Structural deficiencies

Apart from the geese, such a gloomy grey day did not offer much in the way of photographic opportunities.

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But when the Sun broke through it was dramatic.

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This house would make the perfect lookout with a 360 view of the land.

Now that we’ve managed to catch up with the geese and have seen the end of Fall, I must find other topics but November is a little grey and lack-lustre.

Our ten-day forecast displayed snowflakes for the weekend but persisting warm temperatures have turned that probability back to rain.

A storm is predicted elsewhere but for now we remain above freezing which is certainly better for the heating bill.

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There is always the chance Grant may decide to go off after another bicycle that needs rescuing. He scrolls a daily listing the way some peruse the daily obits.

Apart from travelling the country in pursuit of these bikes, this activity has led to rearrangement of the basement which until now was set up as a gym with benches and weights etc etc.

Back trouble has forced Grant to abandon weight lifting, so he’s been selling off that equipment and making room for his new hobby.

Meanwhile he advised me that action must be taken to avoid having the house fall down!

What exactly are home inspectors responsible for? One is forced to employ them during the purchasing process, yet after moving in problems come to the fore that should have been dealt with before the transaction was completed.

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The first thing we were confronted with was black mold.

In the process of coping with that, Grant got a good look at the structure of the basement and went immediately to fetch bracing struts as the living room above was insufficiently supported. The floor was beginning to bow and the supporting pillars were splitting.

After a couple of years, the bracing struts were no longer doing the job, so more heavy-duty pillars were strategically placed, but now they too are beginning to split.

A proper house inspector would have looked at the way the living room was supported and declared it unsafe. Chances are, I would not have noticed, but when it was pointed out to me it was so obviously inept. So much for home inspection.

But it hasn’t fallen down yet and we will get it sorted out before it becomes a possibility.

Hopefully.

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For many years I lived in rented properties where all such problems could be referred to the landlord. It was nice not to have to feel responsible for everything, or to pay real estate tax.

But I do not want to go back to apartment living which in any case appears unaffordable these days, even in this remote area.

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And here’s proof that you should never trust the weather forecast!

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