quandamnhomeinspection.com Blog

DEFECTS
Construction defects and safety violations are surprisingly common, but the majority of home inspection findings tend to be routine in nature. Some, in fact, rear their unsightly heads as often as the sun rises; not just in older homes, but often in brand new ones, even before the smell of new paint has waned. The following, therefore, is a list of common defects likely to appear in a typical home inspection report:

1. Roofing defects, caused by aging or improper installation are likely to be found on most buildings. This does not mean that most roofs need replacement, but that many are in need of maintenance and repair.

2. Ceiling stains in many homes indicate past or current leaks. The challenge is to determine if the leak was repaired or will recur during the next rain. Discovery is not always possible.

3. Faulty ground drainage often causes water intrusion beneath buildings. Such problems can be pervasive, difficult to resolve, and may cause damage to building components.

4. Electrical safety violations, either few or many, are to be found in the majority of homes. Examples are ungrounded outlets, lack of shock protection, amateur wiring “improvements,” and conditions too numerous to name.

5. Rotted wood is common where components remain wet for long periods. Exterior locations are trim, eaves, and decks. Problems also occur at walls and floors in bathrooms.

6. Code violations are common where additions and alterations are built without permits. Sellers often boast that, “We added the garage without a permit, but it was all done to code.” This is a red flag to most home inspectors.

7. Fireplaces and chimneys are often unsafe. Common causes are amateur installation of hardware and fixtures, exterior rust damage, or simple failure to call a chimney sweep.

8. Water heaters are seldom in total compliance with code requirements. Violation include inadequate strapping, substandard overflow piping, unsafe flue conditions, and faulty gas lines.

9. Gas furnaces often harbor defects. These range from dirty filters to faulty combustion; from poor airflow to exhaust hazards; from noisy operation to inadequate fire clearance. Given the potential for major consequences, annual servicing by the gas company is recommended.

10. Faulty firewalls are common in garages. Violations include, holes, unprotected attic accesses, doors not fire rated, drywall that is too thin, and exposed wood framing.

11. Minor plumbing defects are commonly found, including loose toilets, dripping faucets, slow drains, leaking drains, hot water at the right faucet, and so on.

12. Failed seals are routinely found at dual pane windows, resulting in fogging. This is most common with windows manufacturer during the 1980’s.

An unabridged list of likely home inspection findings would probably fill a few volumes subject to addenda on a routine basis. For home buyers, this underscores the importance of a thorough evaluation prior to closing escrow.

Meth House

When a house is designated a meth house, law enforcement officers may arrive unannounced, evict the residents with no belongings and close the building to all but law enforcement personnel and industrial hygienists (IH).

The owners may have the property tested by an IH and released after proper remediation. At this time, a Decision Statement is issued. If the IH issuing the statement is properly credentialed, the owner is then protected from future lawsuits. This must be done within 120 days. The catch is that every item in the building must be tested and cleared by an IH. Because the expense usually prohibits this, all the contents of the home are often destroyed.

If remediation requirements are not met, the governing body will seize the property, rehab it and sell it to pay their expenses. The owner usually receives nothing except debt, even if the property was purchased from a person who covered up the evidence of meth manufacturing. Unless it can proven that he/she knew about the meth and purposely hid the evidence, you probably have no recourse.

There is new legislation in process that will require disclosure if it is known that a property has ever been a meth house.

The dangers that go along with meth houses include exposure to cancer causing chemicals that can saturate walls, carpets and other building materials as well as all contents. Lead and mercury are common byproducts. Chemicals, such as solvents, may be disposed of in plumbing or simple poured on the ground. If not removed properly these can cause various health problems.

The most immediate danger is the meth manufacturer. Meth causes extreme paranoia and symptoms similar to OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. Meth users called “Tinkle Tweekers” even save their urine in bottles stored in living areas to reclaim the unmetabolized meth from the urine.

Most people with OCD are pretty harmless except to themselves. The paranoid meth user can be very dangerous according to police reports. They are often reported to have large, sometimes bizarre, weapon collections that may be heavy on knives. Booby traps are reportedly set to protect the person’s meth stash. If you encounter a property where the residents appear to have OCD, and the residents act strangely, leave immediately. You could be in danger.

Meth users and manufacturers include people from all lifestyles. Doctors, lawyers and dentists are no more immune than factory workers or roofers. Meth labs are found in neighborhoods from affluent to poor.

When you enter a property take a deep breath. A cat urine smell is often associated with meth. Other odors to be aware of are ammonia, vanilla, solvents or metallic smells. These are warning signs.

Meth users sometimes become obsessive about objects. They may dismantle things like remote controls, watches or electronic devices. The objects can sometimes be found in a pile dismantled down to the smallest part.

Large amounts of household products are a tip off. Common products are used to manufacture meth that can found in an average home, except in a meth lab large quantities of common items may be in odd places. If you see multiple packages of lye, Heet, Coleman fuel, peroxide, pseudo-ephedrine or coffee filters in odd places, like stored in a bathroom, closet or kitchen, this is an indication that it may be wise to forget any involvement in the property. The occupant may be a warehouse club shopper with no sense of organization, but he/she may not be.

Propane bottles, or fire extinguishers, that have been altered, or have a blue stain on the connector, may indicate that anhydrous ammonia has been stored in the container. Anhydrous ammonia can be explosive in the right circumstances. It reacts with the metal leaving the connector corroded.

Iodine may be used in meth manufacturing. Iodine is a substance that goes from solid to gas state without becoming liquid. It sticks to everything and spreads on contact. Iodine stains walls and everything else. The stain may be red or yellow. It may be very noticeable if a photo, or other wall hanging is moved, revealing the contrast between stained and unstained.

Meth labs may be hidden behind false walls or other building alterations. Alterations that make no sense should be suspect, such as: exhaust fans mounted where they have no logical use; bootlegged power supply; rooms that are unexplainably small.

Inspection Perfection provides a quick, inexpensive test kit to detect minute residue from the use or manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine. A sterile swab is rubbed over a surface where residue may be left from smoking or handling meth. The swab is immersed in a reagent that turns purple or blue if amphetamine or methamphetamine residue is present.

A positive test may happen in places where meth has been used, as well as manufactured. This test is for the actual residue of the drug only. It doesn’t test for chemicals used in the manufacture or those that are produced in the process. A positive test tells you to proceed with caution.

The following maybe a sign that Meth lab was present;
• Yellow discoloration on walls, drains, sinks and showers
• Blue discoloration on valves of propane tanks and fire extinguishers
• Fire detectors that are removed or taped off
• Experiencing physical symptoms while inside the house, such as burning in your eyes or throat, itching, a metallic taste in your mouth and breathing problems
• Unusual strong odors that smell like materials from a garage, such as solvent and paint thinner, cat urine or ammonia
• The use of security cameras and surveillance equipment

Signs that property owners should look for with their homes and tenants:
• Tenants who behave oddly and are extremely thin, have open sores, bad teeth or dilated pupils
• Large amounts of trash with items such as lithium batteries, torn-apart matchbooks, water bottles, cold medicine packs and antifreeze containers
• Discolored coffee filters that are not brown
• Plexiglas or other dark-colored cookware
• Glass containers with two layered liquids and chemistry sets

HAVING A SOLID FOUNDATION

A foundation is a structure that transfers loads to the earth. Foundations are generally broken into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.

Types of foundation:
1. Shallow foundations are usually embedded a meter or so into soil. One common type is the spread footing which consists of strips or pads of concrete (or other materials) which extend below the frost line and transfer the weight from walls and columns to the soil or bedrock. Another common type is the slab-on-grade foundation where the weight of the building is transferred to the soil through a concrete slab placed at the surface.

2. Deep foundations are used to transfer a load from a structure through an upper weak layer of soil to a stronger deeper layer of soil. There are different types of deep foundations including helical piles, impact driven piles, drilled shafts, caissons, piers, and earth stabilized columns. The naming conventions for different types of foundations vary between different engineers. Historically, piles were wood, later steel, reinforced concrete, and pre-tensioned concrete. Sometimes these foundations penetrate bedrock.

Design:
Foundations are designed to have an adequate load capacity with limited settlement by a geotechnical engineer, and the foundation itself is designed structurally by a structural engineer.

The primary design concerns are settlement and bearing capacity. When considering settlement, total settlement and differential settlement is normally considered. Differential settlement is when one part of a foundation settles more than another part. This can cause problems to the structure the foundation is supporting. It is necessary that a foundation is not loaded beyond its bearing capacity or the foundation will “fail”.

Other design considerations include scour and frost heave. Scour is when flowing water removes supporting soil from around a foundation (like a pier supporting a bridge over a river). Frost heave occurs when water in the ground freezes to form ice lenses.

Changes in soil moisture can cause expansive clay to swell and shrink. This swelling can vary across the footing due to seasonal changes or the effects of vegetation removing moisture. The variation in swell can cause the soil to distort, cracking the structure over it. This is a particular problem for house footings in semi-arid climates .
When structures are built in areas of permafrost, special consideration must be given to the thermal effect the structure will have on the permafrost. Generally, the structure is designed in a way that tries to prevent the permafrost from melting.