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The Scorch Looks Bad, But It May Be Easier To Fix Than They Think

By
Home Inspector with Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC 3380-000723

Sometimes buyers see things that look really bad, because, of course, the home inspector points it out.

Imagination can be a good or bad thing.  We have a tendency to conjure up in our minds things that might be worse than the reality!

The scorch looks bad, but it may be easier to fix than they think.

There could be many things wrong here:

> The wiring could be bad.


> The GFI that controls this receptacle could be broken and water got into the connection causing it to fritz as it wasn't properly shut off.


> The receptacle could be bad.


> The cable servicing it could be bad.


> The thing that was plugged into the receptacle was bad, and the GFI did not work as it was supposed to.

I suppose we could go on.

That's a lot of bad!

But the repair is probably easier than anticipated by the buyers or sellers.

Hopefully there is enough cable left inside the wall to trim it off and make a new connection to all new stuff!

Nonetheless, it appears on the inspection report.

"It" will have to be made it right!

I don't know that they will do anything about the siding having charred and melted, but that is not the major concern here.

My recommendation:  certainly when things like this are discovered on a home inspection it must be evaluated and repaired by a professional.   Once the buyers have a receipt from a bona fide electrician that says it was repaired and now functions correctly they are covered.  And all worries cease.  The scorch looks bad, but it may be easier to fix than they think.

 

 

 

Posted by

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC  

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia.

Office (703) 330-6388   Cell (703) 585-7560

www.jaymarinspect.com


Comments(36)

Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Gita- this wasn't the scariest thing about this house!

Mar 03, 2013 10:43 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

I am a proponent of having experienced eyes to bear in Real Estate because the purchase requires it....The post is proof of that...

Mar 03, 2013 10:46 PM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

This one was easy to see Richie, but sometimes the bad stuff isn't!

Mar 03, 2013 10:54 PM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

Jay, so I take it vinyl siding is an electrical overheat detector---the same way it tells you when you have parked your grill too close to it?

Mar 03, 2013 10:58 PM
Fred Hernden, CMI
Superior Home Inspections - Greater Albuquerque Area - Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque area Master Inspector

First thing I thought of was Christmas lights, which reminded me of the movie "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase! Remember how many strings of lights he had plugged into one another? Yikes!

Mar 03, 2013 10:59 PM
Monica Hess
Feng Shui This - Murray, KY
Kentucky's Feng Shui Master

Reminds me of one year when my husband was out to sea and I was standing in the Kitchen when it sounded like a gun went off in the dining room.  The cat flew by me almost faster than the sound of the outlet exploding!  

I emailed my husband, he contacted a former shipmate who was also an electrician, and he replaced the whole mess.  

I always wondered if the cat's tail was smoking as he flew by.

Mar 03, 2013 11:35 PM
Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Jay, perhaps they had an impromptu cookout right there with a small hibachi?  ^_~

At first glance with your title I thought Gwen might have a new blooper as you meant "porch" in your title.  Whatever the cause is the owner needs to get it corrected NOW!

Mar 03, 2013 11:36 PM
Scott Seaton Jr. SLS Home Insp
SLS Home Inspections-Kankakee Will Iroquois Grundy Counties - Bourbonnais, IL
The Home Inspector With a Heart!

I thought of Fred's movie too. "Hey Rusty, untangle this for me will ya?"

Mar 03, 2013 11:50 PM
Kim & Kristine Halverson
Sotheby's & Knipe ERA - Bend, OR
Sisters, Realtors

Good point, sometimes it's an easy fix.

Mar 04, 2013 12:54 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Seems to be Charlie!  I see vinyl melted by the sun's rays hitting the windows on one house, melting the house next door!

Fred - they sure plugged something in there!  But who knows what caused the scorch.

That's funny Monica!  Well, sorry for the trouble, but picturing the cat is funny!  When my brother was about 3 he peed into a receptacle on the floor.  I still remember the blue flash hitting him right on his peepee!  He danced quite the dance!  He claims not to remember that now.

Bruce - nope, not an MLS listing!  This was a true scorch!

 

 

Mar 04, 2013 02:06 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Scott - he asked Rusy that about Halloween.

K&K - well, hopefully too in this case!

Mar 04, 2013 02:07 AM
Suesan Jenifer Therriault
JTHIS-Professional Home Inspection Team - Blakeslee, PA
"Inspecting every purchase as if it were my own".

I know we can always trust vinyl siding to show off overheating (my ex-son-in-law once melted his siding having the grill too close to that house) but I didn't think it would melt from overheating electrical wires. Regardless, it's a pretty easy fix. 

Mar 04, 2013 03:25 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

I think may have been a very hot flash Sue.  And I see melted vinyl siding, from grills, a couple of times a month!

Mar 04, 2013 03:29 AM
Rob Ernst
Certified Structure Inspector - Reno, NV
Reno, NV-775-410-4286 Inspector & Energy Auditor

Only melted on one side? But it is the hot side. Maybe a short in the past.

Mar 04, 2013 05:11 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Looks like there may have been a gap between the box and cover Rob, perhaps only on that side, and then a hot burst.

Mar 04, 2013 05:55 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I had one of those once!  It happened during a major rain storm that was blowing through.  The clue was when I lost power to half my house.  Fortunately, my beau back then was a contractor.  He detected the source was an outlet out on the back patio, that had come into contact with too much water and shorted out.  The event scorched up the wall.  He fixed it in no time at all.  I was grateful my guy was in the building trades, rather than working on Wall Street that particular day:-)

Mar 04, 2013 07:02 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Great story Myrl!  Good you could get it fixed!  Scorches sometimes look worse than they are.

Mar 04, 2013 07:06 AM
Rafi Footerman
Mid Jersey Inspections - Edison, NJ
Home Inspector, Mold Inspector, Radon and More!

Big problems are frequently not big expenses and are expected in houses.  People should not be surprised when we find the problems, but rather treat them as part of the process.

Mar 04, 2013 11:59 PM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Nothing like a little melted siding to make the buyer nervous.

Mar 05, 2013 06:58 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

'Tis the process Rafi!  'Tis!

Lyn - a little here and a little there (and a lot over the deck where the grill melted it!)...

Mar 05, 2013 10:31 AM