lucky number 13

Number 13
Today’s inspection takes me to the snowy north county of Haliburton County. The inspections here are always a mixed bag of nuts, and the same could be said for the clients. I certainly do not mean this in a malicious way I find the mixed bag of people to be very interesting that I get to work with. Just watching how the family interacts during the inspection. Spending three plus hours with total strangers is as interesting as you want to make it. I have actually come to like clients that provide me with challenges that go beyond the standard inspection, whether it is shyness, sarcasm, differing opinions, or even just the very stern executive type. The list goes on and it is my job to pull each and every one of them into my little realm of understanding. Most times, I think I am successful. In some cases they are just too tough for a mere home inspector to figure out. Houses fall under the same category in the north each one has its own little oddities (which may be representative of the last owner). The term, “cookie cutter” housing does not have a place up here. Two alike, maybe they will be close but not alike. Winter inspections in the north do, on occasion provide me with a heck of a lot of discomfort, crawlspaces on their own suck on a cosmic level, add frozen dirt and snow and you now have( should you choose to don the coveralls and follow me under)experienced a small sliver of hell on earth. This is where all the sins lay. The good news is that this cottage had, yes, wait for it........ FULL BASEMENT. I can’t even begin to explain the internal smile I am packing when I discover this. It gets even better a concrete floor with no rock outcrops. The block foundation is mint! This has everything to do with the fact that the builder/ planner knew what they were doing right from the inception of this 1400 sq ft bungalow type cottage. Cottages as a rule (at least in Haliburton county) are always build on a hill, road at the back and lake at the front. When placing a cottage on its site drainage should always be of the utmost consideration, especially when the building is going to be intercepting every drop of water, frozen of liquid that runs down that hill. Now that it has been decided to intentionally place a dam (cottage) in the middle of this hill it is important not to compound the problem by building a roof line that is draining in such a fashion that the water that runs off the roof then tries to run through or under the building. The rain and snow that come off the roof line at the front (lakeside) of the building then splashes off the deck, damaging it and splash back that eventually damages the siding. The good rule of thumb is to ensure that your ridge line is running parallel to the slope of the ground or to look at it another way it is good if the ridge line of your roof is pointing at the lake and the road. This way water and snow from the roof can easily be shed away from the building. This cottage was a pleasure to inspect and my clients and the agent were all great. Ya kind of mushy but hey when I get them like this one it’s not even like a job
Thanks for tagging along (next time bring your coveralls)
m