VBhomeinspector Blog

When you find an issue with a home, and cannot immediately figure out the cause it is time to follow the evidence. This Virginia Beach home had a wall that was buckling in the dining room. There was no indication in the rest of the dining room or home that any drastic settling had occurred. There was some moisture damage at the baseboard.

The buckling occurred in an almost vertical line from the ceiling to the baseboard. This got me to thinking of what I saw up on the roof. There is a secondary condensate drain that is emptying into the gutter. Now this installation is incorrect, but does offer a clue. With another trip outside to take a look at this drain it was evident that this drain had been extended about 6-7 inches into the gutter. So before it was extended it ended in the soffit right above the area of the damaged wall.

So every time the condensate drain was doing its job it was going into the soffit, and then following the stud straight down the dining room wall causing the vertical buckling. These drain lines are supposed to drain to a conspicuous location. A lot of times they will end over a window so that the home owner will notice that it is draining.

Just more evidence of a homeowner fixing one problem and creating another issue. Obviously this secondary drain has been working overtime indicating other issues with the cooling system.

It is interesting to find one problem and follow your steps back through a home inspection to find out the cause.