Recently I was engaged to inspect a home built in 1996, when a second floor was added and renovated, supposedly. The first sign something was off was the foundation, built of concrete blocks, and then added onto with a concrete foundation for the oversize garage. The second sign was the dimensional or full size lumber beams, joists, columns, and old wide floor boards. No pressure treated wood, no plywood, but plenty of sister boards. Yes they had sistered the old floor joists with newer lumber when they had done the renovation.
Subsequent checking by the client turned up that a permit was pulled circa 1996 to add a 2nd floor, on top of the single family home that was there. Issues for the real estate agent of record and the listing. But the floor boards and support never lie!
So my concerns were validated. This is the 2nd time I have run into this misrepresentation of when a house was built and added onto. It was confusing to say the least.
Moral of the story, be wary when they have had major renovations so that you know what was built when, as it makes a big difference! In this case it was 51 years of difference.
