While home inspectors always expect the unexpected, let’s be honest — we mostly go about our day, seeing the same sorts of things. Too little insulation, too much wear and tear on the roof, outlets that don’t work, sinks that don’t drain, pipes that leak, no drip pan on the AC unit: you get the picture. Then there are the times when you have one of those dangerous home inspection finds. The kind of problem that announces itself like Taylor Swift.
Here are a few dangerous home inspection finds. Say hi!
Burning Ring of Fire
My children are 5 and 7 years old, so they do a lot of sensory-based learning where they try to learn about the world using all five senses. They teach home inspectors to do the same thing, and as the primary caregiver of your most expensive asset, you should do this too. Too often, we miss warning signs because we’ve stopped paying attention, or we’ve become numb to our surroundings. A burning smell catches our attention pretty quickly, but what if no one had been home?
Three tips to gain from this video.
1) Add checking your outdoor lights to your home maintenance checklist: have they gotten knocked over, broken, or burned out?
2) Switch outdoor lighting to solar powered LED lights for the most efficient option on the market, but at least ditch the hot incandescent bulbs.
3) Clear piles of dried leaves or debris, especially during the hot summer months. A stray spark from the grill, or your outdoor lights apparently, can so easily start a fire.
Heard It Through The Grapevine
This might not seem like that big of a deal until you know a couple of things. First, vines can actually conduct electricity. RIGHT? Now that we’re all paying attention, in the first picture, this creeper has wrapped itself around the electrical service entrance wires and the service mast, enough so that it could disrupt service, and it’s going to be really hard and dangerous to cut that vine down.
Second, vines growing around AC compressor units, like in the second picture, can not only block airflow, but they will grow into the coils and destroy the unit.
“But I love vines! They’re so romantic and picturesque!”
Vines are a plague. They will eat your house, and you if you stand still long enough. Seriously, do not let vines grow on your house or fence: termites, wood rot, and mold, oh my!
Lean On Me
I mean. I feel like Inspector Cody kind of sums it up when he says, “I don’t think that’s doing much.” Here’s hoping nobody hangs a porch swing before they fix that.
Why Do You Build Me Up, Buttercup?
This one is gonna make you mad. This is a phase inspection of a new construction home in progress. Here’s what the inspector had to say:
“Here’s a pic you can show when talking about rafter separation after a new roof install. One bundle weighs 60-75 pounds. There are over 45 bundles on that ridge. (Almost 3,000lbs).”
A competent roofer would never stack bundles on top of the roof like this. They just weakened that structure by … I don’t know, a lot. Call a structural engineer if you want to know, but it’s not good! Remember when we talked about how there’s no license to be a roofer in Texas?
The moral of the story is that, when it comes to your home, pay close attention and you’ll probably catch signs of danger before they become too serious. In other words, if it looks like Taylor Swift, talks like Taylor Swift …
