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Is this your first time looking at milled lumber? Everything in your pictures is perfectly normal. These are characteristics of lumber, which is a natural product that comes from large plants called "trees." The characteristics in your pictures are all taken into account when lumber is graded. The ugly things in the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 14th pictures are old injuries to the tree that have scabbed over, probably from wind damage where limbs broke off. Don't worry about them. The lumber grader looked at them and said that they were fine for that grade of lumber. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 15th, 16th, and 17th pictures are something called "wane." This is when the lumber includes a bit of the outer surface of the tree, where the "bark" is. (Bark is a rough outer covering on the trunk of a tree.) In fact, you can see some bark still attached in several places. It's a common characteristic of framing lumber. The 11th, 12th, and 13th pictures show some blue staining and some iron staining - utterly unimportant. The blue staining is caused by a very, very, very unimportant fungus and the iron staining is probably from where the lumber was in contact with - wait for it - iron. Many of the pictures also show "knots." These are where branches grew out laterally from the tree trunk. In the sizes and positions in the pictures, they're fine. You need to understand that framing lumber is graded for utility, not for looks. A completely separate grading process would be used for wood destined to become trim or furniture. It would be foolish to use defect-free wood for framing lumber. This is second nature to anyone who's ever worked with lumber in any way. If an inspector were to mention any of these things in an inspection report, he'd be a moron. Every piece of wood in every picture is fine. Forget about it and use your powers of obsession for something else.

Thanks, Mike. "Who was that masked man?" The Lone 'Spector? 🤓 Seniors here, what we used to call little old ladies, but that would make some of us little old men, no? Senior ladies groups are sewing masks from cloth and they are nice masks, kind of like squares from a quilt. You could even have your logo embroidered on there. The mask helps to keep your covid breath from contaminating the home, so it is a service feature for your marketing.

thematically with that rack i'd play mired down off of mask leaving the obvious next phase mob

I want the deluxe model with sleeves and gloves attached. And a kangaroo pouch for money. [:)]

Jim has again demonstrated his writing skill. I like Torrey and hope he sticks around to help with finance issues!

Well at least somebody else noticed the false info at our government funded news outlet (Unless you're already infected, masks won't help you.) and they corrected it! Although now factually correct... some of the N95 mask most are recommending only filters inbound air and has a one way valve and a deflector that sends unfiltered exhausted breath downwards in front of user. These types of N95 probably won't help much when it comes to someone that's infected NOT infecting others. Other masks types are probably better at preventing someone infected from infecting others?

I don't see a lot of them, but every one that I've seen was failing in one way or another. (There are almost no real shake roofs here, so no reason to have fake ones.) I also know that ventilation has little effect on the surface temperature of a roof (usually less than 5 degrees) and, despite manufacturer's claims, has little bearing on the overall performance of roof coverings. And that's about all I can contribute.

Bobby Jim I would recommend looking at the installation and spec sheet on this type of product from a manufacture as noted below in the attached links. It appears from this source below a synthetic shake has a 50 year +/- life span. Installation is always a great place to start..... https://www.bravarooftile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Brava-Cedar-Shake-Installation-Manual.pdf https://www.bravarooftile.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Brava-Cedar-Shake-Spec-Sheet.pdf

We can go to the grocery store and to Lowes, and to Tractor Supply. Inspecting an empty house seems pretty low risk compared to buying bread.

Every piece of pressure treated LVL I've seen that us over 10 years old has significant rot. Pressure treating LVL post-manufacture didn't work.

Bobby Jim, Maybe I'm sensing that you feel a little put out by one or two answers here. If so, my best advice to you as a newcomer here is to not take comments here personally. You won't find any single group in the profession that can provide you with the depth of knowledge that TIJ's moderators and regulars can. No other site in the profession is on the same level. I know 'cuz I've spent time monitoring and participating in all of them. It's true that you won't find as many folks actively chiming in here as on other sites in the profession, but there are huge numbers of inspectors that just come here and lurk - not participating and educating themselves by following the commentary here and reading through the thousands and thousands of previous threads in the archives. What you will find here is a group of consummate professionals. On other sites you'll see people go off on tangents and get into the equivalent of a shouting match for no other reason than their egos have been hurt by another inspector that didn't agree with something they've said. We don't allow that kind of bullshit to occur here. If you can't endure constructive criticism and want to be able to go all caps and give some other inspector a piece of your mind, do it on one of those other sites where folks revel in watching online slugfests, 'cuz, if you do it here you'll see your responses either edited or deleted. Yeah, you might notice that some of the guys here are kind of prickly; and that means you have to have a thick skin, but, that's the way it is in any profession. Think about it - an intern in a hospital might not like the tone a prominent surgeon uses, but, if he or she wants to learn, it behooves that intern to endure it and to open the ears and mind and really pay attention to what's being said, focusing on the lesson and not on the attitude - 'cuz only then can one really learn. Do that here, and before long your depth of knowledge will rocket past that of your inspector peers. I can promise you that. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the moderators here are some of the best, if not the best, inspectors in the business. When we started this site 18 years ago we chose our moderators very carefully, so as to ensure participants here get the best advice and education about inspecting that they can. That has always been the mission here and it will remain that way. Besides, if you met these guys in person (Especially Katen) you'd quickly realize that they are friggin' brilliant and are anything but prickly - except me of course, I'm a low-down son-of-a-bitch who doesn't think twice about coming down on someone and making them feel like shit. So, soak it up. Be a sponge and accept us for what we are. You won't regret it. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Gee, do ya think?

The picture really isn't clear enough to tell. That said, what difference does it make? There is clearly second and third stage woodrot visible, which means the entire thing is infested with first stage rot and has to go. Looks like a special kind of idiot is responsible for that mess. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Desotoroofers and Rooferscarrollton is the same person - link-dropping.

If it's like here, it only applies to roofers when there is an emergency with a roof that needs fixing - it doesn't allow you to accept a new job if/when there is nothing about the old roof that's considered to be an emergency/life threatening. There is a Facebook site called Washington Home Inspectors where inspectors who are ignoring the governor's order are trying very hard to parse the governor's declaration in such a way as to allow them to ethically violate the law and perform inspections. Myself and others have told them repeatedly in no unvarnished terms to STAY THE F**K HOME and they still don't seem to get it.

Hi, The white powdery substance you are seeing is mineral salts caused by a chemical reaction between the acids in the exhaust gases and the zinc contained in the galvanized pipe used for the single-walled vent connector. To make that relatable, think battery post corrosion in your engine compartment. That length of single-walled pipe from the collar allows those exhaust gases to cool, get heavier and slow down way too early. When that happens, the gas cools to dewpoint and condenses on the inner walls of the vent somewhere above the connection between the single-walled connector and double-walled vent pipes. Wherever the acids in that condensation comes into contact with galvanized pipe, that reaction occurs. Then, when all of that excess condensation drains back to the joint between the vent and connector and leaks out of the joint, the water evaporates and leaves the salts behind. That's why gas exhaust vents and connectors should be double-walled all the way from the collar of the appliance to terminus. The fuel-gas code used to require only B vents to the collar in attics and concealed spaces and anywhere considered to be cold, but it seemed like the majority of HVAC installers ignored that rule anyway if the furnace or water heater was installed where it's readily viewable in unheated areas like garages. Somewhere back around the 2003 - 2005 timeframe that requirement disappeared from the code and they allowed installation of single-walled connectors in areas other than the attic or concealed spaces as long as the area wasn't any colder than 5-deg. F. in winter. This despite the fact that a lot of condensation can occur even in vents that are luke-warm to the touch in such areas like garages. I'll bet you a box of donuts that most HVAC installers still couldn't care less and are still using as much single-walled material as they can, in order to squeeze as much profit as possible out of every job. Too much salt indicates an issue with the exhaust vent system. A little bit of salts isn't really too much of a concern at a single-walled to double-walled connection, if there isn't any issue at the vent terminus (Excessive rusting, cracks, holes due to condensation and acidic vapor lingering around the vent once it leaves the pipe), but a lot of salt is telling you there's an issue with exhaust gases cooling too rapidly - especially if there is a lot of salt sifting back down from the vent connector at the collar and ending up in/on the furnace. Cause could be the single-walled connector from the collar, if it's too long and it's in an unheated (cold) area. The fix could be to replace the single-walled section with a double-walled section, but a lot of the time that doesn't necessarily stop it if the installer didn't properly calculate the vent size requirements using the vent sizing tables in the code or if he/she didn't pay attention to the rule about limits on number and degree of bends in the vent between collar and terminus - bends that violate the 'no bends greater than 45-deg but one bend of no more than 60-deg. rule, slow those gases. The more bends, the slower the gas moves - even if the furnace has an exhaust gas inducer. Around here those numbskulls will use two to four 90-deg. bends to detour around furnace filter access doors instead of using 45-deg. vents to go around. Another thing to look at is whether or not the appliance has enough makeup air. If they've installed it in confined space with insufficient makeup air, or in a laundry room where there's a clothes dryer and no makeup air openings to the outside, those gases will stall - even with an inducer integral to the appliance. There have been thousands of times I've stepped out of my vehicle, glanced up at a rooftop, saw a heavily-rusted vent terminus and knew right away that as soon as I checked out the furnace I was going to find issues with stalling exhaust gases. Sometimes, the issue was so bad that condensation would literally leak out of the vent connector connection at the collar and drip onto components in the controller bay - eating holes through the floor of the bay and sometimes causing electrical connections to severely corrode. So, when someone tells you, like the gent above, that the salts mean nothing, take it with a grain of salt and thoroughly inspect that vent installation anyway. It's good that you're asking questions about this. I've always said that inspectors need, more than anything else, to understand basic building sciences, and need to look at the whole picture, not just the tick marks their report format asks them to check, that are taught by a lot of so-called inspection schools, in order to really do this job well and be able to make the client fully comprehend the implications of issues found. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Was there s fire suppression system? What's with big CMU wall? Is that how the units are separated? My guess is that when the building was built, the designers and the city agreed that separation walls in the attic were unnecessary, for who-knows-what reason. Perhaps because a sprinkler system was present, or because the units were separated by masonry walls, or maybe someone just paid off the building official.

I like it. Inspired even! Thanks for sharing

Unplug the toaster, turn it upside down over the sink, then shake it. Shake it like you grew up in the 60's. Then see if it still trips the GFCI.

I'd be more worried about the seriously screwed up tub drain. Just stick a post under the joist.

too bland to enjoy. unless you have seen a bizillion a/c lines.

I doubt the crack is a result of direct impact on the chimney by the wind, since a large portion of the chimney is indoors. As others have said, the house can tolerate some movement but the brick is unforgiving and will crack should the house move and generate enough force against the chimney at the roof level. I think the most important question here is whether the flue liner is also cracked. Just my two-bits.

True. If it was racked enough to crack chimney it is pretty likely there would be other clues. I have seen that phenomena when there was an explosion on the first level of a house with a basement. I have no experience with a house on crawl or slab. Extreme event(s) require a little more investigation and experience than a typical home inspection. Could be a simple masonry issue and nothing exotic at all.

The building frame might also have distorted and then sprung back to its original position. Just because it racked doesn't mean that it stayed racked.

Secure a hepa filter over the register nearest to your furnace. After a week or two, take the filter to your lab and have them test that.