Incompetent Construction
One of the most memorable homes I ever inspected. Several years back I inspected this house and when I got to the basement a dehumidifier was running. Now a dehumidifier is a good thing for any basement but 99% of people don’t know that and in a home inspection it usually means there is a problem somewhere and somebody is trying to hide it.
There was a sump pump but it wasn’t properly installed and was only serving one end of the home. This basement opened into a crawlspace and it turns out the entire basement was built directly on dirt (not allowed for rot and termite issue and no structural footers). The drywall was directly in the crawlspace which is not allowed (super mold food).
Naturally the drywall was covered in mold at multiple areas. The subfloor was rotting and moldy and soaking wet to the touch from condensation.
Water was coming into the crawlspace from the left side (complete opposite side of the sump pump which also had no drainage installed at that area). Water was literally coming in through the concrete and draining down and under the wooden basement.
If this was ignored, in a few years time there would be mold throughout the entire home.
Humidity was 77% which is INSANE for a residential setting. It’s actually quite rare to find it over 60% much. But anything over 55% can allow mold to grow.
So much was done wrong here. A complete lack of building knowledge and basic construction practices. My clients backed out. I called them and told them there was a major issue which is something I rarely do but this was one of the worst I had ever seen. I have no idea what happened with this home but it would probably be $20,000 to properly fix with a reputable company.
Neglect Leads to Major Issues
The main beam for this 100+ year old home has completely rotten through. There were signs of serious neglect at this home. This is a major structural failure. Floors above were noticeably sunken and will continue to worsen over time.
Mold is a type of fungus caused by moisture conditions. You can see it on the beam. Wood rot is caused by a different type of fungus. Where one grows the other can grow.
The heavy fuzz is heavy mold growth from many years of moisture conditions.
Illegal Electrical Upgrade
A literal pond. Water was 2 feet deep in this cellar like area of the crawlspace. You can see the water stains on the wall which indicate it gets much deeper throughout the year.
The desire to save money is commendable. But going the cheap route sometimes is the most expensive option. You may not see anything with the untrained eye but there is a major issue here.
Somebody illegally upgraded this electrical service. When the home was built in the 1930s it was probably 60 or 100 amps. But at some point in the past few years somebody installed a modern 200 amp panel.
The problem is the service conductors are undersized by more than 100 amps. Those two black conductors going into the main breaker are way too small. I measured them as 4 gauge aluminum with my gauge testers which are rated for 65 amps. This means the conductors can melt if more than 65 amps flow but the breaker won’t trip until more than 200 amps flow. This is a major code violation and safety defect.
The smaller cable probably saved them about $50 but it’s going to be $4,000-5,000 to properly upgrade the service to modern code which requires an outdoor disconnect and new ground rods with permits and inspections.
Alternatively if an electrician is willing they may be able to have a bigger cable installed by pulling the meter and doing it live but that is a violation too.
You can see the bottom cable at the meter is smaller than the top cable. Somebody really didn’t know what they were doing here.
Brand new construction. The wires were installed too close to the screw hole at this panel. The screw dug into the wire and damaged the insulation. When I took the screw off it arced (exploded). Sounded like a .45 going off. Easy fix. Easier prevention. Nobody hurt but could have been.
Mistakes Happen
Landlord special. Improperly installed wires. Known leak? No worries, just lift the metal ends up above the water. That’s safe!
