Today’s featured inspection is a huge home in the Dawe’s Hill area of Coquitlam. The home was custom-built in the early nineties and featured seven bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Due to the massive amount of slope on the property, the main concern with this home was the amount of settlement seen around the building:
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Settlement of walk/driveways is common in some areas, and is not generally a concern. However, a closer look at the structure of the building revealed some red flags, such as this large foundation crack running about 12 feet vertically from the garage to the foundation footing:
When a home has a significant amount of movement, it will also telegraph into other materials, such as floor tiles or drywall, as seen in this photo:
In fact, cracks ran through most of the walls/ceilings of the East side of the home. Drywall cracks are common, but not in large numbers or when they exceed a certain width. These cracks certainly did!
I recommended a structural contractor evaluate the foundation/settlement of this home
Author David Fairbairn is a certified, licensed home inspector serving Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. He has been featured in the media and has contributed to "24" Newspaper, and Global TV. He has spent years working with residential and commercial building projects, and holds a Power Engineering License in BC. Why not give him a call for your next Home Inspection? Call 604 395-2795 or email david@fairbairninspections.com today!