For buyers and sellers
What buyers and sellers should know about the foundation and the lot in Jacksonville and Eastern North Carolina.
On a home inspection in Jacksonville and Eastern North Carolina, the visible foundation, the slope of the ground, and the plants against the house are checked together. Water follows the low spot.
What changes the price
A foundation that has moved, ground that slopes toward the house, and roof water dumped at the wall are the items buyers negotiate.
The foundation
The type is named. Crawlspace piers, a slab, and a basement are not the same house. Cracks, displacement, and earlier repairs on the visible foundation are photographed. The wood and moisture under a crawlspace house are on their own page.
The slope of the ground
Soil should fall away from the house. A grade that has settled back toward the foundation holds rain at the wall. Regrading, or a drainage system that carries the water away, is the usual correction.
Trees and shrubs
Vegetation against the wall holds moisture on the siding and the foundation. Roots and limbs that are already touching the house are noted. Hedges at a crawlspace door should be trimmed so that space can be entered.
Where the roof water lands
A downspout that dumps against the foundation is a grading problem even when the soil once sloped the right way. Gutters and downspout extensions carry that water away from the house. Splash blocks are not useful, and they are not recommended.
Roof water at the wall is usually the gutter
Water from the roof that reaches the foundation, or shows up in the crawlspace, is typically a gutter and water-management issue. The roof page covers the gutters. The crawlspace page covers what that water does to the wood under the house.
No-obligation pricing
See where the water goes before you buy.
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