Columbia, SC continued

[tim5055]

Well, we have a contract on a house. The realtor did not appear happy that I had "my" inspector. They (it's a husband wife team) said their inspector was "the best". He was the one I interviewed who said he trained everyone in the area so I should hire him.

Well, the realtor insisted on four inspections:

1. Pool

2. HVAC

3. Septic

4. Home Inspector

So far, the septic is toast. The tank was filled to the top and the drain field is filled with water. It appears that there Is no drainage in the field anymore.

The HVAC guy did a great job. While all systems (there are 3) cooled well he pulled everything apart and found a very slight freon leak on one coil.

Tomorrow is the pool and home inspection.

[Marc]

I like hearing reports from folks about their home buying experiences involving the home inspection. It gives me a view from the buyers end of things. Might not get too many responses but I'll bet lotsa members here are paying attention.

Marc

[tim5055]

Pool checked outine. The home inspector did a great job. He found many little things, but what I think important:

1 one shower drain leaking into the crawl space

2 GFCI outlets daisy chained together (multiple GFCI on one circuit)

3 One double tap in the panel

I think what he didn't find made me feel better than what he did. After reading this site for years I think I know what to look for in an inspector. He seemed to do a great job checking everything out.

4,000 sq foot house with a detached garage took about 5 hours. At about hour three the realtor commented about his guy who didn't take this much time[:-bigeyes

[Marc]

Was there nothing in the report worse than the leaky shower drain and daisy chained GFCI?

I've had not more than 2 houses in thousands over 10 years with nothing more serious than those two. Even hundreds of new construction inspections each had more than that.

Home building must be a fine art where you're at.

Marc

[Ben H]

Was there nothing in the report worse than the leaky shower drain and daisy chained GFCI?

I've had not more than 2 houses in thousands over 10 years with nothing more serious than those two. Even hundreds of new construction inspections each had more than that.

Home building must be a fine art where you're at.

Marc

Twas thinking the same thing.

[tim5055]

Well, the big issues were found by the septic and HVAC inspectors. On column in the crawl space (hard to call it that because it is a good 8 feet at the high end and about 4 at the low end) was missing the squash block AT&T e top so the joists were juts flying. It was a funny little area with three columns in about an eight foot span. The funny part was that he need ed his ladder in the crawl.

I was with him all the time and that was about it. Lots of little stuff. There wasn't anything in the house he didn't operate, open, test, touch, or climb over/under. The big head scratching was that half of a bunch of receptacles were dead. After a while he figured it out. There was a receptacle under every front window that was split. Half of every one was controlled by a single switch next to the front door so you could put holiday lights in every window and control them from that switch.

Others have already commented on the pricing in this area, but I got my monies worth.

[Marc]

Well, the big issues were found by the septic and HVAC inspectors. On column in the crawl space (hard to call it that because it is a good 8 feet at the high end and about 4 at the low end) was missing the squash block AT&T e top so the joists were juts flying. It was a funny little area with three columns in about an eight foot span. The funny part was that he need ed his ladder in the crawl.

I was with him all the time and that was about it. Lots of little stuff. There wasn't anything in the house he didn't operate, open, test, touch, or climb over/under. The big head scratching was that half of a bunch of receptacles were dead. After a while he figured it out. There was a receptacle under every front window that was split. Half of every one was controlled by a single switch next to the front door so you could put holiday lights in every window and control them from that switch.

Others have already commented on the pricing in this area, but I got my monies worth.

Granted that the septic and refrigerant leak were big findings.

When a client gets the news that the house is great I sometimes say: Looks like you've got a winner!

Congrats!

Marc

[tim5055]

I hate this, but the saga continues. I understand it is outside the scope of the HI, but here goes....

My realtor's recommended septic company discovered that the drain field was shot. I was there and watching so I agree with their assessment.

They provided two estimates:

$3600 to repair/extend the drainfield

$5800 to connect to city sewer (came into neighborhood after house built)

I started making some calls myself and discovered that repairs are illegal, if sewer is available you must connect to sewer if the septic system is compromised.

I called my realtor and advised her of what I found. She contacted the state environmental folks and verified my information. She called her septic company back and they had no answers other than the cost to connect to sewer is now $7800 because they "discovered" the sewer line is on the other side of the street and they will have to boar under the road.

[Marc]

Forget the realtor recommendations. Get your own venders.

Marc

[tim5055]

Forget the realtor recommendations. Get your own venders.

Marc

Hey, I did my research and found the HI I wanted, never thought about a septic inspection.

At this point it will be up to the sellers. They can get who they want to do the work. I know for a fact the City isn't going to let an unlicensed person tap into their pressurized system. Speaking of that, a pressurized sewer system is a new one on me. i have always dealt with gravity systems.

[Marc]

I was referring to the septic contractor but if the seller is paying for it then it doesn't matter.

Yeah, gravity drainage has no moving parts, less trouble.

Marc

[Bill Kibbel]

I know for a fact the City isn't going to let an unlicensed person tap into their pressurized system. Speaking of that, a pressurized sewer system is a new one on me. i have always dealt with gravity systems.

Are they connecting to a cluster pump station or does each home need its own pump?

[tim5055]

I know for a fact the City isn't going to let an unlicensed person tap into their pressurized system. Speaking of that, a pressurized sewer system is a new one on me. i have always dealt with gravity systems.

Are they connecting to a cluster pump station or does each home need its own pump?

Each house has it's own pump. Totally new system to me. Either you have a tank that settles out the solids and only pumps the liquid into the sewer, or you have a grinder pump system that grinds the solids and pumps it all. In the first type with the tank you have to get it pumped of solids every few years.

[tim5055]

I was referring to the septic contractor but if the seller is paying for it then it doesn't matter.

Yeah, gravity drainage has no moving parts, less trouble.

Marc

Well, they can give me money back and I do the work of fixing it (actually my preferred method), they pay to fix it or they just say no, take the house or leave it.

[Erby]

The subdivision I live in has the grinder pump system pumped to a close by sewage plant that serves several of the neighborhoods around here. Lots of hills. Gravity flow just wouldn't do it.

Click to Enlarge

54.39 KB

Had to finally replace my pump a year or two ago (after about 20 years of it working fine. About $2,500.00 later, it was working again.

-

[John Kogel]

Connection to sewer raises the property value by about that much or more, because it eliminates headaches with septic tank and field. So it's a good thing, and now even better if it becomes a condition of the sale. Good luck with it.

[allseason]

Connection to sewer raises the property value by about that much or more, because it eliminates headaches with septic tank and field. So it's a good thing, and now even better if it becomes a condition of the sale. Good luck with it.

It usually comes along with a sewer assesment, money the municipality uses to run the system.