Investor to Inspector series pt 2

[Justin Larpenteur]

Yesterday we talked a little about GFCIs but today we are going to talk about foundations. First question... What is the absolute WORST house you have seen in regards to its foundation? What do I look at when I look at the foundation? Great question! Basically any inspector looks for the "signs and symptoms" of a failing foundation. These can be cracks in the walls/ceilings, exposed openings under the slab, Windows and doors sticking, etc. but overall, we look at the signs and form an OPINION of what we think the foundation is doing at the time. I personally use a method that takes a lot of the guess work out but I'll get to that later. One of the EASIEST signs of a failing foundation is the separation of the frieze boards on the corners of the home. These boards are usually the first board that touches the actual exterior wall of the home. When you look at these you want to see if you can find any separation at all from them to the wall/brick/etc. you could have a house that has absolutely no cracks and still have foundation issues just because of those frieze board separations. On the other hand you could have a crack every 4 feet and see no separation and the foundation is perfectly fine. So what does PERFECT mean? It's hard to say. In my line of work I speak with many foundation repair companies and structural engineers to learn as much as possible. Some foundation companies won't do the work on some houses because it's not always cost effective but there is a general rule of thumb that most professionals use. If a foundation changes in height by 2 inches or more within 12 feet. There is a significant issue. Most companies use a Zip level to figure this out and so do I. It can confirm or deny your suspicions and I highly recommend you get one. One last thing before I go. On 95% of homes, old or new, you will see a phenomenon called a "corner pop". These can be as small as hairline diagonal cracks within 1 to .5 feet of a corner and usually have a corresponding crack on the other side, or as big as a whole chunk of your slab falling off. They look terrible but fortunately they are just cosmetic and don't effect your foundation as a whole in any way. A new buyer who doesn't know will often think that your house will need a complete overhaul of its foundation so make sure you seal the little cracks and patch up the missing chunks. It's relatively inexpensive and it's usually not worth the trouble for a foundation company to fix so that's why you see a lot of them. I really hope this has helped at least someone today! Maybe tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about water. Fun fun