40 Times Boston Home Inspectors Found Such Surprising Things During Their Work, They Had To Document It (New Pics)
When homeowners try to save money and trust their know-it-all uncle to fix the cracked floors, they're just inviting trouble. Fortunately, structural inspectors are the ones who notice all the little details when they enter other people's houses. From stairs without handrails to faulty foundations and skeletons in the basement, they find every secret that sellers try so hard to hide.
Take it from this Boston area home inspector who created his own Instagram account just to show you some of the funniest and unbelievable things he's come across during check-ups over the past 25 years.
Bored Panda has collected some of the best photos that will make you feel glad that's not your house. So scroll down, upvote your favorite bizarre finds and make sure to check out Part 1 of this post right here.
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Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong Here!
I lived in a place that caught on fire...that’s probably the most frightened I’ve ever been. Oh, also that time I got lost in the snow in Yosemite. It made me afraid of the outdoors for pretty much the rest of my life.
We reached out to the creator of the account and the founder of Boston Home Inspectors, Inc., James Brock, who has seen pretty much everything in his line of work. As a business, they are proud of their reputation for thoroughness. They believe that a half-hearted inspection serves no one and put all of their focus on identifying the problems and putting them into proper perspective.
When asked about the inspiration behind the account, Brock told us that the idea was suggested by his daughter when they were out for pizza one day in 2016. "She had been on many inspections over the years to earn some spending money," he said.
"She gave the idea that I should post some of the funny things that we find during the inspections." The thought might have sounded strange at the time, but he decided to try it out. Ever since his first post, the account has grown and reached more than 16.4k followers who enjoy seeing bizarre things the inspectors find every day.
No Worries About Covid Washing Your Hands At This House!
When it comes to choosing which images to post on social media, there’s plenty of worthy material out there. The home inspector has captured more than 1500 pictures of questionable scenarios and objects left in plain sight while performing check-ups. Out of those, he has created a library of more than 200 images ready to be shared with the people of the Internet.
If you think that’s quite the number of missteps that owners do in order to improve their homes, that’s not even half of it. "There are many funny, crazy and scary things we find that just do not photograph well so we miss out on those," he said.
Masks Aren’t Saving You From This..yuck!
Mother-In-Law Door!
sequence: you fall down, then garage door open, aaaaaand the car rolls over you
professor time :D it’s an old barn. the hay bundles were raised to this opening by a pulley attached to the roof beam and stored upstairs, dry and sheltered.
This isn't uncommon for warehouse/garage/shops. it makes it easy to fork things to the second story instead of having to figure out how to get them upstairs. I have one at my office, and my coworker has one at his house on his workshop.
That's a converted barn. Barns have doors up there. The owners obviously wanted it to look better/let in natural light. It's not really weird unless you have a great ignorance of barns.
If you are ignorant - that used to be a hole to pass bales of hay through. The lower level is for livestock, farm equipment, etc and the hay goes up top. A full hay wagon will reach the top of that upper door so instead of throwing a 120lb bale of hay 18 ft down on the ground then carrying it back up the 18 ft, it goes through the hole. When you need to get a bale of hay, you pull up the wagon/pick up truck and throw it out into the bed. Once, again avoid moving a 120lb twice unnecessarily. There's a good chance you'll throw it out the upper door even if its for livestock below. You avoid crushing a barn cat or that calf that slipped out the stall not closed all the way.
Load More Replies...Some houses in northern Michigan and Canada have second story doors for when the snow blocks the ground floor.
They have houses like that in upstate New York too, especially around Buffalo, where they can get 130" of snow.
Load More Replies...Surely this is an old barn conversion, the doors at the top would have been for deliveries.
Honey, what's all this leftover lumber? Oh, gosh, I forgot the balcony.
The House-Is-On-Fire-And-It’s-Better-To-Break-Your-Legs-Door—the HIOFAIBTBYLD—the shorter yet more unwieldy abbreviation!
I'm guessing this used to be a barn and that's where they threw the hay out. Not really great remodeling work though.
I guess it's a door for moving cargos. There should be a bracket & pulley at the lug of roof outside of this picture, so that you can lift heavies easily to 2nd floor.
Looks like they converted an old barn and just used all the same holes that were already there.
Yep! Keep the old girl over the garage - I'm assuming this ia an unattached garage!
It's like the Winchester house where doors and stairs lead to nowhere or a really high up place.
Been to Sarah's "haunted"house... nothing compatible! This is just a barn.
Load More Replies...Why such hate for MIL???...make sure its push to open and dont lock it...could put a faux balcony on doorframe for aesthetics
they were being facetious. that has nothing to do with people, youve never seen a barn?
Load More Replies...Brock does not want to overwhelm his followers, so he decided to post only one picture a day. The inspector told us that he did not intend for the account to become a place to lecture people on the things they shouldn’t do but rather "wanted the account to be light and funny for the viewer". It’s the place where people can go and relate to the images as homeowners and feel glad that their homes do not look like that.
The home inspector also enjoys reading the replies of his audience: "Many of the viewers have a great wit and sense of humor. I often find myself saying 'Oh, I wish I would have thought of that comment to write'."
When You Want To Share Your Experiences With Other!
Who Farted? Oh Wrong Gas Smell!
last time I saw that stuff on a pipe I was 65 feet down, in a ship wreck...
The industry experts are interested in the content James Brock shares, too. He mentioned that sometimes he receives emails from other home inspectors or tradesmen saying "you failed to mention this problem in the background". But the creator has a lighthearted view on such remarks and replies that "this Instagram account is not a written full-fledged report" and shares a few laughs with his colleagues.
The New Green Gutter!
No...i Said It Was The Black Wire!
Measure Once!
A new home might be one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make and sometimes you can make some costly mistakes. Especially if you don’t know where to look. Having your house professionally checked by a structural inspector might give you information about certain defects that will save you thousands of dollars.
"Okay Move Along, Move Along People, There's Nothing To See Here!" Only 46 Air Fresheners In The House!
Not What I Was Expecting?
Shower With A View!
The experts not only check the main things like structure and exterior of the house and the basement but also windows, doors, fire hazards, appliances and outlets. They find the areas that cause concern and provide the information to the client. As they state on their website, "At the end of the inspection, the inspector will review the detailed report line-by-line and discuss the findings and recommendations. You will have a better understanding of the investment you are about to make."
Close!
Snap! Crackle! & Crunch!
Riding The Waves To The Bathroom...
The concern is, how did the floor flood because if it happened once, assuming the problem wasn't disclosed, it'll happen again.
Just remember that your home requires regular maintenance and yearly inspection. So if you wish that pictures of your house do not end up on the Boston Home Inspectors Instagram account, make sure to check the things lurking behind the walls, under decks and in the ceiling. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact a professional tradesman who can give you a list of the things you should focus on.
Interesting!
Got A Light?
Remember To Clean Your Shower Drain
Shortcut!
Just A Tad More!
When One Is Not Enough!
Just Hanging Around!
…and It’s Not Even Raining!
We’ll At Least It’s Not A Plumbers Crack!
Who Hide The Heinz?
Now This Is A Skinny House!
Just Cut The Deck Posts To Make Your Patio Bigger!
So Close!
Timber!
What amazes me the most is that the beam was cut at an angle on purpose
Nothing Says Happy Mother’s Day Better Than A Whirlpool Bath!
Gilligan’s Deck!
Good Thing They Have Backup!
Kitchen Sink With A Little Lip!
Painting Over The Termites Makes Them Go Away...
But The City Permits Were Signed Off…
Nap Time!
Live And Still Working Perfectly Fine!
They are actually surprisingly safe. Well, as in they are not the fire hazard you'd expect them to be.
Just Why?
Almost!
You Need A Home Inspection So Your First Load Isn’t All Over The Place!
Our laundry room in the basement has the outlets (electrical) at least four feet off the floor!
Note: this post originally had 120 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
As an european, I really cant understand the concept of "american house" made of cardboard & some kind of wood.
Watch videos of the aftermath of hurricanes and tornadoes. No matter what you make the house out of, its going down. If it was brick it's a lot harder to cleanup and rebuild.
Load More Replies...I see poorly designed houses, poorly maintained houses, and a temperature scale no one else in the world understands/ cares about. Not the funny post I was hoping for alas
"Boston" is in the title of the post, that probably gives away which temperature scale is going to be used. Many Americans free the same way about the other temperature scale.
Load More Replies...I say it more "holy crap this needs to be done in three days"
Load More Replies...As an european, I really cant understand the concept of "american house" made of cardboard & some kind of wood.
Watch videos of the aftermath of hurricanes and tornadoes. No matter what you make the house out of, its going down. If it was brick it's a lot harder to cleanup and rebuild.
Load More Replies...I see poorly designed houses, poorly maintained houses, and a temperature scale no one else in the world understands/ cares about. Not the funny post I was hoping for alas
"Boston" is in the title of the post, that probably gives away which temperature scale is going to be used. Many Americans free the same way about the other temperature scale.
Load More Replies...I say it more "holy crap this needs to be done in three days"
Load More Replies...