adminPurchasing a house is a huge investment. So, when you finally move into your new place, you want to know what to expect. Floor inspection may reveal underlying issues that may need some addressing.
In such instances, a professional can assist you in locating various safety hazards and provide necessary solutions. However, an inspection will not always lead to restoration and repair of the property.
If the report shows that the property is in good shape, you can make an informed purchase. However, an inspection report, good or bad, will help you understand the measures needed for the property’s maintenance.
What is a Floor Inspection Checklist?
Inspection is the careful visual examination of a building’s structure. And just as the name suggests, a floor inspection checklist assists a certified inspector in evaluating a property and reporting about its flooring condition by going through all the steps.
So, what does this tool comprise? It consists of detailed dimensions of flooring, its temperature and moisture, and relative humidity. Simply put, it provides all the necessary data about the quality requirements needed to identify a flooring problem.
Traditionally used in papers only, these checklists can now be downloaded as a template and used in mobile phones or other digital devices on the field. With the help of Pulse, Download the Floor Inspection Checklist for easy-to-use simplified templates, starting from evaluation to reporting.
How Do You Use a Floor Inspection Checklist?
A floor inspection checklist consists of regulatory standards between meeting client expectations and safety measures. During a floor inspection of the house, an inspector runs industry-standard tests on the items that are visibly accessible by normal means.
A floor inspection checklist is specific to its kind and has different categories depending on the style of flooring. As the certified inspector goes through all the safety components, he ticks off the checklist one by one. At the end of the floor inspection, they report back to the authorities on the safety hazards that the flooring condition may inflict.
Most Common Findings
Floor Cupping and Crowning
When the edges of the floors get raised due to excessive moisture or dry environment, it is cupping. Contrarily, when the center of the flooring gets lifted, it is crowning.
Cupping can be caused to any flooring regardless of the type of wood. That said, it typically affects hardwood floors. The moisture or dryness in contact with the hardwood floors causes them to expand. However, you can identify these with the help of light reflected on the surface of the ground.
Nevertheless, do not mistake them for buckling. Unlike cupping and crowning, buckling is when the flooring gets uplifted in most parts or fully.
Rotten and Sagging Floors
Old houses tend to deteriorate with time. Often, old tenants are found to have covered pipe holes with carpets instead of patching them up. That leads to moisture accumulating to the surface, causing the floor to sink and weakening the molds’ structural foundation.
To avoid such circumstances, you need to ensure that the flooring doesn’t crumble. And if there is wood damage due to water leakage, let the rotten section dry after the water flow to that area is dealt with properly.
Squeaky Sounds
Squeaky or abnormal noises often found in houses imply there is improper installation of tiles or lamination. It can also mean that the nails connecting the subflooring to the joist have become loose.
If there is too much noise, the flooring issue needs to get addressed immediately.
Peaking
Peaking is a lot similar to cupping. However, in this case, the joints of the tiles or laminate get elevated. This happens when the laminate floors don’t have enough space to expand or contract.
Temperature increase causes tiles to expand within the flooring. Thus, the edges get lifted. That can cause serious safety hazards, so the inspector needs to address them as soon as possible.
Gaps and Soft Floors
Gaps typically happen to wooden floors. Due to high humidity, wooden floors lose their moisture. During summer, when the temperature is relatively higher, it causes the tiling to shrink.
Unlike gaps, soft floors usually affect laminate floors. The moisture causes the inner core of the flooring to expand, swell and fall apart. Once identified, the inspector must report back and restore that part immediately.
Cracks
Cracked tiles are one of the most crucial issues to look for at the start of the inspection. If there is any cracked flooring, it needs to get addressed and repaired or replaced immediately.
A crack in tiles is a result of a weak and non-rigid surface underneath the flooring. It indicates that the sub-floors underneath need to be replaced for them to hold the flooring above.
Benefits of The Floor Inspection Checklist
You want to know what you’re signing up for when you purchase a house. And an inspection does just that. Even though you might think that inspecting a flooring shouldn’t be THAT big of a deal, it is the opposite.
Inspection is ensuring quality discipline. Inspecting the flooring the minute you walk in gives you an overall idea of the property’s state. In such a case, a checklist gives you the edge to overrun all the operations and achieve unbiased reports.
When flooring inspectors evaluate the tiling, some steps can get overlooked. However, with a flooring checklist, you don’t have that risk. Another benefit is that it encourages the officers in the field to take each step more seriously.
Click below to download our comprehensive checklists so that you can be sure that your new floor is up to standards.