I'm considering purchasing a 48 yrs. old (1972) bungalow on slab in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. To date I've only seen the standard real estate photos. I will be viewing it for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 10th. What should I look for? If I like what I see I will hire a pro inspector but, I'm hoping you can give me some tips/insight related to the age and geographic location of the house.
Buying an older home is always a tricky call, because the further you go back in time, the less and less insulated homes were. A slab on grade home is probably about the same. Unless it was built by someone that was an early pioneer of green building in a sense, which is possible, because slab on grade homes in the north weren’t very common 50 years, so if someone built one then maybe they were ahead of their time. So it may be well-insulated by1972 standards, but, even that may or may not even match building code requirements today. That long preamble is to say, what would concern me most is the amount of insulation, that would affect its structural integrity as well as its efficiency. To understand a bit about what to look for, here is a page you should check out –
Reading that page will give you a better idea of what to look for in a slab. And the first question in my mind would be if it was heated. If it isn't then I personally wouldn’t even consider it because it will be very uncomfortable, and if it is heated but the bills are sky high then I wouldn’t either because that means it has very little or maybe even none.
On structural integrity - a house that old would probably have heaved and cracked if it was going to, so for a general idea I’d look at how severe the cracking is (all slabs crack a bit so don't comb it with a magnifying glass) and get a feel for how straight it is as well, by looking at the walls and the baseboard trim. And if it passes your visual test, you are right to then pay for a home inspection. But a couple of quick questions to you - Do you know if the slab is heated? Would the owner provide you with the heating bills?
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Buying an older home is always a tricky call, because the further you go back in time, the less and less insulated homes were. A slab on grade home is probably about the same. Unless it was built by someone that was an early pioneer of green building in a sense, which is possible, because slab on grade homes in the north weren’t very common 50 years, so if someone built one then maybe they were ahead of their time. So it may be well-insulated by1972 standards, but, even that may or may not even match building code requirements today. That long preamble is to say, what would concern me most is the amount of insulation, that would affect its structural integrity as well as its efficiency. To understand a bit about what to look for, here is a page you should check out –
Slab on Grade or Foundation and Basement; Which is Best?
Reading that page will give you a better idea of what to look for in a slab. And the first question in my mind would be if it was heated. If it isn't then I personally wouldn’t even consider it because it will be very uncomfortable, and if it is heated but the bills are sky high then I wouldn’t either because that means it has very little or maybe even none.
On structural integrity - a house that old would probably have heaved and cracked if it was going to, so for a general idea I’d look at how severe the cracking is (all slabs crack a bit so don't comb it with a magnifying glass) and get a feel for how straight it is as well, by looking at the walls and the baseboard trim. And if it passes your visual test, you are right to then pay for a home inspection. But a couple of quick questions to you - Do you know if the slab is heated? Would the owner provide you with the heating bills?