My Home Inspector Blog: Home Inspection Tips- How To Protect The Siding And Foundation Of Your San Diego Home

Hi Steve, great tips on taking care of your foundation, suggested, bookmarked, will reblog soon. and new subscriber.

All these good tips, including pictures and videos.

Have you thought of publishing a book or holding seminars for realtors and their clients?

Good Morning Steve, an excellent post for both agents and for home owners.  These are very important suggestions to avoid both water damage and pest infestation.

John: Thanks. So glad to hear that! I hope you enjoy the blogs and find them useful!

Wow! Thanks Pacita! I'll figure out what to do with them all some day!

Good morning Dan. Moisture has been the #1 villian on every home inspector's black list for quite some time, and of course you know the battle we face with wood-destroying organisms here in the great state of CA!

Great post and it will get hit for the Reblog today.  Thanks for the information.

☂ Steve, your inspection minutes are so informative and well done!  Thanks for all the great info you bring to us and your support of VBloggers! 
Pamela

Lee & Pamela: Thanks! I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos and find them informative!

Wow! Interesting post with great pictures, tips and a video. This is my first time seeing one of your inspection minutes and I would definitely watch one-a-day. Thanks for sharing your insight.

Dana

We've been doing French drains in San Diego for 25 years and have seen this situation surface almost everyday. Especially with manufactured homes. Good info.

I'm glad you found my post, Dana! I appreciate your comment!

Very good suggestions and explained in a way the average reader can understand. One other moisture potential area I frequently encounter is the separation of siding to roof line.  More often than not the comp board siding will be resting on the asphalt shingle.  Also, thanks for including all the other links.  I'm going to take some time to review.  I also write for U.S. Inspect and may use some of your ideas.  Do you mind?  I will give you credit.  Thanks for taking time to share your ideas.

Hi John. Some manufactured homes are ridiculous. They have rivers flowing under them!

While painting our rental house last week, we noticed on one side the siding almost touches the soil.  We planned to pull the soil away, your article is timely for us!  If we put rock around the house, does that count as hardscape that only requires 2 inches?

Steve,

I see this exact thing so often that I almost should default the comment into my reports. Then you couple that with minimum or no proper grading then you can start to really have issues. Even in dryer climates such is where I am.

Awesome post, Steve!  It's the small things that can do big damage.

Steve -- thank you for sharing this great info, regardless of location or continent. Best.

Hi Steve, Congratulations on the feature! Great information from you, as always. I'll keep this one in the file with your other great household articles and tips.

Nice Post.

Great Topic for a post. Moisture penetration prevention tips and building code information here.

Have a great second half!

I am in the Portland, OR area.  Water intrusion is a huge problem here with all of our rain.

I have seen a lot of homes in Southern Cal with no gutters, and flaking or missing exterior paint.  Those would create huge problems in 1 winter in this area.

We don't have termite problems like other parts of the country, but have carpenter ants and dry rot issues!

Good information.  Here is Nashville TN, rainy seasons and warm humid periods lead to mold and termite issues.

Good job, in our part of the world we don't see as much water or ground water as other parts of the country.  But we love putting the landscape right up to the home, this will also affect wood or laminate flooring as the concrete soaks up the moisture from the landscape. Ever see cupped flooring? Just look outside of that room.

Well presented Steve. Some of the things you describe are important for new homes too. Those first two items you point out could be present on new homes too. Buyers need to remember that builders aren't perfect - it's wise to check.

Great post and information.  I'm sure you've seen it all so putting this information out to the public is good policy!  Best of luck!

Thanks for the post, and congratulations on the feature.

William: Feel free to use them. I'd be honored!

Joetta: If you mean gravel- No. Stone with mortar joints- Yes. Examples of a hardscape surface would be concrete, asphalt, or pavers.

Yes, Donald, Wenatchee is pretty dry isn't it? Southern California is too, but when the rainy season hits we can get it by the bucketfulls!

Thanks for your comments, Melanie and Peter! Appreciate it!

Suzi: It's good to see you! Thanks for your comment!

Thanks Bruce! It's hard to believe we are in the second half already!

Roger: You're not kidding. You guys really get some rain in Portland! I still think the developers here should be required to install rain gutters!

Jim: I'll bet the termites love that humid Nashville weather!

That's true, Michael! Even here in San Diego, the water finds a way to get in!

I agree Karen. Numbers 3-7 usually happen after the homeowner moves in and messes things up!

Thanks a lot for your comments Jan and Marshall!

Steve this is a great post - - love the format - love the use of pictures - excellent tips and I love that you make the share...buttons so readily available.  Congrats on the feature...well deserved position.  Thanks so much for sharing this information.

I'm glad you found it useful, Ruby. Thank you! ActiveRain must have done an upgrade and installed the share buttons. Nice!

Steve - yes I see - yours was my first AR read for the day...saw that it was everywhere after... That is nice.

Good info. most of the time we are looking for damage instead of preventing it.

Ha! My exact words on an expert witness case I've recently been retained on "A River Runs Through It".

Michael: There's something to be said for those meticulously-kept homes I sometimes see!

John: I'm sure you see some nightmares!

Steve, congrats on the featured post!  This is a very good post, especially for folks right before the colder season hits and they don't look at their house until March!

I can't tell you how many times we've seen siding right to a deck floor, or too close to the ground.  In fact, they typically put the deck OVER the siding in this area.  I'm not sure why, as then I can never replace the siding without removing the deck!  And the splash damage you speak of is always present in that situation.

Hi Jeremy. Yes, that is quite commonly seen. I'm going to do a post on deck installations soon. Lot's of things to talk about there!

Oh good!  Talk about how the siding shouldn't go BEHIND THE DECK!  Sorry, wasn't yelling at you, just the guys that build them that way.  :)

Steve - The inspectors I know are always concerned about soil and moisture with good reason. You've given lots of good tips.

Nice reminder about the proper state of a foundation, something many sellers may not realize. I didn't until an inspector brought it to my attention while selling a previous home.

Gretchen

Christine, if a home inspector fails to report on areas of moisture intrusion, he may find himself in a large mahogany room full of men dressed in suits (and one in a robe)!

Gretchen: Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

great tips on taking care of your foundation

Keep it dry, Nick!

I can't believe that many developers in California actually developed hundreds if not thousands of "subterrainean" (pit set as they call it in the industry) MH communities without any drainage whatsoever. Duh! Here ther "River doesn't Run Throuh It". The homeowners end up with rancid swimming pools under their homes and we end up generating an entirly new profit center which in the past 25 years has by itself put my 5 kids through college. Sad but true.

Thanks for the info. Its well written and easy to understand. We don't use stucco much up here in New England, bur the basic principles are the same.

You have a great niche market there, John!

Thank you, Linda. Yes, the principles are the same everywhere. Even more important in wetter regions!

Great information and I like the stucco diagram!

Thank you, Patricia. Aren't diagrams great?

These are great tips for the San Diego homeowner to follow to protect their foundations and siding, Steve.  

Jane: And they also work well for the Los Angeles homeowner! :)

Steve, great advice anywhere. I really like your short videos. You do a good job taking care of business. :)  I see you earned a well deserved star. Congrats.

Debb: Appreciate that!

Steve:

Informative and the many comments you received agree. I also think that you should make presentations at the local real estate boards. Do it during a "brown bag event".  I believe agents would event paid.

Thanks so much for your comments, L & L!

Steve that last picture of the decorative horizontal trim board is a classic.  Without a proper counter-flashing it is only a matter of time.  Thanks for subscribing by the way.

Keep the blogs coming, Charles!

These tips are helpful in any location!  Thanks!

Dale: Yes, they are! Thanks for your comment!

Steve

i really like reading your blogs. It's like a picture book about home inspection. Also learning a few new words. I haven't heard of weep screed before.

Keep up the good work!

I'm glad you like them, Pacita! I've had a busy summer season, so it's been a while since my last post, but I promise, there are more on the way!