Walls & Ceilings

The walls, ceilings, and floors of the home can be covered by a wide variety of materials and divide the home into individual rooms and areas. Many of the walls in a home can often support floors or other portions of the home above. Future homebuyers often ask if they can remove a wall or if it must stay. The inspector normally can tell what walls are load bearing and which are partition and removable. Your professional home inspector will be on alert to carefully check for areas where it appears load-bearing walls have been altered or removed. This must be done using good structural design and professional workmanship. Ceilings are inspected for leaks from plumbing or roofs as well as for safe installations. Heavy old plaster ceilings can be a hazard when cracked and worn. Floors are, of course, looked at carefully for sagging and unevenness. Uneven floors may indicate major problems in the home. The majority of the home's most important parts are between the floors, ceilings and walls, and they are not visible for inspection. This is why it is so important to inspect the condition of these areas for indications of larger potential problems in the dwelling.