Friday 4 November 2011

Home Inspections for Damage and Wood Rot

Wood structures of a home such as floors, walls, doors and windows will be inspected by the professional you hire. Those areas are the most mutual spots to have issues. Wood rot and insect damage are the two key factors the home inspector will look for.

When the wood door frames meet the concrete or soil at the ground level, the home inspector will most likely find insect or fungal damage. Moisture there invites problems. On the other hand, dry wood won’t decay. Protecting the wood structures in a home acceptably will result with only a 10-15% moisture content. If the levels rise to 25-30%, rot will form as a result of fungus or insect infestation.

The home inspector will look at the wood structures for wood stains, fungi, termite shelter tubes, holes, soft or discolored wood and small piles of sawdust.

The home inspector will use a sharp instrument to probe any suspect wood, verifying with moisture meter if the problem levels of 20-25% are present. If wood is sound, it will separate in long, fibrous splinters. Decaying wood will come up in short, irregular pieces.

On the outside of the home, your inspector will look at several areas, including:

* Areas in which wood come in contact with the ground, like wood pilings, porch and deck supports, porch lattices, wood steps, fences and nearby wood piles.

* The foundation walls could harbor termite shelter tubes, that would include tubes in the cracks on the wall surfaces.

* The frames and sills at the basement or ground level window and door frames, as well as the base of the frames around the garage doors.

* Including wood frames that are connecting to slab-on-grade porches or patios.

* Wood located next to or contacting with roofs, drains, window wells, or other spots that are exposed to getting wet on occasions by rain or lawn sprinklers.

On to the interior of the house, he will examine areas that include:

* The areas within the interior foundation walls and floors, crawl spaces, piers, columns, or pipes potentially containing shelter tubes, including cavaities or cracks.

* Sill plates that go over the foudation wall, joists, beams and other wood components that it would come in contact with.

* Partitions that are wood frames in the basement level.

* Baseboard trim in slab-on-grade structures.

* The subflooring and joists below the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry areas.

* The roof sheathing and framing in the attic around chimneys, vents, and other openings.

Wood damage resulting from fungus or insects could potentially be repaired at a reasonable cost. It could be a necessity to replace or add support in areas that are affected. It depends on what the cause of the problem is or how bad it is.

It’s possible the damage may not be severe enough to seriously affect the home’s stability. On the other hand, certain parts or components may be deteriorated quite badly. When there’s evidence of termite or other insect damage, consult an exterminator.

There is so many aspects to consider when it comes to a house’s wood structure. Buying or Selling a home, a professinoal home inspector should be consulted as it is of utmost importance to have full details of the condition of the structure and how to deal with anything that might come up.

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