House inspection

There are some issues. Nothing major. Still, it'll add up.

We met Pat, the inspector dude, at the house at 9:30 this morning. We liked Pat. He was very thorough. Gammer and Gaffer were there AGAIN. The realtor niece and her husband showed up just after we got there. She's ok, he's a know-it-all. It was kind of hard to stay away from him.

The whole thing took three and a half hours. I was glad to be able to spend so much time in the house. We were so rushed the first two times we were there I felt like I really didn't get a good look at the place. Ken and I measured the rooms for carpet but after some consideration I think I'll keep the old carpet for a while. It's dated but still mostly in good shape. Sherri suggested it might be a good idea to keep it because my animals are getting older. She's right. Gracie has lost control a couple times.

Some of the issues are:

Electrical- Funky DIY wiring to the garage and to the outside lights. A "double tapped" wire in one of the electrical boxes (unsafe). The whole house uses the old two-prong system which, I am told, might be a problem for all the electronics.

Plumbing- Funky DIY plumbing in one of the bathrooms. The shower in the main bathroom doesn't work and the sink faucet is loose. There's a leaky faucet outside. The water heater needs replacing. One of the toilets is loose.

Grade and gutters- In the side yard the grade slopes towards the house. Most of the gutters are kind of shot. Missing downspouts.

Walls and ceiling- Some water damage here and there. There's an iffy panel in the main bathroom. Pat told us that the walls are made of button board. It's kind of a cross between sheetrock and lath and plaster. The walls are plastered. He told me if I want to hang a picture I need to drill a small pilot hole first or else I'll get a big hole if I try to bang a nail in. I appreciated that information. I have a lot of art to hang.

There's a little dry rot in the outside wood but not much.

Many of the windows are painted shut. Some of the doors don't latch. Old house stuff.

The AC and heater are good. The roof is almost new but Pat pointed out that the old roof was gravel and they put the new one right on top of it. If we walk around on the roof the gravel could puncture the tar paper and we could get leaks. So stay off the roof!

Sherri and I sat and chatted about decor and stuff. There are lots of family photos around the house. I noticed one in particular. It was a picture of one of their family members shaking hands with Dick Cheney! EEEK! I'm going to have to do a spiritual cleansing on this house. Burn some sage or something.

Overall I'm very happy. There's so much room. The family room will be perfect for the girl's parties. I'll have a nice-sized art studio with tons of light. The house has lots of storage. All this place needs is a covered patio. Then it'll be perfect. Mostly.

Afterward we went to Ken and Sherri's to talk. We all feel pretty good about the house. I do like the fact that it's the same floorplan as their house, just mirror image. Jim would have liked that.

I went to Michael's and picked up the paintings I had framed. They turned out really well. I'm glad to finally get them framed. Two of them have been sitting in the flat file for 18 years. The other one is the original for Kindalikeamola. They'll all look great in the new house.

Hey! Since we're not getting new carpet we can just move in on moving day! Schweet!