Inspection nightmares

Okay, after seeing that why oh why is my wifes house so hard to inspect? Every time we get a potential buyer the home inspector finds something wrong which makes the buyer decide not to buy. Then we fix what he suggested, only to have another home inspector point out something else. For a 1820's home, that is a lot of stuff to fix.

As for some of the pictures, like the tin-foil, they should be bopped on the forehead like those V-8 commercials do. Some of them I did not see a problem with though, like the tree used for a post. I doubt there is a house older than 50 years old here in Maine that did not have post like that. The same goes for the chimney on the addition. Someone added on but instead of removing the chimney they merely capped it off with bricks. Again I don't have a problem with that as long as the heater was removed from inside.
 
Yeah, I'd agree with Travis that some of the pics were odd, but not horribly unsafe. (The tree trunk column comes to mind.) Sometimes unorthodox methods can still work.

A long time ago I was adding a greenhouse wall to an existing patio, and I was lacking about 8" of lumber to finish out the form for the small concrete footing I was building it on. I ended up taking a cardboard box and filling it with dirt, then wedged the box into the footing trench so it'd roughly approximate the rest of the concrete form. I was laughing at myself as I did it, since, at the time, I was a civil engineering inspector, dealing with multi-million dollar concrete jobs. The cardboard box concrete form worked, BTW.

Still, I don't think I'd be putting a light switch in the shower stall. :eek: :doh:
 
Okay, after seeing that why oh why is my wifes house so hard to inspect? Every time we get a potential buyer the home inspector finds something wrong which makes the buyer decide not to buy. Then we fix what he suggested,...

:huh:

This is a bit OT to the thread, but... if I was the buyer, I would only walk away if the the inspection pointed out "deal killer" problems. More minor stuff I would just be using as negotiating points to drop the price.
 
I had a buy walk on a perfectly acceptable house I inspected once because of the a crack in the drywall at the peak of a cathedral ceilings. It's hard not to have a crack there because all houses settle and move. But he didn't buy it because of it.

I walk a fine line when it come to something like that. I knew it was nothing but by telling my clients that I run the risk of what if I am wrong,so I just point out what I find and leave it up to them. Even when I know it is nothing.

I got a call from the same client about a month latter to inspect another house. This one was a rural home with a few acres of land. He admitted (in private) at that inspection that he didn't like the previous house and wanted in the country. :) So he was just looking for something wrong with that house.

I have been looking but I can't find the photo of one I did recently. The Fuse panel was inside the kitchen cabinets! Old, very old house and they just built the cabinets over the fuse box. No cover on it and it was in a corner cabinet so there was no reasonable access. No way to install a cover so the wiring was just exposed. One of the craziest I have seen in a while.

FOUND THE PHOTOS!

Notice how hard it was to get a photo. Imagine trying to shut it off in an Emegency!
 

Attachments

  • tn_101_1080.JPG
    tn_101_1080.JPG
    10.8 KB · Views: 28
  • tn_101_1081.JPG
    tn_101_1081.JPG
    9.5 KB · Views: 33
Last edited:
:huh:

This is a bit OT to the thread, but... if I was the buyer, I would only walk away if the the inspection pointed out "deal killer" problems. More minor stuff I would just be using as negotiating points to drop the price.

I understand Art, its just that its a catch 22. You are not going to have the perfect house since its 200 years old, yet the modern houses lack the 200 old year charm of a cape home sitting on Turkey Cove. (Ocean).

But with todays housing market its all up to the buyer. We replaced the septic system, drilled a new well, redid the roof shingles, painted the place, redid the heater and redid the kitchen ceiling....everything the home inspectors suggested, but this all took money. Now we are in the 225,000 range, and here in Maine you can buy a lot of houses for that price, on the ocean or not. Any homes over 200,000 are not moving anyway so we wait....in the meantime we put 700 gallons of oil into the place to keep it warm all year even though no one lives there.

The joys of home ownership huh?:doh:
 
Remember guys this is an insurance inspector not a home inspectior. So things like the chimmney are an issue. It could be hooked up to an oil furnace or a gas furnace and with saying that why wouldn't you take it out at the time you were building the new addition on to the home?
 
Those pictures are proof that Darwin is hard at work.:wave: And that you inspectors are just trying to foil his plans.:eek: But seriously, it is hard to believe some the messes people are capable of making.

I like to watch Holmes on Homes on the Discovery Home channel. I am continually amazed that the stupidity of people doing home improvement work. Yesterday, Holmes was fixing a basement room mess done by some reportedly experienced re modeler. When they removed the drywall ceiling and walls, they found 18 junction boxes hidden under the drywall. This program is the only one I have found on home repair that isn't a bunch of hi-5ing and playing around. OK, I will exempt This Old House. I don't watch it because I don't care for fixing up broken down old houses in Boston that should be demolished.
 
Regarding the tree post, he frame says it was being used "for structural support". However, looks to me like it is probably in the garage, in front of a workbench (traffic area) holding up cast iron sewer pipes....that are wrapped with duct tape at a connection....!!! Not kewl. :doh:

View attachment 16848

There may be pics that don't represent a specific dangerous situation, but they would alert me as to what kind things the airhead owner has done that haven't been found yet. :eek:
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I'd agree with Travis that some of the pics were odd, but not horribly unsafe. (The tree trunk column comes to mind.) Sometimes unorthodox methods can still work.

A long time ago I was adding a greenhouse wall to an existing patio, and I was lacking about 8" of lumber to finish out the form for the small concrete footing I was building it on. I ended up taking a cardboard box and filling it with dirt, then wedged the box into the footing trench so it'd roughly approximate the rest of the concrete form. I was laughing at myself as I did it, since, at the time, I was a civil engineering inspector, dealing with multi-million dollar concrete jobs. The cardboard box concrete form worked, BTW.

Still, I don't think I'd be putting a light switch in the shower stall. :eek: :doh:



Come'on guys, we all know why using the tree trunk for a structural member won't pass code..................I'ts because Simpson doesn't make a hold down for it.
 
Hey Greg I can see that as being a basement under a house. The cast pipes are running under the floor joists and ther could be a support beam up there somewhere? Lousy pic though of what it is supporting. Did you notice the home owner slab thickening at the bottom of the post? Wonder what grade of lumber they would give that post?
 
You might be right, Drew...

I was going by the angle the CI pipes seem to be at, higher where the "tree" is at, that it was supporting them. Could be just camera angle. Oil bottle, part of a tractor seat, floor stains made me think garage, but it just might be a basement. :thumb: The concrete at the bottom of the post is interesting...:huh:
 
Ken, I watched Holmes on Homes, I could not believe 18 J-boxes in 1 room. Those poeple had an inspection pass. Just goes to show what some poeple will do to sell. They hide the problems at the risk of other poeples lives. The water heater and furnace were vented into the chimney, which was excaping thru the first floor. Unbelievable!! I have never seen a switch in the shower stall, what were they thinking?
 
I am a big H on H fan too. I wonder if he ever initiates legal action, either on behalf of the owners, as a concerned citizen/contractor or if he just acts as an expert on behalf of others. I would hope he takes tons of very detailed video, and still photos, and makes them available for those who want to stop, or at least reduce, the kind of "criminal construction" he exposes on his program.
 
I was on another forum this morning chatting about wood stoves. When I mentioned how dangerous outside wood stoves are, a guy said this...

"I know my set up is too close to my house, but its okay because while this is an illegal set-up, I don't have to worry about the insurance company since I don't have any."

Wow....I can't imagine going through life without insurance on my home let alone risking being homeless with a dangerous wood stove set up.
 
Top