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Miscellaneous
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This picture of an interlocking
stone walkway up to the front door of this home
illustrates a relatively common error with this
type of installation. The interlocking stone has
been installed at least 12 to 15 inches above
the home's original brickwork. Not only does it
commonly cover the weeping holes in the brick
work, which are necessary to ventilate excess
moisture from behind the brick, but it also can
hold large quantities of moisture against the
brickwork. In this case, as is common, the
bricks are clay. Clay bricks are vulnerable to
rapid deterioration from water saturating the
brick and then freezing inside the brick. This
freezing water literally bursts the clay brick
to pieces. That is why it is so important to NOT
cover bricks when doing interlocking stone
anywhere near a home. This home shows some
visual evidence of spalling bricks. The extent
of the damage can only be determined by removing
the interlocking stone and digging down to the
lowest bricks on the house. It can be quite
costly.
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The damage to this chimney would be almost
totally concealed by the vines in the summer.
This November picture allows the inspector to
more clearly examine the chimney. (Look closely
and you can see the notable damage) Vines and
extensive greenery close to, or against, a house
is not really a good idea because they can hold
a lot of moisture next to the bricks and/or
woodwork. This level of moisture can do an awful
lot of damage to the house while the vines or
greenery conceal the damage until it is quite
extensive (and expensive).
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This set of exterior stairs, apart from being in
deteriorated condition, is missing handrails. If
somebody falls down these stairs and sues the
homeowner, it is a very difficult lawsuit to
defend. The courts will ask what a prudent, or
reasonable, person would have done, and conclude
that a reasonable person would have had proper
handrails in place on these stairs. This is
apart from the obvious that none of us would
want to see anybody hurt by this situation.
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This wood window has been capped with aluminum,
likely to conceal a rotting window frame. The
aluminum capping on this window now makes it
impossible to operate this window (Note the
window crank) This was the only operating window
in the room.
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This chimney damage could only have been
discovered by actually going up on the roof.
The exact cause of this damage remains unknown
to the inspector, but the client was able to get
it corrected while it was a relatively minor
item to fix.
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These rusting propane tanks, which are
requiredto be at least ten feet from any opening
in an exterior wall (Note the kitchen window in
the top right of the picture) These tanks should
be replaced (because of their rusting condition)
and relocated immediately (too close to the
kitchen window) for safety sake. These tanks are
also supposed to be on a stable base, like
concrete pad or patio stones etc.
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These tree branches are too close to the roof.
Apart from the possibility for them to
physically damage the roof. They can be used by
squirrels, raccoons etc. to get on the roof and
into the attic or chimney of this home. Tree
branches should be pruned at least six feet away
from a roof to allow good ventilation and hinder
animal access.
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This fractured chimney was discovered behind a
seemingly casually placed blanket on this garage
work bench. Repair cost for this chimney will be
in the +/- $6,000.00 range.
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Brick missing in this brand new home. All the
other trades came and finished their work. Lack
of communication on this project leaves this
home vulnerable to squirrels or mice. Finding
this and having it brought to the builder's
attention is another good reason to have your
NEW home inspected.
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