Comments on: Be nice? This place is a death-trap.

By: Property Inspections - You had to be there. — The San Diego Home Blog

Property Inspections - You had to be there. — The San Diego Home Blog — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:58:52 +0000

[...] have written about the joys of the home inspection before (I have written about everything before). Every time I find myself [...]

By: Steve Berg

Steve Berg — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:48:03 +0000

Phil –

“But, rattlesnakes are rarely a problem here because the wolves and grizzlies eat them.”

Kris, I nominate this for “The Best Comment of the Year” on the San Diego Home Blog. Classic!

By: Phil Hoover

Phil Hoover — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Strangest home inspection ever:
I once had an inspector get cornered by a racoon in the crawl space of a brand-new home.
The builder had not yet replaced a foundation vent damaged during construction and the coon had taken up residence in the crawl space.
We also occasionally have inspector-rattlesnake encounters in the Boise market.
But, rattlesnakes are rarely a problem here because the wolves and grizzlies eat them.

By: Steve Berg

Steve Berg — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:15:40 +0000

Last month I had a seller client get busted by an inspector for the the anti-tip device missing from his freestanding cooktop/oven. He had personally installed it several years ago. He thinks his former renters who recently vacated took it. I had no idea there was such demand for these in the aftermarket.

By: Jim Klinge

Jim Klinge — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:08:41 +0000

Babies and puppies being crushed? I’ve never even heard of Aunt Bertha spilling the turkey juice on her foot.

Doesn’t everyone know not to rest your 100-pound turkey on the oven door? Because that’s about what it would take to tip it over.

Here’s another one – you need to caulk the gap between the furnace and its base, because if you don’t, the furnace will be sucking in air that hasn’t gone through the filter.

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:03:54 +0000

Now, Jim. Don’t make light of the absense of the anti-tip device. How many reports do we hear every year of babies and puppies being crushed by the toppling Amana? It is sad, really. You can never be TOO careful. (And, yes, I get that one 50% of the time. The roof can be leaking like a sieve, and the inspector doesn’t see it because he is too focused on unstable-oven-as-health-and-safety issue.)

By: Jim Klinge

Jim Klinge — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:21:01 +0000

How about the anti-tip device for your stove/ovens?

Every time you get an inspection done on an older house where the stove and oven are one appliance, the inspector has grave concerns about the Holiday turkey tipping over the oven on top of you when left on the open door. Thankfully, this can be prevented – by the anti-tipping device. It attaches the oven to the wall!

(I’ve had more than one request for these)

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:57:46 +0000

Tara – OMG! Great point! Just last week I had a six year old house that had hairline cracks in the stucco at the edge of the windows and door frames. Who would expect stucco to crack THERE? I plan on driving by later today to see if it is still standing.

Another horror – I have encountered too many houses where the concrete patio was raised an eighth of an inch at the expansion joint. Clearly, this is a TRIP HAZARD! Aieeeee! As the inspectors all pointed out, purchasing these homes in their present conditions could result in someone stumbling or, worse yet, falling down. This will simply not do.

By: Tara Jacobsen

Tara Jacobsen — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:48:27 +0000

You forgot cracks! Horrible structure threatening hairline cracks in ceilings that are 50+ years old. These can cause a deal to fall apart faster than hearing that there is a tub of toxic waste in the back yard. Nevermind that EVERY house that age has cracks (some have just been touched up and repainted) they will need the seller to hire a structural engineer to make sure the cracks are not life-threatening to anyone!