Home Inspections

When considering the purchase of a home, it's a possibility that you have no earthly clue as to what types of activities may previously taken place in that home. Sometimes the history of the home is known...and other times it isn't. Often, a Home Inspection report resulting from a professional Home Inspection can reveal some interesting, and potentially surprising and unexpected, issues.

Recently, there has been an elevated amount of press given what is commonly referred to as a Grow Op...an issue where it is determined that marijuana has been being grown inside a house. While this isn't a particularly new issue, it is one that is worthy of some examination and thought from the perspective of a home-buyer and where it is the experienced Home Inspector that often makes a determination based on observation of a myriad of conditions. So, other than being an illegal activity (I say...against the law) in most places (and not a recommended activity, I might add), what's the big deal? Well, if there has been any large-scale Grow Op occurring in a home, then there are any number of potentially...let me repeat...potentially adverse consequences. Electrical systems may have been modified, automatic watering systems may have been installed, and the interior (and sometimes the structure of the home itself) may have been adversely altered or otherwise affected.The presence of automatic and large volume watering systems may have introduced enough extra moisture into the interior spaces so as to facilitate the production of fungal growth...including mold.

I have never personally inspected a home where a large-scale grow op had taken place. As a professional Home Inspector and the owner of a Raleigh Home Inspection firm, I recently had the occasion to inspect a home where there was evidence of a small-scale Grow Op present; the subject home was unoccupied and mostly vacant except for a few interesting pieces of...equipment...and some minor modifications to the interior. The instance that I recall was obviously the result of small-scale marijuana cultivation...perhaps someone growing a few pot plants for personal/recreational use...and maybe even by a beginner or a rookie grower in the experimental stage. There was a heat lamp and a fan/ventilation unit that had been left behind and there was some loose and disconnected flexible duct-work to be seen. There had been holes cut into a couple of the interior walls of the basement to allow for the routing of the duct-work and in the attic space and (apparently as hiding place), there were various books and a collection of periodical publications that related to the art and the science of hydroponics, marijuana growing, and the like. Within the scope of a general and visual Home Inspection, there was no evidence that any serious issues had resulted from the subject activities...there were no musty odors, no visible fungal/microbial growth on finished surfaces or in unfinished areas, there were no electrical system modifications...nothing to indicate anything but a very small-scale operational activity had taken place. But this was a small-scale operation. Had it been a large-scale operation, involving substantially more equipment and, perhaps, a higher degree of sophistication and/or methodology, then there may well have been other evidence present. Since our home-buying clients were present during the Home Inspection, all of the observations were discussed with the them and we were able to observe everything first hand.

Some conditions that one might look for, in determining whether or not there has been a large-scale Grow Operation present in the residential dwelling, are:

• Evidence that the electrical system, to include the electrical service has been modified (sometimes to illegally obtain free power from the power company)
• Evidence of a large amount of non-professional or amateurish electrical work
• The presence of unusual water piping, or water hoses that are either permanently installed or that have been routed in and through the interior, or of exterior hose faucet fittings having been installed in odd locations at interior spaces
• The presence of duct-work, either rigid or flexible, installed or routed through finished or unfinished space in an atypical manner
• The alteration of interior walls and surfaces to facilitate the routing of ventilation duct-work...and this may manifest itself as visible repairs or patches that may be present indicating that such duct-work had been previously installed but since removed
• Altered or severed framing members either in unfinished spaces e.g. in a basement or in an attic space
• Visible fungal/microbial growth on surfaces in suspected areas (this can be indicative of other excessive moisture sources or unrelated conditions)
• Any such related conditions that just seem...out of place...for a residential setting

Does the fact that the house has been used for a Grow Op mean that it is unsuitable for habitability? Very likely, no, this is not the case. The answer to that question may well be more a matter of scope than of fact.  Although, in the case of a large-scale operation, there can be significant and reportable issues that may need to be investigated and corrected; even then, the issues are usually able to be satisfactorily corrected. The marijuana plants themselves, even though the very subject matter can be deemed spectacular and considered somewhat alarming, probably haven't caused the house any problems if there were only a few of them at any given time...no more of an issue than if there had been just a few Philodendrin or Dieffenbachia (common house plants) flourishing inside the home at some time. It's when there are a large number of plants inside where the possibility of adverse conditions is increased....and maybe even exponentially so.

What's the best way to increase the chances of knowing that such activities, and any resulting conditions may have historically occurred in the home? One really good way is to attain the services of a Home Inspector and have a professional Home Inspection performed on the property. While the odds that any evidence of a Grow Op manifesting itself in any given home are minimal, you'll feel better knowing that the home was inspected. There is a potentially innumerable number of other issues that you just might want to know about as well!