When Things Go Wrong (also known as home ownership) Intermittent or concealed problems Some problems can only be discovered by living in a house. They cannot be discovered during the few hours of a home inspection. For example, some shower stalls leak only when people are in the shower but do not leak when you simply turn on the water faucet or shower head. This is because the weight of a person in the shower will cause the shower or bathtub, or the walls, to flex slightly, perhaps causing a small separation somewhere that allows water to penetrate only during actual use of the bathtub or shower. Some roofs only leak when specific conditions exist, and we’ve never seen a roof that leaks during dry weather, although some conditions (like a hole in the roof) will definitely indicate that the roof will leak next time it rains. Some problems will only be discovered when floor coverings are removed (like removing the 1970s vinyl in the bathrooms to put in tile); when furniture is moved (the large hole in the floor that was concealed by the bed); when pictures are taken down (the large hole in the wall that was nicely concealed by hanging Grandma’s picture over it); when wallpaper, wall mirrors, and paneling are removed (revealing past or present moisture damage). No clues Problems might have existed at the time of the inspection, but there were no clues as to their existence. Inspections are based on the history of the house. If there are no clues of a past problem, it is unfair to assume that we could foresee a future problem. This becomes particularly troublesome when an older home is completely renovated. Yes, it probably looks beautiful, but when all the cracks in the walls and ceilings were removed when new drywall was installed, it is impossible for us to tell you that there are settling issues or foundation problems. We try to find the individual problems and add them together to determine if there are bigger problems. Renovation, either partial or complete, can make that job impossible because it makes the home look like a newer home rather than an older home. New homes don’t exhibit problems yet, so what you see might not be what you get months or years down the road. With older homes, what you see is what you get; now just decide what to do about it. Click here to read “New home or older home?”