Problems with US Inspect inspection

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
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Grace,


IMO you will easily get the most information on this subject from people who....do this kind of work. Not an HI or SE...IF, and thats a Big if, you can find an HONEST-Hands on Lic & Ins structural/foundation/waterproofing person/company then this is where you will find the correct `n true answers for your basement leak issues.


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
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Dan,


No, not at all. Dont answer if you dont want but if you read the quest`s again, they are pretty easy `n straightforward. I`m not trying to mislead/bs you or anybody here,just "digging" to get the the truth out to public and expose all the myths `n bs. I`m not after what is best for me,the contractor....not after what is best for you,the HI etc....just what is best for the basement walls `n unknowing homeowners.


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: dbowers
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I’ve laid it out as simple as I can. Every case is different but it starts with good grading and drainage around the house in the vast majority of the time. Theres nothing that makes me more sick to my stomach than to see some poor homeowner pay some ignorant rip-off artist $5,000 - $12,000 to put in steel restraints, epoxy inject cracks, install a french drain tile system or other systems - then never change the grade, drainage, etc.


Two - Three years later, here comes the water in the basement or the foundation movement again. The ignoramus never solved the source of the problem - that would have been too simple and too inexpensive.


Originally Posted By: bgentry
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Mark,


Has it ever occurred to you that some cracks may be caused by poor grading/excessive moisture in the first place. Excessive water under structure can and will cause a lot of damage over time, and ONE preventative measure is to have grading and drainage issues corrected. Have you ever heard of heaving? I really don't understand why you are getting all bent out of shape because it is not our job to determine the cause of cracks/moisture anyway. All I do is point them out and recommend they find a competent contractor to fully evaluate the situation.

You may ask why hire a home inspector when they could have a licensed contractor inspect the foundation for them, who could give them definite answers right there on the spot. The answer to that is... it is much cheaper to have a home inspector come in and inspect everything for potential problems than it is to call in an "expert" for every system and component of the home.

It is very difficult to say exactly what was visible and what wasn't on the day of the inspection without seeing pictures of every square inch of the home. It is obvious you feel you were wronged by a HI at some point. Just realize one thing: As you are obviously irate over what you felt was a negative generalization about your profession (I did not interpret it the same way, though), You are making generalizations about both HI's and the effects of water to a structure. Every HI is different and every home is different.


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Bradley S. Gentry
Superior Home Inspection, LLC
Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, &
Elkton, VA
www.superiorllc.net

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Grading…on a decent to heavier rain, the amount of water that may be diverted a few/several feet away from a foundation at ground level still goes into the ground, accumulates and spreads-wicks in all directions…underground, including back towards a basement wall.


Any amount of water that may be diverted another 6-10' at a corner with a longer extension on a downspout will still go into the ground at that point, accumulate-spread `n wick in all directions underground including back towards the corner.

Think about it....the soil/ground underneath yer raised grade is Not pitched away,is not sloped away from the house. There is no bias underground!

Even if it was possible to divert all water away from basement walls,which is totally impossible, thats the LAST thing you want to do. Just as many problems can occur when soil is too dry as when its too wet.


When a homeowner is getting water in the basement because there is a crack(s) in the basement wall then...THAT`s what needs to be fixed,thats how `n why water is entering. When a homeowner is getting water in the basement because of tuckpointing needs or caulking needs or window replacement need then..THAT`s what needs to be fixed, that`s how `n why water is entering.
When a homeowner is Only getting water up through cracks in the basement floor then they will need a plumber to try `n snake under the floor First and if that doesnt free up problem then they will need a sump pump(s) to...control the water level under the floor before it can accumualte `n rise up through these cracks in floor.


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
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So…ya don`t want to recommend sealing/fixing cracks in walls First, and IF you dont recommend fixing cracks correctly then maybe it passes you by that RADON can enter through cracks.


http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html#howdoes


Click…How does Radon get into your home…go ahead…


Supposedly, nearly 1 outta every 15 homes have elevated radon levels, so it seems to me that since Radon does indeed enter through 1)construction joints 2) Cracks in walls 3) Gaps around Service pipes 4) cavities inside walls...and others, that a HI would Always bring this to the attention of a homeowner,doncha think? ![eusa_doh.gif](upload://has2a0g32D0AAlDjAwVcrg3HnhX.gif)

Here we go...ready? Some of you 'First'....and prolly sometimes 'Only' recommend to homeowners to..."raise the grade" and " longer gutter extensions" and other water-diversion techniques. Some of you have stated exactly that, Other HI`s here know better. IMO, it would be wise for some of you to to think this 1 over,raising the grade etc does NOT in any way seal any openings that are on the outside of many homes

"When criminals in this world appear `n break the laws that they should fear the cry goes out for...UnderDOG!"


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
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And while im at it i know some of you can hardly wait to express my opinions on my next topics…Mold and Efflorescence…yup icon_lol.gif


Now let`s see here, done this before but sure seems vaguely important....this next Gov`t link states"There are many types of Mold, and NONE of them will Grow Without........ready?

Water or Moisture! ![icon_lol.gif](upload://zEgbBCXRskkCTwEux7Bi20ZySza.gif)

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldbasics.html

Last line in 1st paragraph.... a reminder, this is about cracks and other direct openings in Bsmt walls.

Cracks & other openings in Bsmt walls(around Gas lines-Sprinkler lines etc) as well as any other direct openings above ground level incl`g open mortar joints,caulking needs around doors-windows,screens `n vented windows can...and do allow Water and Moisture into a house. Why allow the possibilty/opportunity for a homeowner you do an inspection for to be the next Ed McMahon no matter how slight the chance? poor Ed http://www.legalnewswatch.com/news_197.html (others comment)

Got Efflorescence....?

http://www.continentalcaststone.com/csi/33.html

"soluable salts AND Moisture Must be present for Effloresence to occur"

"it is due to moisture entering through walls or the surface of the cast stone"

Why on earth wouldnt you want and feel like you need to mention these facts to unsuspecting sellers and buyers

A few HI`s here have replied back to me in past with their lil quip"What`s yer Point?"...well , The POINT is your water diverting recommendations do Not in any way prevent Radon gas from entering and mold, efflorescence now does it? Yet....this is some of the HI First and quite possibly Only recommendation to a client/homeowner! .

I can almost be there with some of you on your inspections and hear what you say to these Unknowing homeowners..."Mr/Mrs inspector, we have some water-moisture in an area of our basement & on the wall you can see some mold/efflorescence,what should we do? What do YOU recommend?"....."Well Mr `n Mrs Smith, i`d recommend that you first raise the grade/mud-jack this piece of concrete/put longer extension on downspout and that 90% of the time this will solve the problem"


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: dnice
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Bottom line…I would take the money being offered.


I'm not sure why you would need to regrade the entire property (at $10,000). Most grading issues, resulting in water intrusion, concern an area 6 feet or so from the house. You need gutters all around as well and downspout extensions 6 feet from the foundation (where possible).

Also you indicated some sagging floors and wall cracks and affected doors. Some of this can come with age and may be fairly easily to deal with if it is not an indicator of a major structural issue. (Sagging beams can often be readily shored up at low cost). Sometimes they just get tired and weak or have had a heavy item like a piano or such in the center of a span for a prolonged period, or simply a failing support.

The Inspector may have done a "legally correct" inspection, but it sounds like he did little to gain your trust and educate you about the good and bad points of a home and what to do about them. Not seeing the home, it sounds like the offer could take care of these problems. Obviously you will be spending more than that but you have to ask yourself, how much of that is just the cost of buying an older home?

Do you honestly think that the seller would have fixed all these problems or reduced the price of the home more than US Inspect is offering? You could have a friendly discussion with the seller to see what he might have done, but from what a previous poster said about the statute of limitations in your area you might want to just take the money and run and make sure all your friends and neighbors don't use US Inspect when it comes time for a home inspection.


Originally Posted By: wdecker
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Mark;


If the basement walls and/or floors have cracks, they should be fixed This is a waterproofing issue with the foundation.

What I see a great deal of is that the only place where the water is coming in (AND I REALLY LOOKED) was from around the sump pump enclousure and the cover lid (not sealed).

The sump pump was working and just could not keep up with the flow. Most of it seemed to be coming in through the holes in the sump wall, rather than from the drain tile outlets.

I have seen many homes that had no cracks in the foundation walls, no effor or slab cracks leak. The main entry in those cases is between the foundation wall and the pouired slab, right at that meeting corner.

Most times, (in fact, ALL I have seen) they are fixed by extending the downspouts 10' away and down grade.

If I had a basement with no cracks and had flooding, I would first extend the downspouts and regrade. If that doesn't work, get evaluations and quotes from at least 3 'licensed and insured' contractors.

Agree?

I think that feathers are getting just a little too ruffled here for anyone's good. You guys are starting to talk past one another instead of to one another.

No good in that.


--
Will Decker
Decker Home Services
Skokie, IL 60076
wjd@DeckerHomeServices.com

Originally Posted By: dnice
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grace gregorio wrote:


One avenue that I am taking is thru the purchase of the domain www.usinspectS.com. I will be continuing to work on the web pages to document the problems with the home inspection and US Inspect's responses.


This could be a big mistake using what I understand to be a registered trade name as part of your your web page domain. Adding one letter most probably does not negate your use of their company name. USInspect has fairly deep pockets and doing this could result in YOUR getting sued. Instead of getting money from them...they might end up getting it from you. I would consult an attorney before using that domain.


Originally Posted By: ekartal
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Sounds like big trouble Grace. It might be different if you had planned on using the domain for something not related to home inspection in any way. Your intent will be quite obvious icon_confused.gif


Erol Kartal


Originally Posted By: cradan
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Mark Anderson wrote:

And i say fine, thats fine...if the seller doesnt want to REALLY know what shape the walls are in then thats on them, but maybe you should state that on your inspection. Something like...only way to fully inspect bsmt walls is to actually see/view them and homeowner is unwilling to take down paneling etc....wouldbt something like that in print keep yer azz off the foundation-hook?


I've supported you in the past, Mark, and still don't doubt you're a fine craftsman. I doubt most H.I.'s, or even legitimate foundation specialists would really argue with you that the solution to all, or even most leaky foundations is solely a combination of improved grading and extended downspouts, though those modifications and improvements are occasionally of great benefit, depending on the property in question.

As regards fully-inspecting finished basement walls, floors, etc., yep...youbetchyourazz we want to be off the foundation hook. If we can't SEE it, we can't INSPECT it. If we can't INSPECT it, we can't render any meaningful opinion regarding-it. Removal of finish materials and components like paneling and drywall is totally outside the scope of what most of us do. I've not yet directly asked a selling homeowner to strip-off his basement paneling for inspection, but I'm guessing that on the day I muster up the cojones to do that, I'll get at least an earful, if not a shotgun blast in the azz.

If no evidence of water intrusion (recent or historic) can be found in the visible sub-grade areas of an inspected home, and short of suggesting a "technically exhaustive/invasive" inspection protocol, what else can we realistically do, beyond specifically and pointedly disclaiming the condition of foundation walls beneath the "finished" areas?


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Chris
http://www.inspect4me.com
Chicago Illinois Home Inspections

Originally Posted By: Mark Anderson
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This guy is supposedly a nationally known home imp. Expert and former Professional Home inspector and it says Mary is known for her sharp wit,honesty & reliability & down to earth approach icon_rolleyes.gif …2nd Question,Blackwood NJ…


http://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/2001-04-13-moneypit.htm

"...Water seeps through a crack in my block basement wall......What is the best way to stop the leaking?"

Tom replies" This IS an Easy fix! ...the cause is 1 of 2 things...Either the Grading around your house is too flat or the gutter system is not working properly"

Mary says"Be very cautious when dealing with the so called waterproofing contractors....usually they are Wrong and the simple improvements Tom mentioned will work."

Hey Mary...while i will agree with your statement to be very cautious when opening the door to Many waterproofing contractors , i just have to ask you, and ask Tommy and ask G Haege...How many waterproofing jobs have you done AND guaranteed over a long period of time? None...zero,zilch...what makes these people an Expert on Bsmt waterproofing/structural work? They have No hands on experience for Krists sakes! Yet, they redundantly misinform the public.

Are they kidding me? A Crack in the wall......and NO mention at all that the Crack itself is the problem? That is How-Why and Where water is coming in for God sakes.....wake up!


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The Real reasons basements leak

Originally Posted By: jmurphy1
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One theory is that solid materials expand and contract and sometimes cracks occur.


Most people do not fix cracks in basement concrete walls or concrete floors.

An engineer told me recently he see cracks in concrete floors in basements in brand new homes and he is not concerned with minor cracks which are very common.

![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif)


Originally Posted By: jmurray
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Can we get a label or some sort of designation for members who are not practicing home inspectors? I would hate for people of other professions to be giving out Professional Home Inspector advice to the general public and from this website, under the guise of being a NACHI member.


Just a suggestion for the betterment of NACHI and it’s public image!


No offense intended to any one person!



“A little less conversation and a little more action”!