Atlanta Inspection News! Consumer information: March 2010

 Accurate Home Inspection of Atlanta.           http://www.Atlantainspectionnews.com 

In the southeast section of the United States region 8, has had its share of rain. This winter season has caused water damage to homes throughout the Atlanta,Georgia area. It some places as seen on local and world News stations. Improper storm water can cause voids in underneath driveways, sidewalks, and slab foundations. Eliminate costly and irritating water problems by filling hidden cavities under the concrete and diverting water away from the foundation. Leaking basements are a common problem. Generally, water problems in the basement are not dangerous to the homes occupants. It's predicted that almost all,about 98%, of basements will leak at some time during their life, and can be categorized as occurring during an catastrophic event such as flood,hurricanes,or broken plumbing.

Probably about 90% of leaking basement are caused by surface water,and improper lot grade for storm water run off and footing drain problems. Controlling the surface water around a home is an important in maintaining a home.  Surface water in refers to water introduced to the soil when it rains.  The water, if not properly controlled, could lead to water penetration and result in damage to the structure. Home built with negative slopes toward the home foundation if not correctly diverted could wash away soil underneath slabs. Replacing sunken or uneven concrete, restoring sunken concrete slabs to their original grade is known as Slabjacking, which is an alternative to replacing sunken or uneven concrete.

It is the process of raising or stabilizing faulty concrete pavement, and is performed on cracked and sunken concrete slabs such as driveways, steps and sidewalks, concrete pavement floors and other slab on grade surfaces.It is referred to as slabjacking when lifting or leveling is involved, or simply pressure grouting where void filling is the sole objective. In the slabjacking process, instead of replacing the concrete, a cement slurry is pumped under the concrete. This process "lifts" the sunken and uneven surface back into its proper position.

Performed properly, slabjacking can not only bring the concrete up to grade, it can also eliminate costly and irritating water problems by filling hidden cavities under the concrete and diverting water away from the foundation.

Grading of the Soil Around the Perimeter of the Home
The soil around the perimeter of the home should slope away (at a minimum of six inches for the first 10 feet) from the house to prevent rain water from accumulating next to the foundation.  Soil in this case does not refer to the topsoil but the layer of soil  which directs the water away from the house.  Many times the topsoil is porous (as would be used for planting) and absorbs the surface water.The overall lot grading is also an important concern since surface water may enter from adjacent properties.  Generally, if the house is located on a slope or on a lot that receives water run-off, swales are often used to direct the water around the house.  Swales are shallow ditches or depressions in the landscape that capture the water run-off.  Then, like a small creek, the water is directed around and away from the house.

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Does your home have a musty smell internally?  A musty smell is often promoted by poor ventilation, "increased ventilation may hide the source of musty smells but does not solve the actual problem !!!", the musty smell can often be associated to suspended fungal spores in the air within the dwelling, fungal spores are suspected of being one of the triggers that can initiate respiratory problems in persons that may have a respiratory sensitivity as is the apparent case for some asthma sufferers. lot of research and development into improving buildings that are sometimes referred to as having "sick building syndrome. The sub-floor area is often totally neglected by building owners and can be the origin of many problems within a building

The sub-floor has a significant influence on the internal condition of a building and therefore a good environment within the sub-floor will generally mean healthier living within the habitable areas of the building.The condition of the sub-floor is affected by many variants and therefore to improve the environment under a building, the surrounds and the exterior of the building often need to be altered.To improve the environment under a building it is often necessary to undertake major alterations to the existing landscape, site drainage and amenity around the building. The costs involved can be quite high and therefore each and every job needs to be designed and quoted individually. 

Condensation

Condensation is a common problem in many properties. Water vapour contained in the warm atmosphere (the humidity) is sealed into the structure as a result of double glazing, draft-proofing, or the sealing up of a disused chimney. When the temperature drops this vapour condenses on colder surfaces such as windows, metal roofing and external walls resulting in damp areas. These are usually in poorly ventilated spaces i.e. corners of rooms, bedroom cupboards and behind furniture.

Human activities such as exercise, breathing, showers, clothes drier use and cooking all contribute significantly to the internal humidity levels of a dwelling. Moisture from condensation will often attract termites and promote mould growth, it is important to ventilate the interior of buildings to reduce humidity and minimise condensation forming. Often simple alterations to the building can reduce the accumulation of condensation significantly.

Sub-Floor Solutions

Improve sub-floor ventilation. Alter the ground condition within the sub-floor

•  Reduce or redirect the source of damp within the sub-floor.

• Suppress mould growth within the sub-floor areas.

•Possible restumping or underpinning of foundations.

• Reinforcement of damage timber floor frames.

•Installation of structural steel members

•Excavation works

•Removal of formwork

•Minimise plant root growth under foundations

Alter ground levels around the exterior of the building.

•Removal and/or replacement of timber retaining walls/garden sleepers.

• Tree stump removal.

•Tree root pruning and barriers.

•Co-ordination of drainage and stormwater replacement/repair/redirection.

Accurate Home Inspection of Atlanta. Georgia Inspections Mold testing.

A plumbing system performs the simple job of supplying water to the house and removing its waste water.

Because a plumbing system ties into a sewer/septic source, it must prevent the possible danger of sewer gases seeping back into the waste pipes. Vents and drain traps handle that problem. The drain-waste-vent system transports all the used water and waste from the house to the septic/sewer system. It's a network of drain pipes that runs to all the sinks, toilets, baths, showers, and washer.

Most newer waste systems use rigid plastic PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) pipe that are sealed with glue. Older homes generally have had cast iron pipe sealed with lead solder.

Today's homes may utilize cast iron pipe sealed with neoprene in some places as a way to avoid the noise plastic creates when water is draining through it. The soil stack is the main component of the waste drain. It's a vertical "stack" of pipes that starts in the basement /crawlspace floor or wall where it's connected to the outbound sewer/septic line.

The top end of the stack acts as a vent. It extends vertically out through the roof, allowing gases to escape outside and also helps promote drain flow by drawing air inward.

A plugged vent can trap dangerous gases and inhibits drainage; similar to plugging a drinking straw with your thumb to hold liquid. Make sure the vent doesn't terminate in the attic. Trapped sewer gases can be dangerous, stink and cause serious structural problems. And a system without a vent may actually suck water out a sink's trap, or do the reverse and fill the sink with water when another fixture drains. A trap blocks sewer/septic gases. Without one, sewer gases can flow up the stack, drain pipes and come out wherever there's a drain. A trap looks like an "U" and is installed below the drain.

When water drains, the trap's shape causes a small amount of water to remain in the bend. That water blocks any gases from moving up the pipe and entering the room.

  NOTE: Traps are needed on all drains. That is, sinks, tubs, showers, washers, floor drains all need to have a trap in their drain lines. In most cases, a toilet has a built-in trap and doesn't require a trap in the drain line.