Holes along foundation wall

[Stephen P. Shockley]

I'm hoping that somebody can identify and give me a reason why there would be holes through the foundation wall about every 2 feet. They are all at the same plane. In the photo, the wall coming from the left has them along the entire length of the wall. The wall to the right only has them going down that wall about 6 - 8 feet, then same goes for the opposite foundation wall from the opposite corner. This house does sit on a large lot that is sloping down toward this end of the foundation. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

[David A. Andersen]

What are your thoughts?

[Stephen P. Shockley]

The only thoughts that I had were probably laughable. It almost looks as though they were put there for some sort of drainage into the crawlspace, which again seemed laughable, hence the reason for my novice post.

[David A. Andersen]

Could it be termite treatment?

[Stephen P. Shockley]

That never crossed my mind, but make sense. I didn't see any signs of termite damage or where any repairs were ever made as a result of an infestation. I guess it could be preventative. I wasn't planning on mentioning this in my report, but was curious to find out why they were there. This is only about the 10 house I've inspected, so I guess I'll learn a lot more as I move forward. Thanks for the input.

Regards,

Steve

[Michael R. Boyett]

Originally Posted by sshockley

I wasn't planning on mentioning this in my report,

I would definitely document the holes and explain that I was unsure as to the reason for the them. I'd recommend the client inquire with the seller as to the reason and, if that were not successful, then have a qualified foundation repair provider or a PE further investigate them. Don't let your client find out the hard way that those spew water 3' out into the basement during heavy rains. Guess who he will call for repair compensation.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by sshockley

I'm hoping that somebody can identify and give me a reason why there would be holes through the foundation wall about every 2 feet. They are all at the same plane. In the photo, the wall coming from the left has them along the entire length of the wall. The wall to the right only has them going down that wall about 6 - 8 feet, then same goes for the opposite foundation wall from the opposite corner. This house does sit on a large lot that is sloping down toward this end of the foundation. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

Looks like some idiot trying to dump the water out as quick as it comes in.
What was the unbalanced fill on this wall? Dam, the blocks are covered with efflorescence and wet to within 6" of the box sill.

Just an observation.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

"In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practice it much. In the every-day affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards, and so the other comes to be neglected. There are fifty who can reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically."

Sherlock Holmes


Short answer: termite treatment.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Seems to me that if a termite exteriminator wanted to be efficient in dosing the termites he would have made his holes in the core of the blocks and not on a butt joint that has a solid cell below it.

Just an observation.

[Stephen P. Shockley]

Thanks to everyone for the sound advice. I think to be safe, I'll go ahead and report this like Michael has suggested.

Regards,

Steve

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

I sent the photo to the pest inspector I work with all the time. This is his reply:

"Yes. This is a termite treatment, It's not the best way."

[Christopher Currins]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

I sent the photo to the pest inspector I work with all the time. This is his reply:

"Yes. This is a termite treatment, It's not the best way."

A professional would have plugged the holes.

[Joe Farsetta]

Steve,

My advice is to take a class on WDI inspecting and treatments. Althoug you may never perform a WDI inspection,l you need to knowwhat damage looks like, and what a treatment looks like.

[Nick Gromicko]

My advice is to take a class on WDI inspecting and treatments. Althoug you may never perform a WDI inspection,l you need to knowwhat damage looks like, and what a treatment looks like.

Free, online WDO course.

[Bruce A. King]

Many houses have no damage visible with treatment evidence. Its not always maintenenace either, simply the result of a good termite inspector finding some termite activity. SC requires a total house treatment when termites are found during a real estate transaction. NC allows spot treatments which many times end up being a bandaid rather than a solution.