Why is the flat roof the most important thing to inspect on a Lawncrest row home?

Most of the century-old row and twin homes in Lawncrest and the surrounding 19111 blocks have flat or low-slope roofs rather than the pitched slate you see elsewhere in Northeast Philadelphia. A flat roof relies entirely on its membrane and seal coat to shed water, and it has nowhere for standing water to run off. When the coating wears through, air pockets form under the membrane, or the roof ponds water instead of draining, every seam becomes a potential leak into the ceiling below. On this inspection the front roof surface was worn, there were air pockets in the back membrane, and water was standing on the back roof. A flat roof is also a budget item because it needs a seal coat every three to four years and eventually a full replacement, so a buyer wants its true condition documented before closing. It is the single component I spend the most time on out here.

Is a wet basement wall a deal-breaker on an older Northeast Philadelphia home?

Not by itself. Older row and twin homes in Lawncrest sit tight against their neighbors with grade that often slopes toward the house, so some basement moisture is common and usually manageable with drainage and grading. On this inspection the base of one wall measured wet, there was moisture behind the wall, and there was active water infiltration along with open and shifted brick at the top of the foundation. What matters is that all of it gets documented so you know what you are taking on. Standing water and damp masonry are also a mold-causing condition, so where there is chronic moisture, air sampling is the right next step. A wet basement is a reason to understand the water and budget for it, not automatically a reason to walk away.

What does an open gap at the water heater flue mean?

A gas water heater has to vent its exhaust up and out, usually into a masonry chimney on these older homes. On this inspection there was an open gap where the water heater flue connects to the vertical chimney. That is a safety concern because combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, can escape into the basement instead of being carried up the chimney. Combined with a tank that was corroded on the bottom and at the end of its 10 to 15 year life, this was flagged for a qualified contractor to evaluate and correct. I also recommend carbon monoxide detectors on every level of any home with gas appliances, which is a small step that matters.

The house has had renovations. Why are there still so many findings?

A 100-year-old Lawncrest row home that has been updated in pieces over the decades is not a home with no problems. It is a home whose problems are a mix of age and of work that was done unevenly. On this inspection I found ungrounded three-prong outlets that look modern but are not grounded, dead receptacles, a meter bypass on the grounding, and suspect renovations with sloping floors upstairs. Piecemeal updates are exactly why an ungrounded outlet or an improperly vented appliance hides in plain sight. The purpose of the inspection is not to find a flawless house, because at this age that house does not exist. It is to separate what was properly updated from what was simply covered over, and to write down every finding so the buyer knows what they are buying.

Do you inspect homes in Lawncrest and the rest of Northeast Philadelphia?

Yes. All Seasons inspects homes throughout Lawncrest, Fox Chase, Oxford Circle, Rhawnhurst, and the rest of Northeast Philadelphia, including the century-old brick row and twin homes that fill the 19111 blocks. Bob personally performs every inspection and writes every report, and he knows the flat-roof-and-basement combination that defines these homes. Call 610-348-6728 for a per-property quote.

What a Home Inspection Found in a Lawncrest Philadelphia Row Home

I recently inspected a three-story brick row home in the Lawncrest section of Northeast Philadelphia, in the 19111 blocks off North Lee Street. The house was about 100 years old, on public water, with a gas forced-air furnace. It had been updated over the years and showed reasonably well inside.

But like most of the century-old row and twin homes out here, its story was written on the flat roof and in the basement. Here is what this inspection found, and why those two features deserve a closer look than a generic checklist gives them.

1. A Worn Flat Roof With Standing Water

The flat roof was in poor condition and near the end of its service life. The seal coat on the front roof surface was worn through, there were air pockets in sections of the back membrane, and water was standing on the back flat roof instead of draining off it. A vent stack was corroding and a conduit through the roof was improperly flashed, both of which give water more ways in.

Worn flat roof with standing water and a corroded vent stack on a century-old Lawncrest row home in Northeast Philadelphia, documented during a home inspection — The back flat roof, with a worn seal coat and a corroded vent stack. Water ponds here instead of draining, and standing water is what eventually works through the membrane.

On the row and twin homes in Lawncrest and the rest of the 19111 area, the flat roof is the single most important thing to evaluate. Unlike a pitched roof, it has nowhere to shed water, so it depends entirely on the membrane and coating staying intact. There was also an improperly pitched gutter, an unsecured back downspout, and a pipe discharging into the back gutter.

Improperly flashed conduit and standing water on the back flat roof of a Lawncrest Philadelphia row home, found during a home inspection — An improperly flashed conduit penetrating the flat roof, with water pooled around it. Penetrations like this are the first place a tired flat roof starts to leak.

A flat roof is a budget item even in good shape, because it needs a seal coat every three to four years and eventually a full replacement. This one was documented in detail so the buyer could price the roofing work before closing rather than meet it during the first hard rain.

2. Active Water Infiltration and Shifted Foundation Brick in the Basement

The basement showed a clear water history. The base of one wall measured wet with a moisture meter, there was moisture behind the wall, and there was active water infiltration in the basement. An abandoned sump pump was sitting in the access panel, and the foundation had open brick joints with shifted bricks at the top, along with open stone joints and shifted stone in the front wall.

Open brick joints and shifted brick at the top of the foundation wall in a Lawncrest Northeast Philadelphia basement, documented during a home inspection — Open joints and shifted brick at the top of the foundation. On a century-old row home this is age and moisture working together, and it needs repointing and a plan for the water.

Older homes in Lawncrest sit tight against their neighbors, and the grade often slopes toward the house, so basement water is common and usually manageable. What is not acceptable is not knowing about it. Standing water and damp masonry are also a mold-causing condition, so where the moisture is chronic, air sampling is the correct next step. All of it was written down so the buyer could plan drainage, repointing, and testing instead of discovering it after move-in.

3. A Corroded Water Heater With an Open Flue Gap

The gas water heater was corroded on the bottom and at the end of its 10 to 15 year design life. More important than the corrosion, there was an open gap where the water heater flue connects to the vertical chimney.

Corroded gas water heater with an open gap where the flue connects to the masonry chimney in a Lawncrest Philadelphia basement, found during a home inspection — The water heater flue where it meets the chimney, with an open gap at the connection. A gas appliance needs a sealed, upward path for its exhaust, and this was flagged as a safety item.

An open flue connection is a safety concern, not a cosmetic one, because combustion gases including carbon monoxide can spill into the basement instead of venting up the chimney. On these older Northeast Philadelphia homes with shared masonry chimneys, the flue connection is exactly the kind of detail a fast checklist walks past. It was flagged for a qualified contractor, and I recommended carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home.

4. A Heater Discharge Vent by the Back Door

The heating system had a discharge vent terminating right by the back entry door, in the narrow chase where people walk in and out. I flagged it as a safety hazard.

Heater discharge vent terminating in the narrow back-entry chase of a Lawncrest Northeast Philadelphia row home, flagged as a safety hazard during a home inspection — The narrow back-entry chase where the heater discharge vent terminated. Appliance discharge needs to clear the house and not vent into a passage people use.

Row and twin homes in Northeast Philadelphia have very little side yard, so vents and discharge lines get routed into whatever narrow space is available, and that is exactly where they can end up in the wrong spot. Small routing details like this are easy to miss and they matter for the health of the people living there. It was written up for correction before settlement.

5. Ungrounded Outlets, Dead Receptacles, and a Meter Bypass

The electrical system had a list of safety items. Several receptacles had no power, there were non-grounded three-prong outlets, a loose washing machine receptacle, a missing cover plate on the dryer receptacle, and a jumper bypassing the meter on the grounding path. Missing GFCI protection near water was also noted.

Ungrounded and dead three-prong receptacles on a wall in a Lawncrest Philadelphia row home, documented during a home inspection — Receptacles that tested dead and ungrounded. A three-prong outlet that accepts a grounded plug but has no ground offers no protection, and you cannot tell by looking.

An ungrounded three-prong outlet is deceptive because it looks modern and accepts a grounded plug while offering no actual protection. In older Northeast Philadelphia homes that have been updated in pieces over the decades, this is one of the most common things I find, and it is not something a buyer can catch by plugging in a lamp. Each location was documented, and a qualified electrician was recommended for the corrections, with GFCI protection added near water.

6. Old Termite Shelter Tubes in the Floor Joists

In the front basement ceiling joists there were old termite shelter tubes and evidence of a prior termite treatment. Shelter tubes are the pencil-width mud tunnels termites build to travel from the soil up into the wood.

Old termite shelter tubes and damage on a front basement floor joist in a Lawncrest Northeast Philadelphia row home, found during a home inspection — A front basement joist with old termite shelter tubes and prior damage. Evidence of past activity means asking the seller for treatment and warranty documentation.

Row homes in this part of Northeast Philadelphia sit on soil-contact masonry with wood framing bearing right at the foundation, which is prime territory for wood-destroying insects. Old shelter tubes are not a deal-breaker, but they are a paper trail you want in hand. I recommended the buyer get all the treatment and warranty documentation from the seller and have the framing evaluated.

7. A Cracked, Settled Sidewalk Over the Main Waste Drain

Out front, the sidewalk had a cracked and settled section, and it sat directly above the main waste drain. A deteriorated front landing added to the picture.

Cracked and settled front sidewalk over the main waste drain at a Lawncrest Philadelphia row home, documented during a home inspection — The cracked, settled sidewalk section sitting over the main waste drain. Settlement directly above a drain line can point to a leak washing out the soil below.

Settlement directly over a drain line can be a clue that the pipe underneath is leaking and washing out the soil that supports the concrete. You cannot confirm that from the surface, which is why I recommended a qualified contractor run a camera through the main waste drain. On older Philadelphia row homes with clay or cast-iron laterals, a failing drain line is a real and expensive possibility, and a camera scope is a cheap way to know before you own it.

What Buyers Should Expect From Home Inspections in Lawncrest and Northeast Philadelphia

This inspection found a worn flat roof, a wet basement with shifted foundation brick, a corroded and poorly vented water heater, a misrouted heater vent, a list of electrical safety items, old termite tubes, and a settled sidewalk over the main drain, on a home that showed reasonably well inside. That is not a bad house. It is a normal 100-year-old Lawncrest row home, and the findings were the ordinary mix of age and uneven updating you expect at this age.

What makes an inspection out here different is the flat roof and the basement. The century-old brick homes in the 19111 blocks of Northeast Philadelphia live and die by their flat roofs and their below-grade masonry, and those are exactly the systems a generic checklist tends to rush past. Knowing to walk the flat roof for ponding, and knowing to read the foundation and the water heater flue, comes from having inspected a lot of homes in this specific market.

If you are buying a home in Lawncrest or the surrounding Northeast Philadelphia neighborhoods, schedule an inspection with All Seasons. I personally perform every inspection, and I know the flat-roof-and-basement row homes out here.

Bob Klebanoff
Owner, All Seasons Home Inspections
610-348-6728 | Free Estimate

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What a Home Inspection Found in a 100-Year-Old Lawncrest Row Home in Northeast Philadelphia