Vancouver Washington Home Inspector

Your home is a major investment. Whether you intend to stay in it forever or plan to move someday, chances are good that you will spend the next several years in your new home. Why not take the time to get a quality home inspection for your new purchase, to ensure you won't come across any unexpected surprises down the road?

Hiring an independent home inspector to assist you with the evaluation of your property is a smart move. However, selecting the right home inspector to assist you with the evaluation of your property is not an easy task. While price may be a concern, so should the inspector's qualifications, including their experience in the industry, thoroughness and training.

When you go to select a home inspector, start by asking the right questions. Any issues that fall within these categories should be addressed.

Areas Served

Vancouver, WA / Camas, WA / Washougal, WA / Battle Ground, WA / Amboy, WA / Yacolt, WA / Cougar, WA / Woodland, WA / Kelso, WA / Longview, WA / Stevenson, WA / Centralia, WA / Long Beach, WA / Ocean Park, WA / Kalama, WA / La Center, WA / Ariel, WA / North Bonneville, WA / Salmon Creek, WA / Orchards, WA / Ridgefield, WA / Castle Rock, WA / Chinook, WA

Sellers can speed their home inspection by following these suggestions. The inspection will go smoother, with fewer concerns to delay closing.

1. Comfirm that water, electric and gas service are on, with gas pilot lights burning.

2. Ensure pets won't hinder the inspection. Ideally, they should be removed from the premises or secured outside. Tell your agent about any pets at home.

3. Replace burned out bulbs to avord a "Light is inoperable" report that may suggest an electrical problem.

6. Remove stored items, debris and wood from the foundation. These may be cited as "conducive conditions" for termites.

7.Remove items blocking access to HVAC epuipment, electric service panels, water heaters, attics and crawl space.

8. Unlock areas the inspector must access-attic doors or hatches, electric service panels, closets, fence gates and crawl spaces.

9. Trim tree limbs to 10' from the roof and shrubs from the house to allow access.

10. Attend to broken or missing items like doorknobs, locks and latches; windowpanes, screens and locks; gutters, downspouts and chimney caps.

Checking these areas before your home inspection is an investment in selling your property. Your real estate agent will thank you!

Childproofing Your Home: 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children

InterNACHI inspectors, too, should know what to tell clients who are concerned about the safety of their children. Here are some child-safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children.

1. Use safety latches and locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.

Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but that are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging should be locked away out of reach; this packaging is not childproof.

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2. Use safety gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gates that screw into the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a child's head and neck to fit into.

Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.

3. Use door knob covers and door locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers, including swimming pools.

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should be placed high, out of reach of young children. Locks should be used in addition to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be re-secured after each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools.

Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1; door lock: $5 and up.

4. Use anti-scald devices for faucets and shower heads, and set your water heater temperature to 120° F to help prevent burns from hot water. A plumber may need to install these.

Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.

5. Use smoke detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries. Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working. If detectors are battery-operated, change batteries at least once a year, or consider using 10-year batteries.

Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10.

6. Use window guards and safety netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls. Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and properly installed and maintained. There should be no more than 4 inches between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at least one window in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire. Window screens are not effective for preventing children from falling out of windows.

Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7. Use corner and edge bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls, and to soften falls against sharp and rough edges.

Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture and hearth edges.

Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8. Use outlet covers and outlet plates to help prevent children from electrical shock and possible electrocution.

Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them.

Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9. Use a carbon monoxide (CO) detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages.

Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10. Cut window blind cords; use safety tassels and inner cord stops instead to help prevent children from strangling in blind-cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds.

For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds, vertical blinds and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.

Prices vary.

11. Use door stops and door Hholders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.

Be sure any safety device for doors is easy to use and is not likely to break into small parts, which could be a choking hazard for young children.

Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12. Use a cell or cordless phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas. Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.

Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.

In summary, there are a number of different safety devices that can be purchased to ensure the safety of children in the home. Homeowners can ask an InterNACHI inspector about these and other safety measures during their next inspection.

15 Tools That Every Homeowner Should Own

The following items are essential tools but this list is by no means exhaustive. Feel free to ask an InterNACHI inspector during your next inspection about other tools that you might find useful.

One end of a combination wrench set is open and the other end is a closed loop. Nuts and bolts are manufactured in standard and metric sizes and because both varieties are widely used, so you’ll need both sets of wrenches. For the most control and leverage, always pull the wrench toward you, instead of pushing on it. Also, avoid over-tightening.

Use slip-joint pliers to grab hold of a nail, a nut, a bolt, and much more. These types of pliers are versatile because of the jaws, which feature both flat and curved areas for gripping many types of objects. There is also a built-in slip-joint, which allows the user to quickly adjust the jaw size to suit most tasks.

Adjustable wrenches are somewhat awkward to use and can damage a bolt or nut if they are not handled properly. However, adjustable wrenches are ideal for situations where you need two wrenches of the same size. Screw the jaws all the way closed to avoid damaging the bolt or nut.

8. Hacksaw
These are great for cutting metal objects such as pipes, bolts and brackets.

Hacksaws look thin and flimsy, but they’ll easily cut through even the hardest of metals. Blades are replaceable, so focus your purchase on a quality hacksaw frame.

9. Torpedo Level
Only a level can be used to determine if something, such as a shelf, appliance or picture, is correctly oriented. The torpedo-style level is unique because it not only shows when an object is perfectly horizontal or vertical, but it also has a gauge that shows when an object is at a 45-degree angle. The bubble in viewfinder must be exactly in the middle, not merely close.

10. Safety Glasses / Goggles
For all tasks involving a hammer or a power tool, you should always wear safety glasses or goggles. They should also be worn while you mix chemicals.

11. Claw Hammer
A good hammer is one of the most important tools you can own. Use it to drive and remove nails, to pry wood loose from the house, and in combination with other tools. They come in a variety of sizes, although a 16-ounce hammer is the best all-purpose choice.

12. Screwdriver Set
It is best to have four screwdrivers: a small and large version of both a flat-head and a Phillips- head screwdriver. Electrical screwdrivers are Wire cutter

sometimes convenient, but they're no substitute. Manual screwdrivers can reach into more places and they are less likely to damage the screw.

14. Respirator / Safety Mask
While paints and other coatings have become less toxic (and lead-free) over time, most still contain dangerous chemicals, which is why you should wear a mask to avoid accidentally getting them in your lungs. A mask should also be worn when working in dusty or dirty environments. Disposable masks usually come in packs of 10 and should be thrown away after use. Full and half-face respirators can be used to prevent the inhalation of very fine particles that ordinary facemasks will not not stop.

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D & K Home Inspections: Your Southwest Washington Home Detective

Areas Served

Childproofing Your Home: 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children

15 Tools That Every Homeowner Should Own