Home Inspection Services :: Inspection Blog

COMMON DEFECTS

BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
Dated 26 February, 2010

The Business Connections of Central Florida Inc has launched a platform in Orlando to assist all businesses grow through qualified referrals

The web site is www.bcflorida.com Regular business meetings are held all over Orlando together with after hour’s social network meetings.

The company has recognition from The British American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

The Aim of the Business Connections is to bring together a professional team of professionals that can assist each other and also offer out advice and services to any companies or individuals operating within the Central Florida area. We offer a full range of professional services including and not limited to Real Estate, Immigration, Business Brokerage, Property Management and House Cleaning.

We encourage visitors to the group meetings to connect with the professionals attending. This group is not like other network groups where several categories’ are over represented, the focus with the group is to help build stronger business connections within the team and assist others. For more information and to receive an invite to the next meeting contact John McLoughlin john@bcflorida.com

www.bcflorida.com

SETTLEMENT CRACKS EXPLAINED IN FLORIDA
Dated 19 September, 2009

Does your Florida property have cracks to the exterior walls and are you concerned about them? If so let me help explain how they probably got there.

My Name is John McLoughlin I am a UK Chartered Surveyor, Building Engineer and Florida Home Inspector

Many properties in Florida are built on a concrete slab foundation with concrete block exterior walls covered with stucco for waterproofing. In many properties that I have inspected for clients there has been an element of cracking observed to the exterior walls.

If you ask many Florida builders and even realtors they will say this is common in Florida but rarely can they explain correctly why this is.

The majority of the ground soil in Florida is sand based and in many areas the properties have also been built on reclaimed swampland. The construction process involves making the soil stable to support the weight of a structure. Various methods are adopted including “dewatering” and back filling with soil imported from other areas.

Before construction can take place the soil needs to be compacted using heavy machinery.

When a home site is established the building foundation is outlined with formwork ready for pouring of the concrete slab. This is the key area where things can influence as to if the property will get cracking to the outside walls.

The builder uses small compacting machinery to compress the soil which is generally operated by hand. If the compaction is not equal on all areas of the building footprint, weak spots will be established for future soil depression to take place.

The most common areas for this to happen are the corners of the building mainly because adequate attention has not been applied in this area.

You will find that the majority of building cracks will be located within 10 feet of the building corner. The cracks will appear stepped in nature as they are following the weakest route being the mortar joints between the blocks. At this stage depending on the severity of the cracks there is very little that can be done to prevent this apart from making the cracks water tight with sealant. The cracks will continue until the ground beneath has settled.

Correct supervision is required at the very first stage of the construction to ensure cracking will not appear at a later date.

For a more detailed account of this problem with full diagrams illustrating the process, review the article Settlement Cracks Explained on my web site and feel free to contact me at any time for further advice.

I look forward to assisting you with your enquiries and helping you find your future investment. My web site is www.homeinspectionforyou.com

http://www.homeinspectionforyou.com/settlement_cracks.html

CONCRETE FLOOR CRACKING
Dated 19 September, 2009

Does your have concrete floor cracks and are you concerned about them? if so let me help explain how they possibly got there.

My Name is John McLoughlin I am a UK Chartered Surveyor, Building Engineer and Florida Home Inspector

Many properties in Florida are built on a concrete slab foundations with concrete block walls covered with stucco for waterproofing.

In practically all the properties I have inspected there has been an element of cracking to the floor slabs and some very serious cases. Many builders and even realtors will say this is common in Florida but rarely can they explain correctly why.

The placing of concrete is a specialized skill and if not carried out correctly will result in a weak structure and extensive cracking. When concrete is pored it needs to be carried out swiftly as the curing process will begin as soon as the water is added to the mixture. The minim time period for concrete curing should be 7 days to reach hardness and concrete will continue to harden throughout it life if mixed correctly. The main problem which contributes to the concrete cracking is the speed it is allowed to cure and the failure to install adequate expansion joints.

Concrete is a material that will expand with temperature and more so while it is in the initial curing stage. The chemical compounds bonding together during curing will cause the concrete to get very warm and if no allowance has been included in the construction it will cause factures.

To prevent this concrete can be covered from direct sunlight or heat and protected with water mist until initial hardening has occurred. Expansion joints should be cut into the concrete directly after it has been poured unless already built into the construction.

For a more detailed account of this problem with diagrams illustrating the problem, review the article on my web site Concrete Floor Cracking and feel free to contact me at any time for further advice.

I look forward to assisting you with your enquiries and helping you find your future investment. Please review my web site http://www.homeinspectionforyou.com for all your home inspection questions and requirements.

http://www.homeinspectionforyou.com/concrete-floor-cracking.html

HOME INSPECTIONS IN FLORIDA
Dated 6 December, 2008

Many people are unaware that the Home Inspection industry in Florida is currently unlicensed and unregulated. There are government proposals to try to pass a bill and regulate the industry by 2010 but in the past this has been pushed out of favor. This unfortunately means that anyone can literally be working in the industry with little or no knowledge of construction or local building standards. Property in Florida is constructed differently as apposed to UK Building Standards and is not as stringent.

It is imperative that before purchasing a property that a professional Home Inspection is carried out. Several professional organizations have been established to assist with setting up a common Standard of Practices. Membership to these organisations is Not mandatory therefore all current members are clearly demonstrating their ability & commitment to professionalism for consumers who recognise the importance of regulation.

The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) www.ashi.org aims to assist with regulation of the industry by requiring all inspectors who wish to become members obtain a minimum inspection experience of 250 inspections. These inspections reports are examined and graded to ensure the Professional Practices and Code of Ethics are maintained. When ASHI is satisfied with the inspector’s competence, the inspector is then required to take and pass a state exam. The exam is designed to test the knowledge and experience of the construction industry together with construction fault diagnosis and remedies. Becoming a member demonstrates to the Real Estate Industry the inspector’s level of professionalism.

To ensure you have a professional home inspection it is advisable to check that your surveyor/home inspector is accredited to either of the above organizations. A common Standard of Practice and Code of Ethics exist to ensure the high level of competence is achieved within the industry protecting the buyers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7ditTCK1AA

HOME | CONTACT | CONSUMER LINKS | SITE MAP