These are pictures of things that don't belong in a home. Some things are minor, but point to
less than careful work. Other things, such as charring, are evidence of major previous, and
possibly current problems.   Would you have found all of these?






   
 












This broken vent pipe was tucked in between joists and was not obvious, until you looked up.
It was only a vent, but it vented sewer gases (and their smells) directly into the basement.





















This mouse was a graphic example of why all openings into electrical panels should be sealed.
In the worst case scenario this little fellow could have started a fire.



















This flue pipe was dumping all the furnace combustion products into the crawlspace under the
house. This type problem can kill people.



















The opening of this duct was in the middle of a very hot attic with lots of dust. It was sucking
in both dust and hot attic air. Fixing this will save energy and reduce the spread of dust in the
house.
























The splash block in the edge of the picture was insufficient to get the rain water away from the
entrance and over time the trim had rotted away. My hand could fit into the opening and into
the wall cavity; a good path for critters into the house area.





















The stain above the window is from Carpenter Bees. They have tunneled into the trim, and
their coming and goings have left this stain showing their presence.

















This outlet dumps the water right next to the basement wall. In heavy storms, the water is
collected in the sump, pumped up the inside of the wall, through the wall, and to the outside of
the wall. The water then seeps back down the outside of the wall, under the footings, and
back into the sump. No wonder the pump can't keep up in large storms.


























These two bathroom vent pipes stop short of making it out of the attic. During the winter when
the vent opening is covered with snow, it might be easier for the moisture laden bathroom air
to stay in the attic rather than finding its way through the vent.




















This roof was not leaking, yet. According to the owner it was 15-17 years old. You can see
the shingles have started to "cup" and curl up, starting to fail.


















Flue vents are supposed to be 2 feet above anything within 10'. Most of the flues in this
development stood proud well above the ridgeline, and then there was this one.





















The owner said they did not use the fireplace too much as it smoked. To keep it from smoking
they needed to open the French door across the room.


































Checking the foundation I found this tucked into a joist space. The worry is that charred wood
can re-ignite spontaneously at any time in the future - days, months or even years later.