Ask the Charlotte Inspector

Moisture in a crawl space is bad news. It can cause a host of problems including but not limited to undermining the foundation and footers. Moisture is also a conducive condition for termites. We all know the damage those guys can do. Another big time problem with moisture in the crawl is mold and mildew. Chronic moisture can lead to toxic mold or sick house. Its usually in the best interest of the house to keep the crawl space dry. The next question is where does the moisture come from. Sometimes the moisture comes from poor drainage and or poor topography of the land around the house. Sometimes the Moisture comes from poor to no ventilation. Poor ventilation can be a compound problem when joined with condensation. These are the usual suspects when a crawl space has high moisture. Every once in awhile though there is something very odd like a storm drain draining into the crawlspace! In this video Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina shows us a storm drain that empties into crawl space of a townhouse in Lake Norman NC. Where do your storm drains empty?

Are you an active adult 55 or over living or moving to Charlotte NC? In this video Marian Ingram, a active adult real estate specialist in Charlotte NC showa the features and ammenities of the new Del Webb community in Fort Mill SC just outside of Charlotte NC. Check ot Sun City Carolina Lakes and what makes it such an attractive community for active adults.

The resort-style amenities include a 40,000-square-foot Recreational Center that overlooks a large sparkling lake and includes a state-of-the-art fitness center, an indoor lap pool, an indoor walking track, a ballroom, billiard room and numerous classrooms where clubs can meet.

8 Clay Water Cooled Tennis Courts

4 Bocce Ball Courts

Outdoor Lawn Pavillion

Outdoor Walking Trails

Outdoor Resort Pool & 2 Lanes for Lap Swim

Indoor Pool & Spa Hot Tub

Aerobics Studio & Weight Room

10,000 sq.ft. Health & Fitness Center

Upper level Walking Track

Demonstration Kitchen

Arts & Crafts Room

Billiards Area

Coffee Shop

Ballroom

There are many ways the wood on your house can get damaged. If you have damage, Do you know whether its moisture damage, carpenter ant damage, or worst of all, termite damage. Moisture damage leaves a cubicle rot or alligatoring look to it. Carpenter ant damage leaves the wood with a stringy appearance. Carpenter ants only damage wood that already has a high moisture content. Ants of any kind can leave grainy dirt residue (unlike temites who don’t waste anything) Termites shell out the Spring wood. When they finish it looks like pages of a book. The do not leave any grainy dirt. All theirs is mastic and stuck together. Packed Mud and mud tubes are the tale tale signs of termites.

Usually when we find termites on a slab house, it is on one of the perimeter walls. You see termites come fom the ground and the have to return to the ground for moisture. On a slab house the perimer wall baseboard is sitting right on top of an expansion crack that goes right to the ground. The perimeter wall baseboard is usually the first thing to go. Termites can not go through concrete however they can go through a crack in the concrete or adjacent to water piping as long as there is at least 1/64 of an inch. In this video Preston Sandlin of Home Inpection Carolina in Charlotte shows some termites that have come up adjacent to the water pipes. He also shows a live soldier termite. Have you checked your baseboards or pipes lately?

Do you have some soft spots in your bathroom floor? Bathroom floors are real hot spots for moisture damage. There are so many places where leaks and damage can occur. The most common are around the toilet and the tub. If you see moisture or damage around the toilet (from crawl) this is usually the sign of a bad wax seal. The seal seals the toilet to the floor. Sometimes the toilet gets loose and starts to rock. This will compromise the wax seal. Then everytime you flush moisture will wick into the subfloor adjacent to the pipe. Bathtubs can also leak. The floor adjacent to the tub is a spot we find damage all the time. If the bathroom has carpet (bad idea) I will be willing to bet there is going to be some damage to the subfloor adjacent to the tub or the shower. Have you crawled under your house lately and pulled the insulation back to look at the floor under the bath? It only gets worse over time.

Do you have high moisture in your crawl space? In North Carolina it is considered high moisture if the moisture content of the floor joists or subfloor is 20% or greater. This is considererd condusive conditions for termites and for fungus. There are multiple causes and multiple fixes for high moisture in the crawl. Some are simple and some are complex. The fixes are sometimes inexpensive to very costly. Every house is different. Today I want to talk about one of the simplest reasons for high moisture which also has a very simple and inexpensive fix. This is disconnected dryer vents. I would say about 1 in 8 house in my market, (Charlotte NC, Concord NC, Lake Norman NC, Fort Mill SC) has a diconnected dryer vent. This lets that warm moist air flow freely into your crawl. Fungus and termites love the condition this causes. Have you checked to see if your dryer vent is diconnected lately?

Do you know where the No # 1 spot for termites is in your house? Over eighty percent of the time we find termite damage it is in the band sill or the outermost joist adjacent to the front stoop or porch. Why is this? Its because these stoops are “dirt filled” and they also become a little bit of a trash bin during construction for spare wood pieces, food trash bags, etc. This trash or cellelose material is like prime rib for termites who are already there because it is dirt filled and that’s where the termite come from. Well after they finish that off they are headed over to your band sill. Have you crawled under your house lately and pulled the insulation back at the front porch and check for termite damage? Remeber the sooner you catch it, the better.

Do you have trim damage? Do you have soft wood around windows and doors? What happens here is water gets in behind the wood where it’s not primed or painted, then the pourous wood will suck it up and it will cause damage. Moisture in wood is also attractive for termites. After the moisture has been there awhile the wood rots and sometimes carpentar ants will also settle in and shell out some of the wood for their nest. How does the water get in? It usually comes in at joints in the trim and joints between the trim and the siding. Wood expands and contracts as the weather changes. After a few expansions and contractions the caulk can no longer seal the gap. Then a hard rain and in comes the water. The solution is to replace any damaged wood and then caulk, caulk, and caulk. Check all the joints annually and caulk where necessary. Remember to caulk, caulk, caulk.

Have you ever had bats, squirrels, or other rodents in your attic? This is probably the result of not having screens or not having adequate screen coverage. Often flood lights attract bugs which attract bats. If these bats get in your attic they poop. The poop can carry disease and parasites. You have to get the bats, birds, squirrels, or any other critters out of the attic and then put screens to exclude them from coming back in. In some cases (especially with bats) you may actually have to put the screens on the outside. (to keep them from hanging on the gable slats) Many well meaning homeowners try to cover their gable vents with plasic. These vents are necessary for attic ventilation. Clear the plastic and keep the screens. We want the air but not the critters.

Have you ever had a leak in your attic despite having fairly new shingles? Leaks will develop around flues and flashing much sooner than they will on the shingles themselves. It is necessary to have flashing at flue vents and plumbing vents. The flashing is necessary to make the transition from round pipe to shingled roof. Basically the flashing wraps itself around the pipe and then weaves itself into the shingles. If there is a leak it usually occurs where the flashing wraps around the pipe. In this video Preston Sandlin of Home Inspection Carolina in Charlotte NC shows two flues in the same attic leak. This is a common problem. The fix for this is to apply a heat resistent sealant around the round part of the pipe where it meets the flashing part.