Flaws to look for during inspection of 1930's home in Jax, Fl.?

Question

I am going to look at a home in Jacksonville Fl. built in 1930's.  The home seems to be well maintained for the most part, it is in a historic district.   Is there anything in particular I should be looking for?  Lead pipes, or out of date electrical or something else?  Will most inspectors discover this type of stuff?

Roy N. · Answer

@DB Brooks

While I am fairly well acquainted with older buildings - we have a couple from the latter half of the 19th century and more from the early 1900s - I do not know the particulars of being in that warm of a humid environment (it gets humid along the cost here, but only warm for half the year).

You do want to look at the plumbing, though in a depression era house, I would suspect galvanized supply and drain lines to be more prevalent than lead (though they are possible).  Galvanized lines should be replaced - if they are not already constricted to a trickle due to internal corrosion, they will be.  If you suspect any cast iron drain lines to be original, I would have them scoped - or simply budget to replace them - as they are nearing end-of-life.

On the electrical front, you will be looking for active knob-and-tube wiring.  Even when such homes were rewired it was/is not uncommon for folks to tie the old K-n-T into the new wiring.  The wiring originally installed that house was designed to run a few light bulbs and perhaps a radio or two (it's not uncommon to find a single circuit per floor or only 2-4 for the entire house) and not to handle today's array of electronics.

The house of that vintage, the presence of asbestos in its many forms (pipe and duct wrap for the heating system, possibly mixed in plaster, floor tiles, exterior siding, etc) is a distinct possibility.

Where I do not have experience is in local insect damage - I know you have termites and undoubtedly carpenter ants (or a close relation).  A house that old, particularly if there has been moisture, could have a long history of insect damage.

I good building inspector should be checking all of these things (and more).  Our guy is very thorough and normally takes 4-5 hours to go though a mid-sized house (a large Victorian or 3-4 unit conversion could take 8 - 12 hours).  Ask around with other investors and "investor friendly" real estate agents for references and then have a chat with each inspector to see exactly what s/he covers in the thorough building inspection.

Check with the zoning and heritage bi-laws to see what restrictive covenants will govern how you can renovate and maintain the house.  Here on historic properties, you are not allowed to use modern vinyl or fibreglass windows and must maintain the original shake or clapboard siding (which means increased maintenance costs).  In some instances, where there are distinct internal features such as trompe l'oeil or elaborate mouldings you may be required to maintain them - which ties your hands and greatly increases the cost of insulating and air sealing the building envelope.

Sarah Shockley · Answer

Hi @DB Brooks! Good luck with your historic home purchase.

@Roy N. 's post is a pretty thorough overview of what to look for - nice work! I just have a few thoughts to add.

In general the "4 points" are likely the most important things to check - Roof, Hvac, Plumbing, and Electrical. On an old house it's pretty safe to assume - if it hasn't been updated, it needs to be updated. I'm afraid knowing what to look for is a skill learned with time and experience, and not really something talking with strangers on the internet can fully prepare you for- there's just too much!

I will say Duval county's online records are fairly thorough and accessible, which is awesome. You can look up the address of the house on the building inspection web page, and look at the history of what permitted work has been done (or not done.) (buildinginspections.coj.net)

Other than that it's definitely a good idea to get a very good home inspection! An inspector should be able to point out any visible deficiencies, and potentially costly problems. Message me if you'd like some local recommendations of inspectors familiar with historic construction.