Horror Pictures and Lesser Problems

Here you see floor joists covered in fungus growth, right above this floor the owner of the house is sitting watching TV in her family room. I couldn't actually enter this part of the crawlspace because large ductwork was in the way, I took the picture by sticking the camera past the duct and shooting. Excess moisture was present in this rear corner of the crawlspace because of an improper slope to the ground outside. Water pooled next to the foundation, migrated thru the brick and up from the ground, the large ducts blocked air movement, so the air stayed very humid, moisture condensed on the cooler wood floor joists, which allowed the fungus to grow (the wood is the fungus's food source). The warmer surface of the floor prevented condensation there, so little or no fungus grew on the underside of the floor itself. A proper slope to the ground next to the house- so that water drained away, and putting a plastic vapor barrier on the floor of the crawlspace, would have prevented this problem. The Buyer decided not to buy this one.

There is a lot going on here. The Polybutylene pipes are leaking at the fittings, the wood is rotting, and I got an electric shock when I touched the copper pipe.

Here is a very typical situation, roof water runoff has been falling onto this attached wood deck, water splashes up and rots the siding. The probe is going right into the siding, the lower edge of the siding didn't look too bad, but under the paint it is decayed. Installing and maintaining a gutter, would have prevented this.

Water damage at the edge of the crawlspace, sliding glass door above had water penetrating its frame. The sub-floor will need to be repaired, possibly the rim joist, the floor joist on left is just beginning to be affected. Catching this damage as soon as possible, minimizes the repair cost. Typically, roof water runoff, overflowed a poorly maintained gutter, struck the attached wood deck, then splashed onto the door frame/siding, over time water penetrated the structure and decay resulted in house siding, door frame, and underlying structure.

Here is a rotted and insect eaten sill- the piece of wood resting on top of the foundation. The probe penetrates a few inches in, this usually occurs when there is something at the exterior of the house that wets the lower part of the house wall. Typical culprits are: dirt or mulch up close to the house siding, unprotected and/or un-caulked door frames, improperly attached porches and decks, lack of gutters over raised porches and decks.

Part of the Inspection is opening up all electric panels, here a too small wire has been used to carry too much power, this has caused this wire to heat up dangerously. Many older homes have had electrical modifications made by owners or handymen with inadequate knowledge. I enjoy, and have a lot of experience, inspecting older homes. The Southern Pines/Pinehurst/Sandhills area has many older cottage style homes, properly inspecting an older home generally requires a greater time commitment than a newer home, not all Inspectors are willing to make that effort.

This is the underside of a master bath shower drain in a three year old house, I had to pull the insulation away to spot this. Left un-repaired, the wood sub-floor would rot away and result in a large, dirty and expensive repair. At this point, the drain fitting area can probably be repaired relatively easily, before the wood has decayed.

This house had just had its Heat Pump replaced, the installers were a little rough with the old duct work, if you look closely you can see the lower corner of the silver box (duct board) has been split open, the round ducts were also not attached properly, and the whole duct board silver box was left unsupported. The metal support strap has been left lying on the ground and not replaced. This duct was leaking lots of hot and cold air into the crawlspace and the leak would likely get worse over time. The owner was able to get the installer back and have it fixed, saving the Buyer, from any expense, and giving them a much more efficient system.

A typical example of wood at the edge of the foundation that has gotten wet, and then sustained insect and fungus damage. In this case a covered, attached porch was improperly sloped towards the house, the concrete porch floor would get wet from wind borne rain, the water would migrate towards the house support structure, and decay occurred.

Water is the enemy of the house, dry wood and dry interiors do not rot, don't attract insects, and don't grow abnormal fungus/mold/mildew.

This is the flashing around a plumbing vent pipe where it exits a shingled roof. The rubber seal on these units seems to last around 10 to 12 years, then it dries out and cracks, which allows water to run down the pipe, into the attic, when the leak gets bad enough you can spot it by a water stain on the finished ceiling below the attic. Slipping a new rubber seal over the pipe and sealing it down is a quick and cheap repair. I see people trying to repair these with globs of caulk, but a proper repair is almost as easy. Actually gettiing onto and walking the roof is the best way to inspect a roof. Home Inspectors are not required to walk the roof, but I always do unless steepness/height make it dangerous.

You are looking at the light beam on a garage door. When this beam is interrupted a descending door should immediately reverse and open. Testing automatic garage door operators is part of every inspection. This beam is installed too high off the floor, recommended height is 6" or less so that the beam is triggered by the advancing foot or leg of a person, and the door reversal starts ASAP. This may seem like a little thing, but I look at lots of little things. Making this right is cheap and easy, and might make a safety difference to a small child and family. This picture was included in the Inspection report for this home, makes it clear to everybody, nothing to argue about.

Everybody likes animals, don't they? This house comes complete with your own pet snake. I found this one, never did learn what type of snake it was. I am an animal lover, but except for my dogs, I like all the critters outside, not in. This Buyer can now get this crawlspace cleaned out before they buy the house.

If you want to look at a typical Home Inspection Report from Accurate Home Inspector, click here - Home Inspection Report - Sample .

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