house inspection

[boxofdelights]

House has no gutters, negative grade (toward the house) and trees/shrubs/vines right up next to the walls. Therefore has moisture problems, including some foundation cracks and peeling exterior paint.

Sewer drainage is clear. Sewer drain is clay pipe except for one section which has been replaced by cast iron.

Plumbing is mixture of copper and galvanized pipes, but is all good except for one sink which has no water pressure.

Electricity is 100-amp and maxed out. Either thermostat does not work or circuit board is damaged, because inspector could not get either furnace or airconditioning to start.

Many windows, including bedroom, are wood and painted shut.

New gas fireplace's chimney is in good condition, but other chimney is unused/unusable, and may need repointing so it doesn't fall down. Furnace is vented out the side of the house through a wood panel which is a fire hazard.

Crawl spaces need vapor barriers.

Inspector could not get to the attic access because too much stuff was piled in front.

Smoke detectors not working. Carbon monoxide detectors not present.

Foundation subsidence has caused floors to slope significantly to the north. Inspector estimates 2-inch difference in height from one side to the other.

Fence is propped up by sticks.

Outbuildings are inaccessible because locked.

In conclusion: old house is old.

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

True, but that's just something else to mess with before I can *use* the thing. Although it is possible to get stickyback foam tape, and that might work pretty well. I use that on the doors.

Also, wrt efficiency/energy savings -- I've never seen double-pane wooden windows that are actually sealed. Do they exist? In Colorado, we have *horrible* problems with condensation on single-pane windows. My mom had single-panes on the south side of her house and she'd pick up a quarter inch of frost on the insides, that would run down and sit on the sills, and that was a once-a-week occurrence from November to April. That really beats up the wood, which is why so many windows in Colorado are painted shut: because of repeated repaintings in efforts to preserve the repeatedly water-soaked wood. The problem's worse with unsealed double-pane because then the water's trapped inside where you can't get to it to remove it or treat the wood when the paint goes. And single-pane windows are *awfully* heat-lossy so I never think that's a good option around here.

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

"I've never seen double-pane wooden windows that are actually sealed. Do they exist?"

I have no idea. I'm in New England; my wooden windows were old, single-paned, and used with storm windows. Yes, somewhat less insulative than double-paned, but I'd rather have insulated walls and uninsulated windows--with ventilation-- than concentrate my insulative efforts on things that block the air.

The storm windows catch the frost and I seem to remember it only being on the outside. And they're metal-framed. And the sills are all outward-tilted so when frost melts it would run out anyway.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

Interesting.
Here it's always on the inside.
I suspect it's because of the humidity difference -- maybe 15% humidity outside, probably closer to 30% inside because of human behavior: breathing, washing dishes, stuff. I'm guessing in your environment there is much less difference.
But I'm still surprised, since inside is warmer than outside and that's where the condensation shows up. Hm.