My wife and I have been renting our current home for 5 years now. The windows in the home are original metal windows and I knew from experience when we moved in they would be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I hadn’t realized how bad they had gotten until last month however, when from built on the inside of the windows and glass and mold has been growing on the vinyl trim holding the glass into the frames.
My mothers home has always been cold upstairs in the winter and hot in the summer. After taking this class, I realized the batt insulation in her attic is severely inadequate. I was discussing with her yesterday how much insulation she should have to achieve the R-49 recommended for her to have, but I was unsure of the best method to cover the floor joists with the batt insulation to ensure proper coverage. After reading the article “Installing Attic Insulation” I believe we can adequately insulate her attic to help her reduce her energy bill.
For the inspection portion of this class, I chose to inspect my mother’s 2 story townhouse. The house has no basement or garage. I know the windows, entry, and storm door were replaced approximately 9 years ago and they operate normally except for the rear French door. That door needs to be adjusted due to an alignment issue preventing consistent latching and causing difficult locking . She recently had a pull down attic stairway installed, approximately 1 year ago, along with a new ridge vent from the attic. The fiberglass batt insulation in her attic is short of the recommended R-49 rating, being approximately 10 inches thick. The ceiling in her living room shows signs of water damage from a link in her upstairs bathroom under the sink. There is significant staining as well as cracked ceiling compound and portions where it has fallen and exposed the dry wall in the ceiling. The ventilation devices in the kitchen and bathrooms seem to function normally when turned on with the switch and the dryer vent exhausts out the side of the house.
The garage is not heated on a full time basis, it is only heated on an as needed basis. Jack
One of the requirements of this course is to do a mockup, visual, inspection of a home, at least the attic, insulation, ventilation and interior.
Here is mine:
Single story ranch constructed about 2005 on a full concrete, unfinished, basement, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, kitchen and living. This home also includes an attached, unconditioned garage.
I did a visual check of the attic insulation and ventilation. I gained access via pull down stairs located in the hallway, that had been properly installed. The attic insulation consisted of about 6" of fiberglass, batt, insulation for an R-value of 19.2 and about 8" of blown in, cellulose, on top of the batts. The R-value for the cellulose will total 29.6, for a combined total of R-48.8, 0.2 under the R-value recommended by the US Department of Energy. I could not tell is a vapor diffusion retarder had been installed or not.
The ventilation was good. Both eaves included continuous soffit vents, baffles had been installed to meet the required 1" space between the roof deck and the insulation. Also the ridge included a continuous vent it’s entire length.
While in the attic I took note of the bathroom exhaust vent. It appeared to be properly installed and vented to a separate vent in the gable wall.
I did visually inspect a representative number of doors and windows. The windows are all double hung, no signs of cloudy glass or moisture between the glass, they looked to be in good condition. The 2 doors are a standard 9-lite door and appeared to be in good condition.
The interior walls and ceiling are painted drywall and appear to be in good condition. No signs of cracks or moisture problems anywhere.
The floors are in good condition, no indications of any problems.
The stairs to the basement level are constructed of 2x12 and in good condition. Fall protection and rails are present of each side and meet code requirements.
I did visually inspect the garage doors during my inspection. I noticed that one of the doors had improperly installed photo electric safety sensor as they were taped together by use of duct tape. Correction is needed for that door as it creates a safety threat. The photo electric sensor on door 2 looked be properly installed.
This concludes my mockup visual inspection. Constructive criticism welcome. Jack
For extra reading I read the section on how to do a garage inspection. I found the information to be accurate and the example common in our communities. Jack
Hey,
Attached you will find several pictures from an attached garage attic space. These show a light in the proper place however not protected by a globe. Another picture shows where the roofing sheathing meets the top plate fascia board with 1/2 " +++ gaps.
The other picture shows loose electrical wiring laying about the top of the truss joist.
Should the gaps and wiring be mentioned in inspection report as need to be repaired, or OK?
Thanks!
InterNACHI Home Inspection Report Checklist
Copyright © InterNACHI. All rights reserved.
Client name: John Smith
___________________________________________________________________________
100 East 4th Street - Madison, Mn. 3095477
Inspected property address: _______________________________________________________________
March 43, 2091
Date and time of the inspection: ___________________________________________________________
Fair, clear sky - no rain/snow
Weather conditions: ______________________________________________________________________
77 F
Approximate outdoor air temperature: _______________________________________________________
Property Owner
People present at the time of the inspection: ________________________________________________
2010
Estimated year built: _____________________________________________________________________
Residential - single family - colonial
Type of structure inspected: _______________________________________________________________
A1-Inspections Inc.
Company name: _________________________________________________________________________
Tom Brown
Inspector name: _________________________________________________________________________
813-092-0990
Company phone: _________________________________________________________________________
lfjbneugn@grim.com
Company email: _________________________________________________________________________
12 East 7th Street - Jacksonville, Indiana 37465
Company address: _______________________________________________________________________
page 1 of 31
InterNACHI Home Inspection Report Checklist
Copyright © InterNACHI. All rights reserved.
ATTIC, INSULATION & VENTILATION
INSPECT:
x_ I inspected the insulation in unfinished spaces from:
x_ readily accessible areas
x_ readily accessible panels
x_ readily accessible doors
x_ readily accessible stairs
_____ The insulation in unfinished spaces was not inspected, because it was:
_____ inaccessible
_____ unsafe
_____ not present
_____ not within the scope of the inspection
x_ I inspected the ventilation of unfinished spaces, including attics, crawlspaces and foundation
areas.
_____ The ventilation of unfinished spaces was not inspected, because it was:
_____ inaccessible
_____ unsafe
_____ not present
_____ not within the scope of the inspection
x_ I inspected the mechanical exhaust systems in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry area.
_____ The mechanical exhaust systems in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry area were not
inspected, because they were:
_____ inaccessible
_____ unsafe
x_ not present (Kitchen ) (Master bedroom - bathroom)
_____ not within the scope of the inspection
DESCRIBE:
The type of insulation observed can be described as:
_____ fiberglass blanket
x_ blown-*in fiberglass
Page 24 of 31
InterNACHI Home Inspection Report Checklist
Copyright © InterNACHI. All rights reserved.
_____ loose-*fill fiberglass
_____ mineral rock or slag wool
_____ blown-*in cellulose
_____ loose-fill cellulose
_____ spray-*foamed or foamed-*in-place
_____ structural insulated panel
_____ concrete block insulation
_____ foam board or rigid foam
_____ insulated concrete forms
_____ natural fibers
_____ others
The approximate average depth of insulation observed at the unfinished attic floor area or roof
structure: 8" deep with most areas experiencing partial compressed material.
The approximate average thickness of vertical insulation observed from the unfinished attic
area: None present
REPORT:
_x I saw evidence of the general absence of insulation or ventilation in unfinished spaces.
Correction is needed.
_____ I saw evidence of a material defect. Correction is needed.
x_ I saw evidence of a functional defect. Correction is needed.
_____ I saw evidence of a cosmetic defect.
The kitchen fan above the range had been removed, and not replace. This hood fan needs to be replace.
The master bedroom exhaust fan was not functional. The exhaust fan unit needs repaired.
Page 25 of 31
As a component of course completion here is a picture of a horizontal sliding window where the stile has become detached from the glass on both the upper and lower sashes.
Inspected my own attic and found the insulation could use some touching up.
As well as some additional air sealing.
Great course Ben reinforced a lot of what I have learned from taking the RESNET HERS Rater course.
As a component of course completion I read “Attic Pull-Down Ladders”, there were three sections on: common defects, relevant codes and tips that inspectors can pass on to clients.
Group,
When inspecting attic spaces, I am reluctant to walk across truss &/or rafter joist that have lath and plaster finishes. I find the ridgedity of the material to be more susceptible to cracking or possible separation.
Where roof sheathing and top plate - fascia meet, should gaps be caulked, or filled to minimize air intrusion.
When doing these insulation inspections for the home inspection, is it up to the inspector to point out that insulation is currently below R-value recommended for modern homes if older homes.
I hear a lot of talk and see discussions about rafter lift with all age houses.
I have worked in engineering and inspected many structures and have only found very few cases where rafter lift was actually the culprit with ceiling to wall separation.
I think were seeing a lot of misdiagnosis. Someone needs to explain how rafter/truss lift can occur with structures not currently built, and/or remodeled exposing the trusses to differential moisture conditions.
Interested
In this house with all cathedral ceilings the only attic space is this inaccessible area where all the HVAC duct work is located. I was able to view that there is yellow insulation in one of the passage points for a HVAC line.
According to the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) any house that has security bars over a window needs to have an easy release mechanism on the inside that can be easily operated by any elderly person or child in case of an emergency. I’m not sure and didn’t find any information on the location of this release. How high? How old of a child should be able to release it.
There is an active crack that extends from the top of the western window in the living room. Several similar cracks present in the same room, all active. Will examine in crawl space for deficiencies in structure.
This is a picture of an insulated wall dividing an attached garage, it is properly insulated however it does not have the minimum 1/2" drywall for a fire barrier.
In reading the article about bathroom ventilation ducts and fans I was again reminded of how important it is to educate the client during the inspection. Without proper removal of moisture many problems can arise in a home’s bathroom, which can in turn have an adverse effect on the structure and potentially on the health of the home’s occupants.
I have just finished this course. For the report I inspected a rental property. The insulation in the attic was 10" of loose-fill fiber. It was even trough out. Wash room exhaust vents went trough the roof. The vent baffles were installed. The only issue was the access door was in the master bedroom closet. Typical for in the area for 30 year old homes.
The other area I looked at was the small unfinished mechanical room. Here the vapour barrier or vapour diffusion retarder seal was compromised when a central vac exhaust and furnace combustion air duct were installed. The poly needs to be resealed around these penetrations to prevent the migration of humidity to the outside wall.
I have attached photos of both areas.
Just did my practice Attic, insulation inspection. It was good practice for future inspections. I imagine it will be very hot in the summer. Putting all the things ive learned in this course was kind of fun actually
Ive read the article on Attic insulation installation. It was very informative to help understand all of the different aspects that I will be inspecting in the near future. Great article!