Home Inspection Nightmares I

What a Trip

This bathroom outlet is not a GFCI. Thank providence, this homeowner had the presence of mind to leave all of the tags on, advising of potential shock hazard.

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Q & A

Q: What do you look for while inspecting a rubber roof?

A: Bullet holes, of course.

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Another automotive heating system

You’re looking at some fine Ozark engineering. Yes, that is an automotive radiator attached to floor joists with hot water piped to it. All the pipes and the wood-burning boiler were constructed of recycled components from who knows what. And this is only what I could see. The system never did function to their satisfaction. I wonder why?

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Classic plumbing

The work of an auto mechanic turned plumber? A radiator hose from a 1945 Pontiac was used to replace piping leading into the main drain stack.

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Circulation

Here’s another brilliant idea: Keep the supply & return registers close together so the hot air can flow freely back to the furnace.

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Too dumb for words

This picture speaks for itself! Maybe that air conditioner helps block all the soot and carbon monoxide from the chimney?

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Details, details

Flashing—who needs flashing?! We like our attic a little wet…

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Sweet

“Bee” careful when looking down chimneys, especially on an old two-story farm house with a steep pitched roof. It was quite a surprise to find honeybees. Usually, we encounter wasps, hornets, raccoons, etc.

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Another dead animal

Is it a bird, plane or rodent stuck in a vent? I found this on the interior wall of a mechanical room.

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Greenhouse

Here you have your basic downspout planter, with an attractive—and healthy—sword fern contrasting nicely with the red window trim. You too can have one of these beautiful planters. Just don’t clean your gutters for five years.

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The good news

Harry Homeowner installed this CPVC pipe touching the flue pipe of this hot water heater. The fix? Slip some cardboard (yes, it’s flammable) between the warm flue pipe and meltable plastic! The good news? The gas was turned off and I recommended repairs by a licensed plumber before re-inspection.

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One has to wonder

The top photo shows an unprotected light bulb in a homeowner-constructed shower in the basement of a home I inspected. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the second photo shows that in that same bathroom, he located a switch INSIDE the shower stall!

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Growth in the Real Estate Market

Don’t have the heart to uproot the tree? Why not just build around it?

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Nailed

How to secure the column to the I-beam that supports the floor? “Well, if we can’t find the bolts or the welder, just stick some nails in there.” I can’t imagine any other explanation for this find in a one-year-old home.

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FOILED!

This section of water heater flue pipe is made entirely out of aluminum foil! How long do you think a highly corrosive metal with a low melting point will last with warm, acidic flue gases running through it?

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Gutter goof

I found this rain gutter capped on both ends. I wasn’t surprised to find decayed material inside.

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Venting

This is a photo of a garage furnace b-vent in front of a bedroom window. Someone opening the window trying to get some fresh air with the furnace operating can draw CO into the building. Don’t take too much of a deep breath.

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Waterfall

I captured this photo in the crawl space of a new-construction home after it had passed all municipal inspections. The bathtub drain was never completed.

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Eeewww!

I found this on a recent inspection. When the toilet was flushed, water and whatever spurted out around this bottle.

No support

Another I-beam fiasco. The beam is too short, the pocket cut into the foundation is too deep, and that pile of shims is a dicey quick fix. I hope there is never an earthquake near this house!!

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Homemade Humidifier

Saw this at an inspection today, and it was good for a chuckle. Apparently, the homeowner didn’t want to mess with all that high-tech gadgetry in a humidifier, so he replaced it with a Cool Whip container filled with water!

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How green was my roof

This house’s roof was literally covered in moss, as shown in the picture. I didn’t know whether to recommend a lawn service or moss removal.

(Please note: This image was colorized green from a black and white image)

courtesy of the ASHI Reporter