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Home Inspection Defect Pictures

Home Inspection Defect Pictures from actual home inspections.  See the wide variety and unique deficiencies that can be found in many of the homes I inspect.   Some defects are so odd they may make you laugh, but they actually did exist in a home at one time.  Hopefully as all these were identified at the time of the inspection, that they have all been fixed.  Any major deficiencies are also explained to the Listing Realtor to ensure the Home Owner is aware of issues especially if Life Safety is a factor.

Many defects are just from lack of maintenance and are common on most homes.  There are some defects that just make you shake your head in amazement that some one has not been injured.  Everyone knows electricity is dangerous but it is the most common deficiency that I find in basements.   Home owners want to save money so they either do the work themselves or hire someone who is incompetent.  The end result can be improperly installed electrical circuits and possibly dangerous wiring installations.

Defects Found in Attic

Thermal Imaging Defect Pictures

WETT Inspection Defect Pictures

Structural Defect Pictures

Roof Defect Pictures

Heating Defect Pictures

Electrical  Defect Pictures

Insulation Defect Pictures

Exterior Defect Pictures

Wasaga Beach Home Inspector - Certified Building Code Official

Problems with Pex Plumbing

Complaints about early PEX water systems started when the fittings used to connect the pipes failed causing leaks.  Manufactures improved their fittings which solved that problem and the popularity of PEX surged. Today, PEX is used in more than 60 percent of new construction residential water supply systems.

PEX plumbing system has been used for years and its failures has been well documented. Pex failures are linked to piping and fitting. Pex Piping fails when the pipes are exposed to chlorine that is common in municipal water supplies, exposure to direct sunlight before its installation.  PEX pipe is also vulnerable when it contacts petroleum products or oxygen. Pex piping can leach toxic chemicals from pipe material. Pex compression fitting failure is caused by dezincification that results in corrosion which will create leaks.

In 1968, German scientist Thomas Engle discovered a way to crosslink common plastic (polyethylene) through radiation to produce a much suppler form of the material. The new plastic, fashioned into flexible PEX pipe (also known as PEX tubing), arrived in the US in the 1980s, initially for radiant floor heating systems: The flexible tubing is embedded in a concrete slab and hot water pumped through to heat the slab and radiate heat to rest of the room. PEX pipe remains popular for radiant floor heating.

Partial List of Manufactures with Problems

• PEX-A (Uponor/Wirsbo and Rehau): dezincification of fittings and chemical leaching/odor (AquaPEX only)
• PEX-B (Zurn & Viega): dezincification of fittings
• PEX-C (Nibco/CPI/DuraPEX): cracked, leaking pipes
• PEX-AL-PEX (Kitec/IPEX): dezincification of fittings

Dezincification

PEX pipes are made of plastic tubing that is connected by brass fittings. It has been alleged that these fittings contain a higher-than-normal level of zinc, which, when they come in contact with water, can fail earlier than expected due to a process known as “dezincification.” This can cause a range of problems, including leaks and flooding.

“Fatigue” Failures

It is believed that some PEX tubing may be failing due to the amount of stress placed on the brass fittings connecting the tubes. When repetitive stress is put on the fittings, a hole or notch can develop and can eventually progress to a crack or fracture.

Benefits of Using Pex

• Installing PEX does not require soldering.  Can be installed just using Crimp Tool
• PEX expands, making it more resistant to freeze-cracking
• PEX does not corrode
• Water flows silently through PEX, eliminating the “water hammer” noise associated with metal piping.
• Color-coding (red and blue) make it simple to distinguish hot and cold supply lines.
• PEX can be connected to existing plumbing with the correct fittings.

Disadvantages of Using Pex

• PEX is not suitable for outdoor use. Ultraviolet rays cause PEX to break down rapidly.
• PEX cannot currently be recycled.
• Though installation is DIY-friendly, fittings have to be correctly installed.

3 Types of Pex Plumbing

Type A Pex is manufactured using peroxide.

This type of PEX is the most flexible of the three types and is suitable for use in all home water-supply plumbing needs. It expands to the greatest degree when subjected to freezing water, so it’s the most resistant to cracking in frigid temperatures. It’s easy to work with but it’s more expensive than B or C.

Type B Pex is manufactured using moisture-cure method.

PEX-B is slightly stiffer than PEX-A, and has a distinct coil “memory” that makes the tubing want to return to its original coiled state. The coil memory, however, is not a hurdle to installation, and PEX-B is often the tubing of choice for residential plumbing because it also expands to resist cracking when water freezes but is less expensive than PEX-A: A 10-foot section of PEX-B runs $2.50 to $5.50, depending on brand and diameter. PEX-B also features an increased resistance to chlorine, making it a good choice in areas where water is highly chlorinated.

PEX-C is manufactured via an irradiation method. 

Pex C is the stiffest version, PEX-C is the most difficult to work with; this stiffness also makes it liable to kink, as well as possible cracking if water freezes. These undesirable traits make PEX-C best suited for uses where bending is not required.  PEX-C is the cheapest type.

Pex Connection Methods

Crimp rings are a band of metal, usually copper, that you slip over the fitting and compress with a crimp ring tool. The main problem is that you’ll need separate crimping tools for each size of pipe you are working with.

Cinch clamps work more like the traditional band clamps. You place the cinch tool over the protruding tab and squeeze to tighten the cinch clamp. The same tool works for all sizes of cinch clamps.

Midland Home Inspector

The Barrie Home Inspector provides professional home inspections in Midland and the surrounding area for home buyers, sellers and property owners. With over 20 years of experience and more than 9,000 home inspections completed, Roger Frost provides a thorough evaluation of the readily accessible systems and components of the property.

Every home inspection includes free thermal imaging and a detailed inspection report to help you better understand the condition of the home and make an informed purchasing decision.

Asbestos Testing Service - Certified Pro-Lab Testing

Asbestos Testing Service - Asbestos is a mineral fiber that can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. Asbestos is a natural mineral with unusual qualities. It is strong enough to resist high temperatures, chemical attack and wear. A poor conductor, it insulates well against heat and electricity. Asbestos crystals become long, flexible, silky fibers, so it can be made into a wide variety of forms. It can be spun into yarn, woven into cloth or braided into rope. Asbestos can also be added to materials as diverse as cotton and cement.

The Barrie Home Inspector is now providing Laboratory Testing Service for Asbestos in Barrie, Alliston and Orillia.  Call for quote today.  705-795-8255

Asbestos Testing Service - Building Products

Most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos, as we all are in our daily lives, do not develop major health problems associated with asbestos. However, when disturbed, asbestos material may release asbestos fibers, which can be inhaled into the lungs. The fibers can remain there for a long time, increasing the risk of disease. Asbestos material that would crumble easily if handled, or that has been sawed, scraped, or sanded into a powder, is more likely to create a health hazard.

Health Canada has recently updated its web site relating to asbestos hazards in the home.  Canada had been promoting asbestos as dangerous only when inhaled in significant quantities.   The contentious lines concerning exposure to asbestos have now been expunged from the website, reflecting the position held by medical bodies around the world that there is no safe amount of asbestos ingestion.

Prior to 1985 asbestos was used in many construction building materials such as pipe lining, plaster walls and insulation to name a few. The Ontario

You can read more on Canada's Health Risks for Asbestos website.  Be advised that The World Health Organization says that all types of asbestos can cause lung and throat cancers, and that approximately 125 million people are still exposed to the mineral in the workplace. As well, it says an estimated 107,000 people die each year globally from asbestos-related disease.  Canada has continued to support the Quebec Asbestos Mining Industry even as the rest of the Western world banned the production and export of the mineral. 

Asbestos Testing - Where Asbestos May Be Found in the Home

• Houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos as insulation.
• Some roofing and siding shingles are made of asbestos cement.
• Asbestos may be present in textured paint and in patching compounds used on wall and ceiling joints. Their use was banned in 1977.
• Artificial ashes and embers sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces may contain asbestos.
• Older products, such as stove-top pads, may have some asbestos compounds.
• Walls and floors around wood-burning stoves may be protected with asbestos paper, millboard or cement sheets.
• Asbestos is found in some vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives.
• Hot water and steam pipes in older houses may be coated with an asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape.
• Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets may have asbestos insulation.

Bulk sampling of presumed asbestos containing material (PACM) is the most common practice of obtaining samples for asbestos testing. A minimum of 3 samples are required for each different type of PACM. A piece of the PACM is physically removed and sent for laboratory analysis.

When purchasing a new home or investment property call Barrie Home Inspections for a complete inspection and analysis of your home.

WETT inspections for your fireplace, wood stove or pellet stove can also be performed at the same time, with a substantial saving for you, the customer.