Asbestos cement siding was created in 1907 by an Austrian engineer. Because of it’s durability and fire resistance it gain wide popularity and use in the 1940’s.
However, in the 1970’s the EPA banned the use of asbestos in home construction in the US. This was due to the mounting evidence that exposure to asbestos fibers resulted in severe illness such as mesothelioma, a life threatening lung disease.
Asbestos siding can still be found on many homes in the US and as long as the shingles are in good repair there is little to no adverse health effects on occupants. The danger of asbestos occurs when the fibers bound in the cement base are released by crushing, breaking, cutting or some other mechanical
process. The result of this release of fibers into the atmosphere is where the problem begins. At this point the asbestos has become Friable which is the term used to describe the airborne particles that can be breathed in.
A sump pump can be used to also move water from a lower area of a home to the septic system. I viewed a washer and wash basin which drained into a basin with a sump pump installed. When the washer released it’s water it filled the sump basin and the sink and then drained into the house drain and out to the septic tank.
There are several ways to reduce energy consumption in a home. The one I found rather interesting and have used this in my homes is installing a tank less water heater. Not only is the water not being heated all the time in the tank, it’s heated once water starts moving. If you have a large tub in your home, a normal tank won’t fill whereas a tank less system provides endless hot water.
For this essay, I have chosen to write about the soffits on this house. The soffit is, as the image shows, made of prebaked white aluminum. It is of a tongue and groove design oriented perpendicular to the dwelling, with small, factory installed vents in every panel. Since this is a hip roof, the soffits runs around the entire perimeter of the house and is in very good condition, i.e. no visible mechanical damage, no chipping paint and it is securely fastened everywhere. All in all, this is a very good installation job.
The attached picture shows a crack in a retaining wall at a 90 year old house. The wall extends from the side of the house to driveway, about 20 feet and its only about 2 ft in height. Made of stone, the mortar has deteriorated and now there is a significant crack. There are signs it was previously repaired but now those repairs have failed. Addition support or jacks will be required to get this wall back into place or it could collapse.
For this essay I have chosen to discuss a “Curtain Drain” out of the illustration gallery. This is interesting because it seems to be a doubling of drain tiles, in that the curtain drain is placed up hill of the primary drain-tile in the application of protecting retaining walls from excessive hydro-static pressure. The curtain drain is placed slightly above and up hill of the primary drain. A geotextile fabric is placed vertically in the ditch on the up hill side of the ditch and extends under the drain-tile itself. Gravel is then back filled on top of the drain-tile all the way up to the ground surface. I would guess that from an atheistic point of view that the geotextile fabric could be layed over the gravel on top and top soil could be then applied to promote the growth of grass, otherwise a line of gravel would be visible running the length of the install.
For this essay I took an image of a two story deck supported by 8x8 treated post. Joist hangers are in place and the lags screws have a washer and are on 2 foot centers. Flashing is in place above the ledger board however one item that is missing is the 45 degree nails at the joist hangers.
More than 2 million decks are built and replaced each year in North America. InterNACHI estimates that of the 45 million existing decks, only 40% are completely safe. More decks collapse in the summer than during the rest of the year combined. About 90% of deck collapses occurred as a result of the separation of the house and the deck ledger board, allowing the deck to swing away from the house. It is very rare for deck floor joists to break mid-span.
Attached is a picture from a previous Inspection of a Patio cover. Note the hurricane strapping, cedar 2 x 10 support beams, cedar 2 x 6 rafters all supported by 2 3/8" steel post with welded u-clamps,all screwed or nailed with galvanized materials. Well built
My essay will be on"Aging in Place."
Chis is something I really had never thought of before seeing the article. The baby boomer stats were crazy. I am also going through some issues with In-laws of a elderly age and I think this article might be of some use to them.
I had sometime thought of the elderly and situation but mainly “bathroom Issues”. This article was quite eye opening to me.
Thank you InterNACHI for a outstanding article.
I have enjoyed the class so far and I am looking forward to learning about saving energy so when I become a home inspector I Can inform my clients on saving energy.
Assignment " How to inspectin the exterior "
In this picture is another view of a previously discussed problem. It is evident that the foundation has settled down and away from its original location. This has resulted in the wall separating. Note the margin is much greater at the top of the window jam than the brick separation at the bottom.
I read the article on “Home repair ripoffs”. I was not surprised by the information provided. I have seen several of the same ripoffs in our part of the country. What is surprising is that this is supposed to be a more honest area than most. I did enjoy learning that inspectors play a valuable role in curbing such activity.
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The picture I took was of the crawlspace in which the area under the home was extremely saturated with water. The home had both a sump pump and exhaust fans installed. Although, the sump pump was not operable and the exhaust fans had not been run in quite some time. The home’s gutter system and downspouts seemed to discard roof water properly away from the home. The water intrusion appeared to be from the high water table and poor property drainage. I spoke with the owners of the home and was informed that the home had been built on an old pond/swamp. I recommended to the client that they repair/replace the sump pump, keep a back up sump pump on hand and run the exhaust fans periodically throughout the year (especially during the rainy and wet seasons). I also recommended that the client have a mold expert check the crawlspace for mold, rot and wood destroying insects due to the extreme water damage under the home. There are obviously other issues within this photo. However, I chose to focus on the water damage for this essay.
P.S. Sorry for the upside down photo… I will work on correcting this error for the next essay.
This is the exterior drainage at the rear of this home. It appears to be effective in removing storm water from the property though I did not observe it during rainfall.
I chose to write on the article defensible space as we had quite a few fires in my area recently. My father in law, being a fireman, has also drilled in pretty hard its importance. We drove around after the largest of the recent fires and he pointed out how it made such a difference that was still evident even after the fire was out. It says in the article that combustibles should not be stored in the area immediately surrounding the house but I’d like to add to be careful with fences as well as they can cause fires to spread.
