Originally Posted by DangeloInspections
(Post 1519745)
While some home inspectors may not go up into the attic, we do. We typically go all over the attic and on most models we can easily see above the lanai, although there are a couple of models where the lanai is not accessible at all. However, most are.
We find these Lanai cracks all the time. So, to answer the question, we DO find them. I would say we find Lanai cracks on close to 40% of the homes we inspect. We ALWAYS put them in the report. We take pictures of them, and put blue tape on all of them we can get to. When we find more than one, we typically find them every 4 feet, down the seam.
These cracks are known to get bigger and smaller sometimes, as the heat and humidity change. Some of course are obvious and some are so small it is almost impossible to see. Often, we find them and the homeowner has never noticed them.
The problem here is not weather we find them or not......the problem is how they are dealt with or repaired AFTER we find them, document them and have them in the report.
The framing, the trusses are built and designed according to code. The trusses are here in Florida 24" on center.....same with the interior partitions. So a 4' wide sheet of drywall is attached in three places. If the spacing was 16" on center, (common up north with snow loads, etc), there would be 4 points of attachment. Often, the trusses are perpendicular to the drywall sheets, thus can have even more screws, etc across the body of the sheet.
These trusses at 24" on center pass code. They also pass the Architectural design. Most importantly, this method is approved by YOUR county building inspector, commonly known as the AHJ, or the "authority having jurisdiction". He trumps EVERYONE....even the building code.
I take GREAT offense to the post who inferred that home inspectors do not include this in the report because we do not want to "rock the boat" with warranty. There are many here who post whom I have I'm sure done their inspection and they can attest to the fact that this issue WAS in their report. As an ASHI Certified inspector for over 10 years, I have an ethical obligation to only my client. To infer otherwise is like accusing a doctor of not finding an illness because he is in bed with the insurance company. Although I do have a good relationship with warranty, I have very many times "gone to bat" for the homeowner on a contentious issue and proved my case to the benefit of the homeowner. There are issues I used to find all the time that I no longer find because the builders have changed their method to a better way because they realized we were right and they no longer wanted to have to go back to fix the issue over and over again.
Anyway, getting back to the ceiling issue.....why does this happen and what is the best way to fix it?
I am not an engineer. I have built houses and I feel knowledgeable enough to try to answer this. When I have difficult or recurring cracks in drywall I use a stronger drywall compound, like Durabond 90. I may also use more screws. Cracks typically do not get permanently fixed with a little caulk and paint.
If I were building a lanai with a drywall ceiling, I might consider installing furring strips 16" o.c. between the trusses. I would use durabond 90. I would paint this ceiling with an elastomeric paint. I would insulate above this lanai, even though it is unconditioned space. I would always install a light colored roof. Many of these ideas were actually in that engineers report your POA hired....so I am not too far off base.
Actually, I would most likely not use drywall in this application, knowing the many problems others have experienced. I personally love the look of vinyl beadboard soffit. I used it on my northern home across the front porch, (no Lanai's in western NY, lol) and it looked amazing and never had a problem.
It looked great, was easy to clean and actually less labor intensive. I have bought this product from T&D off of 301. They sell matching J channel for it and it does NOT look cheap.
In closing, we also find this to a lesser extent in some garages.....for much the same reasons. I currently live in a 10 year old Premier type home, and I have a good crack in MY garage. I'm too busy doing inspections to get around to fixing it...my wifes honey-do list comes first. When I do fix it I will do all the things I mentioned above.
I apologize for the long post, and hope I did not offend anyone. I am only here to help. The bottom line here, (and many here can attest to this) is when we do warranty inspections we often find many things that the homeowner did not even know about. Most of those things would be costly to have to pay for the repair, so the cost of the inspection is often many times a small fraction of what the repairs would cost if you had to pay for them. Most of the time they are fixed by warranty well. Sometimes they may not be. We find the issues, document them, and much more often than not they are repaired well by the builders.
No one bats 1000. This IS a very common contentious issue. I hope I helped at least a bit here.
Respectfully, Frank D'Angelo, ACI
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