Tomorrow I am headed over to Gatesville to do an inspection on this cool old historic era home. I think it’s awesome that I was able to find the picture of the home as it was originally built. 3996 sqft built in 1890.
Another first…the agent and client both say they know it’s going to be a beast of a inspection/report so just do the inspection and give them the best price I can when I get finished.
New user?? Non member?? I must be signed wrong or something…
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Hey mister, congratulations! I can tell you are happy to get this one. And besides, Galveston is nice.
Not quite Galveston 
George, have you done many inspections on Century/Historic homes? If not, and the home still has the original plaster walls/ceilings, your biggest headache will be identifying if any of the walls/ceilings have separated (become loose) from the lathe. This is guaranteed to piss off your clients and is a potentially expensive repair if you miss it. Good luck.
Post some pics later. You feel like you are going back in time walking through the ones that old.
George We have done many lovely old homes .
Please look close all of them had asbestos in them ,All the best Roy
I think Barry Adair was on the original framing crew for this one George You may want to check and see if He has any of the original drawings…
Yes. Someday I will learn how to read and cipher. Gatesville, then, but a nice house at least.
I bet you’re right. Prolly why it’s still standing.
Sorry it took so long to get back…things have been jumping. The wall coverings had been gutted when the electrical was re-done and re-finished with sheetrock. I looked high and low for asbestos and the only thing I thought suspect was the coal fired fireplace chimneys that had been cut off in the attic. Not really capped just chopped off below the roof line. Once there I got so in the zone that I forgot to take any pics for sharing but the link Jeffery posted above has some nice pics ya’ll can look at.
If you look at the before picture you can see a dormer that was removed and the sheetmetal spires that were on the dormer are still in the attic and pretty cool. The reliefs on the metal doors for the coal fireplaces were beautiful and I understand they came from England. I spent 6 very enjoyable hours on site and over all it was of the most fun and interesting inspections I have been on.
Galveston homes (1800-early 1900) take almost a day (5-6 hours easy) to inspect and another day to write report. Older homes require thought, experience and successful report writing skills to provide an inspection and comply with the SoP. Knowledge of environmental CYA’s are a major plus in these older properties. Probably lead-based paint is the greatest threat to children and women of child-bearing age. The other are the chemicals they used around homes in the soil.
Still find knob & tube, terrible electrical installations and not so great plumbing. These inspections can be a PITA.
Thermal infrared may be a waste of time. Walls, ceilings, floors were not insulated before the invention of any kind of air-conditioning. Some times a buyer gets lucky where insulation was added in the past. Still see a lot of window a/c units in Galveston. Some homes have been upgraded to central air but not as many as you would think. Every home is different but a pleasure to see some of the craftsmanship before power tools came into being.
Small rattler under house last Friday. 3.5 feet of clearance and plenty of light. Problem is the rattler blends in with the sand so it takes precious seconds to spot him. I always take a 6 foot broom handle with me under homes and usually wait for the WDI guy so we can tag team the underside. WDI guy has a snake lasso and turns them loose elsewhere on his way home.
Galveston was raised 6-7 feet with sand/spoils after the 1900 storm. There are streets under streets. First floor of many brick built structures filled with compressed cotton bales and sand. Some buildings you now enter through the second floor but you’d never know it. Wood built homes were simply raised.
Biggest structural concern is termite damages and lack of repairs/maintenance.
Asbestos siding and roof materials are common. Not so much on any mechanical equipment.