The Inspection - Part 1

This past Saturday was our home inspection. We woke up bright and early and headed out of our still-not-plowed street with our last shred of courage. Worst case scenarios danced in our heads as we pulled in to the flat and snow-cleared street (yay suburbs!).

We arrived late, as has become the norm when E & I travel together, and missed the pest inspector. Thankfully, he gave the house a thumbs up. No evidence or damage from pests. We were in the clear!

Basement

We headed to the basement to meet our inspector, Brian, and get the low-down of the electric, water heater, furnace and laundry area. Everything in the basement looked good. There was a tiny bit of dampness on the far corner of the basement, which Brian said would not be a problem at all when finishing the basement.

There was also a cubby hidden by a wood panel that was created by a basement window that got covered with the first-floor addition. Did that make sense? The owners had a piece of cardboard lining it. Brian recommended that we replace that cardboard with blue board, which is mold resistant.

There was a water stain inside the furnace, which Brian said was a small concern. It meant that the seal on the pump was not perfect, but it could be easily fixed by resealing it. He also mentioned that the gas pipe for the dryer was installed incorrectly with a flexible copper pipe. This type of gas line is not up to code, so it needs to be replaced with hard piping with a flexible extension.

First Floor

We then headed to the first floor and the garage. Brian noticed that the door leading to the garage is a hollow interior door, rather than a fire-grade door. To be up to code (and get an occupancy permit) the door needs to be replaced. There was a bit of water damage in the outside wall of the garage, which he was not concerned about. He also mentioned that the siding around the doors to the yard need to be sealed a little better to prevent water damage.

In the living room, Brian found that the fireplace had some mortar that was cracked or missing. He explained that if it is cracked all the way through, we can have hot ambers leak into the frame of our house and catch it on fire. Scary! He suggested we have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a professional who can let us know the condition of the fireplace. This, to us, was kind of a bigger issue. We'll have to see the full report from the inspector to see what he recommends.

Second Floor

Up in the second floor, we took a look at the bedrooms, attic, closets and bathroom. Brian found that two of the power outlets in the master bedroom were not grounded, but were perfectly safe for two-pronged power cables. He also found that some of the bathtub fixtures were a bit leaky and needed to be resealed, while the sink had a slow drain that could use some Drano.

Outside

Snowmageddon made it impossible to take a good look at the driveway and walkways, and cause Brian to be unable to inspect the roof. He did assure us that he had not seen anything inside that would indicate roof damage, and the roof is just 10 years old, but he plans to come back to inspect the roof and walkways once the snow has melted.

Brian took a look at all the windows, which are new; the AC, which is also new; and the outside of the house. He noticed a small crack in the brick facade, which is non-threatening, but he did recommend that we get it resealed to prevent water from finding its way to the inside of the house.

Overall

Overall, we thought it went pretty well. We expect the sellers to be relatively reasonable about making all of the small fixes. Most just require some caulk and some sealing. We hope that the new door leading to the garage will not be an issue, or that we at least will get an allowance to fix it.

Our only big concern is the fireplace and chimney. Do we go ahead and pay for a chimney inspection? Will the sellers even agree to fix any issues with it? Will the sellers at least agree to have it cleaned?

E and I are willing to find a middle ground with the chimney, but we just hope the sellers are willing to cover the smaller fixes as well.