Charles Buell Inspections Inc

Enamel Steel tubs are inexpensive because they are cheap

January 27, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

As is indicated by the “bluish” highlighted areas in the picture, we can see the typical areas of an enamel steel type tub that are prone to water intrusion into the wall. Moisture is frequently found by moisture meter in these areas.

Enamel Steel Tub

On a recent new construction inspection I found a great example that shows why this is so.

Steel tubs like this one typically have a flange that runs up behind the wall covering to reduce the chance of water finding its way into the wall. The problem with this flange is that it does not run all the way to the edge of the tub or down the side. In this next picture one can see the flange where it stops at the black opening that is a hole all the way through. Really this opening should be properly caulked and sealed previous to installation of the finish surface to reduce the risk of water penetrating this area. There are filler pieces that should be installed at the inside corners previous to installing the wall covering. Then of course the gap should be properly caulked after the finish wall surface is installed—assuming it is a single piece type covering like the one shown. If it is a tile enclosure, then of course the joint would simply be grouted and the gap in the tub properly caulked and flashed behind the tile.

It is very difficult to seal this connection satisfactorily and part of what makes these tubs “cheap.” They are of course quite expensive in the long term.

Gap at corner of steel tub

The way these tubs are constructed speaks to the importance of keeping grout and caulk in good condition.

Similar indications of moisture are also very common at the inside corners of the tub because this flange does not wrap around the corner but instead ends just before the corner—-just like in the picture at the front of the tub. This creates an ideal place for moisture to find its way into the wall at the corners due to improper caulking of the corner prior to installation of the wall surface and poor caulking at the wall surface connection with the tub.

Doesn’t it make you wonder why they would build the tub this way?

Apparently it has to do with the way these steel tubs are manufactured and enameled that make it very difficult to do a proper flange all the way around the tub like a plastic tub would have—-and part of what makes this type of tub a “cheap” choice in tubs.

This is why inspectors are so adamant about keeping these areas well sealed/caulked/grouted. Of course if the work behind the surface has not been done properly, eventually water will find its way into these areas.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, Interiors, Plumbing, Precautions, Type Tagged With: caulking, enamel steel tubs, grouting, tub enclosures

Planters for Head Plants—don’t need no stinking barriers!

January 23, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

With the exception of a missing handrail for the stairs, this installation meets “code” requirements.

Missing stair barrier/railings

The platform outside of the door is 29-3/4” above the patio surface. If it was over 30” a guard rail would be required to prevent falls from the platform.

This is one example of how the building codes should be considered “minimum standards.” Some times, for safety, we must go beyond the codes.

To me this installation represents a serious safety hazard and improvements are warranted. Besides the fact that most people would not want to walk off this platform in the dark and fall head-long into one of the planters, imagine trying to negotiate the stairs and wrestle the door open at the same time—-with no hand railing or barrier railing. Of course closing the door represents the same difficulty.

Another thing to consider is wind.

Imagine opening the door from the inside and having it be caught by the wind. Would you let go of the door and allow it to slam against the outside wall of the house? Envisioning the expense of broken glass, some would attempt to hang onto the door, and be dragged screaming into one of the waiting planters?

At the very least lets move the planters.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Filed Under: Featured, Home safety, Home Tips, Precautions, Type Tagged With: handrails, stair barriers, stair landings, stairs

Homemade—in the middle of the night!

January 21, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

I LOVE homemade pie, fresh baked bread and rice pudding.

I am not much of a fan of homemade roof trusses however.

That is not to say that they cannot be made properly. In fact all trusses when they were first invented were “homemade”—-that is, made on site. I have even built them myself, and they can actually be stronger than manufactured trusses from a factory. The key is that there has to be some understanding of how trusses work and what they are capable of doing, what they need to be able to do—–and they need to be built to meet the needs of the span they are crossing.

Current regulations require that all trusses be “engineered”—-whether site built or factory built. It is likely to be more cost effective to go with the factory built ones. Most of the time, it is not possible to even buy the truss materials for what a truss manufacturer will deliver them to your site for—-including hoisting them to where they will be installed.

So why would anyone build them themselves? Well, in the case of the ones pictured below, it was probably because the second story addition to the garage was done without permits in “the middle of the night.” Considerable sagging of the roof was evident and can be seen if you look at the very last truss and see how the bottom of the truss is not parallel to the top plate of the end wall (lets not even talk about the framing around the window).

Homemade trusses

There are WAY better things to be doing in the middle of the night!

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, Precautions, Roofing, Structural, Type Tagged With: roof trusses, site built trusses, trusses

Disposal wiring—conduit and cord connections

January 20, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

I have done posts in the past about poor wiring to disposals. I see this kind of defect so often that repetition is warranted.

Anyone can go to the Big Orange Tool Box or similar types of home maintenance stores and buy a garbage disposal—it is that simple. So how difficult can it be to hook it up?

It is usually the hook up to the electrical supply that is messed up. This is especially so when there is no plug-in type cord, and instead the disposal is “hard-wired.” All “hard-wired” means is that the unit can’t be unplugged—-and instead is wired continuously all the way to the breaker panel. There is nothing inherently wrong with the disposal being wired this way. But when it is wired this way, it is important that the wire that runs from the wall to the disposal be the correct type of wire and that the wire be properly protected from mechanical damage. Typically this wire is run in flexible conduit from the connection at the wall.

Installers that don’t know proper connection methods (aren’t electricians) sometimes just hook the wire that comes through the wall directly to the disposal. In the following picture we can see where the wires have been run inside flexible conduit, but the conduit is badly damaged at the wall in the background and is not connected properly to the disposal in the foreground. Notice also that the ground wire is not connected to the disposal. It is important for disposals to be properly grounded to prevent persons contacting the disposal from being part of a potential path to ground in the event of a short in the unit.

Conduit wiring to the disposal

In this case, it seems the installer knew the wiring should be in conduit but they just didn’t know how to make the connections at the ends of the conduit—-resulting in: I “cantduit.”

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Filed Under: Electrical, Featured, Home Tips, How to, Type Tagged With: disposal wiring, disposals, garbage disposals

Your home’s electrical grounding system

January 18, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

There are several types of grounding electrodes found in homes. At least one of these methods should be present in any home regardless of age, and newer homes usually require multiple methods—-redundant methods. The very newest of homes will likely have only one means of grounding.

I know this seems confusing, but ground requirements have evolved over time accounting for all the various methods that will be found in homes of all ages.

Historically, the original method of achieving grounding was the water pipe coming from the street. The next method to be employed was a single ground rod. After this requirement, two rods driven 6 feet apart became the norm. Now a third method called a “Ufer Ground” is required in many jurisdictions. With this grounding method the entire rebar system of the concrete foundation is utilized. This method is far superior to all of the other methods, or even combination of methods, in ensuring an effective ground.

One might ask, “Why so many different systems?” Well the main reason is that a lot of houses no longer have metal water pipes coming from the street. This leaves the ground-rod method as the only means of grounding and it is considered a notoriously poor means of grounding, so enter Mr. Ufer. While this method of grounding has been known since the 40′s, its employment as the primary means of grounding residential electrical systems has only recently been required in most jurisdictions.

One of the things I am interested in when inspecting the electrical system of a home is documenting what methods of grounding have been employed. Figuring this all out is actually part of the Home Inspector, Standards of Practice in Washington, State. It is surprising to me the number of homes I find where the water pipe from the street has been replaced with plastic pipe leaving the electrical system ungrounded at the home.

Without getting overly technical, this leaves metallic components of the electrical system vulnerable to being energized—-creating a shock hazard. This picture was taken at a house with one ground rod, where the water line had been replaced with plastic. The loss of a grounding connection to the ground rod is pretty obvious.

Disconnected wire a ground rod

Time to call the Licensed Electrical contractor for repairs. It won’t be a difficult fix but is necessary for electrical safety.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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