Jon Tremper

Tepee Inspection, Inc.
 

Tel: 321-777-1538 FAX:  321-259-4477     6396 S. US Hwy 1 Suntree, FL, 32955

Serving all of:

Brevard, Indian River and Orange counties as well as Orlando and the Space Coast with Certified, Professional Home Inspection Services

Jon Tremper is a native Floridian with a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a master’s degree from Florida Tech. He retired from the U. S. Army as a Major after serving 20 years as an Airborne Ranger.

He founded Tepee Inspections Inc. in 1989, has been a Florida Association of Building Inspectors (FABI) member since 1990, served on the Board of Directors, and has performed over 10,000 inspections of residential and commercial properties. He is a Registered Professional Inspector (RPI), a state certified Windstorm Mitigation Inspector, and a FEMA Disaster Housing Inspector.

He currently oversees the operation of Tepee Inspections Inc, which provides inspection services ranging from new construction consulting to air sampling for mold and Infrared leak detection.

 He founded “The Home Inspection Academy” in 2000 and conducts classes on home inspection topics, including a 36 hour “Basic training For Home Inspectors”. He is a state certified educational provider, offering continuing education credit courses for the real estate, insurance and construction industries. Jon has testified in Florida courts as an expert witness in cases involving construction defects.

Crack-ology

From the perspective of a home inspector with 20+ years experience, I can readily say that the number one concern from prospective home buyers is the cracks that they see during the previewing and walk-through process of house hunting. When the purchase contract is finalized and it is time for the home inspection we like to ask “Do you have any concerns about this house?” Almost always the answer is “I saw some cracks in the ……..”

To most people cracks equate to a foundation problem and foundation problems can be expensive to correct. So how do you determine if cracks are a symptom of something pervasive or are just a typical manifestation of time, weather, and material? There are a few basic guidelines to consider before calling a structural engineer. Number one – Concrete will crack; it is the nature of concrete and it will crack beginning during the curing process and continuing through its life cycle. It is not unusual to see cracking along mortar lines and in a stair-step pattern in concrete block homes. A number of hair-line cracks in homes only a few years old is considered normal. As long as these cracks don’t progress to the size of a pencil eraser or display any out-of-plane movement this should not be considered a problem. Out-of-plane movement can be recognized by one side of the crack no longer in line with the other side of the crack. Stucco cracking typically follows cracking in the substrate or in the case of stucco over wood frame construction, stress cracking is very common. Extensive cracks in stucco over frame construction can be from a number of reasons, most commonly inadequate stucco thickness or rusting metal lathe under the stucco. Stucco over wood frame construction should have relief joints every 10 – 12 feet to accommodate the normal settlement cracking that occurs in virtually all of our central Florida construction. Our sandy soil is not the ideal base for a poured concrete foundation and pre-construction preparation of the soil (removal of organic matter and soil compaction) is an important step in preventing foundation problems. Excessive movement in a wall or foundation is relatively easy to identify by a trained professional and should be followed up by an assessment of the problem by a licensed professional engineer.

Similar guidelines exist for poured concrete slab floors, driveways, and walks. Cracks in these components are a fact of life and since they are often only 3 ½” – 4” thick, cracking is even more common than in walls. I will go so far as to say that seldom will you encounter a poured slab without some degree of settlement cracking. Only in the past ten years have some builders begun to cut relief joints into slabs to reduce or at least control cracks.

Cracks in interior sheetrock or plaster walls is only slightly different than the masonry cracking issue. Hairline cracking is common on interior walls at window and door openings where there are different forces on the load-bearing elements. Even more common is cracking at corners and wall / ceiling seams where sheetrock installers typically tape and mud the seams. These seams over time have a tendency to separate and become noticeable and sometimes unsightly. Humidity levels are a factor in seam failures and houses kept open are more likely to develop these sheetrock seam failures. As houses age, it is perfectly normal for these seam failures to appear.

Homeowners who identify cracks that they feel are excessive should contact Tepee Inspections Inc. for a professional assessment of the conditions. Those cases that warrant corrective action should be referred to a licensed professional engineer.

You can e-mail your questions related to this subject to tepeeinspections@cfl.rr.com.

 

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