HomeMy WebLinkAboutTM Initial ReportTM Initial Report
10/4/18
Observations:
A great deal of debris was piled on the front (north) porch. A tree in the front yard had branches lying on the roof.
My first conclusion was this property had not been maintained in a long time. Branches/limbs touching/resting on a roof is harmful to any roofing system.
Along the west side of the house was assorted debris. The electric meter was active.
The south (rear) yard was overgrown and assorted debris was placed around the outbuildings and along the fence. On the back porch was a great amount of debris. But my eyes were immediately
drawn to a severely deteriorated portion of the main porch roof beam. This beam appeared to be a double 2x8, painted. The area of greatest concern was the westernmost span which showed
evidence of severe deterioration and was physically reduced to half of its original dimension. Stress cracks through the center of the lumber extended in to the second span of the beam.
Rotted joist ends rested on the deteriorated portion of the beam and this signaled to me an imminent structural failure. I instructed others to stay away from underneath this portion
of the beam. I noted deteriorated sub-fascia at the east end of the porch but the beam and joists in this area appeared to be safer to walk under. Walking under the east portion of
the rear porch roof and looking to the west, I noted there was a breach at the inside corner (where the main house roof forms an “L”). Water had long ago penetrated this porch roof
structure and was likely entering the interior of the main structure I stepped back out to the backyard and noted there was a very large tree branch/leaves resting on the main house
roof from the east side yard.
Moving to the west side yard, a boat was visible. The east side yard was extremely overgrown and strewn with assorted debris. Passing through would be difficult. I noted that this was
the main tree in the east side yard and it was leaning on the house and touching the roof’s eave drip flashing.
I walked in through the rear door near the east end of the porch.
Inside, the entire structure appeared to have been abandoned, although a couple of bulbs were lit and a ceiling fan was turning. There was a large amount of refuse and personal belongings
piled up in every room. Although I was wearing a respiration mask, the smell of mold filled the air. Mold was evident on many drywall surfaces and several rooms had ceiling holes where
the drywall had fallen from the ceiling, evidently due to water infiltration through the roof. Several plumbing fixtures were turned on then off and none supplied water. The west bathroom
toilet bowl held approximately 2 inches of water.
However, the greatest area of structural concern was a screw jack supporting one end of a main north-south two-point bearing truss over the living room, about 4 ft away from the sliding
glass door. The likely reason this screw jack is in place is to support a truss which is deflecting. However, it could also be because the truss had suffered damage at a bearing point
and now has a reduced carrying capacity . The south bearing end point of this truss is roughly at the inner corner of the back patio. In front of the
sliding glass door is a large plastic tub approximately ½ full of water, evidently collected from a roof breach above this location. There are multiple ceiling locations where water
has infiltrated, as evidenced by fallen and/or discolored drywall and exposed pieces of fiberglass insulation.
I stepped back out to the back porch to get a closer look at the end of the main truss and at the point where it bears on a poured tie beam. I took a photo. The roof decking in this
area was rotted and there was a hole through the roof, open to the sky. Some degree of wet rot affected the top chord of the truss.
Walking outside, a check of the water meter near the r/w indicated that the meter’s valve had been shut closed.