THE BEST HOME INSPECTION IN OTTAWA & GATINEAU
Concrete foundation inspection
This is a concrete foundation inspection of a new home build. As can be seen here, the foundation wall is not sitting perfectly centered to the footing. It was advised to apply more cement to give the foundation wall better support.Â
Foundation walls were also checked for anchor bolts at the right locations, squareness of corners, and straight walls. The footings also were prepared with conduits to pass water lines and electrical lines for the well. Also plumbing and French drain.Â
Styrofoam is visible here to be applied underneath poured concrete slab in basement. Foundation was checked for 90° corners, and straight walls. The corners were not 90°. When viewed straight on, the walls are not parallel. This was brought up to the client and the finished results will indicate any negative impact on structure.Â
200 amp Service electrical panel with the wiring visible
This is a 200 amp Service electrical panel with the wiring visible, and as can be seen a very unprofessional wiring job. Lots of loose wiring evident in the interior and wires around the panel not secure or stapled.
Wires entering into panel are not secure with plastic sleeves, also allowing mice to get in to the panel, a very poor job.
This is a 1950 cottage constructed by logs.
This is a 1950 cottage constructed by logs. As can be seen the damage to the logs here is very evident when not maintained by staining / painting, poor grade at the base (ground).
The logs are cracked, rotted, and there is water within the wood. Instead of being circular, there are logs that have compressed which is effecting the structural integrity of the building.
The recommendation to the client was to tear down and rebuild. It would be futile to repair the situation.
There are other samples of log construction on my web site, and clearly one can see the difference.
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Cats urinated on the wood floors for such a long time
Cats urinated on the wood floors for such a long time, and into the air ducts that it flowed into the main air duct above the furnace and into the heat exchanger. The wooden floors were warped, the ducts smelled of ammonia from the cats and there was actually corrosion of the metal as seen in these photos.
Steel framed house
This is a rare steel-framed house structure. All studs, beams, posts, and ceiling joists are prefabricated and brought to the site. All material is assembled on-site giving this particular house a very strong and energy-efficient
nature. Bottom line, a very well built house but a higher cost to build.
Cottage home Inspections
In cottage home Inspections, sometimes you will see some very interesting designs or methods of construction. In this case, instead of cutting the trees down to build a deck above, the owner has built the deck around these birch trees. Owners should be aware that the trees are constantly growing in height and diameter, therefore always to monitor that the deck allows the tree to grow by trimming the wood around the tree over time.
New, slab on grade home construction
This is a new house that is being constructed with slab on grade (no basement).
The plumbing has been installed under the cement to be poured. Also under the slab, it will be a central source of heat with a pump to push the heated liquid throughout the structure. The floor will be warm, note also the styrofoam insulation complete with wire mesh which gives strength to the slab from cracking.
Water into the wall cavity
As can be seen here, a deck and framed wall are adjacent to each other, where water can enter into the wall cavity. Water from above roof had been splashing onto deck for many years and rotted the header, subfloor, and framing studs. I always recommend to clients when building a deck leave an air space between house and deck so that water can freely flow and not seep into framed structure.
Inspection on a bungalow that was struck by a tornado.
This was a request for an inspection on a bungalow that was struck by a tornado in the Ottawa / Gatineau area in September 2018. The brick and foundation walls were inspected to determine if the brick could be saved and whether the block foundation could be rebuilt upon.
As can be seen the roof trusses were completely removed off the sills and interior walls were damaged with windows blown inward. Some of the brick was damaged and fell outward but the majority of the brick could be saved.
In the interior block foundation view, the foundation was in good condition for a 45-year-old, but the floor joist and subflooring had water resting on surface. Depending upon the speed of reconstruction, it was recommended that the plywood subflooring and joists may need replacing.