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What's on your home inspection report?
We also want to hear from you seasoned restorers, too—what's the most worrisome item you've encountered on an inspection report, and how did you deal with it?
Tags: From the Editors, home inspection
Views: 462
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on -
Evidence of bugs scares people. Getting an exterminator to assess the situation will allay some fears. We saw lots of bug damage in our house, but the exterminator verified that the damage was probably more than a century old, so it looked worse than it really was.
Getting a building inspector that understands old houses is essential, especially if the building is post and beam construction. Inspectors not familiar with this method of building may assume the building is structurally unsound and advocate the replacement of the framing, which isn't usually necessary. Someone who knows that a droopy corner or bouncy floor isn't a death knell is helpful, perhaps saving unnecessary demolition. We had a bouncy floor, and fearing the worst we ripped up the ceilings in the room below. Because we did that, the whole room had to be brought up to code with fire rated sheet rock, fire stops, sound proofing, etc. Turns out the floor was fine, just had a bounce because of the wider joist spacing, and we spent lots on demo, disposal, and replacement that we didn't' have to.
Too many people assume that old=bad and advocate replacement of things that don't really need it. Our contractors told us we should get rid of the 200+ year old molding, because the wood was "so old" and replace it with home depot stock moldings. Would have been a huge waste and needless expense while robbing the house of much of its character. We passed.
Sean
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Permalink Reply by Martin on -
Stolen wiring and copper plumbing were my biggest problems.. Also, the stolen kitchen cabinets didn't help either... It helped that my father in law was a house inspector though, so we brought him along to every house we checked out before buying.
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Permalink Reply by Heather MacMahon on -
It's good to know that I am not alone in my experience of this weird sense of panicked exhilaration in the wake of our home inspection!
My husband and I have just put an offer on an adorable 1899 farmhouse, and the inspection was completed a few days ago. Aside from the 30+ y/o septic system, the lack of grounding in the most of the kitchen outlets (zap!), and a small amount of black mold around the water heater (eew), I am most concerned by the fact that the front wall of our dream house doesn't seem to have a foundation. The beam supporting the front of the 1 1/2 story structure is resting on a pile of mystery masonry rubble. This has resulted in a small amount of settling at the front of the house, although not too much - yet. The inspector suggested that it could be remedied by installing support piers under the front beam. His report also stated that there is "some spalling noted on concrete at side of house." What is spalling? I don't recall him using that word at the inspection itself, or I would have asked for clarification. My husband and I have done a lot of things in home repair, but foundation work is not one of them, so this makes me a little nervous. One last thing - he suggested digging down to ensure that the foundation footings are at least 24 inches deep. However, it is my understanding that many foundations of this era typical don't have footings at all, just foundation walls. Does anyone else have experience in this matter? The house in generally in good condition, other than the things that I have mentioned (well, those and the metal roof that has been patched with tar and may need replacing at some point, but hey, it's 111 years old), and we are completely in love with it and the 16 acres it sits on. Advice please? And maybe some reassurance?
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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on
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If there is no foundation under the front of your house, it is possible that at one point it was a porch, which was enclosed later. The wall between that room and the rest of the house may be thicker than the other interior walls, or have trim inside that you would normally see outside.
Spallining is the cracking, chipping, crushing or other failure seen in masonry construction. It can happen because of too much weight, resulting in "crushing." It may be from improper pointing, using a mortar that is harder than the surrounding masonry, causing the wall to fail instead of the mortar. It may also be due to water infiltration and the freeze/thaw cycle. There is a reason for it, and it will need to be found and corrected.
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Permalink Reply by Heather MacMahon on
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Thanks for your reply, Sean. While an enclosed porch would be a reasonable explanation for a missing foundation wall, I don't think that is the case with this house. Based on the layout of the house and the structural framing, I don't see any other evidence that would suggest it. A ground level brick porch was added immediately in front of the missing wall, and it is possible that the foundation was destroyed at the time that it was installed (which may explain the rubble), although I can't fathom why anyone would have done that. But then again, people do strange things to houses sometimes. At any rate, the sellers are calling in a contractor that is supposedly experienced in foundation work to add his two cents.
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Permalink Reply by Sean Maher on
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Another way to go is to find the Sanborn or other fire insurance maps for your town, if they have them. Lots of these maps indicate what is wood, what is brick, and may give you clues as to what was there. You can also check with the building department in your town. If you get lucky, they may have the permit or application for the addition or remodel. Do you have a picture of the front of the house you can post? You can try doing a driving survey and see if you can find similar houses for more clues.
Good luck
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Permalink Reply by desiree mccrorey on -
My realtor advised me to utilize several inspectors, one for each major area or system - electrical, termite and water damage, property, foundation, chimney. I opted for all except the chimney, since I wasn't planning on using the fireplace anytime soon.
The foundation report remains the scariest to me, although my realtor said the repair estimates were pretty low given it related to a foundation. The foundation inspector's key recommendations were to pressure-inject basement wall cracks and perimeter foundation cracks with structural epoxy and install a uniform thickness of concrete below the existing concrete foundation. This was followed by 'voluntary' recommendations to install underground downspout extensions, more bolts of the sill plate to the foundation and relevel the interior pier posts to even the flooring. Total: around $15K.
A dear friend who has worked on older homes, including his own, for over 40 years said if I could live with the slight unevenness in the floor of an older home and simply address the poor drainage (which caused the erosion and foundation to crack - $2-3K) the house should be fine.
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Permalink Reply by Lair Tienter on -
I would go with your friends advise. Sounds like the foundation "expert"has he might need a new car or kids in school. Water is a homes worst enemy and the farther you keep it away from your home the better off you will be. Good luck with your home. Lair
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Permalink Reply by desiree mccrorey on
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Agreed, Lair. I felt the foundation inspector was 'going for the gold'. I can't really blame him, though. ;-)
My realtor advised me to find a different company to do any work suggested by the foundation expert/inspector. Chances are I could get the work done for a lesser price. Although, after watching lots of Holmes on Homes where they really emphasize "find the right person for the job", I worry a lot more about finding the right person.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Felix Burns on -
What's on my home inspector's report?
LOL!
Not the WHOLE truth!
..."this inspection is limited to a visual inspection only"
What that actually means is: you're on your own dude!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by dawn mohrbacher on
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Which is why we didn't even bother with one in our house.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on -
Maybe we have been lucky, but most of the things that needed to be done were obvious. Plumbing, electrical, boiler, roof. It is the unobvious things that get you in trouble.
Our one experience was as someone stated here, a foundation that was crumbling. There was an addition to the house that was once a porch. It was enclosed at some point. The stone foundation on the outside showed it was going to need work at some point. What we did not see was the true condition of the stone wall until we pulled the floor up and we saw the cold concrete joints on the inside.
Also, because this was only supporting a porch, there was no footer. Thats the reason we think. So, we had to pour another wall inside the existing one and the stone wall will now be just a facade.
And because we had the inspector in there we were forced to add this to our renovation project. An unexpected cost.
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