Nice foundation

[Ralph Brady]

How many inspectors have to put up with this???

This house was pretty decent looking to a typical homebuyer.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Looks like a cedar tree. They will last a long time......until they fail...

[Brian E. Kelly]

Do I see that they went to trouble of notching it???

[Ralph Brady]

I think it is actually a redwood tree - we have a lot of those here. It may have been done about 1940.

I think they did notch it where the joists connected!

I see too many houses that look fine, until I go into the crawlspaces. Who needs a good foundation if it looks good inside?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

At least its got a foundation, and redwood is highly resistant to rot as wood species go. It's a big log and as longs it stays dry it may last a long long time. It's already been there about 60 years. Was it decayed?

[Larry D. Kage]

Is that an interior supporting log? What was the exterior perimeter of the foundation like?

[bdoles2]

If the house was built in the 40's and it's level and in one piece, I don't see an issue.

This is one of those items that we have to be realists about. I highly doubt the buyer or seller will bother that log if it's doing what it's supposed to.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

It is kinda like inspecting a turn of the century house in my area. When the floor starts to sag, we just stick another rock under it. I still own a house like that.

[ccurrins]

Originally Posted by bdoles2

If the house was built in the 40's and it's level and in one piece, I don't see an issue.

That's my view. If no signs of decay or insects and the structure is relatively plumb it will probably outlast many new homes.

[Ralph Brady]

Originally Posted by lkage

Is that an interior supporting log? What was the exterior perimeter of the foundation like?

I think that there were 2 or 3 logs under the original house and they attached a couple of additions. Instead of lifting the original small house, they built the additions so low to the ground that they are not accessible. There were other issues with the addition foundations too.


I never like to see any earth to wood contact. The wood will always have a reduced life expectancy. We have some pretty active subteranean termites here.

This house is probably going for $200,000+ dollars. 1400 square feet.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by rbrady

I think that there were 2 or 3 logs under the original house and they attached a couple of additions. Instead of lifting the original small house, they built the additions so low to the ground that they are not accessible. There were other issues with the addition foundations too.
Attachment 20685

I never like to see any earth to wood contact. The wood will always have a reduced life expectancy. We have some pretty active subteranean termites here.

This house is probably going for $200,000+ dollars. 1400 square feet.

We can describe what we see and recommend what may be needed like monitoring and protect from moisture damage and WDI/WDO damage to maintain structural integrity.

[Larry Ewens]

I have seen many mud sills built 100 plus years ago that are still sound. The house is not going to fall down any time soon.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by lewens

I have seen many mud sills built 100 plus years ago that are still sound. The house is not going to fall down any time soon.

Probably true, but I would rather talk about it in my report now than get a phone call later saying I should have told them the house was sitting on wood on the ground.

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by lkage

Probably true, but I would rather talk about it in my report now than get a phone call later saying I should have told them the house was sitting on wood on the ground.

Yes, earth/wood contact always gets a heads-up.
Around here, we'd call that a hippie-house.
To the realtor, it's a "cottage".