My Blog — Real Estate Inspection, Charles Buell Inspections Inc.

Deadband—what is water heater “deadband?”

April 14, 2012 By Charles Buell 2 Comments

If you are thinking that this post is about the Grateful Dead Band, I am sorry to disappoint. It is “loosely” about Jack & Jill in the shower—-but not about them being in the shower together—if they showered together this would not happen.

I have done many posts about conditions related to water heaters—this is but another.

This one may be a bit “technical” but it will hopefully help explain a condition that occurs all too often in homes.

Water Heater “DEADBAND”

The question varies, but it usually goes something like this. Jill asks, “How come some times there seems to be plenty of hot water for both me and Jack to take showers—-and other times there is not?”

Well Jill, it is probably due to “deadband.” While deadband can be an issue with gas water heaters it is very common with electric water heaters. You see, the thermostat on your water heater has a range at which it turns itself off and turns itself on (Jill could not help but think about how this might apply to her and Jack in other more interesting ways). It is this “range” that causes the problem (how true, how true, thinks Jill). Some water heaters are worse than others (DEFINITELY true, thinks Jill).

Let’s say that Jill starts out with a fully heated water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. She takes a nice leisurely, relaxing shower and uses most of the hot water—-but not quite enough to get to the low point of the thermostat to make it kick back on to heat more water. Now Jack comes along an hour later (after the lazy butt sleeps in)—all set to take a nice long hot shower (Jill is thinking cold shower)—-only to run out of hot water as the thermostat finally kicks in to heat more water.

To simplify things, I have drawn a little graph to help visualize the basic concept.

A visual of how deadband happens

So what is the solution? There really isn’t one that doesn’t involve keeping the heater at higher than safe, recommended temperatures (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Keeping the heater at higher temperatures (so that there is more water to dilute) also means that the thermostat’s low range is always going to be higher than what is a satisfactory temperature for a nice long shower. Installing tanks with more storage capacity is another solution as well.

Perhaps the best solution would be to install what is called a “tempering valve.” This is a clever device that allows you to have the water heater set at say 130 degrees Fahrenheit and mixes a little cold water into the stream whenever you use hot water so that you don’t ever get more than 120 degree water out of your faucets. This also protects the heater from the growth of bacteria in the tank that is encouraged or maintained by 120 degree water.

Sounds like Jack will be in plenty of hot water now—no more cold shower treatment.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, Plumbing, Precautions, Type Tagged With: deadband, plumbing, water heaters

Stumped again!

April 12, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

While not exactly what a Home Inspector strives for, it can sometimes be fun to be “stumped” by things we find at an inspection. It was particularly interesting to be stumped on a house that was only 432 sq ft!

I mean how difficult could it be?

This cute little structure started out as a fishing cabin in 1921—–and now the structure leaves everyone fishing for answers—-lots of answers—-to lots of questions. Aside from needing an all new foundation (because there was none in some areas), a new floor structure (due to Anobiid Beetle damage) and a new roof (due to water damage to the roof structures); the home would still qualify as “cute”—to hopeless romantics and otherwise uninformed buyers.

Can one actually sell “cute” all by itself?

Most of these issues, while problematic, did not really amount to Rocket Science, so what had me stumped?

The original "Stump" foundation surrounded by newer foundation structures.

Well actually it was the house that was stumped.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Featured, Foundations, Home Tips, How to, Inspiration, Type, Water/Drainage, Wood Destroying Organisms Tagged With: Anobiid Beetles, foundations, stumps

It is all just blog fodder!

April 9, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

Whenever we build things there are always lots of “plan-ahead” moments that will happen depending on our level of experience and abilities to “see the BIG picture.”

NOT being able to see the “big picture” is all too common today—-in all walks of life. I am not sure it is entirely avoidable.

No one can know everything—-or foresee everything.

There are sometimes unintended consequences as well.

I guess the bigger question is: “Why is it when one comes up against their lack of knowledge wouldn’t one do something about it?” Why wouldn’t that discovery result in corrections that reflect that lack of knowledge? Why do we tend to just bull our way through and “hope” for the best?

I used to ask my employees. “Do you want to remember in 10 years how you fixed it or how you didn’t fix it?”

Certainly “AHA” moments should not result in “FKT” moments—-should they?

When people commit these kinds of “errors and omissions,” don’t they know that these “goofs” are going to end up as blog fodder somewhere—or worse yet on some Mike Homes type show?

In the following pictures we see where the installation of the new range has resulted in loss of full function of the two drawers—-one on each side of the range.

Drawers to the left and to the right do not open properly

While this problem goes back to the original cabinet design for the kitchen, it is possible that another brand of appliance might have been found that would have allowed for proper clearances of the drawers past the range handle and door—then again perhaps it has always been this way.

Installation of drawers in corners like this is poor basic kitchen design, as it often wastes the entire space of the corner—-or results in the corner being very inaccessible. Installation of revolving shelves to better utilize the corner cabinet would be a better solution to this problem. Some people may also be “OK” with the less than functional drawers the way they are. After all they are “somewhat” functional.

The same cannot be said of the dishwasher in this same kitchen. Not only will the door not fold all the way flat due to the refrigerator being in the way—-it also destroys use of the corner for storage.

Dishwasher door doesn't open all the way

But wait a minute—-what is it that I see in the crack between the washer and the cabinet?

AHA! It’s the WATER HEATER—-how silly of me to think this space was being wasted!

No access to the water heater

Is this water heater accessible?

First of all, the refrigerator will have to be removed so that the dishwasher can be removed so that the heater can be serviced, repaired, inspected, monitored etc.

Looks like WAY to many FKT moments won out over the AHA moments in this kitchen.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, How to, Interiors, Type Tagged With: form follows function, kitchen design

Some roofs have moss—other roofs have MOSS!

April 7, 2012 By Charles Buell Leave a Comment

Moss on the roofs of the Northwest are almost synonymous.

One of the recommendations to reduce the amount of moss growth is to install zinc strips to help control the moss. This sometimes seems to work while other times it seems to have almost no effect. I have no clue as to why this is other than perhaps different species of moss respond differently or perhaps zinc looses its effectiveness over time.

In this picture of a very moss covered roof it is very clear that the various galvanized plumbing vent-pipe penetrations are in fact reducing the moss growth in the areas beneath them.

Heavy moss covering of a roof

In this next picture, the black algae discoloration—another type of vegetative growth that occurs on roofs—-can also be affected by zinc given off by nearby galvanized components on the roof. In this case the chimney restraint brackets and chimney flashings are helping to keep the roof clear of algae in a distinctive pattern that corresponds to the bracket and chimney installation. It almost looks as if someone got up there and cleaned that area.

The effects of zinc on moss/lichen growth on roofs

Left and right of the clean area you can see the distinctive marks of where someone has pressure washed the roof—but not really consistent with the area cleaned by the zinc from the galvanized components.

So why don’t we see more zinc strips on roofs?

I think the main reason is because they are considered “unsightly”—-people don’t like the way they look and if they aren’t installed about every 3 feet on the roof they won’t keep the entire roof free of moss & algae growth. Note how in the second picture the roof is only “totally” clean about three feet below the bracket? A small amount starts to appear again down near the bottom of the clear area.

In this next picture we can see that effect even more clearly—and one could argue that the zinc strip is really not helping very much as all.

Moss covered roof barely affected by zinc strip

I know you are waiting for my recommendation for an easy solution—-but alas I have none. Some roofing materials supposedly have zinc granules included in the roofing material itself, and the effectiveness of this approach has yet to prove itself to me. It would seem to me that these roofs would stick out like a sore thumb in the NW but I have yet to see this.

As near as I can tell the algae doesn’t represent much of a problem for the roofing materials itself—primarily a cosmetic concern. This is unlike the moss, which should be controlled. Sweeping the roof during the dry season seems to be effective. Pressure washing should always be avoided as it will take far more years off the life of the roof than sweeping will—or apparently even letting the moss grow. Moss will kill your roof—but so will a lot of the attempts to eliminate it.

Moss is more of a problem with wood shingle type roofs and composition type roof coverings that contain wood fibers.

I think a combination of manual maintenance, zinc strips and eco-friendly chemical treatments can do the job.

The most important thing I can say about moss on your roof?—-be careful up there. Only people experienced to work on roofs should do maintenance work on roofs.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

Filed Under: Featured, Home Tips, How to, Roofing, Type Tagged With: moss, roof, roof moss

Gumby had nothing on home inspectors!

April 5, 2012 By Charles Buell 2 Comments

I frequently run into tight crawl spaces. It is unusual for the opening to be smaller than the spaces inside. I had one the other day that had a huge opening but none of the 1000 sq ft had more than 12″ of clearance—-and some areas were less than that.

When my buyer called to book this inspection we discussed that the craw space was going to be difficult to get into. I recommended that necessary permissions be gotten to do whatever it took to get into the space. This is what the access opening looked like before the boards were removed.

After moving a few deck boards the opening will be a "little" bigger

While I like to think of myself as “Gumby,” there was no way I was going to deform myself enough to get through this opening. So, while the agent and buyer removed some of the deck boards, I concerned myself with other parts of the inspection. I anticipated the worst, given that this opening had been just like you see it—-open—-for a long time. I knew that although I couldn’t fit through this opening, there was any number of other critters that could. This post is not about the condition of the crawl space, but about the fun process of getting into it.

Here are a series of photos taken (by the agent with my camera) of me getting into the crawl space. The time between the first and last picture—–12 seconds! (I know—-I couldn’t believe it myself)

Starting into the crawl space---start the clock

4 seconds gone

8 seconds gone

12 seconds gone---now where is my bag of tools?

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Crawl Spaces, Featured, Home Tips, How to, Type Tagged With: crawl spaces

The case for further evaluation—along with telling the story.

April 3, 2012 By Charles Buell 2 Comments

Home inspectors love to argue about deferring things for “further evaluation” in their reports.

Main Disconnect

I don’t have much of a problem calling for further evaluation on issues when it is done in the context of getting some defect repaired—where in the report I have described the defect, described the implications of that defect and then recommended who should evaluate and repair the defect—-including when.

This is considerably different than the type of reporting where it merely states: “Electrical panel appears to be wired improperly—recommend further evaluation by electrician.

I had an interesting electrical panel at an inspection the other day that adds an interesting layer to this discussion. When inspecting the panel—a sub-panel in a Condo building—I noted that the data plate stated a rating of “125 amps.” I made a mental note earlier, when inspecting the meter location that the main disconnect was rated at “150 amps” and was expecting to find a panel in the unit rated for at least 150 amps. For them to be different is actually quite unusual for commercial level wiring.

Electrical panel legend that does not describe the panel it is installed in

I started to notice other inconsistencies within the electrical panel.

According to the data plate there should only be “mini-breakers” at the bottom four slots in the panel. This is not unusual—I see the rules for the locations of these half-height breakers violated all the time.

Also the cover had a label between the upper breakers that said, “SERVICE DISCONNECT.”

Improper panel labeling

This labeling is consistent with the panel being a “split bus” type panel—where one of the upper breakers is going to be the disconnect for a block of lower breakers. Now while there would be no inherent issue with having a service disconnect in the unit as well as at the meters, in this panel there was actually no such breaker controlling a lower block of breakers and even if there was, there would be more than 6 throws to disconnect all the power in the panel. (For more information on split bus panels see: SPLIT BUS PANELS)

Interior of panel described as a split-bus panel but that is not a split-bus panel

So in the end, we have a panel that likely no inspector would be able to provide all the information necessary. Even determining the “implications” of the installation is complicated by the various possibilities. Further evaluation and repairs will be necessary by the licensed electrical contractor. Since the size of the wire run to the panel is adequate for the breaker in the Meter panel, it is entirely possible that this panel is properly wired, that mini-breakers are allowed where they are presently installed, that the panel is rated for the wire size and main disconnect size and that we merely have the wrong cover installed.

Whatever the “truth” is, the cost of repairs could be very different—hence the need for further evaluation and repairs by the licensed electrical contractor. Telling whatever parts of the story that can be told is important in educating the buyer and enables them to have an intelligent conversation with the seller, the agents and the electrician.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Electrical, Featured, Home safety, Home Tips, Precautions, Type Tagged With: electrical, electrical issues, electrical panels, split bus electrical panels

Difficult Crawl Spaces—fools rush in where angels fear to tread

March 31, 2012 By Charles Buell 9 Comments

Everyone can relate to how “inhospitable” crawl spaces can be, and I am not going to delight you with more horror stories typical of those places.

Houseboats can have the worst crawl spaces

This is more about what contortions your inspector will endure to get him or her self into these spaces; and what limitations are logical and necessary to keep them out of the “hospital.” Obviously, the fire department cutting through the living room floor to retrieve a stuck home inspector would be very embarrassing no matter what the inspector found. But what great blog fodder that would be! For me, it is my head and shoulders that have to fit—-an opening of 10” by 14-1/2” is plenty big enough. If I can get my head and shoulders through the opening—-I am in there.

So what about heating/cooling ductwork in crawl spaces? Most inspectors are usually dealing with how to get around, over or under these installations—-without doing more damage to them than the last wanker did.

But what about the INSIDE of the ductwork—-should the inspector go INSIDE the ductwork if he can fit?

Well of course I am kidding—-sort of.

A while ago, at an inspection of a houseboat of all places, I had to inspect a crawl space that was the heating system plenum—-the cold air return to the furnace. This was not the first houseboat that I had inspected but it was the first that had a crawl space. It is kind of weird to be in a crawl space that you know has water slapping against the foundation all around you—and water flowing underneath you. The floor of the crawl space was at water level or a little below.

One might think that this crawl space would be a water nightmare, but in reality it was one of the driest crawl spaces I had ever been in—-and no vents either. It was a great example of why venting of crawl spaces is unnecessary and should not be allowed. By making this space what we called “conditioned” space it ultimately has no higher moisture levels than anywhere else in the house—-assuming there are no plumbing leaks to fill it up. This space has performed as designed for 26 years.

The problem with the installation is that clearances throughout the space (1000 sq ft) were a little less than desirable—-with less than 14 inches from the floor to the joists above. When there is this little room, I am more than likely accurate in guessing that few other inspectors have considered the space “accessible.” It has likely gone uninspected for 26 years. This just reinforced even more the importance of me being the one that gets to do it. I did get my exercise as there were three bays to inspect and all were dead ends.

Candid Camera in the Crawl Space

Some days we get to have more fun than on others.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Crawl Spaces, Featured, Home Tips, How to, Type Tagged With: crawl spaces, inspections

Bacteria, Mold and Your Kitchen Sink

March 28, 2012 By Charles Buell 4 Comments

Why don’t kitchen sinks have overflow holes?

Sinks with overflow holes are not allowed in food preparation areas due to the possibility of providing a place for bacteria and mold to grow around the overflow—-stuff you might not want as a “food seasoning.”

Typical under mount sink

In general, the area around sinks should be kept very well sealed and caulked in order for them to be more easily maintained and kept sanitary. Wheather the sinks are self rimming sinks, or under-mount type sinks, the connection between the two should be properly caulked. Of course the molded plastic type sinks where the sink actually becomes a seamless part of the counter top is by far the easiest type to maintain.

Under-mount sinks are very fashionable these days, for a nice “clean” look, yet they can actually be less sanitary than a self-rimming type unless one is very vigilant in cleaning the underside of the counter top where the sink is caulked to the bottom side. Add to this—-in the case of granite—that the underside of the overhangs is usually “unfinished” and creates an ideal place for mold and bacteria to grow (kind of like the underside of the toilet tank where there is no enamel coating).

In the following picture you can see where the connection of the sink to the counter top has not been caulked, creating a gap where mold and bacteria WILL grow.

These sink/counter top connections make a good breeding ground for mold and bacteria

Except for cheese and miso soup, it is probably a good idea to keep most bacterias and fungal growths out of the kitchen all together.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Featured, Home safety, Home Tips, Interiors, Plumbing, Precautions, Type Tagged With: caulking, counter tops, sinks

Gutter talk—lets talk roof gutters and downspouts.

March 26, 2012 By Charles Buell 4 Comments

It is very common for dormers and other roof structures that have gutters above the level of the gutters on lower portions of the roof, to empty onto the roof surface. The water is allowed to run on the roof surface and is collected by the lower gutters.

In this first picture one can see where the gutter has been cut off at the same pitch as the roof to let the gutter empty onto the roof surface. Note also that the valley also sheds its water down the roof surface as well—-as opposed to into the gutter.

Opened ended gutter draining to roof

This is pretty normal for a valley and there is no real alternative. When we add the water from the gutter at the same point it results in a lot of water running over the roof surface in a concentrated area that causes that portion of the roof to age prematurely—-as well as impact siding on the dormer. It can also maintain moisture on the roof resulting in more moss growth.

In this next picture we can see where the water is drained the other direction to a downspout that then empties onto the roof surface.

Downspout draining onto roof

How about this one with the additional problem the roof step flashing not being properly counter-flashed by the siding? Water flooding from this downspout can easily find its way into the roof and wall structures.

Downspout draining to roof with siding damage obvious

Leaving the gutters off altogether is not usually a good option (unless the roof is very, very small) because the rain dripping off the edge will wear on the roof below. Everyone has seen the holes that can be eaten into the ground below roofs with no gutters—-you don’t want this to happen to the ground around your foundation and the same kind of pounding can take a tole on a roof below other sections of roof with no gutters.

Impact marks on the ground from missing gutters

Impact marks on the ground from missing or plugged gutters

So what are better alternatives?

One common solution which most people don’t like because it is considered “unsightly,” is to make the downspout continuous over the surface of the roof. Besides being unsightly they are always getting stepped on or otherwise damaged—-but still a better solution than just letting the water run across the roof.

Downspout running across the roof surface

This has been a long-winded way of getting to perhaps the best solution to this problem that I have ever seen (as long we are going to insist on continuing to use asphalt shingles as a means of covering roofs).

A tray to protect the roof from water damage

This metal tray protects the roof surface, is not easily damaged by klutzy inspectors, and gets the water to the lower gutter—and won’t clog with debris.

Now if I could just talk people into covering the whole roof with the stuff.

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

Filed Under: Exteriors, Featured, Foundations, Home Tips, How to, Precautions, Roofing, Type, Water/Drainage Tagged With: downspouts, gutters, roof drainage

Moose Drool and Leaking Roofs

March 24, 2012 By Charles Buell 2 Comments

Over the years there have been lots of discussions about Home Inspectors walking on roofs or not. There have been a few thatfs that I would not walk on.

One of the most popular wars that weekend warriors wage is building decks.

In no time at all they are sitting out on the deck enjoying a nice cold “Moose Drool” beer and it either starts to rain or it is too sunny. What to do? All they need to add is a roof. While it is not often the case in Seattle that there is too much sun—-the drizzle is real.

To put a roof over a deck is WAY more complicated than building a deck. One must answer questions like how it is going to be attached to the house so that there is still enough head room under it to walk on the deck surface. In this picture we see one solution.

Roof over the deck---supposedly a listing "feature"

Well, actually not really so much a “solution” as creation of a “problem”—–unless you count that all of the roofing structural materials are “in solution”—being saturated with water. With this “solution,” having enough headroom and having enough slope were not possible.

These three tab type shingles should never be installed on a roof this flat. Water can easily back up under the shingles where it will fill the roof structure up with water—-as is evidenced by the dripping water seen in the next picture—-kind of like Moose Drool.

Ceilings under roofs should not Drool

A wood roof saturated with water can get VERY HEAVY. We then must consider how it is attached to the house.

Roof structures above decks are often poorly attached

Wimpy 2×4’s attached to an even wimpier 1×6 fascia—-all with no metal brackets or hangers.

All we need now is 6” of heavy wet snow to top it all off. Spilling ones beer is one thing, spilling a roof into ones beer is another.

(This nice roof was a “Listing Feature” as well.)

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Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle