Well Kept Secret

I often tell my clients at the conclusion of a home inspection, take care of the little things when you see them. Often what you see may be bigger than you think. The picture below shows what appears to be water stains on the exhaust of a furnace and water heater.

If that were the end of it i'd say find the cause and correct it. Unfortunately when I inspected the same flue in the attic, the situation was much worse.

In the attic we found a flue that has corroded all the way through. So now we are looking at replacing a flue that runs from the basement up three levels to the roof, a much bigger expense. And judging by the duct tape, someone knew about it.

Until next post.
Glen

Notching Floors Joists

Last week I wrote about what happens when you drill floor joists too close to the edge. As luck would have it, 2 days later I inspected a house that had a couple of floor joists notched. Here is the result.....

The picture above is the bottom of a floor joist seen between two plumbing pipes. If you look real close, you will notice there is a hairline crack extending from the corner of the notch. While the material cost of repairs is less than $100, the labor cost is likely to be very high because the plumber is needed to move the plumbing out of the way, the electrician is need to move electrical wires, and the boiler contractor is needed to drain the water out of the heating system so the water lines can be temporarily moved. All this because a 'plumber' notched a joist instead of taking the time to run the plumbing around it.

Until next post.
Glen

Drilling Holes In Floor Joists

I have been in the residential construction business for some time now and decided to start a home inspection business about 7 years ago. Some of the things I have found are really hilarious, others are down right scary. I decided to start this blog to share some of my daily experiences. Some of my posts will be just for laughs, others will aim to provide cautionary notes or things you should know when hiring a contractor or if you are a Do It Your Selfer.

Last week I inspected a home built in 1932. Nice house, home owners seemed to take good care of it. Everything was going fine until I got to the unfinished basement.

It is well known by competent contractors, you never drill through the bottom 2 inches of a floor joist. This contractor took the time to drill into, not one, but in excess of 20 joists. Severely compromising the structural integrity of the floor.

If you are unsure about the contractor's work, consider having it inspected before you write that final check.

Glen
Pro Spex Home Inspection Services
www.pro-spex.com