It is very common for inspectors to find issues with homes that are not acceptable by either past or present building standards and yet have stood the "test-of-time." These kinds of issues are difficult for the inspector because the standard reaction from the seller is likely to be that it has "been that way for 100 years and I ain't gonna fix it."
Unfortunately, that doesn't let the inspector off the hook.
Sometimes I get the feeling that just because something has been the way it is for a long time, and hasn't failed, that we as inspectors have no business bringing it up. Things that are not right, and have not failed, means only one thing: it hasn't failed YET. Things that are wrong, and haven't failed, necessarily have a higher probability of failure than something that is constructed properly.
I had such a condition in the crawl space of a 52 year old home the other day. Concrete blocks, when used as support columns of homes, must be installed vertically to provide any real strength. As you can see in the picture these blocks installed on their side, are in perfect condition, in this really nice "closed-crawl" space. (Closed crawl spaces are ones that have concrete floors and no vents to the exterior and the crawl space is used as a giant air return for the heating system----an awesome way to install a crawl space----and the subject of a blog to come.)
So the inspector must call for repairs to ensure that the floor system will stay where intended. In this case it might be as simple as having the contractor fill the voids of the blocks or install additional wood posts next to the concrete blocks. Neither solution is likely to be costly and could perhaps be done by a qualified repair person in conjunction with other repairs necessary around the home.
Charles Buell
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PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
DeCroe, is my "ethereal" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.
