Home inspections Salem Oregon

Mold our Constant Microscopic Companion

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This is mold that you can see

This is mold that you can see

Mold is one of the scariest problems in today’s issues with Indoor Air Quality. The problem is you can’t see it.

 

Don’t get me wrong, if it looks and smells like a duck it usually is, however I have been surprised on inspections here in Salem, Oregon, by laboratory results often enough to know that speculation of microscopic content is not a good idea.

There are definitely conditions that you can detect with unaided human senses that will lead to mold growth. Earlier posts of mine labeled mold as a symptom of the problem. The problem (water) can be detected….usually.

If you have water, organic material and ventilation issues you have perfect conditions for mold growth. Do not let moisture loose on your home. But even with uncontrolled moisture I have seen very low spore counts in the air.

The moral of the story is: if you think you have mold growing, get it tested, and do it right by hiring a trained, professional mold sampling technician.

Custom Cabinetry

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Keizer, Oregon Home inspection cabinets

Keizer, Oregon Home inspection cabinets

In the midst of the foreclosure boom there are more and more unexplained or questionable issues that arise as more and more banks become the sole owner of home. It is unfortunate that this is the current state of things and more and more history is being lost as banks repossess homes that they don’t want in the first place.

I was doing a home inspection on one of these homes in Keizer, Oregon the other day and came upon a little oddity that I just couldn’t help but speculate over. As the drawers in the cabinet were pulled the drawer slides (not just any slides by the way, these were high quality full extension slides) would bang into the doors after about ½ inch worth of travel. Every single drawer was installed with this same issue. This little “oops” rendered the pull out shelves utterly useless.

The section of “custom cabinetry,” work had me envisioning a the home owner, (most likely a contractor or builder as well) behind on his bills and sweating away as he installed upgrades here and there in hopes to quickly attract a buyer before things went south.

Of course it was too late, and at that point and the market around him was crumbling as he tirelessly tried to bail water from his sinking ship.

His loss, my clients gain. My client knew his way around a tool belt and looked forward to the finishing touches he could put on this home that had some very nice features. And at the price he was paying it will be a very nice home for his family very soon.

 

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Please give me more time.
I don’t know what happened with the realestate market in Salem, Oregon recently but my inspection schedule is starting to force me to scramble.
I have been scheduled about a week out for about two months now and the bank negotiations are killing me.
They accept an offer and allow a 5 calendar day inspection window!! Weekends and holidays and the day the offer was written all count.
I guess there will be time to sleep in a few months. I feel like those guys on ‘Deadliest Catch,’ only I am warm.


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Thermal imaging finds Missing Insulation

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I just did a home inspection on a fine home here in Salem, Oregon. Overall the home was a piece of cake, and very well taken care of. There was one little section of insulation in the attic that had fallen (from the cable guy presumably). It was impossible to see visually but thanks to the magic of my fancy little thermal/infrared camera my clients now know of an area that could use some additional insulation.

Very simple fix, in fact the fallen insulation is most likely sitting up there in the attic just waiting to be reinstalled and protect the home from the hot or cold of the attic.

All content is Copy written and is the property of Perfection Inspection Inc. Any usage that is not expressly permitted by Perfection Inspection Inc. is considered infringement and is punishable by law.

What has ActiveRain has done for Me Lately?

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My presence on the web started kind of slowly. I guess that is normal but there is one thing I did that didn’t cost me anything and I can thank it for all of my increase in Search Engine Optimization: ActiveRain.

I have been on Active Rain for a little over a year. In that time I faded in and out of posting blogs.

It was hard. The focus was just not there.

I didn’t think that I had anything to write that anyone would want to read.

Melina Tomson got me here and I would see her, and she would be talking about her blog and how wonderful it was and how it was really neat the way people would read her blog and it was like they already knew her. She said she would go see them with a listing presentation and they would say,”…We already know we want you to list our home. No need for the presentation.”

I would get inspired and light-up my own little blogging world. I would post and comment and post and comment. I would see my rank in Salem, Oregon climb and feel satisfied and a little
very hungry for that next spot.

Then my focus would fade. I would get busy with work and family and other things in general.

Even when I wasn’t posting, I did try to get on to ActiveRain to comment as often as possible. Even without posting, the networking brought me in contact with some wonderful local agents that I would not have otherwise had the pleasure of working with.

That seems to be another nice thing about ActiveRain: the caliber of people. Every single person that I have met here has been the best of the best and the only kind of professional that I want to work with.

In about the 9th or 10th month of posting on and off my brain started to wrap its reluctant fingers around SEO and Blogging. My ActiveRain Blog started popping up on the 1st page of Google! (my website was still a couple pages back) I started really seeing the bigger picture of how this infuriating world of Search Engine Optimization works.

I began my endurance training. I was still a flash-in-the-pan blogger but my flashes were getting closer together. I even started to get calls and emails from people that had been reading my blog (go figure).

ActiveRain provided me with information. More information than I knew and still know what to do with.

Last month I had the pleasure of finding one of my posts entirely plagiarized. I began my Web Log journey thinking that I really didn’t have anything interesting to say, but when I read my words with someone else’s name on them, it felt like I had just had my house broken into. ActiveRain was in my corner again and all of the information I needed was a short search away.

I have been telling other agents in the area about ActiveRain for a while now. I can hardly contain my enthusiasm for this virtual neighborhood of extremely knowledgeable professionals that welcomed me and let me learn as much as I wanted.

I seem to be the only Home Inspector in the entire state of Oregon that has gotten a clue about blogging and I have been very reluctant to tell other inspectors in my area. I am professional enough to know that there is plenty of room (and money) at the top; I just kind of enjoy my current monopoly. If you are an inspector you really owe it to yourself to get on ActiveRain and keep with it.

If you get on ActiveRain for the SEO stay for the networking. Both have paid me big dividends here in Salem, Oregon.

If you want to Replace your Flooring in the Bathroom DON’T do anythnig.

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The science of building has created systems to prevent water infiltration and damage. Most of the systems that are exposed to water have layers of protection. If the top layer fails there will be a second or even third layer to catch the water and kick it out before it is able to damage teh home’s components. This is true of properly constructed roofing and exterior components but not the other area in the home that sees a lot of water: the bathroom.

The seam between the bathtub and the flooring is especially vulnerable and is sealed with a flexible caulk. The subfloor is usually an engineered particle board and can be very sensitive to water exposure. The purpose of the caulk seam is to try to seal this joint as the two different materials move independently. The more water the seam sees the more likely it will open up, and particle board acts like a sponge that expands as soon as it is exposed to moisture.

I see grout used between the tub and the floor often, on home inspections, but it is not a very good solution. The tub is made of a different material and the grout will fracture and break.

Caulking is the best but it will need to be maintained. That means when it fails the caulk should be removed and a new, fresh seal should be applied. Seriously, when the caulking joint opens up, it is time to get in there with the razor blade and remove the old caulk. This should be done before damage to the flooring occurs.

Do not put this little maintenance item off unless you want some major changes to the flooring. If you want a comprehensive list of things in your home that you “ought to get around to,” in the Salem, Oregon area, call me.

Heating Oil Tank Program in Oregon

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Oil tanks were very common between the 1920s and 1960s to store the relatively cheap heating oil for the oil furnace. If the home has exchanged hands a few times the underground tank may not be known about. The presence of oil tanks is an issue that can rear its ugly head on an inspection every now and then. Thankfully the Oregon DEQ is doing something to help.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) here in Oregon, has a program to help keep track of those oil tanks that may have been forgotten.

The site is :  http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/tanks/lust/LustPublicLookup.asp

However this site is tricky and you should go to my later post for a better explanation on how to preform a search:

https://salemoregonhomeinspector.com/2009/07/18/heating-oil-tank-program-in-oregon-2/

 

If excavation or redevelopment is planned you can find information on known and suspected Heating Oil Tanks (HOT). Information on: if the site has received a closure letter for the decommissioning, assessment and certification of a HOT is available.

If a HOT is present there may be contamination of the surrounding area and a cleanup may be required. Decommissioning, assessment, and cleanup must be performed by a DEQ licensed HOT Service Provider.

For you agents out there check out this publication: What agents should know about underground oil tanks.

 

The Hidden Life of Leaks

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Manufactured homes can be a wonderful home if you are prepared for what you are getting. The homes can be extremely efficient, even more so than a stick built home. But they do have some issues that should be carefully watched.

The roofs of many manufactured homes are relatively low slope and the interior ceilings are often vaulted. Both of these conditions add up to shorter than average roof life. Failure to the roofing materials and leaks can be chased and individually repaired if they can be located. Without an accessible attic space finding and fixing leaks can be tricky. Enter thermal imaging.

The other day I had the benefit of doing a Pest and Dry rot inspection here in Salem, Oregon after a different inspector had done most of a home inspection. Apparently his client had decided to end the inspection right before he inspected the crawlspace. I did get to see the other report and did not see any issues called on the roof. During my inspection I found three different issues with the roof. Right away I noted a very cool spot in the dining room. Surprise, surprise the cool spot was wet. At this point the leak could be repaired with minimal damage to the related building components.

This is just another example of the wonderful world that Thermography/infrared exposes.

Going green.

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One very important aspect of shrinking our “carbon foot print,” is re-using things to reduce our consumption of new things.

 

 

Being a home inspector here in Salem, Oregon I have the unique opportunity to go into other people’s homes and poke around in their crawlspaces, on their roofs and under their sinks. All of this snooping around turns up some very creative solutions to everyday problems.

 

I am not sure if this is a new filter option or a very old one. This high-tech wool yarn filter may not be very effective at filtering out tiny particles but it appears to fit right in to the filter canister.