Walls

Photographs of findings of walls, floors, and ceilings during home inspections.

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wall framing
house wrap
brick exterior
I
just drove around, so I could have some photos of the steps to
creating the walls of a home. First you have the framing. Once it is
complete, electrical and plumbing contractors will come to run their
lines. A sheathing is placed over the framing on the interior side
and the exterior side. For the exterior, this could be some type of
plywood or OSB. Over this sheathing comes the material that you see
in the center photo. This is a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from
getting into the framing. Finally the exterior surface is put on. In
this case brick. It is kept an inch away from the sheathing to create
a path for any moisture to run down the wall to help get it out of
the building.

covering a weephole
This
moisture can then exit through the weepholes at the base of the wall.
In this photo, a flagstone patio was placed on top of an existing
concrete patio. If you can see, in the center of the picture is the
weephole, which now sits partially below the new surface. This allows
water to flow back into the house.

stucco and painted brick
Here
is a painted brick wall and a stucco wall to the right. I like the
contrasting surfaces, as well as the color scheme.

stucco with EIFS trim
Cement
stucco are hard to tell apart visually. They do sound different when
you tap on them. This is what is happening on most homes. The wall is
mainly cement stucco, but the trim pieces are EIFS. EIFS is easier to
shape, so design elements can be created quickly and cheaply with it.
This allows trim work that cannot be done on a traditional stucco
home.

stairs
I
really liked this stair case. It is from a historic home in Miami,
which is the lighthouse keeper’s cottage. A little slice of New
England in Florida. There is a problem, which is hard to see in this
view. The balusters are more than four inches apart. The balusters
should be just a little bit closer to prevent children from falling
through.

older door
old door hinge
From
the same cottage as above is an example of an older style door. I
just liked the look, so I thought that I would share it.

A
parquet floor with style. This was a floor put in place for a
Leonardo da Vinci exhibit. Most wood floors stay with a straight
forward design. This was a little more work, but it produces a
beautiful effect.

decorative building entrance
decorative roof line
These
are some pics of the older building for the Houston Public Library
downtown. I feel that seeing these design elements can inspire one to
find ways in making you own home stand out. I would not go so far as
this on my home, but it gives one ideas.

Moisture in trim
Well, here is a fascia board that has suffered damage due to moisture penetration. The best thing to do here is replace the board.

crack in joint
Cracks following the mortar joints in brick walls usually indicate movement. It is a good idea to seal them or redo the mortar to prevent water from penetrating into the wall.

In this case, you see that the crack went through the mortar first, but then went through the brick. We could be looking at a foundation problem- other indicators need to be weighed in with this crack to make that kind of determination.

concrete block used as wall
Concrete Block is used as a support material and as the exterior wall. This is one type of wall which comes under the heading of masonry walls.

masonry work
Here we have a decorative masonry finish below, with a wood panel above for an exterior wall. In this case, stones were used from the surrounding area, but the effect can be achieved with a manufactured product too.

Expansion joints are now being incorporated into exterior walls of homes to help minimize the effect of movement. It is hard to see in this photo, but the caulking is cracking. If the caulk is not in place, water can seep into the wall to damage the framing.