Wenatchee Home Inspections

A home inspection should not be taken for granted. I encourage my clients to be present at the inspection and be involved. These are very large investments and learning as much as you can during an inspection is important. 

Much of the home inspection is really focused on maintenance items which are the most common issues on homes. Yet improper maintenance can lead to costly repairs and is why maintenance items should not be overlooked. But for most, finding potential serious safety issues or major structural issues is the most pressing items for the purchase. 

I could argue metaphorically a thousand small cuts can be just as serious as one large cut but for most of us (me included) we can handle the many small cuts easier than the big one.

(Heater and thermostat)

On a recent home inspection I came across an interesting and potentially serious find. I was going about testing the bathroom fixtures and turned the wall heater on in the bathroom. With my IR camera i snap a photo of the heater energizing as I have done hundreds of times before. 

But as I shoot the image I notice a small warm spot in the IR image out in front of the heater. This was an odd spot for heat to show. So I change angle to ensure I am not seeing some odd reflective artifact and sure enough it is there.

This is truly odd and I decide to shut down the heater and let everything cool back to ambient and then come back and repeat the test to see what happens.

I return about a half hour later and look at the area before with IR before I turn the heater on to ensure it is back to ambient. Then I turn the heater on and sure enough I watch the little spot on the floor start to heat up as the heater is energized. 

Now I am truly curious sort of person so I need to understand what is happening. I go to the electrical panel and see that legend in the electrical panel states floor heat.

I start thinking what potentially is happening is there is still leads that go to the what was floor heat at one time that is still be energized and where not disconnected when the heat was replaced with the wall heater.

This could potentially be an issue that could lead to charring of wood or a GFCI (ground fault) issue. It is now best to let the electrical contractor come and evaluate and most likely just disconnect the existing leads if present.

Often people do remodels or projects that are really over their knowledge base that can lead to potential safety issues. It really is best to leave some of these projects to the professionals.

“One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels. 

The thing to do is to supply light and not heat.” 

Woodrow Wilson

If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…  

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection-  Bellingham Technical College

WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board

www.ncwhomeinspections.com                                                   509-670-9572

 You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.