When on a home inspection the group goes to the upper level, and when looking around notice a serious bulge in the ceiling drywall, well, upstairs ceilings can bulge for a reason, or many, many reasons!
Some things surprise even a seasoned home inspector, to whom, people will say, "Gee, you have probably seen everything!"
I can tell you with a straight face that home inspectors will NEVER see everything! And when we think we have we can be shocked to our cores!
The bulge did not photograph well.
Some things don't.
But it sure did demand some further investigation!
While outside, the thing I noticed initially about this very old farmhouse was that it had a terrific metal roof, with what looked like a new chimney protruding through on one side.
It's interesting to see something like that as the rest of the house was not in such good shape.
It was time to look into the attic.
Of course we were greeted with the interesting array of insulation, typically haphazard, yet wonderfully styled, and not very effective!
But off in the distance, over what was the bulge below, was something I have never seen before in an attic!
A LARGE PILE OF OLD BRICKS!
Remember the new chimney?
This must be what they did with a bunch, if not all, of the original bricks!
Even though it was very tempting to count the number of bricks, I was EXCEPTIONALLY unwilling to go over there to have a look and add my weight to that of the bricks!
This officially became a dangerous home inspection!
Literally, people could have been killed, including me!
THIS WAS A LOT OF BRICKS!
Those "contractors" who left that pile there were very lucky fellows. One side of this pile is over the staircase, so a collapse would have been devastating, if not deadly.
My recommendation: home inspectors will never see everything! And I don't even want to! It is too much fun running into new things every day!
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC 
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia.
Office (703) 330-6388 Cell (703) 585-7560
Good morning, Jay. I find it interesting to see so many properties look fancy on the inside but when you start looking beyond the beauty - Oye Veh!!!
This little beauty has provided me a lot of blog fodder Michael!
Hi Jay... I always learn something from your posts. But I must say there are days when what you have to say makes me very nervous thinking about the next inspection!
The good news is those bricks will make good edging on a patio or walkway. The bad news is they are in the attic and someone needs to get them down...safely.
I wasn't nervous on this one until I saw this Nina, and this is the house with the barrel in yesterday's post!
The suggestion would be to send up a really, really light person Cindy! And throw the bricks down one by one.
Jay, I'm surprised the owner didn't investigate what was causing the bulge in the ceiling. An accident waiting to happen.
Maybe the owner did this many years ago Michael! And has been living with it!
Over weight in the attic is common as the home get older. I had a home that was an estate sale and up in the attic where bowling balls that the deceased owners had collected over the years being an avid bowlers. He and his wife had 22 bowling balls some 16 pounds and some 14 pounds.
This does not sound like something a trade would do... maybe a not-too-bright homeowner with no clue? Anyone who has lugged bricks around is aware of what they weigh, so this is a strange one for sure.
Heck of a place to store those bricks. Certainly cut down on the clean up and haul off.
That is not a whole lot of weight Richard, but still, weight is weight and in the wrong spot can be very bad. In this case, my best estimate is over a ton.
They built a chimney which, Jean, from the outside, looked straight and true!
It cut down on all of that Than! And they are conveniently stored for future use!
Yikes. Maybe cut a hole in the ceiling, put a mattress on the floor and let them fall? Don't forget the hard hat too.
Jay, you were wise not to go over to count the bricks!
That's thinking outside the box Athina! Or at least outside the attic! You would need a biggie mattress!
Hi Jay,
Really? I bet the contractors were paid pretty well to leave the bricks in the attic. But then they were probably just too lazy to remove them. I think it was the later.
Very good find.
Have a great day in Bristow an a very Good Easter Sunday.
Best, Clint McKie
The things that home inspectors see. The stories that could be told, especially in some of the older parts of the country.
All I can say is WOW. The safety part of you inspection form now has a new list " Watch out below" and Hard Hat Area signage need.
I was afeared Brian! Afeared I tell you.
Lazy is as lazy does Clint!
And we tell them Matthew! I love reading the exploits of other home inspectors on AR!
For sure Chuck. I have one in my car, but not enough for everybody!
Jay, your home inspections are very informative. This is a good lesson to homeowners w/ older homes, they might want to check what's in the attic. Thanks for your post today,
Thanks Pamela. It is seldom that I am not able to get into the attic. There is a lot of important stuff to see there!
It will be interesting is see how the people are going to get rid of those. Any ideas?
My clients bugged out of the deal James. I had not thought about it, but I suppose it will take some very light people.
Jay, Attics are not dumps, especially for bricks. It is amazing how much garbage gets left in them over the years.
I've seen so much stuff Don, including old furnaces and water heaters!