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Oct 21, 2024

Common Older Home Problems | Family Handyman

By Samuel Rosenmayer Updated on Feb. 05, 2024 Take immediate action if your home has any of these problems. STRUCTURE TECH HOME INSPECTIONS Last month I had an opportunity to venture down some of the

By Samuel Rosenmayer

Updated on Feb. 05, 2024

Take immediate action if your home has any of these problems.

STRUCTURE TECH HOME INSPECTIONS

Last month I had an opportunity to venture down some of the older streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was starstruck at some of the well-kept older homes that are still full of unique charm.

Old homes are treasured for their rich character and aesthetics. But unfortunately, they sometimes can be full of problems, depending on the time of construction. A home built in the 1970s probably won’t have a galvanized water pipe issue like one from the 1920s, but it could have asbestos or electrical problems that need to be addressed.

Historic homes are magnificent and worth the work. If you plan on purchasing or renovating an old house, do your homework so you know what you are getting yourself into.

Reuben Saltzman, CEO of Structure Tech Inspections, has years of experience inspecting homes. Saltzman and his team identified so many common problems that they organized them into a chart, based on the age of a home.

“It’s impossible to make a perfect chart like this because so many of these things are generalities,” he said. “But I think this chart is a great starting point to knowing what types of issues to look out for.”

Here are some of the most common old home problems you may run into:

Nine-inch by nine-inch floor tiles manufactured prior to the 1980s are known to contain asbestos. There’s no harm if you leave the tiles alone. But disturbing the tiles may create a powder that’s dangerous if released into the air.

Do not attempt to remove the titles yourself. Have a professional do it before you replace it with new flooring.

Aluminum wiring is one of the worst safety issues you can find in an older home, and it’s costly to fix. A popular kind of wiring in the 1960s and 70s, the high rate of expanding and contracting often leads to loose connections.

“When I come across aluminum wiring, I recommend getting an electrician in to inspect it and to make repairs,” Saltzman says. “Experience has taught me that many electricians aren’t aware of the difference in alloys, and they deem all aluminum branch circuit wiring to be hazardous.”

“It’s highly unlikely that you’ll find asbestos-containing materials in modern homes,” Saltzman says. “So where can you find asbestos in an older home? Just about anywhere … If a material isn’t made from wood or metal, it might contain asbestos.”

The good news: Saltzman says in most cases, it’s not a big deal as long as you don’t disturb the material. “Asbestos doesn’t do any harm as long as it remains intact and nobody breathes in the asbestos fibers,” he says.

Prior to 1992, homes generally featured attic bypasses. “Attic bypasses are the driving force behind ice dams, as well as frost, moisture, and mold in the attic,” Saltzman says.

After 1992, builders reduced or eliminated attic bypasses. Before sealing up attic bypasses in your home, make sure to fix any air leaks in your attic. This is an issue a homeowner can address, or hire a professional to handle.

Before municipalities installed natural gas lines, the furnaces in most homes used fuel oil stored in a tank. “Homes before the 1930s were almost guaranteed to have a underground oil tank,” Saltzman says. If not drained and filled in, these tanks can eventually leak fuel, causing a huge, expensive mess.

Buried fuel tanks are easily missed while inspecting an older home; look for a vent pipe or metal cap. You’ll need an environmental cleanup company to remove or fill the tank. This is not something you should try to do on your own.

These faulty electric panels, found in homes built in the 1970s to late 1980s, contain hidden fire hazards. When they become overloaded, they fail to trip, resulting in the panel melting and possible catching fire.

“Replacing an old, unsafe electrical panel is not a huge investment,” Saltzman says. “In most cases, the total cost for this project is less than $1,500.” Newer panels require Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) for added fire safety, which Saltzman says aren’t available for Stab-Lok panels.

Prior to 1960, water lines were made of galvanized steel. Over time, they corroded from the inside out. This eventually hinders water flow, causing a huge issue. Remedy this by replacing galvanized water pipes with PEX, copper or PVC.

This wiring method existed prior to 1940s. It’s a safety issue because that original wiring has probably been modified in some form or another, making it unsafe.

“If you’re buying a home with knob and tube wiring, make sure that your home inspector is familiar with this type of wiring,” Saltzman says. “If your home inspector finds any problems with it, have it further inspected and repaired as needed by an electrician. Finally, make sure that you can get insurance coverage on the home.”

In the early 1930s, water mains were made of lead or galvanized steel. Neither is optimal. Galvanized steel corrodes on the inside, restricting water flow, And lead is the last thing you want in your water, for obvious reasons.

Not sure if you have lead piping? “The first indicator that you may have lead piping is the presence of something called a wiped joint, which is a big swollen ball of lead at the transition between lead piping and other types of piping,” Saltzman says.

Here’s a quick trick to check for lead: Lightly scratch the pipe. If the scratched area is shiny silver, it’s probably lead.

Some chimneys were constructed this way in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

“They were typically built with sand-lime bricks that don’t hold up over time when exposed to water,” Saltzman says. “The stucco walls were supposed to protect the bricks, but once you have chimneys leaking water from the top, that water starts to destroy the chimney on the inside.”

When you start to see signs of water invasion, repair your chimney immediately.

Transite ductwork used in the 1960s and 70s can be another source of asbestos. You can’t clean it because it disturbs this crumbly material, becoming a health risk and environmental hazard.

Saltzman says home buyers generally aren’t keen on ducts that can’t be safely cleaned. If you buy a home with transite heat, it’s not the end of the world, but there’s also no simple fix.

From 1949 to 1955, transite gas vents were used with water heaters, boilers and furnaces. If the material in the vents flakes apart, it can trap exhaust gases, releasing carbon monoxide into the home — an extremely dangerous situation. Address this immediately

“If you’re buying a home with a transite asbestos vent, typically for a water heater or furnace, be sure to have the interior of the flue inspected,” Saltzman says. “When it’s in pristine condition, as some of them still are, just plan not to use it again once the gas appliances that are connected to it are replaced.

“If the flue is deteriorated, you should have it abandoned immediately for safety. An HVAC contractor can help to figure out a different way to vent the existing appliances, or can replace the existing appliances with new ones that don’t need to use the transite asbestos flue.”

Three-prong grounded outlets weren’t required by code until 1962, so homes built prior to that may still have the two-prong ungrounded outlets. Grounding is important to protect against electric shocks; the third line redirects electric current during a hazardous ground-fault condition in an appliance.

Consult a licensed electrician for solutions. “If you’re not qualified to do electrical work, don’t do it,” Saltzman says. “You could kill yourself or burn your house down.”

This loose fill insulation can be found in homes built between 1920 and 1990. It’s problematic because any little disturbance can send asbestos fibers into the air.

“Up to 85 percent of all vermiculite insulation in the U.S. came from a mine in Libby, Montana, sold under the name Zonolite,” Saltzman says. “And the type of asbestos found in vermiculite — called amphibole — is even more hazardous than the chrysotile asbestos that was more commonly used in the U.S.”

If you have vermiculite insulation, Saltzman recommends contacting an insulation contractor to have it tested for asbestos. The Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust, established in 2014, helps homeowners with the cost of removing Zonolite from their homes. The trust reimburses homeowners for 55 percent of their removal and re-insulation costs, with a maximum payout per owner of $4,125.