Bellingham WA Home Inspector's Blog -- King of the House Home Inspection

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Home Inspector - King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Home Inspector Lic #207
Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, is a licensed and working home inspector and lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College. Smith was a two-term member of the WA state licensing board and is adjunct faculty for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. ASHI certified inspector. The information in this blog is designed to appeal to residents of the Pacific Northwest.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
It does not really matter when a house was built and what codes, if any, applied at the time of construction: An unsafe guardrail is just as unsafe at a 100 year old home as it is at a new house. As a home inspector in Bellingham, WA, I point out that codes are not retroactive but I, also, inform...
12/24/2012
Nearly five years ago, I wrote a historical piece here at Active Rain that received many comments. The topic was Ed Sullivan, a showbiz phenomenon of my generation.  In looking at that post the other day, I saw that some of the links were broken and the formatting has a problem that I was unable ...
12/23/2012
Time and time again, working here in Bellingham as a home inspector, I find improperly installed or, more often than not, decks installed without proper flashings at the wall.  The problem is simple enough, where that horizontal landing attaches to the house, moisture collects thanks to our "liqu...
12/22/2012
In the course of performing home inspections at older homes, along with knob and tube wiring, one of the most common issues that I find involves aged metal plumbing pipes. The old pipes commonly found in the Bellingham area and Whatcom County include cast iron, galvanized steel (drain and supply ...
12/18/2012
 There is a misconception, among many people (including buyers and sellers), that we home inspectors "pass" or "fail" houses. That is not the case. Inspectors do not give letter grades A through F at any house.   On the other hand, the home inspector will report the conditions that are present an...
12/16/2012
 In the wet Pacific Northwest, many seller's are caught by surprise at the time of a home inspection. It is not a sound assumption to figure that every system or component at a home is working as it was at the time of installation. If the refrigerator or the oven is out, sure a homeowner knows ab...
12/16/2012
The Bellingham Technical College offering " Fundamentals of Home Inspection" was the first course in the state to receive approval from the Department of Licensing when home inspector licensing took effect a few years ago. This course attracts many students, from around the state, who wish to be ...
12/05/2012
Many of the homes that I inspect are insufficiently heated.  There are a few areas in the USA where you can probably get by with minimal heat, but that does not include the Pacific Northwest.  Heating guidelines, paraphrased for simplicity, specify: In regions where winter temperatures drop belo...
11/25/2012
We home inspectors have a number of fancy tools, moisture meters, circuit analyzers, boroscopes, maybe thermal imaging equipment. But, as often as not, our most important observations are made while using simple tools -- our eyes, our ears, ladders, a rot probe. First, I am going to give examples...
11/02/2012
I was going to post a blog tonight that contained text, photos and a short video -- as I have done many times over the past several years.  But I was unable to embed the video. In the past, you pasted the video into a post and then flipped from wysiwyg to html. However, all I have is a screen opt...
11/01/2012
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Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector
local_phone(360) 319-0038
smartphone(360) 319-0038
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Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, provides information for real estate buyers, sellers and real estate industry professionals. Blog posts emphasize issues commonly found in Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Smith is Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207, a state licensed structural pest inspector, ASHI certified inspector #252760 and one of the most experienced inspectors in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest. Steven L. Smith is lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College and teaches classes for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Steve was a two-term member of the state licensing board.