Nipper Home Solutions

3 Reasons for Home Buyers to Check for Unpermitted House Additions Prior to Purchase

Rick Nipper — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:30:22 +0000

Buying a house with an unpermitted addition could be a costly mistake.

The square footage noted in the MLS listing may exceed the square footage on jurisdictional (city/county) tax records. While exact matches are unlikely, discrepancies of hundreds of square feet may signify an unpermitted addition.

Many alterations to houses such as adding a deck or garage as well as finishing a basement require permits and approvals from local building authorities. Unfortunately, homeowners and unscrupulous contractors do not always get the necessary permits and inspections. The result is homes with unpermitted additions.

There are three reasons why buying a house with an unpermitted addition could cause you problems in the future.

1. Inferior Work

Unpermitted space may have inferior work performed by unlicensed and/or unskilled workers including Do-It-Yourself Homeowners. There can be safety and quality issues because of poor workmanship. Homeowners can make alterations to their own homes and complete the work themselves. However, if the work falls into certain categories, permits and inspections are still required to assure that the work meets building code at the time of the improvements. Remember that building codes are minimum standards for the work performed. Meeting those standards is the least expected.

As a home inspector, I frequently find myself inspecting houses with unpermitted additions. The work almost always inferior and is often dangerous.

2. Assume the Liability

When you assume ownership of a property, you are assuming the liability and responsibility for past mistakes or short-cuts made by previous homeowners. You may not be able to sell the property in the future without satisfying jurisdictional inspections. Just because you were willing to accept this property does not mean that future buyers will be willing to accept unpermitted space and the ensuing hassle and expense that may be involved.

When jurisdictions become aware that a house has an unpermitted addition, they likely will require that the wall board and ceilings be torn out so that inspectors can see the rough framing, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work. This work must meet current building code, not code at the time these improvements were initially made.

For example, if the improvements were made in 1995, then the work must meet current building code. Since 1995, there have been enormous and expensive changes in building code. In addition, there may be penalties and fines for not properly permitting space.

3. Insurance Claim Denial

In the event of a large fire or other homeowner insurance claim, an insurance company can deny the claim based on the fact that the work that caused the claim was not professional or properly permitted or inspected by jurisdictional inspectors.

What to Do

Checking for unpermitted additions involves contacting the city or county Building Inspections Department to find out if permits were issued for the alterations in the property. Ask to see copies of permits and certificates of occupancy for the additional space.

Before investing so much of your money and your life in a house with an unpermitted addition, take the time to check into this issue. Ask your real estate professional for assistance in making sure that all the space in the house you are buying has been properly permitted.

For more home buying tips, click here.

Radon Mitigation System – Concrete Slab Foundation

Rick Nipper — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:27:45 +0000

For an overview of a radon mitigation system for a concrete slab foundation, watch the video below:

A hole has been drilled through the concrete slab in a closet. Piping for a radon mitigation system has been extended from the hole out through the side of the house. A fan has been mounted on the pipe to draw radon and other soil gases from underneath the slab. The pipe has been extended above the roof line where the radon gas can be safely discharged.

To have your house tested for radon to make sure your are protecting your family, contact Rick Nipper, building science expert.

Improve Your Home Air-Crawlspace Return Duct

Rick Nipper — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:01:44 +0000

Watch the video below to see how you can improve the quality of air in your home by sealing gaps and holes in the crawl space return air duct system.

We are going inside a crawl space to look at where a return duct is routed through the floor, and how this area affects the quality of air inside your home.

The return duct is routed through a hole in the floor between floor joists. Wood blocking or sometimes sheet metal are used to frame the hole. that is blocked on formed with wood. Either of these are common practice in construction.

Air from inside your home is being routed into this duct and sent back to your heating and cooling equipment to be heated or cooled and then returned into your home.

This wood blocking does not fit perfectly and you can see that there are gaps.The dark areas at these gaps represent an accumulation of dirt and dust that has been drawn by the heating and air conditioning blower motor
into the return duct system from your crawl space.

Let’s think about what’s happening. The air from inside your home that has just passed through the air filter, the filter that you’re changing every couple of months…that air is now being mixed with dirty and dusty air from your crawlspace. This dirty, dusty air is then being sent through your expensive heating and cooling equipment before returning back into your home.

In addition to the gaps at the wood blocking, you’ll notice that this flat sheet metal piece does not fit tightly to the wood blocking. This is another area
where dirt and dust can be drawn into the return duct.

The solution to improve the quality of air in your home is to seal all these gaps and holes. As you can see from this photograph, the gaps have been sealed preventing dirt and dust from entering the duct system.

Contact Nipper Home Solutions for more information about improving the quality of air in your home. Nipper Home Solutions evaluates, repairs, and improves homes by offering whole house solutions to make homes comfortable, energy efficient, safe, healthy, and durable.

Dampers in Air Ducts Can Make Your Home More Comfortable

Rick Nipper — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:17:44 +0000

Dampers can be installed and adjusted in your heating and air conditioning air ducts to control the flow of warm or cool air to rooms in your home and make you feel more comfortable. The dampers can be opened or closed in varying degrees. Dampers can also balance air flow for your entire house.

Contact Nipper Home Solutions to get an evaluation and determine how you can make your home more comfortable. Nipper Home Solutions
evaluates, repairs, and improves homes by offering common sense solutions to make homes comfortable, energy efficient, and healthy.

An Overview: Your Heating and Air Conditioning Equipment

Rick Nipper — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:53:55 +0000

Heating and air conditioning equipment is often located in the crawl space of homes. Heating and air conditioning equipment consists of return ducts where air is drawn from the house through the return ducts to the return plenum that is attached to the furnace. An air conditioner evaporator is located adjacent to the furnace. The evaporator has refrigerant lines to supply that run to a compressor located outside of the structure of the house. The air conditioner also has a condensate drain line that allows condensation to drain away from the equipment to the exterior of the house. Supply ducts run from this point to each room of the house serviced by this equipment. As you can see, the air has made a complete loop from the house through the equipment to be heated or cooled and back into the house. Take a look at this video to see the various components of a heating and air conditioning system.

Your heating and air conditioning equipment is critical to the comfort, the quality of air, and the energy efficiency of your home. Contact Nipper Home Solutions to help improve the comfort and quality of air in your home as well as helping you save money on your power bills.

Gingerbread House…Flunks Inspection!!!

Rick Nipper — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:13:27 +0000

Hi. I’m Rick Nipper with Nipper Home Solutions.

Again during the holiday season, I have been asked to inspect a gingerbread house, not any ordinary gingerbread house. It’s “The Gingerbread Mansion.”

So now I’m going to share with you some of my findings.

First, there are no ridge vents or dormer vent which leads me to be concerned about the lack of attic ventilation and whether the house will be energy efficient.

The siding has a strong odor of ginger? I’m not familiar with any building products that have this odor.

Unfortunately, the windows are all iced shut.

I am particularly concerned about the structural ingredients that make up the house. Therefore, I am recommending that an engineer visit the site and taste a sample for further evaluation.

Oh…no…not again this year! The inspector is too large to enter the house and therefore can not inspect the interior.

Oh well…I guess we’ll just call it a day and wish you Happy Holidays from all of us at Nipper Home Solutions!