As a home inspector I have seen a lot of "handyman" repairs on a home that don't really cut it. Most of the time I just chuckle to myself and note it in the report. But when I come across discrepancies caused by a licensed contractor, I get very frustrated. I recently inspected a home where, in my opinion, the contractor caused serious damage to the home and failed to inform the home owner. BTW this wasn't just damage, but a MAJOR safety hazard for whoever was in the home.
In the picture below, you can clearly see the broken drain pipe and the resulting spill into the crawlspace. This crawlspace was not very clean yet this piping was sparkling clean. When I asked the home owner, he said it had been recently replaced. After it was replaced, some termite damage was discovered in a floor joist near the drain pipe. To get to the damaged floor joist, you would have to crawl over/under the drain pipe. I'm fairly certain a contractor climbed over the pipe and snapped it off. Of course, the damage may have been prevented had the drain pipe had a few more hangers, but thats not the point. Whoever broke it should have told the home owner and accepted responsibility. Instead, since it was in the crawl space and could not be seen by the owner, they decided to avoid to say nothing and hope they weren't caught.
What irks me even more, when I find discrepancies, I'm suppose to recommend a licensed professional (not by name, just in general). Seeing things like this almost makes me throw up in my mouth when I say that.
John E. Coker
Family Home Inspection LLC
(757) 202-3282
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