2016: Some Crazy Stuff We Saw During North-Atlanta Home Inspections

Here are some of the more interesting (and scary) things we found during Atlanta area home inspections in 2016:

#1: Buzz Buzz

So if you're walking around in a dark attic and then the beam of your headlamp suddenly catches this... your heart may just skip a beat. This giant hornets nest was found in an attic on a rural home we inspected. And yes, it was as big as it looks... probably bigger.

#2: Yogurt Anyone?

This is a flue vent on a gas powered furnace. There is a "T" branching off of the flue that used to run to a water heater before a new electric one was installed. Instead of properly sealing off the flue vent, the home owner decided to cover it with... a plastic yogurt container. What's the problem you ask? Oh not much - just all the carbon monoxide being blown through the flue vent that could potentially fill the basement.

#3: Professional Plumber

During one home inspection we noticed a strange drain pipe on the backside of the basement. After further investigation it was found to be a drain for a shower and the washing machine that emptied into a creek just beyond the property line. The owner of this house was also a professional plumber. No, we're not making this up.

#4: I'll Just Take the Stairs

When you prepare to put your home up for sale there is usually a list of small projects that you work on to help your home show well and attract a buyer... We think that having stairs on your deck should probably be on that list. Step through that gate and you've got a fast 10 ft fall to a meeting with Mother Earth. Can you spell "L-I-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y"?

#5: There, That Should Do It!

Sometimes we come across things during an inspection and the only response is, "What in the world...?" So it appears that there was some minor damage and leaking on this chimney. The owner apparently called a handyman who applied rolled roofing to the top of the chimney, poked some holes for the flue vents, and then covered the whole thing with a piece of iron fence. (In case you were wondering, that piece of iron fence is not going to keep rain water from flowing down the fire place flues.) Oh, and this also happened to be on a multi-million dollar house.

#6: Good Intentions, Poor Execution

Here we have a typical powered vent fan in an attic. This fan is intended to draw air from the attic and blow it out the roof thereby preventing the attic from reaching 160 F in the Atlanta heat. There's a problem though... see that stuff that looks kind of like hardened lava? That is closed cell spray foam insulation. It is very energy efficient and probably cost the homeowner around $15,000 to install in this particular attic. The spray foam insulation was supposed to insulate the underside of the roof and keep the attic close to the same temperature as the house. Unfortunately this vent fan was left in place and was literally defeating the entire purpose for which the insulation was installed. Every month that fan is literally blowing the homeowner's $$$ right through the roof.

#7: Hanging by a Thread

Decks are often the area on a house where we find the most defects. This pictures shows how the joists under the deck have pulled away from the outer beam/girder and are in danger of failing completely. This scenario is extremely dangerous but one that we find frequently. If its been a while since you've taken a close look at your deck, you may want to do so... like right now.

#8: Just Go Ahead and Call the Fire Department

We inspect a lot of houses that have recently been "flipped". Unfortunately, many of these remodels are not done by qualified professionals. Case in point: This was a newly installed (single walled) furnace flue vent with newly installed non-metallic wiring laying on top of it. As you can see, the sheathing on the wiring is melted from the heat of the flue vent. This house really shouldn't have been standing when we got there.