FLOOR ASSEMBLY INSPECTIONS

Why other home inspectors "overlook" this dirty but important job

 

We hear about folks becoming home inspectors to make some extra money, or as a part-time job after retirement. Welcome to the world of crawlspaces!

Unfortunately for some buyers, their "home inspector" might not have the waterproof suit, knee pads, dust mask, head light, building sciences background and robust enthusiasm that are all required to do a good job inspecting crawlspaces. (A fear of spiders and other things that crawl in the dark might make crawlspace inspections off-limits to some wannabe inspectors, as well.)

At Safe Homes Canada, we take immense pride in the efforts we make to carry out the most thorough job possible for our buyers. This includes a ridiculous amount of time on our bellies crawling through the muck, poking and prodding every piece of structural wood (mostly) under old houses and cottages.

If your home inspector makes excuses why it’s not possible to crawl under a house, you have a right, in our opinion, to refuse to pay that inspector.

Call us over and we’ll check everything out thoroughly. We recommend that buyers stand firm in their demands that their home inspector carry out a thorough inspection, notwithstanding real, specific hazards. Active bees nests, for example, will sometimes prevent a comprehensive examination of a crawlspace or attic, but we will be happy to return to complete the inspection – free of charge – once the hazard has been eliminated.

Moisture decay is often found at some of the floor members under cottages and old houses. This does not mean we ‘fail’ the home. Usually, the root causes of the moisture decay can be easily identified, and strategies to replace or repair floor assembly members can be typed into the home inspection report.

The work required to prevent future moisture decay is also spelled out clearly on the inspection summary. It’s fairly simple stuff, if you know what to look for. Eliminating acute water infiltration and minimizing relative humidity are keys to preventing moisture decay at floor assemblies. Finding a floor assembly that has rotted completely is a very rare occurance.

At newer homes, the problems found at floor assemblies are usually fairly minor, but assuming that they will be minor is like playing the lottery. Every floor assembly should be thoroughly inspected.

Why? We have stories!

We have seen beams that are missing their central support columns, and have bowed like bananas.

We have seen columns that were installed a foot or so away from the beam they were installed to support.

Most often, the problems are less dramatic, but still important to address. For example, the apprentice carpenters must get relegated to building stair landings at many residential building sites, because we often (almost every single day) find that direct vertical support has not been provided for the ends of the headers that support the joists at stair landings. This means that the loads are often being carried by only a few nails.

It normally takes about three hours to inspect an average home, if the inspector is thorough. Every element of the home requires careful examination. As an inspector, we cannot let up in our vigilance on behalf of buyers. Assumptions cannot be made. Mistakes do happen during construction. Shortcuts are – quite unfortunately – taken by builders’ forces.

The floor assembly is a part of the home that can be overlooked by a careless inspector. At Safe Homes Canada, we examine every member of every floor assembly.