# Oddest home inspection stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675 "2016-03-30T22:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/41 "2016-04-03T00:24:59Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Bought a house and walked through it with the inspector. He opened up the electrical panel looked all around and closed the door. The inspection passed with a few things, all minor and they got fixed. Nothing electrical on the list. > > Five years later I am having some work done on the house and the electrician comes in and looks at the box for all of 5 seconds. > > He says to me……”Are you aware you got a 200 Amp panel but the service cable coming into it is 100 amp ? I’m not working this job unless that is fixed.” > > $900 problem I had to solve as that was a dangerous situation. I’m not following what the dangerous situation was. Was there 200 Amp service through an undersized 100 Amp cable to a 200 Amp panel? That could be dangerous. Or was there a 200 Amp panel connected to a 100 amp cable being supplied by a 100 amp service. That is not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/42 "2016-04-03T00:26:05Z")
> [@owlfan](#): > > A friend was having some work done requiring the removal of some ceiling tiles in the basement. The workman presented her with a bunch of porn magazines that he found in there. When she confronted her husband he claimed that they must have belonged to a previous owner. But the dates of the magazines proved otherwise! Maybe he was keeping them for a friend? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/43 "2016-04-03T12:29:14Z")
Not exactly a home inspection story but somewhat along the same line: A previous owner of my house was a heavy drinker according to my neighbor. When I tore down an old garden shed in the back yard I found about half a dozen beer and liquor bottles hidden under the floor. Later I ripped up the grass in the back yard to replace it with low water plants and found a vodka bottle buried under the ground. It had a bit of clear liquid inside but I didn’t try tasting it to see if it was vodka or rain water that had seeped into the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/44 "2016-04-03T15:38:51Z")
This wasn’t caught by the inspector, and we didn’t notice because the grass was knee-high. One of the lawn sprinklers had been replaced with a shower head. I found it with the lawn mower. After that it was a fountain for a couple of weeks. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/45 "2016-04-04T12:31:00Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > I’m not following what the dangerous situation was. Was there 200 Amp service through an undersized 100 Amp cable to a 200 Amp panel? That could be dangerous. Or was there a 200 Amp panel connected to a 100 amp cable being supplied by a 100 amp service. That is not a problem. A 100 Amp cable from the service head on the outside of the building, down the building, to the 200 AMP main panel. A couple posters mentioned the cost, well it included the power company fee to turn off the power to the house. The old 100 amp had to be pulled and the new 200 amp cable had to be terminated at the service head. Here in this power company service area they had to be here for that change. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/46 "2016-04-04T12:54:14Z")
Not on inspection, but after move in of my house: In a closet that I wasn’t using, there was a bunch of spare closet parts for shelving. What I didn’t notice for a few months was the small box that was not spare closet parts, but a ball gag and a couple of leather wrist cuffs with small padlocks. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/47 "2016-04-04T13:12:15Z")
A trash sack full of Beanie Babies in the attic. No they were not worth anything. I checked. I ended up just throwing them out. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/48 "2016-04-04T14:43:22Z")
I refuse to look this up on my work computer, but what is a masturbation sleeve??? ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/49 "2016-04-04T16:37:28Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > In principle I agree with your comment about the outlets, but if they’re all placed in barely usable locations then the effort is wasted… That’s a given of course. Perhaps they were thinking of future plans? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/50 "2016-04-04T17:22:54Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > I refuse to look this up on my work computer, but what is a masturbation sleeve??? It’s a fake vagina - in other words, the male version of a dildo. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/51 "2016-04-04T17:36:56Z")
We have a septic tank, and every five years we get it pumped. The first time, about ten years ago, the septic guy asks, “Where’s your filter?” 😕 He showed my husband where there’s supposed to be a filter thingy in the part of the septic tank that comes above ground (thick pipe, used for access.) Hmmm, we say. We contact the contractor, who contacted the guy who put in the septic tank. Turns out, this guy was using the same filter over and over. They were expensive, he figured the homeowner would never know (We only know to get our tank pumped every five years because my dad, who helps install them, made it a point of how important it was) and he would put it in for the inspection and take it out again. The contractor must have blistered his ear, because he drove out that afternoon to put it in for us. But if it weren’t for my dad, we never would have known. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/52 "2016-04-04T17:37:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > On a similar note, last summer our kitchen sink stopped draining. We tried Drano, tried snaking it, nothing worked. Eventually, the landlord’s handyman ended up digging a trench through the front yard and discovered the cause of the problem - about ten years ago the city had replaced the main sewer line running down our street, and even though the rest of the drains in the house had gotten reconnected to the new line, the kitchen sink somehow got missed. It had been draining into the soil for years until it became saturated. We had something similar - first thing that broke after I bought my house was the toilet started backing up. My plumber found that a) it was ancient clay pipe, possibly original to the house, which had essentially disintegrated, and b) that since at some point my lot had been subdivided it ran off our property. That was an expensive fix, and he would have charged more if he’d known just what a pain digging that new trench was gonna be. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/53 "2016-04-06T10:53:51Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > We have a septic tank, and every five years we get it pumped. > > The first time, about ten years ago, the septic guy asks, “Where’s your filter?” > > 😕 > > He showed my husband where there’s supposed to be a filter thingy in the part of the septic tank that comes above ground (thick pipe, used for access.) > > Hmmm, we say. We contact the contractor, who contacted the guy who put in the septic tank. > > Turns out, this guy was using the same filter over and over. They were expensive, he figured the homeowner would never know (We only know to get our tank pumped every five years because my dad, who helps install them, made it a point of how important it was) and he would put it in for the inspection and take it out again. > > The contractor must have blistered his ear, because he drove out that afternoon to put it in for us. But if it weren’t for my dad, we never would have known. A filter? :dubious: What is a filter for in a septic tank?😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/54 "2016-04-06T15:43:03Z")
[Septic Tank Filter](http://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Filter_Maintenance.php#FNeed) ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/55 "2016-04-06T17:55:37Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Septic Tank Filter](http://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Filter_Maintenance.php#FNeed) well thank you! solids? Aren’t they suppose to go in the tank? I can see it being on the bottom end before it gets to the field but… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/56 "2016-04-06T18:02:08Z")
There’s an access pipe and they go in there. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/57 "2016-04-06T18:27:41Z")
Specifically, there’s an outflow pipe with aboveground access at the bottom end and that’s where the filter goes. My first 11 years were spent in a house with a septic tank. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/58 "2016-04-06T18:40:17Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Specifically, there’s an outflow pipe with aboveground access at the bottom end and that’s where the filter goes. > > My first 11 years were spent in a house with a septic tank. Thanks, I knew there was a pipe jutting out of the ground and that’s where the filter went. The last three times we got the tank pumped I was at work and Ivylad handled. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/59 "2016-04-08T11:21:16Z")
Is this state specific? We dont know of any around here. There was am new house, in fact a few new ones that do not have this item ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675/60 "2016-04-14T02:08:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > They certainly weren’t all wrapped. I didn’t dig too deep, but the ones I saw were all kind of crinkled. There may have been a layer of flat sheets below them, though. Quite odd, I must say. I hope the home inspectors took a photo of it (we’re supposed to get the full report later today.) That’s a real headscratcher, to be sure. Can you force the sellers to redo the insulation with something that isn’t, yanno, a FIRE HAZARD?? And what’s with attic access always being a trapdoor somewhere no human can get to? Our current house is like that. Our previous house was too (though we actually had pulldown stairs put in). The house I grew up in was like that too - and my parents actually used the attic for off-season storage. Not the inspection, but the townhouse we moved into in the late 80s was less than 2 years old. When we first turned on the furnace that fall, it sounded like there was a very small, and very pissed-off, person stuck inside the furnace, kicking it to try to escape. We called a service company and described it, saying “Um, can we run the thing? is the house gonna burn down?”. The clerk put us on hold, and came back on the phone a few minutes later and said “The techs tell me that sometimes construction workers will toss in a soda can just as a prank”. Well, the tech got there the next day and said “I don’t think that’s it at all”. And he was right. he opened that thing up and no soda can. There was, however, a quart-sized plastic jug that had contained some kind of “fruit” beverage at some point. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-home-inspection-stories/750675.md?page=4)