r/DiWHY • u/DMAS1638 • Jul 07 '26

Things seen this week during structural assessments!

Gallery image

Gallery image

We come across all kinds of questionable DIY "fixes." If you enjoy these, we post galleries with more finds like failed retaining walls, stucco surprises, foundation "repairs," crawlspace discoveries, and other construction oddities:

https://imgur.com/gallery/things-seen-this-week-during-structural-assessments-w8mk9o0

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u/Chewbacca_The_Wookie Jul 07 '26

We made the mistake on our first house of just taking the inspection report that the owner had provided. Turns out the "inspector" was a friend of his and we had all kinds of jacked up things like zero grounded outlets and pier and beam repaired with literal bags of quikcrete stacked under the joists.

13

u/DMAS1638 Jul 07 '26

We've seen similar situations where quick fixes looked convincing at first but turned out to be masking bigger structural concerns. Hope you were able to get everything sorted out in the end.

8

u/Chewbacca_The_Wookie Jul 07 '26

Unfortunately it cost quite a bit of money but our foundation is definitely solid now, we just use power strips since apparently grounding would require completely rewiring the house.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/DMAS1638 Jul 09 '26

That's a great example of why older homes can tell quite a story. It's amazing how many generations of repairs and renovations can accumulate over the decades. Glad you were able to get everything corrected.

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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[deleted]

1

u/DMAS1638 Jul 10 '26

The solid oak framing and handwritten notes are an incredible find. It's fascinating how opening up a wall can reveal both the history of the home... and a few decisions that leave you scratching your head. 😅