What To Look For Inside - Floors Flashcards
Floors (13 cards)
Floors
The home inspector should take note of:
Un-level flooring
Cracked tiles
Sagging floor joists
Signs of wood-destroying organisms
Treatment holes for wood-destroying organisms
Joist or sub-floor rot
Sistered or repaired joists
Missing joists under load-bearing walls
Cracked joists
Signs of deflection or floor bounce
Squeaking floors
Wood in contact with concrete
Poor joist-end bearing
Inappropriate notching or holes in joists
Joist splits
Over-spanned or under-sized joists
Joists too close to soil
Swollen wafer board or OSB sub-flooring
Crowning
The inspector should report as in need of correction observed indications of unlevel floors according to the Home Inspection Standards of Practice.
What is the standard maximum spacing for joists?
Joists are rarely spaced more than 24 inches apart.
What should you look for if joists are spaced farther than usual?
Check for signs that a joist may have been removed.
Why might a new subfloor and sleepers be installed in a room?
When an exterior covered porch is converted to an interior room, a sloped porch floor may require sleepers and a new subfloor.
What causes humps in floors near beams?
Humps are generally caused by excessive joist overlap or cantilevered joists creating a “teeter-totter” effect.
What commonly causes cracked tiles in floors?
Cracked tiles are often the result of a subfloor that is not rigid enough.
What are the general rules for dimensional joists?
Double joists should be installed under parallel bearing walls.
Holes must not exceed 1/3 of the joist height.
Holes should not be within 2 inches of the top or bottom of the joist.
No notches are allowed in the middle third of the span.
What are the general rules for prefabricated I-joists?
No notching of the flanges is allowed.
No large holes or notches are permitted near the joist ends.
Holes must not be within 6 inches above a bearing wall or girder.
What is the role of the concrete floor in a basement?
The concrete floor is typically not part of the foundation and is poured after the home is nearly finished.
How should cracks in slab-on-grade be reported?
All cracks in slab-on-grade should be noted and reported, as their structural significance is difficult to determine.
What precautions should be taken with wood in contact with concrete?
Sill plates should be treated wood or have sill sealers/separators.
Wood beams embedded in concrete should also be treated.
What is a crown in floor joists, and why is it important?
A crown is the slight upward bend in dimensional lumber joists.
Joists should be installed with crowns upward for consistent floor surfaces.
What happens to crowned joists under load?
The weight of the floor decking and additional loads flattens the crowns, providing a consistent, flat floor surface.
