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HOME INSPECTION PHOTO GALLERY
I collected the following pics during the first few years of my business. The purpose of these photos is to give you an idea of the kinds of problems that a buyer won't ever see during a tour of a home. They aren't exactly the kinds of things that a seller would show off. These photographs are not stock photos. They were all taken by me during home inspections here in the Central Arkansas area. They represent only a small portion of the kinds of problems found. Some are serious safety issues, some are gross, and some just leave you wondering: "What were they thinking?"
If you are buying a brand new home and are undecided as to whether you need an inspection or not, here are a few photos showing why investing in the services of a qualified private inspector working ONLY for you can actually save you money. Possibly a LOT of money. Even in new homes that have had municipal inspections, some items can be missed. And, contractors sometimes alter work after the municipal inspections are done. Keep in mind that the the work schedule of the city inspectors keeps them from being able to spend much time on each individual home. Also, most small towns and unincorporated areas have no inspections at all. Unfortunately, some subcontractors use this opportunity to take shortcuts. If you buy a home where they have done this, the expense for correcting their sloppy work will fall on your shoulders if not discovered before you complete your purchase.
The damage that can be done by moisture trapped in walls and other areas can be extensive. These are the conditions found in a stucco wall cavity (about the size of a small closet) that had a design defect which allowed moisture to build up. This photo was taken from the bottom of the wall looking up. To the left of the picture, you can see a "relatively" intact stud. It is split badly, but not showing rot damage. The withered studs are clearly seen. The bottom half of the picture shows the remains of two studs. The one to the right is almost completely gone, and the one to the left is so wasted away as to be useless. Unfortunately, most often the damage is in concealed areas not easily seen. Often, the first clue a homeowner has that there is a problem is when the rot gets so serious that something literally falls off the wall or collapses. This home was only about ten years old. It was ultimately torn down -- and it was a million dollar property.
Apparently this particular log was just too useful to simply burn in the fireplace. This pic shows one example of the creative use of items to support a floor. On one hand, I guess you have to admire the fact that someone used (recycled?) the materials at hand, but stability is highly questionable at best, and then there are the issues of decay and possible termite infestation. Believe it or not, it's not the only log I've seen used in a similar capacity. Then there are the tire jacks, old wheel rims stacked on top of each other, a steel side rail from an old bed frame, piles of rocks.
The pier in the center of this photo has settled and rotated outward at the top. In doing so, it caused the beam which rests on it to twist. If the pier leans slightly more, the center of gravity will have shifted to the point where the pier will fall over completely, with the result being major failure of the floor system--and any walls and roof areas supported by this area. Note also the unsupported joint in the beam directly above the white pipe in the foreground. I didn't want to hang around under this home any longer than necessary.
An amateur attempt at a drain tie-in. The white PVC plastic is "joined" to the black cast iron by a gob (that's the technical term) of silicone. This is obviously not a proper fitting. Silicone will not bond well long term to items which weren't even cleaned well prior to assembly. In fact, the damp ground surrounding this indicates that it is already leaking.
This section of ductwork clearly shows a high water mark along its length. Water has stood in the duct, filling it up about halfway. Poor water control in this crawlspace allowed water to stand several inches deep at times. Ductwork is not watertight. This will allow water to flow in the duct and remain there at a depth equal to the water level outside the duct. Not a good condition--unless you like mold and mildew in the air supply to your home.
The smaller drain on the right side of the photo was never properly tied in to the larger drain beside the pier. Consequently, it drains out under the home. If you look carefully, you can see that the area to the right of the pier is largely under wastewater also. The black specks are those small gnats that always seem to fly up your nose. Fortunately, most of them here have drowned!
The wiring coming off the 2nd breaker has seriously overheated at some point, burning the insulation. All electrical issues of this nature are safety issues which should be repaired ASAP.
The burner or vent on this furnace has a problem and the flame rolls out at startup. This scorches everything above and beside it. NOTE: For all you technical types looking at this, the shield was in place prior to taking the photo. I removed it temporarily for a better picture.
This is a section of flexible duct in an attic. With this particular type, the outer lightweight plastic layer (the thin gray material) deteriorates over time. Since this is all that holds the Fiberglass insulation in place, it pretty much fillets itself as this outer restraining layer fails. Then all you have separating the heated or cooled air (which you've paid dearly for) from the attic air is the innermost very thin layer of clear plastic.
The availability of easy to use plastic plumbing has unfortunately encouraged a lot of do-it-yourselfers who would have been better off staying on the couch watching Bob Vila reruns. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the drain actually rises past the trap. This section must be sloping downward for a properly functioning drain. The water pressure in the drain above the trap will force the water out, but not at a proper rate. Eventually, solids will settle in the line and it will back up.
A disconnected section of ductwork in your home does more than just waste energy. Consider what happens if it's in a crawlspace with an assortment of animals and bugs who just love the easy access this gives them into your home.
Another disgusting sewer issue. There are definitely times when a zoom lens is a wonderful thing. This is a leaking toilet drain. Enough said about that. I only included it because it gives anyone still looking at these photos a special two-for-one deal! Check out the stellar work on the small brick piers supporting the bath floor. Sharp eyed surfers will notice that actually there's a third issue--the furry white and tan mold on the floor joist in the upper left of the photo. There is a leak from above which is not visible in the photo.
A lot of things which aren't good. For one, squirrels have chewed on the wire, exposing bare areas. Squirrels are members of the rodent family, and just like rats and mice, they chew constantly. While admittedly somewhat cuter than rats, the damage they can do to attic and crawlspace wiring is immense and poses both fire and electrical safety hazards. This picture is not as clear as I would like, but the chewed insulation is visible on the wiring itself, most easily seen on the black wire. Also note the chewed wire nut. Furthermore, this is obviously an amateur wiring issue since no professional electrician would leave a junction exposed this way. And last, but certainly not least, 120V wiring should never be run through a metal duct!
More creative plumbing. Rather than hook up a proper trap, the homeowner sealed the end of the drain with epoxy and added a plastic drain line which is tied into another trap behind the wall. Not surprisingly, that tie-in was done improperly also. Even if the diameter of the drain line was adequate (and it's not), the sediment buildup resulting from this design would quickly render it unusable. Fortunately, this was on a little-used bar sink.
and this is what you get as a result. The beam shows obvious deterioration. This is primarily from water leaks, but also from some insect activity. The brick pier shows a common condition in homes of a similar age. Moisture wicking up through the old, porous bricks has caused the mortar and the bricks themselves to crumble. There is a large pile of sandy dust around the base of this pier as well as most of the others. Remedial work is definitely needed here.
It's simply not a good idea to mix copper lines, exposed electrical conductors, and damp crawlspace floors.
The screw on the left shows what the screw on the right originally looked like...
I'm sure a good number of sellers have questioned why the "crazy home inspector" would insist that such a seemingly insignificant item as a small screw would have to be changed. Well, when that screw happens to be one holding the circuit breaker panel cover on, the wrong type of screw can cause serious consequences. Here's a photo showing what can happen when an incorrect type is used. The factory supplies the panel with screws that have a blunt tip; unfortunately, these frequently get lost. Keeping in mind that there can be a virtual nest of wires in the panel behind that screw, a sharp point on a screw could cut through the insulation on a hot wire, causing a dead short. Several nasty consequences can result. In the case which caused the result seen here, the short was low level enough that there was some arcing which plated the screw with copper from the wire while eroding away the screw until contact was no longer made. In cases like this, it's not unheard of for a different part of the screw to make contact with the wire the next time the screw is removed!
I'm sure a good number of sellers have questioned why the "crazy home inspector" would insist that such a seemingly insignificant item as a small screw would have to be changed. Well, when that screw happens to be one holding the circuit breaker panel cover on, the wrong type of screw can cause serious consequences. Here's a photo showing what can happen when an incorrect type is used. The factory supplies the panel with screws that have a blunt tip; unfortunately, these frequently get lost. Keeping in mind that there can be a virtual nest of wires in the panel behind that screw, a sharp point on a screw could cut through the insulation on a hot wire, causing a dead short. Several nasty consequences can result. In the case which caused the result seen here, the short was low level enough that there was some arcing which plated the screw with copper from the wire while eroding away the screw until contact was no longer made. In cases like this, it's not unheard of for a different part of the screw to make contact with the wire the next time the screw is removed!
Shower leaks are not uncommon. It is, however, uncommon to find one with deterioration this advanced under the home when there was almost NO evidence visible in the home that the owner or a prospective buyer would recognize. In this case, the home was about 40 years old. The tile floor was installed the old way (the good way) with a hand-floated, thin concrete sub floor. It was strong enough to bridge over extensive damage to the floor joists below. The only evidence of the problem visible from the interior was a shallow depression in the tile in front of the shower door--and that was under the bath mat. A single photo can't do justice to the extent of the problem found below. If you look closely, you can even see two stalactites which have formed directly adjacent to the shower drain flange! That's significant long-term leakage.
Shower leaks are not uncommon. It is, however, uncommon to find one with deterioration this advanced under the home when there was almost NO evidence visible in the home that the owner or a prospective buyer would recognize. In this case, the home was about 40 years old. The tile floor was installed the old way (the good way) with a hand-floated, thin concrete sub floor. It was strong enough to bridge over extensive damage to the floor joists below. The only evidence of the problem visible from the interior was a shallow depression in the tile in front of the shower door--and that was under the bath mat. A single photo can't do justice to the extent of the problem found below. If you look closely, you can even see two stalactites which have formed directly adjacent to the shower drain flange! That's significant long-term leakage.
This was found in an 80 year-old home with wonderfully dry wood in the attic around it. You don't have to know much about water heaters to guess that the flame isn't supposed to blast outside the housing.
This was the return air chase for the home. Clearly visible is the rust and water line. The roach wing (It was a big 'un!) is a nice touch.
This pic illustrates a large number of problems. There are types of wiring, boxes, switches and receptacles used here which were never intended to be left exposed to the weather. We'll summarize them by saying that water, electricity, and people should not all come together at the same time and place. To make matters worse, the receptacles here were not even grounded!
It's not uncommon to see small holes drilled or carefully punched in concrete blocks to spray in termite poison. However, this home had been visited by an overly aggressive termite company employee. If you look closely, you'll see that the block has sustained severe damage and sections of it are drifting laterally to the right. Even the relatively intact section to the left has fractures around the hole which could grow. Eventually, this could fall out completely, leading to pretty serious consequences. Most piers under this home were like this -- or worse.
This is a ground rod which, when manufactured and brought to the job, was eight feet long. Unfortunately, it was on a rocky site so the electrician apparently had trouble driving it that deep. So he did what some of them do: he cut it short thinking no one would ever know. For twenty years, no one did. But just prior to the inspection, some drainage work was done and the ground around it was disturbed. When I reached down to check the wire clamp connections, I noticed the entire rod was loose. A very slight pull and it came out. The total length was just over two feet. The problem here is that if the home was ever struck by lightning this rod would not maintain sufficient contact to act as a proper grounding electrode. Severe damage could result.
Here's yet another creature you shouldn't share your attic with. The dark shadows visible in this attic gable screening are bats. The droppings they leave behind can cause quite a smell, and if inhaled, can pose a health hazard for the human occupants. Removal can be expensive as you can't simply kill them. I've actually seen larger colonies but it was before I carried a digital camera. (Bonus points for you if you got the "Dark Shadows" reference. If not, congratulate yourself for being younger than I am!)
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