I saw this today and it blew my mind. Fire damaged materials that were never replaced. I do not know what the white stains are. Any ideas? How would you write this up?
Something like: Evidence of past fire in attic. The visible structure is significantly damaged / or is not significantly damaged (depending on what you the inspector can see) (To me, significant would be surfaces or structural items that are obviously damaged or weakened. Not significant would mean the more cosmetic smoke staining, or surface charring only - sometimes a hard call to make unless you really get up there and scrape around a bit). Apparent fire damage covers about xx% of the attic space, and is located in the xxx area of the attic. Recommend asking seller about fire history and repairs. Also be sure to mention if there are any repairs or reinforcements that have been made. If significant structural damage, then recommend evaluation by licensed contractor. If structural damage extends to other parts of the house, not just the attic, then recommend evaluation by structural engineer.
Don’t know about the white stains.
Example:
When examining the attic, we noted signs (sooting, charring, damage, etc) of some type of a previous fire in this area. We recommend further evaluation of the structural, mechanical, electrical and other components in this area by competent, licensed and appropriate specialists **PRIOR TO CLOSING. **We also recommend that you get further disclosure from the seller, fire marshal and the company providing property insurance on this structure regarding this condition and any past history or claims. Repairs, replacement, or other actions may be needed once full evaluation is complete.
The houses that I’ve inspected that were rebuilt after a fire pretty much had a white staining coating over the wood that wasn’t replaced. I don’t recall what the coating was for.
That coating is usually to seal in the smell…nasty odors after a fire.
I think Dan just nailed some general wording to supplement any additional observations you had … 