Tag Archives: Roof
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Explaining those “ribbons” on some roofs
Posted on March 30, 2019 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItBack to one of the two biggest topics for my clients, roofs. No one enjoys dealing with roof problems. Leaks make life unbearable. Climbing atop them makes people dizzy and queazy. Replacements gobble up savings accounts. There are good reasons for roofs being an important point of maintenance. One method folks use to deal with […]
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Allowing your attic to vent a little
Posted on June 30, 2018 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItHave you ever wondered about those square black boxes on house roofs? What about those round holes cut into the eaves? Ever wondered where all the moisture and heat goes in your house? Let me answer those questions by explaining your attic ventilation. Hot air and moisture escape from the attic through four common vents, […]
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Flashy metal hopefully you never notice
Posted on September 10, 2017 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItWhen dealing with the number one house problem in the Northwest, water, there is an important feature that most people never notice. At joints and protrusions and edges of our roofs is a feature called “flashing.” This bling is for your house to channel water in the right direction. It serves like bumpers and channels […]
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Gutters and signs of life
Posted on July 20, 2017 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItThere are so many things that I find in gutters during my inspection… standing water, leaves, pine needles, moss, cable lines, baseballs, action figures, etc. Keeping these clear is so important because the gallons upon gallons of water shedding from your roof must go someplace. We have essentially installed irrigation canals that are ready to […]
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I’m not a fan of gutter guards
Posted on October 17, 2016 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItI’ve stopped at the display kiosk at Costco showing innovative gutter designs. I’ve seen the Youtube videos and heard the commercials for gutter guards and helmets and screens. More than that I’ve performed inspections of homes with many of these designs. It is important to see how they work years with maintenance by regular home owners like you […]
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A wood pecker’s sore little beak
Posted on October 3, 2016 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItI saw this interesting thing on an inspection this summer. A bright shiny flue pipe from a wood stove was covered with hundreds of little dents on all sides. As I looked at it I was reminded of a pesky little wood pecker who would peck away on a transformer on a power pole in […]
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Fireweed atop a chimney
Posted on August 1, 2016 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItHere’s a fascinating little picture from a recent home inspection. Interestingly, I found fireweed growing out of a crack in a chimney. It was a solitary piece of life higher than any point on the house. I’ve heard these weeds are named after their ability to be one of the first things to grow after […]
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Kudos to this roofing contractor
Posted on May 30, 2016 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItHomes built in the last twenty years began to install fascia boards that extended past gutters. This shortened gutters resulting in annoying drips at the ends of these boards. It looks beautiful until the rain water causes the ends to discolor or green algae-like materials to grow on the boards. Even worse is when the […]
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Cover it – sorry, Santa!
Posted on February 8, 2016 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItHow Santa Claus gets down the chimney is about to get more complicated. I’m advising clients to install metal covers over traditional chimney flues. Homes were not usually installed with these but times have changed. Traditional brick or concrete block chimneys seem to be rarely seen in construction nowadays. Wood framed chimneys are the norm and sometimes it […]
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Water nightmare – Episode I
Posted on December 21, 2015 by mikew in Fix It & Use ItWhat’s the number one enemy of Pacific Northwest homes? Water. At the end of October our next door neighbors let me know they were having water entering their basement bedroom. They desperately fought the water building up against the foundation wall from a backed up driveway drain. We’ve lived in this duplex for three years […]
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