When installed correctly, kick-out flashing provides solid protection against water penetration into a building. Missing kick-out flashing can result in areas that have a concentrated amount of water accumulation that has the potential to damage exterior walls. Vertical water stains on an exterior wall may be signs of water penetration through the buildings cladding. Kick-out flashing helps divert water into a gutter to remove water away from any potential areas that water may penetrate the cladding.
Pictured is a brick chimney that penetrates through the roof of the house. Judging by the outline of what I believe is the old flashing and the approx age of the roof, it is safe to conclude that the flashing was redone when the roof was reshingled. The lead flashing was correctly installed in the grout line of the chimney and stepped up the roof.
Even though fireplaces have the ability to burn multiple fuels, only certain types of fuels should be burned for safety and environmental reasons. Most commonly, dried firewood is the most used fuel as it is readily available, easy to split and produces a fair amount of heat. Painted wood and pressure treated wood should never be used as fuel in a fireplace. Both produce toxic chemicals when burned. Plywood and particleboard are also poor choices for fuel in fireplaces as they too produce harmful chemicals when burned. It is important to burn only appropriate fuels in your fireplace to prevent any unnecessary safety risks and help eliminate any environmental damage.
Wood Burning Fire Place. Performed a visual Inspection of my own fire place from inside and out the house. Signs of repointed mortar joins and a new spark arrestor installed. Chimney hight is appropriate, flashing is installed properly. There is no sign of efflorescence or spalling masonry. Crown has no cracks. Damper works and there is no sign of rust. Fireplace has glass doors, didn’t find factory sticker therefore not sure if it is tempered glass or regular. Chimney flue looks dirty but no visible cracks. Would recommend a professional to sweep chimney and further evaluate
Wood Burning Fire Place. Performed a visual Inspection of my own fire place from inside and out the house. Signs of repointed mortar joins and a new spark arrestor installed. Chimney hight is appropriate, flashing is installed properly. There is no sign of efflorescence or spalling masonry. Crown has no cracks. Damper works and there is no sign of rust. Fireplace has glass doors, didn’t find factory sticker therefore not sure if it is tempered glass or regular. It has an ash dump and ash pit but I could not find the clean out. Chimney flue looks dirty but no visible cracks. Would recommend a professional to sweep chimney and further evaluate
Attention: fireplace was canceled. It is in a condition that is not suitable to be used; it needs brick, mortar, damper, and lintel repairs. Additionally:1) Chimney has been capped. 2) Spalling and noticed missing bricks 3) Chimney was noticed slightly loose. It needs additional bracing to prevent chimney from moving. If fireplace is used before repairs, it creates a safety hazard to home occupants. Before putting the fireplace back to service, services of licensed fireplace/chimney contractor are needed.
Chinese drywall is a concern for properties built in the first decade of 21 century. To identify Chinese Drywall, inspectors are looking for alternatives that make job easier and reliable. One technique is the use of V-ray fluorescence called XRF.
Researches indicate that this method as a stand-alone tool to positively identify problem drywall makes no more sense than to use an X-ray machine as a stand-alone instrument to diagnose cancer.
Is true that the XRF method is fast and non-destructive, but caution is recommended if the intention is to use it separately; advise is given to use it in concert with complementary problem drywall-testing protocols and trained visual inspection.
The real benefit of the XRF method is that it is efficient and highly reliable, non-destructive screening tool.
In this photo is an image showing that the inlet pipe is too close to the exhaust vent tube. This is a defect and should be addressed in the inspection report. Reason being, is that the exhaust gasses can be re-vented into the inlet causing a potential hazard.
My research is on chimney caps. Most masonry chimneys are built with an inadequate crown constructed from common mortar mix. The crown must be designed for years of weather abuse without deteriorating cracking, or chipping . A proper chimney crown should be constructed of a Portland cement-based mixture, and cast, or formed so it provides an overhang projecting beyond all sides of the chimney by a minimum of 2 inches.
AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency)is the most widely used method when determining the efficiency of a boiler or furnace.
AFUE measures the heat your house compared to the amount of fuel that must be supplied to the boiler or furnace.
the efflorescence on the surface of these concrete blocks while not necessarily very harmful itself, it is a strong indicator that moisture is definitely making its way into the structure and an excess build up of that moisture can lead to much more serious structural damage.
A fire stop is a passive fire protection method that must seal all unprotected openings in firewalls. In a residential house, these can be found between the garage and the living space and the attic and the living space. Inspectors should look for missing fire stops around unsealed pipe penetrations and areas where a fire stop has been partially removed to install new cables or plumbing.
The image in this picture is of a vented gas fireplace but an inspector should always take note if a combustion appliance is vented or unvented. To check an unvented combustion appliance, you should turn on or light the ventless combustion fireplace. Let the appliance operate for 10 minutes and then use a portable hand held CO monitor held in the air within a few feet of the appliance. A CO level above 35 ppm is unacceptable and the appliance should be serviced and retested or replaced.
In this photo you can see the gas operated water heater is connected to the brick chimney. The connected vent is sloped properly at at 1/4 per foot. I cant tell if a thimble was used because the connection point is covered by mortar.
https://d255gsaraiiffl.cloudfront.net/gallery/images/chimneys/clearances/hearth-extensions.jpg This diagram shows the minimum requirements of the hearth extension on two different sized fireplaces. On the left a fireplace with an opening 6square feet or greater requie 12 on each side and 20 in front. For a smaller fireplace 8 on each side and 16 in front should extend out with a fire safe material.
This chimney is used to vent the gas hot water heater only. There are several bricks with severe spalling, missing mortar, and no visible chimney cap or flue cap. A licensed mason should be consulted to verity the overall integrity of this chimney and the flue.
Most homeowners look at a fireplace as an added feature to a house, but fail to consider the all the problems that can occur with the addition of this system. One of these problems is the potential for chimney collapse.
This image is of a vented gas fireplace. The room has both a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors. There is non-combustable flooring extending beyond 16 inches in front of the fireplace opening and appropriate spacing around the exterior. There is no damper which is appropriate for this type of fireplace. The firebox is in good shape with no serious cracking.
Real estate agents often inform home buyers that home inspection isn’t necessary when they are buying a foreclosure. Their belief is that banks are not willing to negotiate on the price so an inspection is not necessary. While banks may not be willing to negotiate on the price you are still putting yourself at risk for buying a home with serious problems. Homeowners may not have been performing necessary maintenance, they may in fact have taken from their homes or damaged them on purpose. Furthermore, homes which have been sitting unused may have water damage or even pest or animal infestation.
This image is from a home inspection I performed earlier this year. The chimney has numerous issues called out. I identified the following: No rain cap, moss and vegetation growing out of the mortar joints, damaged mortar that needs to be repaired, the chimney cap does not extend 2" beyond edge of brick, the cap is cracked and needs repair and the counter flashing is not sealed properly and is also in contact with the roof materials.
