When the listing information proudly announces to the world that the house comes with a fireplace in the family room, it better be clear as to what that means.
Carpet installers can transform a house almost as quickly as painters.
Just look at this job.
This old basement rec room was spiffed up in a hurry with some nice new carpeting—most likely covering over the old asbestos containing vinyl tiles. It even makes the old paneling look acceptable.
But again—because of over specialization of the trades and lack of adequate training in the responsibilities of other trades (maybe we could call this “cross-trading”)—this carpet installer has made a mess of things in spite of how nice their work may look in the picture.
The carpet has been installed over the hearth, giving the room a very nice “clean/crisp” look, and the fireplace has been transformed into a plant holder. The hearth on this fireplace should protrude in front of the opening and be non-combustible—-unlike the carpet.
Not a difficult fix for a carpet installer that knows what they are doing. The fact that there is concrete under the carpet will help the person that makes the repairs create a proper hearth.
Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
If you enjoyed this post, and would like to get notices of new posts to my blog, please subscribe via email in the little box to the right. I promise NO spamming of your email
Leave a Reply