Hey all,
As the title states, I’m not an inspector but have a question and want to make sure I’m posting it in the right section of this forum.
I found some pretty major issues missed during an inspection that should have been a checklist item for a certified InterNACHI inspector. Just wanting to check the pulse of the community for next steps, if any.
Thanks!
Go ahead and tell your side of the story with as much detail as you have available.
INCLUDING the section in the Report related to it, as that is the only bit of info from the inspector we will have. Without that, it is all just one-sided heresay!
He may not be religious, so lets go with hearsay, okay?
What State are you in as that can help with answering questions as well.
You can ask your questions here. It will help if you can copy/paste the verbiage and any pictures from the report for each concern and then under each what your concerns are. Make sure you don’t include any identifying information for you, the house, and the Inspector. Providing the report verbiage eliminates and issues with what was actually stated by the Inspector and what you know including any pictures you might have taken of the issue.
For missed items Please provide a description of what you feel the Inspector missed. If you have any pictures you took, or other information you based your concern on, please provide that as well. For the other info you do not have to copy paste if you have a link to the standard or other material. Also if the issue you found would go under a specific section of the report please provide any verbiage that may have indicated that nothing was found or nothing related to this was found.
There are plenty of Inspectors here willing to answer your questions. By being as clear as possible that prevents the skepticism remarks and guessing that can come with this process.
Appreciate the responses everyone. I understand these posts pop up and there is clearly something on the inspection report, but that is not the case here. Please note I’m not trying to stir the pot, but get opinions from other inspectors. I can’t image how hard being in this field can be, and understand things can and will get missed as you can’t be an expert with everything. I’m just some guy wondering if I have any right to be upset in my situation and if there is anyway to address this.
NOTE: I have not contacted the inspection company yet. I want to have all of the facts in place first and get opinions if this is even worth addressing with them.
I’m in MN. House built in mid 90s
In my instance, there were 4 things I felt would have thrown off some alarms and be noted on the inspection report, which they weren’t
The deck on the overhang, I’m now finding out, is a no-no unless it was engineered to handle it. I would have thought this would have been something to note, as it appears to be a safety issue and this video outlines why (an InterNACHI educational video) .
Come to find out, the reason for my sliding door sticking (not the one in this picture below) is because the floor was pulled down and causing the bind as a result of the floor joists being off, as described in the above video. After digging more into it, there is a dip in the joists as shown in these pictures
You can slightly see the curvature on the basement ceiling where the deck is attached
When I do the marble test in the kitchen / dining area, it moves fast towards the belly of the floor. We planned on replacing flooring here but will need to fix the issue caused by the deck first.
On the report, there is no mention of the issue with the deck, only a sloping issue.
Now, in the inspectors defense with the sliding door, it was -5 F when the inspection was done. That could have been a common problem where the sliding door just needed to get adjusted, but I thought it should have been on the inspection.
Now, the bathroom that vents into the garage is another head scratcher. In this picture you can see a vent which I initially thought was the dryer vent.
Per this documentation (and posts on this forum) this should not have been allowed: https://codes.iccsafe.org/s/IRC2015/chapter-15-exhaust-systems/IRC2015-Pt05-Ch15-SecM1507.2
As for the doors not latching correctly, there was zero mention of this on the inspection report.
I have a few questions.
When was the inspection performed?
How long have you lived in the home?
Is the garage vent photo yours or the inspector’s?
When was the inspection performed?
January 13th of this year
How long have you lived in the home?
Since February 22nd of this year. Around 2 months
Is the garage vent photo yours or the inspector’s?
It’s the inspectors directly from the inspection report
I think you already know the answers to your questions. My advice, ring up the inspector and voice your concerns. We are not needed here.
I’ll add some context for you:
Decks should not be attached to any cantilevered portion of the house. The deck should be fully self-supporting and in the picture it looks like that is not the case. IMO, that is hard not to miss, especially with a visible sag in the floor. In your case, it is probably going to take adding supports (beam(s) and posts) and, hopefully, that will alleviate the related issues.
The sliding door would be easy to miss if the door opened normally for the most part.
The bathroom fan venting into the garage sounds like a possible firewall breach. There can be no vents, holes (passageways for air) in the wall between the house and attached garage. Since it is his picture, he should have noticed and reported that. The vent needs to discharge to the exterior of the house.
If the doors that did not latch properly were interior doors, then that is only a minor maintenance item and it is perfectly acceptable for a home inspector to deem that as non-relevant (not worthy of reporting), along the same line as scratches, dents, nail holes, and so forth.
So, if thats his picture, then what was he saying about it with the big arrow?
I’ve had more than one client that has called/texted all heated about something we’ve missed. Then after I point him to the section of the report where the “missed” item is listed and remind them of the discussion we had at the walk through regarding said item they go silent and generally no apologies or thank yous.
Not saying that that’s the case hear but I also wonder about the arrow.
I’m wondering if the OP added that arrow and circle. Looking at the other pics, that is not the type of arrow from the inspector’s report software. But I am curious why that picture was in the report (assuming with no arrow and not with the corner cropped out?).
You’re correct. I added the arrow and cropped it to avoid showing any personal info that was in the photo
I added the arrow and covered up some personal info that could have identified the seller.
James, I totally understand but none of this was noted anywhere or discussed. I made sure to triple check the report before I came to the forum and did relevant research to the problems I brought here.
As far as the arrow on the photo, I added that so it was clearly visible to the forum
Please note, our training is just that, training. To help all of us better understand good building practices and home safety. However, your agreement and scope of work are crucial components here.
For example, I may be an HVAC expert through my training, but that does not require me to perform exhaustive HVAC testing during a standard home inspection.
Fair points Brian. I completely understand how inspectors aren’t experts in everything, just like I’m not an expert in the other similar trades in my profession.
Next steps are definitely to pull permits as this deck was replaced recently. Again, I want all relevant information before coming to a conclusion, and that’s why I’m here to get multiple opinions to see if my concerns are valid.
In regards to your 4th point, I only noticed when we moved in and walked back and forth through that section of the house and felt like I was falling when walking. It was also uncovered when trying to adjust the sliding door and seeing a the dip in the floor causing the door frame to bind
Conditions do change over time.
I find it odd that the inspector did not notice the door binding, the dipped floor, or the ledger deflection. That new deck may be the problem that had not yet presented itself back in January, and the issues may have grown in severity over time. Even you (the buyer generally most sensitive to odd surfaces) did not notice the problem.
I would immediately contact the inspector and let them know about your concerns. Be ready to defend why you waited until now to contact them. Do not send out any contractors before the inspector returns.
