Stability

Last week we began going through the laundry list of things the building inspector had noted about our house.

I repaired the cracked PVC pipe under the kitchen sink and replaced the sprayer, too. I put new batteries in the smoke detectors, called the gas company and they tightened the connection behind the stove, repairing the "miniscule" leak they found in the coupling. Dad and I glazed several window panes. The weather cooperated and I was able to paint the base of the pillars on the front porch. I even borrowed a "knee-kicker" and got the carpet laying close to the basement wall again.

And I painted.

The kitchen. The master bedroom. The back room.

As I painted I wondered.

The Building Inspection Report included a suggestion to hire a building engineer to do a structural analysis to determine if the foundation had shifted and whether the building is stable.

The buyers were scared off.

Our house was built in 1938 as a workshop. Later, three rooms were added on the east making it a small home. Later still, the basement was excavated (after the house was built!), adding two more bedrooms.

In December 2005 a building inspector comes along and wonders: "The floors are crooked, the walls aren't plumb or square and there is a crack in the kitchen ceiling. The foundation must be unstable."

So, I paint.

And as I paint, thoughts run through my mind: Is the house really unstable? As I cover each crack with a fresh coat of paint, am I hiding proof that the house should be condemned? Is my paint making me a liar?

The realtor had spoken with an engineering firm. They would do a study for $750, if requested, but if the house has been occupied for 10 years with no sign of shifting, then the house is stable.

I am not a Structural Engineer. I DO NOT know whether the building has shifted in the ten years we've lived in it. We've lived with the crooked floors and out-of-plumb walls the whole time, but is the building stable?

Then I saw it.

The joint between the back wall and the kitchen cabinets. The obvious tilt of the wall.

I remember distinctly filling that crack between the wall and the cabinet with caulk 10 years ago. We caulked LOTS of cracks as we made the house more livable after it had been "remodeled". That kitchen crack was memorable. It took a lot of caulk.

My ten-year-old job filling the crack was undisturbed.

No stretching, no cracking.

There had been no movement of the house during the 10 years we'd lived there and I had easy to point-out proof.

Goodness!

I'm not a liar.

I can offer my home for purchase with a clear conscience.

Now we just need to find folks who will fall in love with its character like we did.