Spie out those hard to find home problems that may have eluded you!
I can help!
Just recently I inspected a home where the sump pump was installed in the crawlspace, but had never been hooked up. The pit was full of water. Foundation damage may have already occurred. They had no idea!
Is your sump pump running and properly connected?
Another home had a support beam that had moved laterally causing the support column to tilt which compromised overall structural support of the home. Seems the builder never packed the beam ends nor provided center lateral support, which would have prevented it from moving. Ooops!
On another structural note, I inspected a very high-end home that was less than 3 years old. Fortunately, the basement was not finished because I found two structural issues that were still covered under the builder’s warranty. Whew!
One more – I recently found a situation where a metal support beam had punched the concrete foundation wall out the side of the home about 1.5 inches. The homeowner had never seen it before because he doesn’t look for such things. These types of issues should be caught early to prevent even more serious damage.
How about your structure? Would you know what a structural problem looked like? I do!
One homeowner complained about their north bedrooms over the garage being cold? Thermal imaging uncovered poor insulation behind the ceiling drywall. The builder was happy to fix it, or maybe not.
Nice catch if I do say so myself!
I inspected a new build before attic insulation was installed and noticed that the soffit ventilation baffles were installed wrong which would greatly reduce ventilation and cause the attic to overheat. The fallout from this would be higher utility bills, weakened roof sheathing, and premature failure of the roof. If the home was in Ohio we would also be dealing with mold.
Hows your ventilation? I hope that is not too personal.
I routinely use moisture meters and thermal imaging to detect water under the floor near a toilet. Most leaks are slow and do not show themselves until the subfloor is nice and rotted.
Is your toilet slowly leaking under your floor?
While inspecting a crawl space recently I found a water leak, an incomplete electrical circuit, exposed electrical wires, a cracked foundation due to water, and a broken sump pump.
What about your crawlspace?
When inspecting homes, I routinely find that earth ground connections from the electrical panel are not installed or not installed correctly. This protects your electrical circuits in the home in the event of a lightning strike.
Are your earth ground connections sound?
I often find that the copper water lines and iron gas lines in the home are not properly grounded. So, when a lightning strike hits, the voltage potential may be routed directly through your plumbing in the home and into your fixtures.
I wouldn’t want to be brushing my teeth when that happens.
Did you know that the EPA recommends radon remediation at an average level of 2? Some think the magic number is 4, but it is 2. Based on my experience, over 80% of homes in Colorado have an average radon level of 2 or over.
Are kids often in your basement or the lowest habitable level of the home?
I reported that the outside drainage in a particular area may not be adequate. It had improper slope and could cause flooding in the home. Months later it did!
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.
I could go on and on and on! You may think I already have.
The bottom line is that homes break, or are broken and the homeowner may not even know. Some problems left to fester will become worse. Little problems beget big problems sometimes. The remedy for this is to have your home inspected. By me of course.
You may be surprised at how affordable a home inspection is. Give me a call to find out. I’ll put you on the schedule.
