Often I am asked by clients if I inspect structure. Many new homebuyers do not know what structure is or how it can be very important to have an inspector that knows what to look for with regards to structural defects. Structural problems may cost the buyer thousands of dollars to repair. In some cases the home may be a complete tear down.
With this in mind let’s examine a home I inspected late last year. The photos of this home will be limited so not to divulge the home and location. This is 100-year-old plus home on a lake. The day of the inspection it’s raining. Figure 1 shows the house below street grade and water is pooling up against the foundation.
Retaining wall on lakeside no longer stable as seen in figures 2 and 3. Rainwater which started at the front / street side of the home is now passing under it and creating hydraulic pressure behind retaining wall, now unstable.
Figure 4. Left rear corner movement in block foundation, heading towards lake, not a good sign.
Figure 5. Notice deck does not want to be left behind, pulling ledger board off home.
Here is where the fun begins; entrance to the crawl space is approximately 1 foot high, See figure 6. Based on the signs of structural movement it is imperative that I enter the crawl space and review the structure. As with most difficult crawl spaces it didn’t disappoint as far as problems.
Figure 7. Shows few issues, one concrete blocks have structural strength only when the holes are facing upwards. Second, there is a car jack behind the cinder blocks holding up a single floor joist, improper bridging. Last,a 2 x 6 being used as a support column with no footings, let alone no structural strength, rotting at base due to moisture.
Figure 8. Floor joists improperly notched to allow for plumbing. Both floor joists are now sagging due to alteration.
Figure 9. Concrete block properly installed holes up. However, no footing below concrete block resting on 2 x 8’s which are sitting in mud. Notice shims above concrete block and above support girder, more patchwork.
Figure 10. Improper bridging we have two support columns holding up one floor joist on a mixture of cinder blocks, wood, and 4 x 4s. In the background, left foundation wall, lower corner movement observed. High moisture from rain water passing under home causing insulation to fall out of place. Also note, crawl space has become the dumping ground of past repairs, safety concern.
Figure 11. Rear foundation wall offset moving towards lake. There were more issues, just reporting on structure.
Figures 12 and 13. Settlement cracks above doorways, settlement so severe that the door jamb has separated from drywall and framing connections.
Figure 14. Tile flooring is installed properly, straight and square, the wall is not.
As you can see this house has a few problems. Next step is for a structural engineer to review and evaluate if repairs can be made to save the home, which is beyond the scope of a home inspector’s service.
