Structure Damage Found During White Rock Home Inspection

Today’s featured inspection is a townhouse in White Rock, BC.

The house was built in 1993 and was a typical wood frame over crawlspace construction.

In the crawlspace, there were a few structural concerns found. One concern was the pony wall, which someone had damaged to make room for the gas line. The stud was crooked, and needed straightening to maintain its structural load-bearing capabilities. We can see it’s a load-bearing wall by the direction of the joists in the below photo:

When we approached the area below the master ensuite bathroom, where a toilet had been added, we discovered a major structural concern:

The person who added this toilet had cut the joist completely out to make way for the ABS drain line. If you look carefully at the neighbouring joist in the photo you can see where it should be.

A cut joist can cause significant problems to the floor structure. In this case, the weight of the toilet (and the user) is being supported by only the plywood sub-floor. We recommended a structural contractor to repair this. This issue, along with other defects found in the home, saved the buyer thousands of dollars.

Call today for your Home Inspection in White Rock, BC – 604 395-2795