What are your five most common findings?

Hello all, I’ve been an HI for about seven months and constantly learning. For my own research purposes I was curious to what are the most common findings. It’ll be interesting to see how they differ in each part of the country. For example, here in Louisiana we don’t worry about ice dams but we have our own crawl space issues. List your five most common findings.

No High Loop/Air gap at the Dishwasher
No Drip pan on for the Water Heater in the Garage
Broken Roof Tiles
Missing Anti Siphon valves on exterior Hose Bibs
Toilets not secure to the floor properly.

roofing boots cracking or worse
foundation cracks
open grounds
GFCIs
s traps

no anti siphon
double tapped fuses
loose handrails
no faucet shut offs
loose toliets

Pan under the water heater in a garage? Are we worried about the concrete getting wet? Is this a regional thing? This is standard practice here

Ditto.

No high loop on the DW
No anti-tip on the range
Stair rails not continuous
Stair rails not graspable
Pickets > 4"

:d :d :d

No Drip Pan.JPG

Flippers that are floppers and have no clue how to do plumbing and electrical

Home owners modifying systems/improper handyman installation electrical, and a lot of other systems and messing them up.

Unpermitted work - lots of finishing being dome improperly in attic/basements.

Water Infiltration - inferior basement systems, poor grading, poor roof drainage, leaking flashing.

**Heating/Cooling systems lacking service/**dirty filters

Then there are the typical almost everyday items that others have mentioned.

In no particular order:

minor issues - from a cost or labor view

Drainage close or toward the house
Exposed romex - mostly in basements and at disposal
Open grounds at 3-prong outlets
Neutral/ground doubletaps at main busbar
Overfused circuits

Major issues - again from cost or labor

Outdated/unsafe furnaces which need replaced - for many many reasons
Horizontal foundation cracks and related bulging due to hydrostatic pressure and frost heaving
Mold in attics and basements - usually due to overall crappy moisture control
Structral modifications - and the resulting movement or damage
Moisture intrusion into basements - this varies in cost and labor but it can get expensive quick

  1. My agent says a home inspection should only cost $250
  2. My agent says the inspection will take about an hour no more than an hour and a half.
  3. My agent says it is an “as is sale” and I don’t really need an inspection.
  4. My agent says it’s a new home and the City Inspector has already passed it.
  5. My agent can’t make it to the inspection do you need them to unlock the house?

Other than that;

  1. No air gap at dishwasher
  2. No AFCI
  3. No GFCI
  4. Leaking mastic at air handler
  5. Drainage issues

A/C ducts doing loop deloops in a run
improper tpr relief piping installation
Double taps
Bad stucco/ flashing on stucco
Rot

These are the most common, 1/2 at least all the time on 1/2 the reports.

did you know that many dishwashers have a high loop attached to the unit under the insulation before it even enters the sink cabinet?

exposed romex? whats wrong with that? you need everything in conduits in Illinois?

Not conduit just “protected”, per the NEC. So running down the walls in the basement and hanging below the kitchen sink to the disposal isn’t allowed.

And those first five are great George!

Still not seeing anything unusual here. What is the pan for?

  1. Open ground at 3-prong receptacles
  2. Lack of GFCI’s where required
  3. Issues at service and sub-panel (almost every house)
  4. Bath vents fail to discharge to exterior (usually at attic, often buried in insulation, between floors, at basement, etc.)
  5. Roof and/or flashing defects

Double taps on circuit breaker
Missing, short TPR extension pipe
No anti tip on range
Multitude of stair and rail issues including rails too low, stair risers too high and varied heights, low hand and guard rails
Attic eave vents blocked with insulation
No covers on electrical splice boxes

  1. Smoke detectors out of date
  2. Hot/neutral reversed on receptacles
  3. Ticking time bombs we like to call old furnaces
  4. No railing on stairs
  5. Improper venting. No soffit vent or covered up.
    I find these on almost every home 15 years plus or older.
    Newer construction
  6. Missing joist hangers
  7. Not enough upper roof venting
  8. No extension on sump pump discharge.(discharging right beside home)
  9. Microwave over stove to close. Generally 16" when calling for 18".
  10. Bathroom venting into attic.

The water heater is sitting on a Framed Drywall pedestal.

Drywall should not get wet. :wink: