Exterior wall penetrations need to be sealed to keep the water out!

A most common condition that we find during a Home Inspection, is that exterior wall penetrations haven’t been sealed against water entry. At locations where various appurtenances e.g. water piping, electrical wiring or conduit, gas piping, etc. pass through the wall, the gap around the material needs to be caulk-sealed. It may not be the most important, or the most harmful of condition we find, but it certainly can be harmful and it has the potential to cause water-related damage to the home; if it has already caused any such damage, then it is obviously an important issue. Usually, the corrective action is simple and inexpensive to implement. And, whenever we see these types of deficiencies, it makes us look just a little bit closer for other related issues. So be sure that all exterior wall penetration are well-sealed to keep the water out!

Overheated electrical outlet

One look at this receptacle and you just get that feeling that it just isn’t a good thing

……heat might be good when furnaces are the topic of discussion but not so much if it’s an overheated electrical outlet that is the focus….

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), some 3,900 injuries that may be associated with electrical receptacle outlets are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year. Approximately a third of these injuries are reported to occur when young children insert metal objects, such as hair pins and keys, into the outlet, resulting in electric shock or burn injuries to the hand or finger. The CPSC also estimates that electric receptacles are involved in 5,300 fires annually which claim 40 lives and injured 110 consumers.

This type of deficiency is the type that you need to recognize before finalizing your home purchase…… A professional Home Inspection will identify these types of deficiencies, as well as many others, and provide you some guidance as to what should be done and by whom.

Drain pipe leakage discovered during a NC Home Inspection

Leakage from plumbing drain/waste/vent (DWV) piping, such as this, is something that is commonly discovered during a Home Inspection……this leak was not particularly severe, but had been occurring for some time and was contributing to an excessively wet crawl space. It’s best to know about these types of leaks and have them repaired by a plumber before they can become more serious.

Plumbing leak manifests itself in an unusual way during a Raleigh Home Inspection…

Home Inspectors just never know what they might find during a Home Inspection….

During a Raleigh NC Home Inspection, and just after testing/operating the plumbing fixtures of an upstairs bathroom, the Inspector (along with everyone else that was present) was amazed to find water leaking from the downstairs ceiling and into a light fixture! No…. we don’t think this is where the plumber had in mind for the water to go when the bathtub was filled and drained. The cause of the leakage was that there was a crack in the plastic over-flow drain piping piping connected to the hall bath tub. The home was just over three years old. As it turned out, the tub had only rarely been filled to capacity (maybe once or twice according to the owner)….and when it was filled enough for any significant amount of water to flow into the piping, well, it leaked…..allot. It was much better for our client to find this out before they bought the home rather than later. The buyer avoided the expense of the repairs because the issue was made known during the Home Inspection and repairs were negotiated to be completed prior to closing. Our clients saved themselves a good bit of money because they chose to have the home inspected.

Home Inspection in Raleigh Reveals Floor Joist Damage

The plumber needed to put a pipe right where that pesky floor joist was located… oh well. Who needs floor joists anyway? All they do is support the floor…..right?

NC Home Inspection Reveals Structural Failure

During a home inspection in Raleigh, NC this was discovered – this chimney has separated from the building because of a structural failure. The cost of repairs will be expensive.

A professional home inspection by Quality Residential Inspections revealed an expensive repair that many home buyers would not recognize.

New NC Home Has Damaged AC Unit

This air conditioning unit was observed during a Home Inspection on a new home… it looks like it fell out of the back of the delivery truck (and probably did!)…. Would you want this piece of equipment as part of your new home?