Continuing Questions to ask on your Home Inspection
Moving onto the next two questions, “How is the ventilation in the attic?” AND “What is the general condition of the roof?” Let's dive on in!
5. How is the ventilation in the attic?
This can sometimes be easy to see when your inspector comes down from the attic. Are they dripping in sweat? Chances are they’re going to tell you there is not the greatest ventilation in the attic and you should probably talk to a contractor about adding some. It’s an attic though, who cares right? Well, you should care. Lack of ventilation can cause many issues in the attic. Ventilation allows airflow, and that is key in most attics. Without ventilation, the air and anything in the air is trapped in your attic. Let’s go back to that first image we mentioned; the inspector coming down from the attic covered in sweat. Well that’s also probably happening to the beams and rafters in your attic too. Then it is possibly dripping down onto your insulation below. Water + heat + no airflow….that is a recipe for mold and fungal growth. Now that's something you don’t want to have, period.
Beyond this, if you’re using your attic as storage space…most everything is recommended to be stored in a temperature controlled space, that is not excessively hot or cold. Without proper ventilation your attic is going to get excessively hot. But, I know, you’re saying, “Well, we just won’t store anything up there, then we don’t have to address it. Besides, it will help melt the snow on the roof in the winter.” You’re right, it will help melt the snow in the winter, but it will also have a higher likelihood of causing an ice dam because of that. The melting snow will turn to water and then travel down your roof, but then it will hit other snow at the eaves that will cause it to refreeze. Once that happens, it’s no longer snow, it’s ice. As this pattern continues, you then have an ice dam on your roof. Not only that, but the water has a good chance of freezing and pushing shingles upwards, causing more damage to your roof and allowing the ice dam to have access to below the shingles. That is when leaks start happening.
Another issue that can be caused by ventilation are what we affectionately refer to as “Nail Pops”. These can happen for a variety of reasons, but lack of ventilation causing moisture absorption into the roof decking can cause it to swell and force, or “pop”, the nail out of it.
6. What is the general condition of the roof?
Most people just ask, “How old is the roof?” And while that’s not a bad question, it is limiting your answer to its overall condition. Roof materials have an expected average lifespan, but those are averages, and the roof you’re looking at doesn’t necessarily fit into that average. Maybe it’s an exception. As they say, life happens, and things can definitely happen to your roof to shorten the lifespan of the roof. So, even though it might only be 10-years-old, it could definitely be at the end of its lifespan.
Things like trees overhanging on the roof can drop leaves, pollen and even branches, or the tree itself can come down on it. Those things will all shorten the lifespan of the roof. Maybe there have been regular bad storms or hail, that will definitely shorten the lifespan of the roof. Maybe the ventilation in the attic is terrible, that will definitely shorten the lifespan of the roof. BUT, maybe you’re in the most ideal conditions ever and the roof is actually aging slower than expected because of it. Your home inspector is not pulling the permits that were filed with the city/town in order to determine the roof condition. We’re looking at it in person; looking for signs the coverings are having issues; looking for signs the decking that the covers are attached to are having issues; looking for signs of repairs that may have been done.
It’s better to ask about the overall condition as well as any material defects that were noted, so you can gauge whether or not you should budget in the short term or long term for repairs or replacement. Remember, eventually all roofs need to be replaced. Whether because of many issues, or just because there are already too many layers of shingles on the roof and it's not safe to do anything else than take all the shingles off and start from scratch, the more you know, the more you can plan.
More questions to ask during your Home Inspection
Welcome back to our blog post series on “Questions to ask on your home inspection”. This post is going to go over questions 3 & 4.
3. How is the heating/cooling system functioning and what is the overall condition of it?
This is one of the bigger questions you should be able to answer after reviewing your report. During the inspection, your home inspector should be testing the heating and cooling system just like you would normally use it. This really means we’re going to use the thermostat. If you have to do more then adjust the heating & cooling with the thermostat to get it working, it’s not working how it should be. Even with the smart thermostats, you’re adjusting a thermostat on an app, but you’re still adjusting the thermostat and not doing something like opening a gas valve or priming an oil fed boiler unit before turning the heat on. Some thermostats are a bit different than others and its important to ask your inspector how they activated it if you have questions on how to do it yourself.
That covers the “is it functional” part of the question, but let's dive into the second part, “what is the overall condition of it?”. This is important to ask because things can be in overall fair or good condition but still have some material defects with them. Sometimes the elbow on a pipe coming out of a boiler may be corroded and need replacing. That is a material defect, remember question 1. But overall, the rest of it may appear and function in good condition. Just like sometimes a portion of ductwork on an HVAC system may not be supported correctly or may have become disconnected; again, that is a material defect, but the rest of the system may be in fair or good condition. Maybe some of the insulation on the heat-pump piping has been pulled off, perhaps by a critter. It should be replaced but the system may still be functioning fine at the time of the inspection.
4. What is the condition of the attic, floor structure and foundation?
This is really to get some more information on important structures that make up your home. The Attic, to see how the top of the structure is. The floor structure, which realistically is mostly only observable in the basement in most cases, and the foundation. Remember, home inspections are of the observable structure and components. If there is a ceiling or walls put up around the inside of the foundation, your home inspector is not going to be able to see behind it. In cases where the outside of the foundation is covered by the siding, or the grade is too high against the home, the home inspector will also not be able to see it or report on its condition.
In the attic, we’re looking for signs of moisture, adequate insulation, the type of roof structure it is, the condition of the framing members and decking, and ventilation to name a few items. Again, certain items can be damaged, but the overall conditions can still be ok.
With the floor structure and foundation, this is what’s holding up your floor and your home, so they are pretty good things to ask about. It’s important to remember, materials, methods and building codes have changed over the years. This is why it’s not a great idea to ask if something is to code. Asking the condition of the floor structure and foundation lets you get a more helpful answer. There may be some maintenance or repair needs, there may be some things to monitor, and there may be some things that are not really done anymore but were when the house was built. Those are specifics though, and overall condition can differ from specific needs within the entirety.
See you in another two weeks for #5 & #6
Questions to ask during your Home Inspection
In our last blog post we gave a list of 10 questions that can be helpful to ask during your home inspection. In this blog post we’re going to start flushing them out, so you really understand what you should get out of these questions. Let’s dive on in.
Are you seeing any material defects?
Ok, first, what is a material defect vs. a latent defect? A material defect is anything observed by the inspector that is deemed to be damaged, broken, incorrect or poses a safety risk. This is what the inspector can readily observe. A latent defect is something that is hidden beyond the inspectors vision and cannot be readily observed during the inspection.
Asking about material defects is a catch-all question because it is quite literally what the inspector is there to find. These can be anything from “the deck is not properly secured to the house”, to “an escutcheon plate is missing or loose around the shower head arm”, to “the electrical panel is wired completely incorrectly and was smoking during the inspection”. That last example is normally a sign of someone who is not qualified to do the work, doing the work.
2. Are there signs of questionable building methods or materials?
These also group in with material defects above as well. Methods, in this case, refer to any visual queues that shortcuts were taken or things were just done incorrectly. An example of this would be things such as grading too high against a new construction home, AC or Heat-pump condenser units not level, or cut truss framing members in the attic…to name a few.
The first example I have not come across recently. The new construction homes we’ve inspected and in general, watched go up around the towns we go through, tend to have their grading done correctly. It is something we still always check for and report on for all homes, but this tends to be more of an issue with older homes. The second example, again on older homes this can happen because of time and settlement. It can be corrected. If this was a new construction home, that is a sign of them not really caring about the work. If they’re taking shortcuts in one area, it’s very possible they were doing it all over.
The last example quite literally leads to a question your home inspector cannot answer, but you should be able to find it from the homeowner. Truss roofing systems are designed by engineers with a calculated weight load and support path. Something that is common to see with these is some of the framing members have been cut. Sometimes it's to make way for an HVAC system install or an addition to the home was added in and the entrance had that framing member in the way. Sometimes it’s just the homeowner wanting easier access to more of the attic. Whatever the reason, this type of roof framing needs to be altered by a qualified engineer. They get the blueprints, make sure they know what is being proposed to be cut, calculate if additional supports need to be added and in what section, and then they sign off on it. Those plans have to be followed. Your home inspector will not be able to know this during the inspection; just because it is cut, does not mean it is a defect, but it is questionable. If we see it, we’ll report it to you, so you and your real estate agent can ask for the documentation on who did the alteration calculations and who did the work.
As for part of this that asks about material, this can be anything from siding materials that are known to have either installation issues or longevity issues, to repurposed old electrical cables, to accordion style sink drains. Siding material like EIFS can have issues with it caused by improper installation. Older installation methods and materials were also known to foster mold growth behind the outer layer. There are very specific things home inspectors look for while reviewing these.
In the second example, this a good sign that the homeowner or an unlicensed electrician was performing work. We’ve seen knob and tube wiring repurposed and reused. We’ve seen incorrectly sized wire run. We’ve seen the incorrect type of cabling used outside. All of these are signs that someone who should not have been performing the work…was.
Accordion style sink drains can be functional, but we hate to see them. P-traps are self scouring, they’re sanitary. The water in the trap refreshes and the old water is washed down the drain. Accordion style P-traps have grooves in them. Food particles can get stuck in them after a time. Is it functional, yes. Will it last as long as other types of rigid drainage, not normally.
Make sure to check back with our blog in 2 weeks for the reasons we recommend asking the next 2 questions to help make sure you’re getting the most out of your home Inspection.