Is this the way the posts are supposed to bend?
Homeowners who wish to finish a renovation frequently contact house inspection services. Furthermore, this image demonstrates the need for renovations in older homes. They don’t stay forever, after all, especially if the house was constructed on wooden pillars! We imagine the structural inspection officer was in complete disbelief when he observed these posts physically bending under the weight of the house.
I hope that during his quote to the homeowners, the inspector did not lean against the house. It appears that with only one shove, this house will absolutely fall down the edge.
When the Foundations Split in Half
The basis of every construction is crucial. Finally, we’ve all played Jenga. Damage or misalignment to the bottom layers causes everything to collapse! This home inspection agency’s concern for this house stemmed from the fact that all houses function similarly. It appeared to be a flooring problem for the homeowners at first. However, it was something far darker.
This is actually the home’s remaining foundation splitting in half, which causes the entire structure to move. That wasn’t a simple or inexpensive remedy, we venture.
A Tetris-Inspired Pier and Beam Home
Pier and beam constructions are common, as anyone with any knowledge of structural engineering and building will attest. In fact, pier and beam constructions are widespread worldwide. Since this type of design permits crawl space beneath the house, many home inspection services focus their structural examination efforts there. Even though beams and piers aren’t flawless all the time, they hardly ever make them feel like they’re playing Tetris.
Not only are the beams strangely stacked on top of one another, but the concrete stumps also appear to have been pushed on top of one another. Everything about it is destined for disaster.
That Roof Is Supposed to Be Straight
Earthquakes ruin many people’s lives, but they are necessary to maintain home inspection services. Furthermore, the extent to which the recent earthquake had damaged the house was evident to the team upon their arrival for this structural examination. The walls had large fissures through them; the foundations had moved, and that’s not even talking about the roof, which should be perfectly straight!
No, that roof’s bend was not designed that way. Furthermore, fixing this house would have come at an extremely high cost. Hence, we imagine that they simply destroyed the entire structure!
Adult Foot Vs Differential Settlement
Although structural inspections sometimes find differential settlement, differential settlement this large is quite uncommon. The foot for scale shows how the foundations beneath the home are sinking at various speeds, and the entire situation is a complete mess. Take a peek at those cracks’ depth! Undoubtedly, any homeowner would be horrified to witness such a sight.
We’d normally advise applying duct tape to the crack and ignoring it, but we don’t think that duct tape would be helpful in this case. Hopefully, the structural engineer came up with a better idea.
This Fungus Isn’t so Fun
Upon closer examination, the term “fungus” is actually somewhat deceptive. Finding a significant amount of fungus during a structural check is certainly not enjoyable. It’s evident from this photo, which was shot in the crawl space beneath a house, that fungus has taken over a large number of the beams, joists, and girders. This is definitely not a favorable indication, as you might guess.
This poses a risk to the residents of the residence in addition to being detrimental to them. As this fungus spreads, their home will become less structurally sound.
Hillside Properties and Rainstorms Don’t Mix
To be honest, we’re dreaming about homes in the Hollywood Hills thanks to shows like Buying Beverly Hills and Selling Sunset. Although these homes are undoubtedly stunning from an aesthetic standpoint, home inspection services will inform you that they aren’t as structurally solid as you may have assumed. After all, you should never undervalue the power of water, particularly if you are in a hilly area where landslides are common.
The water so heavily pressed the retaining wall this time that it bowed and broke! Fortunately for these homeowners, the damage only affected their backyard and not the entire house.
These Support Beams Aren’t Very Supportive
The tin states that a support beam provides structural support for the house. As a result, the support beam must be sturdy and steady; it also must not be internally decaying. However, upon inspecting this stilt home, the home inspection service found precisely that. The situation deteriorates further due to the house’s elevated location on a hill.
Something like this would require extensive renovations to the house, as well as the replacement of all the beams. That isn’t inexpensive, and the process isn’t easy.
When You Leave the Pool Water Running
Nothing compares to owning a pool, is there? However, owning a pool also comes with additional duties. You bear the responsibility of maintaining the water’s cleanliness, ensuring its safety for your family, and ensuring its shut-off at the appropriate time. Regrettably, the pool service guy neglected to shut off the water when his clients went on vacation, leading to the unfortunate outcome.
Yes, there was a landslide in the backyard that involved the pool, pushing and destroying the decking in the process. We believe the pool firm will soon be facing a sizable claim, so let’s hope they had insurance.
If the Trees Are Bending, the Hill Is Unstable
Building on a hill necessitates structural checks. It is quite dangerous to do this, since you never know if the slope will be sturdy enough to support buildings or not. However, observing the trees surrounding the property is a useful signal; as a result, when the home inspection firm visited this property to examine a recently constructed addition, they discovered it was seriously endangered. Take a peek at those trees!
A definite indication that the hill is unstable and has been shifting over time. What prevents the foundations from moving if the trees are moving?
Stilt Houses and Salt Water Aren’t Friends
Raise your hand if you’d be happy living beside the beach. You are not at fault here. These beach mansions seem like your own little piece of paradise with their infinite ocean views, until you glance down at the foundations and the stilts. This is because salt water and stilt houses are enemies, and the home inspection service found that the salt water had nearly completely destroyed the house’s footings.
Without these footings, the house would be completely unsupported! This was before they noticed the odd array of beams. They had no idea what was going on there.
No, Rotten Wood Beams Aren’t Good
Despite the popularity of hardwood beams, the majority of new remodeling projects also use steel beams to address the numerous issues associated with using wood in construction. A structural inspection may reveal wood-rotted beams that jeopardize the structural integrity of the entire house, even when some wooden structures and supports are sound. Ultimately, the more decayed the beams get, the less stability and support the building’s total structure can provide.
The presence of rotting wood in the middle of the beam is particularly concerning. Hopefully, our structural examination resulted in a quote to replace and remove this decaying beam.
You Shouldn’t Be Able to Slide a Hand Under a Pier
The piers in beam and pier houses have to be precisely positioned and flush with the floor. Failure to do so jeopardizes the integrity of the entire house, potentially putting you in a hazardous and unstable environment. During this structural check, however, the house inspection firm was able to raise the pier up and slide their whole hand underneath it. We probably don’t need to remind you that this isn’t how things are supposed to work.
Correct installation of the piers and posts precludes this possibility. Therefore, we’re willing to wager that the homeowner’s remedy was rather costly. They can’t just ignore it, after all.
Nature Will Find a Way to Infiltrate a Crawl Space
While having a crawl space beneath your home is a terrific way to monitor the foundations and finish any structural repairs without having to tear up the floor, these places may also present challenges, particularly because nature has a way of finding a way in. This time, enormous tree roots have found refuge in the damp, dark crawl area of the house, ultimately crushing the foundations.
We’re sure the owners of this property would agree that a treehouse is great, but we also bet that they had no idea that their home would secretly become a treehouse.
The Grass and the Wall Were Once Flush
Many structural engineers express dismay at the large number of homes constructed on hills and slopes in modern times. And while it’s not usually a problem, when the hill begins to erode and move away from the building, it can occasionally become a serious problem. The engineers themselves witnessed this event during their structural check. Actually, the original placement of that wall and the grass was flush with each other.
When it started to deteriorate, the wall started to collapse along with the hillside, creating a huge chasm and height difference between them both. It doesn’t look nearly as lovely now.
When Spall Damage Takes Hold
Concrete makes up the majority of high-rise buildings. Furthermore, even if this guarantees its strength and stability, concrete isn’t infallible. Spall damage is a common occurrence in concrete that can eventually cause buildings to collapse. This is why the home inspection agency’s discovery of spall damage on the ceiling in the basement garage of a high-rise building block was cause for concern.
If this ceiling remains unfixed, it could collapse completely, crushing the cars below and endangering the structural stability of the structure. Let’s hope that someone brought this to attention and fixed it.
The Leaning Wall of the Parking Garage
This may appear to be the side of any parking garage at first glance. However, individuals with knowledge of structural engineering and structural inspections will recognize that this presents a far greater risk than it initially appears. If you look toward the top of this garage, you will notice a skewed car barrier wall to one side. This is concerning in and of itself, but it’s even more so because it’s not on the ground floor.
We cannot imagine the devastation that could occur if the wall collapsed and fell to the ground. We sincerely hope that they updated and fixed this parking lot as a result.
A Retaining Wall on Its Last Legs
A retaining wall is an extremely significant building component, especially when it’s directly next to a house. It maintains order and gives the primary structure the support it needs. However, as this photo shows, the retaining wall is nearing the end of its useful life. Inadequate drainage has harmed the entire structure, and the weight of the wet soil behind it is pushing it over.
Structural inspections indicate that replacing this entire wall won’t be necessary for some time. And we’re willing to wager that this isn’t a simple self-fix.
A Leaking Bathtub Gone Wrong
If you’re unsure about what you’re seeing, here’s what’s underneath the bathtub. Now that you have that knowledge, it’s time to don your structural engineer hat and carefully examine this image. What are you able to see? The existence of an electrical outlet beneath the bathtub itself is our main grievance with this image. However, we also object to the exposed and spalling rebar that is visible.
These two objects shouldn’t be visible to the naked eye, but a bathtub leak caused them to become apparent. Following the structural examination, the homeowners received the go-ahead to tear down and renovate the entire space.
What’s That Gap for?
Although no homeowner wants to hear that there are problems with the foundation of their house, structural inspections can help you monitor your building. In a perfect world, your house won’t cause you any problems. Yet, there are times, like this one, when faults with your foundation will result in a broad range of complications, including the need to move your house. Yes, there was a time when this wall and the house touched.
The wall and the house have gradually retreated from one another, leaving a space that is clearly not supposed to exist. And for that reason, it’s critical to keep everything in order!
Always Fill the Holes in Cinder Blocks
There are two types of walls: cosmetic walls, which are merely for decoration or division, and structural walls, which may compromise the structural integrity of the house. Furthermore, decorative walls still need to be secure; it’s obvious that this wall isn’t safe, even though they don’t need to be as physically sound as structural walls. look at those enormous cracks! There’s no way they should be there.
When the home inspection firm arrived at the property, they promptly found that the builder had taken shortcuts in building this wall. The builder had neglected to fill the cinder block holes, resulting in the building’s extreme fragility.
That Hole Definitely Shouldn’t Be There
When was the last time you explored the area beneath your property? Structural checks serve this purpose, despite the assumption that you don’t do so frequently. This engineer identified a problem when they discovered an enormous hole beneath someone’s deck. During these inspections, they search every nook and cranny for any issues. It most certainly wasn’t supposed to be there.
The homeowners had been complaining about the rodent problem, which makes the whole situation even more ridiculous. We believe they have located their point of entry!
A DIY Bodge Job Gone Wrong
Finding a problem in your house is the most frustrating thing there is. Small renovations are fine, of course, but large projects are seldom enjoyable or inexpensive. And this person chose to level it out on their own, presumably in order to avoid the hefty check that came with restoring their pier and beam house. They performed a bodge job, using bolts and nuts as improvised jacks to accomplish this.
As you might expect, the house inspection service was incensed to witness such a job. It’s not only risky, but their work wasn’t that outstanding either!
A Bucket as a Pier? Just No
The sheer number of pier and beam catastrophes that we have already witnessed proves that people are unaware of how crucial these foundations are to a house. Without the proper support, your house can collapse at any time! And for that reason, when the person conducting the structural examination discovered that someone had raised the home’s beams with a bucket, they were taken aback.
We can’t even begin to imagine the damage this do-it-yourself disaster has caused, and even if we filled this bucket with concrete, it wouldn’t serve as a suitable pier.
Oops, the Tree Hit the Roof
Most objects hurled at roofs are under control. Strong winds, rainy weather, and even arid and dry temperatures are all situations they can withstand. However, in a fight between a massive tree and a roof, the tree will always prevail. Furthermore, even when the majority of structural inspections alert residents to potentially hazardous trees in their neighborhood, some people choose not to heed the warning.
You can tell this tree has undergone trimming and cleaning over time, which further complicates the situation. Why then did they not also chop down the tree’s size?
Daylight Should Not Be Visible in a Crawl Space
You’ll know this is completely dark if you’ve ever gone inside your own home’s crawl space. The entire purpose of keeping it safe, secure, and cut off from the outside world is to preserve the integrity of your home’s structure. However, the house inspection agency was taken aback to discover that they didn’t need to use their torches as they descended into the crawl area.
Instead, someone had already punched a hole in the wall! It is never a good idea to have a crawl space compromised, as this may lead to major problems with mold, vermin, moisture, and sometimes even structural issues.
That Crack Wasn’t on the Plans
In addition to inspecting the inside of a house, home inspection firms also examine the structural exterior of your property. When they arrived at this address, a small sidewalk separated this house from the one next door. However, when water weakened the walkway, a fissure developed in the foundations, causing the water to flow down the hill and erode the neighbor’s backyard.
You can probably assume that we didn’t intend for that crack to exist. Furthermore, since the homeowner owned this sidewalk, we have a suspicion that they were responsible for paying for their neighbors’ yards.
How Many Pens Can You Fit in the Bricks?
Even though contemporary restorations make use of cutting-edge and novel building materials, bricks and mortar remain incredibly popular. Proper construction can make brick walls extremely powerful, but this requires filling the spaces between the bricks with mortar. If not, you may simply push everything down! And while seasoned builders are aware of that, this structural inspection determined that the wall was constructed by a cowboy builder.
A single pen shouldn’t be able to fit through the holes in the wall in a perfect world. However, it appears like there are enough spaces in this instance to accommodate an entire store’s worth of pens.
When the Stairs Come Away From the House
Services for home inspections are accustomed to observing home settlement. While we expect some minor settlement when new constructions “settle” on their new foundations, the settlement of older properties poses serious concerns. Sections of the home may collapse beneath the weight if the foundations are weak or damaged in any way. And in this instance, the subsurface movement was negatively affecting the stairs.
As you can see, the stairs and the front of the house are moving apart, causing the stairs and the house to become fully separate. In a few more years, they will have fallen apart.
The Retaining Wall Is Being Iced Out
Ever had the impression that friends are pushing you away? That’s basically what’s going on here. Originally, this wall took up much of the backyard, but the tree behind it took precedence. The further its roots spread, the more they begin to shift the wall. Furthermore, the wall is utterly distorted and out of position, as you can see.
We contacted the home inspection service to investigate this, and we doubt they were impressed by the homeowner’s pathetic attempt to prop up the wall with some two-by-fours.
Those Support Beams Should Be Connected
Properties situated on hillsides are vulnerable to shifting and erosion, as we’ve already observed. Therefore, we must construct them on sturdy supports to ensure their constant elevation above ground level. At first glance, this house seems to be quite well-supported. Ultimately, beneath the home lies an enormous network of support beams that cross over one another to provide further stability.
But if you look more closely, you’ll see that some of the beams are completely unconnected to anything. They will therefore provide no structural support at all.
No Parking, Please
When structural problems find their way beneath a home’s crawl space, they reveal a variety of issues. They are accustomed to seeing mold and fungus, inappropriate piers and beams, and issues related to electrical and plumbing. They must have laughed a little at this sign, even if the rust on the steel beam beneath this house was undoubtedly concerning.
A ‘No Parking’ sign beneath this house is obviously superfluous, but it’s strange that it’s there anyhow. Perhaps it’s an ant parking lot?
Thank Goodness the Trees Caught This Wall
Constructing retaining walls on a hillside home’s property increases their significance. However, home inspection organizations frequently visit homes like this one, where the walls have completely collapsed due to erosion. Typically, this happens when a retaining wall fails to adhere to the code or is not strong enough to endure the changing conditions of the hillside. This is precisely what took place.
The homeowners were in luck this time. If not for the trees below, the retaining wall would have fallen directly onto their neighbors’ roof, causing costly damage.
That Much Fungus Is Not a Good Sign
Fungi are often associated with icky mold or dangling, mushroom-shaped extensions to buildings. That being said, have you ever seen fungus quite like this? When the home inspection service descended beneath the house and witnessed this firsthand, they let out an audible gasp. And it’s not our fault. You don’t see fungus literally dripping from the floor above it every day.
Furthermore, the floor’s material exhibits warping and malformation, while the wood appears damp and decayed. Hopefully, this entire item was replaced.
It’s Time to Say Goodbye to This House
Beachfront properties frequently sell million-dollar homes because everyone desires to live above the ocean and on stilts over the beach. However, before you sign on the dotted line, be sure you understand what you’re getting into and that the building quality is acceptable before purchasing one of these houses. It is common knowledge that wood and saltwater do not mix, so why would you purchase an ancient wooden coastal property?
The property appeared to be on its last legs when the home inspection service found all the beams bowed and some completely deteriorated below it.
When a Bad Leak Goes Awry
Leaks are a common occurrence in homes all over the world. You may have broken pipes, experience severe weather, or simply forget to turn off the faucet when taking a bath. However, you should be aware that an excessive amount of water can seriously affect your home’s structural integrity. This family was aware that the leak was affecting the supporting structure beneath their deck, even without the need for a structural inspection.
When the deck gave way and a massive fracture appeared in the center, they knew immediately that something wasn’t quite right. At least they deployed a cone to alert people, isn’t that right?
If a House Moves, so Does the Sidewalk
You should be aware by now that settlement problems are more frequent than you might imagine—home inspection services frequently discover settlement problems. However, they don’t often stumble upon a house that has moved so much that the walkway in front of it has actually moved. This happened, demonstrating how unsafe and moved the walkway is.
During the structural assessment, the experts easily identified the fault, but their concerns extended beyond this single property. They began to doubt the integrity of the entire street.
Seeing Settlement From Down Below
Most people find digging beneath their houses to be unsettling because it’s dark, dusty, and generally unsettling. However, there are instances when inspecting your house from below is the most effective technique to learn the truth, particularly if you’re having problems with your flooring or wall fissures. After receiving a call at this house, the home inspection agency went straight underground to identify the issue. From below, settlement appears like that.
A large gap and crack are clearly not supposed to be between the wood and concrete. Rather, everything should be flush.
Your Home’s Worst Enemy: Efflorescence
You ought to consider it a compliment when someone calls you effervescent. However, you should check your bank account right away if a house inspection agency informs you that you have efflorescence because it will take a significant amount of money to fix the issue.Efflorescence, an effect that typically indicates a significant (and ongoing) water leak, occurs when dissolved minerals migrate through a solid and stain it.
The homeowners benefited from the structural inspector’s findings, but the house also benefited. They might then concentrate on resolving and repairing the issue.
This River Rock Won’t End Well
Building materials abound, and people frequently use a variety of materials to construct foundations. However, a competent builder would steer clear of utilizing river rock for this procedure due to its high instability, which calls for additional engineering and reinforcement to make a residence safe and secure. However, it didn’t stop the home’s constructor from utilizing it—and in a seismically active location, no less.
The home inspection service was dissatisfied with what they found underneath this house. Not only was it built of river rock, but not much else holds this construction up.