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GRANITE PEAK INSPECTION, Inc.


Email: bgotham@plix.com
Phone: (509) 684-5827
Brad Gotham 
2668 C Hwy 20E 
Colville, Wa 99114
Inspector: Bradley Gotham
Washington State Home Inspector License # 554
WSDA Structural Pest Inspector License # 78889

Summary Page

Home Inspection Report
Client(s): Home Buyer
Property address: Anywhere
Inspection date: 12/20/2011

This summary page published on 1/12/2012 9:47:50 AM PST

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This report is the exclusive property of this inspection company and the client(s) listed in the report title. Use of this report by any unauthorized persons is prohibited.

Exterior
2) Repair/Replace, Evaluate , Damage, Conducive conditions - Rot was found in the horizontal belly trim boards on the east side of the home. Areas effected appear to next to sprinkler heads it may be possible that the damaged areas are being exposed to the water spray from the sprinkler system. A qualified contractor should evaluate and make repairs and as necessary, such as replacing all rotten wood and redirecting sprinklers.
3) Repair/Replace, Evaluate , Damage - Rafter barge board ends are warped: possible causes are that they have no roofing shingles over the top of them allowing moisture damage or that they are not fastened securely enough. A qualified contractor should evaluate and make repairs as necessary.
4) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - Patio door trim boards are in contact with the patio concrete surface
(typical with other trim around home). This is a conducive condition to wood destroying organisms. Recommend all wood be trimmed to 1 inch away from the concrete surface to eliminate water wicking into wood.
5) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - The door casing for the outside man door entrance to the garage has wood decay "rot" and is beyond repair. Recommend replacement of door casing, caulking and paint.
6) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - Vegetation such as trees as shrubs are in contact with or less than one foot from the structure's exterior. Vegetation can serve as a conduit for wood destroying insects and may retain moisture against the exterior after it rains. Vegetation should be pruned and/or removed as necessary to maintain a one foot clearance between it and the structure's exterior.
7) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - Rain gutter and down spout concerns

1. Two downspouts brackets are detached. Recommend reattaching.
2. At rear of home where upper down spout connects with the lower gutter and down spout, the upper spout is connected so that it is blocking the lower down spout. Recommend relocating or cutting a 45 deg. bevel in upper down spout.
3. All gutters have debris in them. Recommend cleaning as part of a yearly home maintenance plan.

All of the above can result in water accumulating around the structure's foundation and crawl spaces. Accumulated water is a conducive condition to wood destroying insects and organisms, and may also cause the foundation to settle and possibly fail over time. Repairs should be made as necessary.
8) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - Several crawl space vent screens are blocked by soil, debris or the louvers are in the closed position. This restricts ventilation in the crawl space and may result in increased levels of moisture inside. Materials or items blocking vents should be removed.
9) Repair/Maintain - The crawl space access hatch has large gaps that could allow vermin to enter the crawl space.
Recommend A qualified contractor should install a trim board, screens or something similar to close these gaps.

Roof
15) Repair/Replace, Evaluate , Conducive conditions - Roofing nails in three areas have loosened or backed out. Leaks may occur as a result. A qualified roofing contractor should make repairs as necessary, such as reseting nails and applying sealant.
16) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - The siding on the dormer exterior walls above the roof sections has less than a one inch gap between it and the roof surface below, and is causing damage to the concrete based siding. A gap of at least one inch is recommended so water isn't wicked up into the siding from the shingles below, and also to provide room for additional layers of roofing materials when the current roof surface fails. Recommend having a qualified contractor make repairs as necessary, such as trimming siding so at least a one inch gap exists between the siding and the roofing below where necessary.

Garage
18) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - The garage-house door poses a fire risk because a pet door has been installed in it, eliminating its fire rating. A qualified contractor should replace this door with a fire-rated door.
19) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - The attic access hatch over the attached garage is plywood and doesn't have a one-hour fire rating. Wall and ceiling surfaces in an attached garage should be fire rated for one hour to prevent or slow the spread of fire from the garage to the interior living spaces. This hatch should be replaced with a material that has a one hour fire rating, such as 5/8 inch Type X Sheetrock.

Electric service
21) Cautionary, Repair/Replace, Evaluate - The front panel of the main electrical panel was difficult to remove due to inadequate working space. Standard building practices require the following clearances:

  • An area 30 inches wide by 3 feet deep exists in front of the panel
  • The panel is at least 5 1/2 feet above the floor
  • There is at least 6 feet 6 inches of headroom in front of the panel
  • The wall below the panel is clear to the floor

    Recommend removing or modifying shelving to provide safe access.
    22) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - Two over current protection devices (circuit breakers) are "double tapped", where two wires are clamped in a terminal designed for only one wire. This is a safety hazard since the screw may tighten securely against one wire, but leave others loose. Arcing, sparks and fires may result. A qualified electrical contractor should evaluate and repair.
    23) Cautionary, Evaluate - The inspector noticed some extension cords being used as permanent wiring, at back of home supplying pond etc. These tend to deteriorate over time and become a shock and or fire hazard. Recommend that when an electrical contractor is on site that these be replaced with permanent wiring.

    Water heater
    24) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - The temperature-pressure relief valve drain line is routed into the crawl space. When on site to make other repairs, a qualified plumber should locate and re-route the drain line to drain outside.

    Heating and cooling
    26) Repair/Maintain, Evaluate - The last service date of this system appears to be more than five years ago. A qualified heating specialist should service this system and make repairs if necessary. This servicing should be performed annually in the future.
    27) Repair/Maintain, Evaluate - 1. The inspector found heavy condensate build up around burners and B
    vent; this is a indication the unit needs serviced.
    2. Filters are dirty and need changed

    Recommend servicing before next heating season by a qualified heating specialist.

    Plumbing and laundry
    28) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - Clothes dryer duct concerns
    1.The clothes dryer is equipped with a vinyl or foil accordion-type, flexible exhaust duct. These do operate, but can can trap lint and are susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the air flow and can lead to a fire.

    Recommend that all of the dryer system be kept very clean, to avoid a fire hazard. Also, the client may wish to replace flexible ducts with a rigid or corrugated semi- rigid metal duct. For more information on dryer safety issues, visit: http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5022.html

    2. The dryer ducting is ran through an unheated area (the crawl space). Warm ducting will condensate and flow will be blocked by lint trapped in moisture. Recommend replacing duct with a metal insulated type duct.
    29) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - The laundry room electric receptacle that serves the countertop surfaces within six feet of a sink appear to have no ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection. This is a safety hazard due to the risk of shock. When on site, a qualified electrician should evaluate to determine if GFCI protection exists and if not, repairs should be made so that all receptacles that serve countertop surfaces within six feet of sinks have GFCI protection. Installation of GFCI receptacles or circuit breaker may be necessary.
    30) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - An active leak was found in the water line in the wall between the garage and living space. Water is leaking into the crawl space. This is a conducive condition to wood destroying organisms. Recommend a qualified plumber evaluate and repair as necessary.
    31) Repair/Replace , Conducive conditions - An active water leak below the laundry room sink was located with an infrared camera. Recommend a licensed plumber repair leak while on site addressing other concerns noted in this report.
    32) Evaluate, Comment , Conducive conditions - The laundry room exhaust fan timer is not configured to operate the fan automatically. Timers such as these are installed to prevent moisture from accumulating, and causing mold growth and/or damage to building components. They are especially important in the relatively airtight houses that have been built recently. The timer should be configured to run at least twice a day for a minimum of one and a half hours.
    33) Evaluate, Comment - Additional plumbing concerns
    Water flow is low in the right side sink in the master bath. The home water pressure was tested to be 43 psi, which is on the low side of normal. The inspector located a pressure regulator valve in the crawl space which was located near the leak that was also found.
    Recommend that when the plumber is on site to repair the leak, that the pressure regulator be adjusted to increase pressure; this may help low flow/pressure problems.

    Crawl space
    35) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - One or more crawl space vent screens are blocked by soil, debris, or removable panels. This restricts ventilation in the crawl space and may result in increased levels of moisture inside. Materials or items blocking vents should be removed.
    36) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - The vapor barrier needs repair. Exposed soil was found in some areas. This is a conducive condition for wood destroying insects and organisms due to the likelihood of water evaporating into the structure from the soil. A qualified contractor should make repairs as necessary so no exposed soil exists. Standard building practices require the following:

  • The soil below the vapor barrier should be smooth and free from sharp objects.
  • Seams should overlap a minimum of 12 inches.
  • The vapor barrier should lap up onto the foundation side walls.

    Better building practices require that:

  • Seams and protrusions should be sealed with a pressure sensitive tape.
  • The vapor barrier should be caulked and attached tightly to the foundation side walls (for example, with furring strips and masonry nails).
    37) Repair/Maintain - Insulation on water pipes is damaged, deteriorated and/or missing in the area below the laundry room. Recommend repairing or installing insulation on water pipes where necessary for better energy efficiency and to prevent water pipes from freezing.

    Kitchen
    39) Cautionary, Repair/Replace - A substandard wiring splice was found for the under-sink food disposal. This is a safety hazard due to the risk of shock and fire. Armored (BX) cable, or a flexible appliance cord with a plug end and electric outlet should be used. A qualified electrician should evaluate and repair as necessary.
    40) Repair/Replace - The microwave range hood fan vents into the kitchen rather than outdoors. Ventilation may be inadequate and moisture and fumes from gas stove may accumulate indoors. Recommend having a qualified contractor make modifications as necessary as per standard building practices so the range hood fan vents outdoors.
    41) Evaluate - The front right stove top burner was hard to light. A qualified appliance technician should evaluate and repair as necessary.

    Bathrooms
    42) Cautionary, Repair/Maintain - Evidence of "light to moderate" rodent infestation was found in the cabinet below the whirlpool tub. This is a common problem here in the Northwest. Recommend sealing all outside openings and keeping doors closed.
    For more information please see below.
    The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines this as less than 20 feces per square foot. Rodent infestation may be a safety hazard due to the risk of contracting Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)[/url]. HPS is a rare (only 20-50 cases per year in the United states) but deadly (40% mortality rate) disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans can contract the disease when they breathe in aerosolized virus. For example, from sweeping up rodent droppings.
    43) Repair/Maintain , Conducive conditions - The guest bathroom caulk is missing or deteriorated along the base of bathtub, where flooring meets the tub and around the tub spout. It should be replaced where deteriorated and/or applied where missing to prevent water intrusion and damage to the floor structure.
    44) Repair/Maintain - Caulking has been applied all around the base of both toilets. This can keep a leak from being detected for a long period of time. Recommend a two inch gap in caulk at rear of fixture to allow for leakage to appear if a problem occurs.

    Interior rooms
    46) Cautionary, Maintain - Batteries in all the smoke alarms should be replaced after taking occupancy, and annually in the future. "Chirping" noises emitted from smoke alarms typically indicate that batteries need replacing. For more information, visit:
    http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5077.html
    47) Repair/Replace - The laundry room door will not latch when closed. Repairs should be made as necessary, and by a qualified contractor if necessary. This may include aligning strike plates with latch bolts and/or replacing lock sets.