Mountain community 7000 sq. ft.
Is their anything different I should be looking for
exterior wise…roofing etc, thats different than a
house at sea level.
David
Not that I’m aware of. I’ve done many in Big Bear; a lot of fun.
thanks
There was a lot of shaking going on there a while back, so I would pay attention to building movement issues, stress cracks, foundation problems, flashing problems and cracks around chimneys, etc.
I would see no problems associated with the high elevation specifically. There would however be some specifics associated with snow load, foundation heaving, etc. that others who work in colder parts of the U.S. might wish to shed some light on.
If it has a crawl space (sub area) make sure floors and water supply pipes are insulated. Recommend to screen off vent pipes that terminate at the roof and check drain pipes for efficient drainage, wood peckers, in mountain properties love to store their acorns in the vent pipes causing probs. Check for erosion around the structure if built on a hill.
There’s four huge differences between inspecting homes in Big Bear and inspecting homes “down the hill”. **First **and foremost is the Real Estate Agents are unique to be as nice as possible. I’ve been amazed when agents ask us to: pick up and drop off keys, call selling agents to confirm activation of utilities, re-winterizing homes after the home inspections are complete. Once you get passed the Real Estate Agents, the next biggest difference is the lack of construction, flashing, and grading methods employed or not employed to help minimize the opportunity for moisture intrusion. In one of the wettest locations in Southern California, I’m often amazed when I see siding buried in grade, slopes directed towards footings, horizontal trim ran with no flashing and pitch to shed water, entrances designed to be below exterior grade, no roof to wall flashing’s, etc. The third difference is the decks and exterior staircases. I often joke that somebody’s great grandfather, taught his son, who then taught his son, and so on, the worst methods of deck construction I’ve ever seen. Noting that the most common reason for deck failures is a heavy snow load, and then seen a four story deck held together by drywall screws, supported on a concrete pier poured into a Folgers coffee tin, which rests on the surface of 12% eroding slope. The last reason inspections differ up here is the reason why I love doing inspections up here! The creativity of the “contractor” must relate to the lower oxygen levels found in the higher elevations. Every time I think I’ve seen every way to turn a crawl space into a living space, or an outhouse into a in house, I’m proven wrong. :roll:
Good luck
Jeremy Johnson
Certified Residential Inspections
http://www.Bigbearhomeinspection.com
http://www.Bigbearhomeinspections.com
http://www.LakeArrowheadhomeinspection.com
http://www.Riversidehomeinspection.biz
http://www.MoldInspectionMurrieta.com
Some post/topics should have an expiration date.
#-oWe all have or will do it at some point.
Did you want to know about bringing a bear to an inspection? I have an old indian trick.:roll:
LOL Jeff…is he using your thermal imaging motto by any chance?—:shock:
Incredible what some people will put on a website to dupe the public.
Certificates of education in a website also raise a red flag for me…baffle-um with bull-$ h i t.
So you guys have those conspectors in CA also.