26 October 10 Most Frightening Field Finds October 26, 2021 By sma Inspection Tips inspection industry 0 10 Most Frightening Field Finds October 26, 2021 | Inspection Tips | inspection industry Every Halloween season, there’s no shortage of freaks and frights that are sure to stand your hair on end. Our inspectors have come across their own collection of spooky finds on the job site. Here are some of the most chilling! 1. Nobody’s home. (Stephen Fotiades) Starting things off, you might not think there’s anything peculiar about this photo. It’s just a curious homeowner checking on the inspection, right? Not this time! While checking out a vacant property, one of our inspectors snapped this phantom face. Hopefully they don’t mind someone new moving in! 2. Fake face, real scares! (Mark Naquin) You can probably see by the inspector’s expression that he wasn’t expecting this surprise! Another curious onlooker in the window, this one at least belongs to a (hopefully) inanimate mannequin. You never know what you'll find on the job! 3. A different kind of fright. This crawl space looks like it’s been taken over by web-spinning spiders. But it’s really the telltale sign of dryer lint buildup over time. While maybe not as scary as a colony of eight-legged arachnids, mass amounts of lint pose a serious fire hazard. (Check out this blog on how you can prevent a problem like this and extend your appliance’s life.) 4. Coffin, sweet coffin. (Lawrence Englehart) Though it’s just a Halloween decoration, it’s still enough to stop your heart! This coffin was found while doing an inspection in an exterior shed. Thankfully this time, Dracula wasn’t napping and waiting to pop out. Still you never know what (or who) could be inside! 5. Enter if you dare. (Josh Seidler) Ensuring a thorough home inspection means checking every room-- even if it gives you goosebumps. This cellar entrance certainly gives off horror movie vibes. Inside, the old well might be enough to make you head for the exit. 6. Bats in the belfry. Trying to camouflage in, these flying critters already have their Halloween costumes. Bats are very common in attics that aren’t properly sealed off. They can find their way in through openings from your vent exits and make themselves at home. Some signs you may have a bat infestation are droppings, stains on your ceiling, a strong ammonia smell, or squeaking and scratching sounds. A good countermeasure is to have any openings wired off, and of course, be sure to have professional animal handlers remove the bats. 7. Hidden in plain sight. (John Nelson) This one is a bit harder to decipher. Those dark purple and black lines on the infrared scan are rodent burrows. Mice and rats are another common house pest that can turn your dream home into a nightmare. If they can find food and shelter, they likely won’t leave for a while. You’ll know you have a problem if you hear scurrying, detect a musky odor, or notice gnaw marks on your furniture. Again, you should enlist the help of animal control to solve the problem. 8. Here lies… (Jon Glinski) Older houses are chock-full of different hidden gems. Yet you sometimes find things that stop you dead in your tracks . . . literally. This is a headstone found during the inspection of a home built over 200 years ago. The home at one point in time was a doctor’s office. 9. Shock and awe. (Erik Tolleshaug) If you go to use this sink, you might be in for a shocking surprise. The subpanel has been installed dangerously close to the faucet, with live wires exposed. This is definitely an error that needs repaired ASAP! 10. No trace. (Scott Mitchell) Lastly, the scare in this photo is hard to distinguish unless you take a closer look. Slight gaps in this back furnace gas flue can release dangerous carbon monoxide. Unless you have a CO detector, you wouldn’t even know it’s happening. Nearly 500 people each year die from CO poisoning, more so in winter when heating systems work overtime. To stay safe, place a carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home, and don’t skip your home inspection. Interested in starting your own home inspection franchise? Contact National Property Inspections to get your free information packet! Comments are closed.