending gas appliance again.

One of the interesting aspects of being a home inspector… Is that you never know what the next home inspection may bring.

Most of my unusual photos come from the garage or under the house.

It’s not too often that a sign is posted on a bedroom door: “Do Not open or touch this door Very important that you follow this request Do Not Touch!! Thank You!!”

Many things come to mind… If the house is occupied and there’s a Do Not Open sign on a door… does it mean there’s something in the room that will come after you?... Or a madman sleeping inside?

The sign says: Do Not Open or Touch and the word ‘touch’ is mentioned twice… Does this mean that the door knob is rigged to electricity or explosives?

Some time, it’s better not to open a door… Why? Watch the video: Do Not Open and see for yourself.

Did I open the door?... Yes, I did and I lived to write this blog.

Drywall (sheetrock) panels makes up a large part of today’s house interior walls and ceilings.

As home buyers walk through an empty house during a home inspection, they tend to focus closely on the quality of the interior finish.

Many people react negatively when they spot a hairline crack in the wall/ceiling; thinking that a crack contributes to the structural integrity of the house.

The fact of the matter is that cracks are 100% cosmetic, not structurally threatening and can be repaired.

The most common cracks are found at the corners of windows and door frames or straight-line cracks in ceilings. Whether or not there are cracks depends largely on the quality of the wood framing construction and drywall installation.

What is the most common source of cracks?

Technically speaking, wood is an organic material which takes on water and gives up water depending on environmental conditions. The most common cause is differential shrinkage of the horizontal header above doors and windows relative to the vertical wall studs. This means that lumber shrinks minimally along its length and much more so across width and depth as it ages.

Framing can undergo a lot of shrinkage in the first few years after construction.It turns out that a well secured drywall panel follows the twists and bends of the wood house framing and causes cracks to form in the drywall as the wood moves.

Count on The House Whisperer to help your clients understand the cracks they may see in their new home.

Today, many heating furnaces and air conditioning evaporator coils are installed in the attic.

It frees up closet/storage space in the house and it’s quieter when the heating/cooling is on.

When an air conditioning evaporator coil unit is installed in the attic (the silver box in photo), a condensate overflow pan is typically installed under the unit. The condensate overflow pan is a safety device intended to prevent unwanted condensate leakage (water) from spilling onto floors and ceilings, if something goes wrong.

In the photo taken during a Walnut Creek home inspection, there's rust colored water in the overflow containment pan and the pan appears to be corroding... not a good sign.

If left unchecked, the pan will eventually rust through. This can lead to mold growth in the attic insulation or drywall ceiling; and/or ceiling water stains or leakage onto a floor below.

You can count on the The House Whisperer to see red (in the water containment pan).

I recommend further review by a licensed HVAC contractor.