moisture damage: A Flat Roof Must Provide A Way For Water To Go
- 07/15/17 02:54 AM
A flat roof must provide a way for water to go.
If not, water sits, and finds any small opening it can.
Since we know gravity works, if water can go down, it will. On a flat roof surface, that means eventual destruction.
This is a 17 year old EPDM roof surface.
EPDM is a synthetic rubber surface, manufactured by Firestone, and is an excellent product when installed correctly. If it is not failure is imminent.
The bubble on the edge means the glue is giving away. The staining on the wood post trim indicates rot. And notice how the post is sinking into the roof … (18 comments)
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moisture damage: What Could Cause So Much Moisture In A Bay Window?
- 03/09/17 03:02 AM
What could cause so much moisture in a bay window?
The underside of the bay window was bulging.
Pushing on it the material was very soft and felt wet. It had rained the night before.
Measuring with the moisture meter the needle jumped to >30%, indicating saturation.
And Mighty Mo showed how the moisture had collected inside the window. The water was literally resting inside the space.
That is a lot of moisture!
So what caused it?
The window material was all wrapped with an aluminum covering to protect the wood from moisture and rot.
It was well done, and caulked properly.
Unfortunately when the deck was built someone had … (49 comments)
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moisture damage: Termite Damage And Fungal Decomposition, To Say The Least
- 11/04/15 07:42 PM
This crawl space demonstrated termite damage and fungal decomposition, to say the least.
And all over the place.
The area has been so moist for so long the vapor retarder, the wax paper on the insulation, has deteriorated and fallen off! Yes, the insulation was placed with the vapor retarder facing the wrong side.
While in the living area, and walking around, here and there the floor felt weak and saggy.
Going below I found out why!
Where does the moisture come from?
---> The soil had no plastic covering anywhere.
---> The space was not vented anywhere.
---> The insulation was placed incorrectly everywhere.
---> The grading sent … (9 comments)
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moisture damage: An Active Roof Leak That Is Nearly Invisible
- 03/08/14 05:16 PM
What do you do when you find an active roof leak that is nearly invisible?
The roof structure is such that it is not visible from the ground.
The terrain is such that the roof location is very high.
The slope of the roof is such that you probably don't want to go there from above.
The problem is on the edge of the roof, and cannot be seen from inside the attic.
NOBODY KNOWS THERE'S A PROBLEM AND DID NOT KNOW IT WAS THERE!
When I go into a room I like to put my very-bright flashlight against the ceiling … (25 comments)
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moisture damage: Fiber Cement Siding Clearly Installed Improperly In Northern Virginia
- 12/12/13 08:37 PM
This is the case of fiber cement siding clearly installed improperly in Nothern Virginia.
Driving through the neighborhood toward a recent inspection I noticed houses with faux stone, EIFS (synthetic stucco) and James Hardie siding (called HardiePlank).
Not excited about the potential problems associated with faux stone and EIFS I was happy to see that the house I was to inspect had fiber cement siding.
I love the fiber cement products. They are a composite material made from sand, cement and cellulose fiber.
It is extremely durable, doesn't warp, crack, or rot. It is not attractive to termites. It withstands high … (26 comments)
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moisture damage: A Home Inspector Who Is In Business To Scare People
- 07/29/12 08:08 PM
During the inspection the water was turned off. It is very difficult, well impossible to do a complete home inspection without water. My client's plan was to have me return for their final walk through when the water was on to see what we could and test everything water related.
One thing I noticed without the water being on was a severely wobbly toilet in the master bathroom. There are ceramic tile floors there, so I explained to my clients the situation, that the transition between the floor and toilet bowl is a wax donut, how water can leak down and … (35 comments)
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moisture damage: Faux Stone Might Become The New EIFS
- 03/28/12 07:20 PM
In my opinion, faux stone might become the new EIFS*.
A year ago a couple called me with moisture problems. They had found me and my thermal camera use on line and wanted help. Their house has faux stone as much of its front siding.
Due to installation malfeasance, faux stone might become the new EIFS. Remember the problems when "synthetic stucco" (EIFS) first came out? That was due to installation misunderstanding, and literally malfeasance. Faux stone will almost certainly become the same thing in terms of moisture problems inside the home.
Based on our discussion, I did an exterior examination … (29 comments)
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moisture damage: "You Know There's An Odor, But You Don't Know Why"
- 03/18/12 08:22 PM
I was called by a couple to evaluate what might be causing a problem with their condo. Over the phone I heard, "You know there's an odor, but you don't know why."
Everyone notices it. There is no mold in the house. There are no stains. It is persistent. We notice it as soon as we walk inside.
I heard this over and over during the conversation.
It had rained just a bit over night.
Getting there is the morning the first thing I did was look at the outside.
I noticed three things.
First, a lot of square footage of … (108 comments)
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moisture damage: "This Is The Room That Smells Bad"
- 03/07/12 06:48 PM
People call me to evaluate many things. Arriving at the house, an older home, I did a little interview to see what it is that they were trying to describe over the phone.
After the "interview," I always go to the complaint area first. This was in the basement. From there I knew where the problem was originating. So I went outside to see why.
When I saw this gap under the sliding door to the deck, I suspected long-term moisture intrusion and was not surprised, when in the basement, to have heard,
"This is the room that smells bad."
… (24 comments)
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moisture damage: Mr. Jay's School of Inspectology - What's The Problem Here?
- 07/31/11 11:59 PM
What do you see?
Anything wrong here?
In Mr. Jays' School of Inspectology we teach. What's the problem here?
The house is very nice, six years old, has a brick facade, 30 year roof and that metal front porch roof is flashed properly.
This inspector noticed the problems with this house right away.
It is one of Mr. Jay's pet peeves with new construction.
What's the problem?
LANDSCAPING!
The "professional" landscaping company put vegetation way, way, way too close to the house.
Number 1 - tree on the left.
That is an ash tree. Ultimate size 100+' high x 70+' wide. … (26 comments)
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moisture damage: Ducts Under A Slab Will Very Often Be An Issue
- 07/22/11 01:47 AM
Sometimes on a slab home, or a home with a lower level that opens up on the rear, I see the duct work running downward from the HVAC system to service the house.
I point out to my clients that ducts under a slab will very often be an issue.
The system seen here services every room on the lower level of this house. That is the supply duct visible on the left.
Every single register except one blows the air from the floor.
Personally I don't like floor registers even on upper levels because I find them less efficient during … (17 comments)
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moisture damage: After The "Repair"
- 10/23/10 12:08 AM
When water is getting into houses, it can cause damage to many things - drywall, structure, flooring, carpeting, etc. There is also residual damage - mold. Mold is not the problem - it is the indicator that there is a problem. Mold is a symptom. Mold cannot be cleaned up until the source of any water migration is removed.
THE BEST WAY TO DETECT HIDDEN OR RESIDUAL MOISTURE IS WITH AN INFRARED CAMERA. THE BEST WAY TO SEE HOW MUCH MOISTURE IS TO COUPLE THAT IR EXAMINATION WITH A MOISTURE METER.
In this house, mold was showing up in the corner … (19 comments)
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moisture damage: Wishing Well
- 09/03/10 11:57 PM
Usually from the outside of a house I can see that there is going to be a problem inside. And often it is predictable where that problem, or THOSE PROBLEMS, might be!
Well...
Take this recent inspection on a flipped house.
For some reason, unknown why, someone wanted to divert the water from the upper, front gutter to discharge into the lower rear gutter.
That lower rear gutter was damaged by tree limbs and draining over the edge toward the house and NOT toward the downspout!
Even though this gutter had a slight incline toward the downspout, the extra water … (23 comments)
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moisture damage: You Have To Inspect From Top To Bottom
- 03/26/10 10:23 PM
While walking around the outside of a house today I pointed out to my client that the shingles at the bottom of a valley, draining into a gutter too small, was apparently getting behind the aluminum fascia wrap and the vinyl siding. The dripping can be seen on and coming from behind the vinyl siding all the way to the foundation wall. I said we would check that when we got inside.
In the upstairs bedroom, about 4' … (22 comments)
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moisture damage: One Thing Leads To Another
- 10/25/09 12:55 PM
I have the tendency to notice things about a house I am to inspect when I am driving up to it. When pulling up to this seven year old house I noticed even before I got into the driveway that the front porch roof seems to incline toward the house. Looking closer I determined that it did!
That isn't good. One thing leads to another.
Then I noticed the staining on the brick. You can see it running from the inside corner of the porch roof all the way to ground beside the garage door.
Beside the front door there … (13 comments)
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A flat roof must provide a way for water to go.
;)
;)
;)
