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Ballard’s row houses—compact, often historic attached homes that line the neighborhood’s streets—are part of what gives the area its tightly knit urban character. But that same density, combined with Ballard’s waterfront location and older building stock, also creates an environment that can be especially attractive to urban rodents once temperatures drop. In winter many residents…

Crawl spaces are an often-overlooked part of a home, but in places like Greenwood they can quickly become the epicenter of moisture problems that invite a parade of unwanted guests. When humidity, seasonal rains, poor drainage, or high groundwater saturate the air and materials beneath a house, the result is a persistently damp environment that…

Winter in Ravenna brings a particular set of challenges for homes, and roofline gaps are one of the most costly and overlooked problems this season can reveal. When eaves, soffits, fascia, flashing and vent penetrations are not tight and well-sealed, cold weather combines with wind-driven moisture, snow loads and freeze–thaw cycles to accelerate deterioration. Left…

As cities swell and seasonal celebrations fill apartments with gift wrap, takeout boxes and leftover feasts, an unglamorous but inevitable consequence follows: holiday trash. Nowhere is that surge more visible than in dense, high-rise neighborhoods like Belltown, where dozens of households share a handful of chutes, compactors and alleyway dumpsters. What starts as a few…

On Capitol Hill, where brick rowhouses, Victorian porches and narrow alleys form an intimate urban fabric, winter arrives with a particular set of challenges. Those same historic details that give these homes their character — original wood-sash windows, tall narrow doors, decorative eaves and thin plaster walls — also create predictable pathways for cold air,…

The holiday season brings a lively energy to West Seattle’s condominium lobbies: bright decorations, visitors arriving with suitcases and presents, delivery drivers depositing an influx of packages, and neighbors greeting each other on their way to seasonal gatherings. That same surge in foot traffic and items moving through shared spaces also increases the risk of…

Laurelhurst residents know how quickly a quiet house can become unsettling when signs of rodents appear: a faint scratching above your ceiling, chewed insulation, or droppings in a seldom-used closet. Attics are especially attractive to mice and rats because they offer warmth, shelter and protected nesting spots. Once rodents get into the attic, they multiply,…

Rainier Beach homeowners are familiar with December’s steady Pacific Northwest rains — what many don’t expect is a sudden uptick in tiny invaders forming neat lines along baseboards, window sills and kitchen counters. “December ant trails” is a seasonal phenomenon in which foraging ants show up indoors following pheromone-marked routes to moisture and food. In…

Seattle’s reputation for polite distance — popularly called the “Seattle Freeze” — is a social phenomenon many newcomers note as an unusual, cool reserve in everyday interactions. It isn’t a single cause but a pattern: brief, courteous exchanges that stop short of deeper friendliness, few spontaneous invitations, and a cultural preference for privacy and predictability….

There is something almost sacred about a Queen Anne kitchen at holiday time: sunlight slanting through leaded glass, the warm grain of built-in cupboards and corner cabinets rubbed smooth by decades of hands, tins of family recipes stacked in neat rows, and the air thick with the promise of spice and sugar. These historic spaces—characterized…