Harold Miller's (kelly1) Blog

Blocking crawl space vents....Being a northwest native, I am not sure what part of the country this practice is acceptable, but one thing I can tell you is that it is not OK here in Western Washington. Yet I see it done, and have no idea why people think it is OK. I have heard all sorts of excuse...

 A couple years ago wife and I were facing a dillema. Our garage was getting too small with all my power tools, equipment, etc. etc. and it was so bad that I couldn't park in the garage any more. Compounding our issue was a 28' boat that we could either keep at an indoor heated storage facility f...

With steely eyes, an attack posture, and fangs that look like they could inflict some serious pain....My heart was racing as I looked around for my possible routes of escape. I was at a disadvantage standing on a steep townhome roof three stories above the ground........Well with this picture I a...

Failed exterior Louisiana Pacific (LP),  Inner Seal, siding is a defect that I run into frequently. The product is an oriented strand board product (OSB), which has been the subject of a class action lawsuit. The Inner Seal product was manufactured from about 1985 to 1996, and was produced in bot...

It was a rainy Sunday and my wife and I were arriving home after a 6 hour drive from Spokane, WA. All we wanted to do is come home and relax before the start of a new work week. Our first clue that things weren't right was the garage door would not open. ......hmmm?  I get out of the car and let ...

Well it was a rainy day in the Pacific Northwest when my wife called to inform me that our basement carpet was sopping wet. I had just wrapped up an inspection an hours drive away, and proceeded directly home. In the meantime I talked my wife through some things to check. First we had to establis...

Why would anyone build a house so poorly that termites, wood boring beetles, ants, and wood rot fungi would easily infest the structure?  The answer is .......research and training. Washington State University and numerous sponsors have constructed what is called a "Structural Pest Research and D...

Most people do not know that their decks are improperly attached, when I find the defect during a home inspection. They assume that since they bought the house new, the code compliance officer should have made sure the builder installed it right. Seems logical, but the reality is that many detail...

                        Generator                                 Manual Transfer Switch With Fall and Winter storms approaching, and already one large wind storm under our belt for the season, many people may be considering the purchase of a generator. There are some very important safety consid...

Here in the Seattle area we are known to receive a fair share of precipitation. It is no surprise to me  when I crawl under a home and find ponding, pooling water. Modern homes typically have a footing drain installed around the exterior foundation perimeter during construction. Inside the space ...