Wow! Dean, that was a wealth of information. You brought up so many good points. I will be considering the trade-offs you mentioned. I really appreciate the time you spent and I'll be calling you soon to learn even more about my possible next home!

Absolutely. I’ve performed home inspections for a number of properties in Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City and Mount Charleston that were built in the 1940's and 1950's. In fact, these are among my favorite home inspections. What fascinates me with older homes is figuring out the history of things such as room additions, system upgrades and structural modifications. To the consummate inspector, it’s like an episode of CSI; you pull all the pieces together and try to figure out how or why something was changed or modified; why a wall, driveway slab or roof repair was done. Many times we simply just cannot come up with an answer, but this is where experience comes in to play. The other thing that fascinates me with older homes is the materials and workmanship. Homes built in the late 1950’s were mostly field built, meaning things like wall framing, roof trusses, beams and rafters were hand built, on-site, using framing hammers and other low-tech tools of the day. Today’s modern light frame construction incorporates pre-manufactured, ready-fit components. Today’s workers use power-nailers and high torque, electric power tools enabling faster, more precise fit and finish. There are arguable benefits and disadvantages to the construction methodologies and materials used then and now. I won’t get into all of these here because of time constraint and space availability, but here are few of the more important things you need to be aware of when considering a home built in the 1950’s.

Foundations: Common foundation materials used in the 1950’s, such as cement and cinder blocks, are known for cracking, heaving and leaking over time, especially if they weren't sealed properly on the exterior side, which also was common in those days. Water seepage can lead to both structural threats (wood rot, termites) and health issues (mold).

Plumbing: waste, drain and vent systems, and water plumbing from 1950’s Las Vegas were made with materials such as cast iron, galvanized, lead and clay. Some of these materials are known to rust or corrode, and eventually leak. If left unnoticed for many years, there could be cause for concern. In some cases, I have found original water heater vents and old furnace roof vents that were constructed using a fire resistant, asbestos containing composite (i.e. Transite). Please see the menu item entitled “Useful Information for Las Vegas Home Buyers” on this website for more information on these materials, as well as lead based paint - also common in homes built prior to 1978.

Electrical: One of the more common issues, and for me personally one of my biggest concerns with older houses is aged, obsolete, defective or improperly modified electrical components. Electrical wiring in older homes differs from modern wiring in a lot of ways. The main electrical panel in homes of this era was typically 60 or 100 amps, compared to today's standard which is 200 amps. Many older homes have appliances or additions that overload these older panels. Also, wiring was typically not grounded back then. Check to see if the outlets are two-prong type. If so, you have an un-grounded system. For safety reasons, I always recommend upgrading old panels, wiring and outlets to three-prong (the third “prong” is the ground leg). Also note that bathrooms and kitchens typically were not fitted with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI), which trips the power if an appliance comes into contact with water. A GFCI is also required in at least one outlet in the garage because of the potential for water from vehicles and weather. Many older homes I’ve inspected have been up-graded with more modern safety features; grounding, higher load rated service panels and GFCI devices. Just be sure the inspector you hire knows how to recognize and report on these safety issues.

Additions, structural alterations and modifications: The older the home, the higher the likelihood of previous renovations or upgrades. Often I see room additions and conversions that have suspect or substandard workmanship. Documentation such as contractor invoices, permits or warranties have long since been lost or destroyed; then again they may never have been generated in the first place. The main point is in determining the safety and structural integrity of a renovation or conversion. Often this can be difficult, if not impossible, since ceilings, walls and floors conceal most of the homes framing and wiring.

Safety and Energy efficiency: Today’s homes are built using construction methods and materials that make them much more energy efficient than homes of the 1940’s and 1950’s. I often find attic rafter and wall insulation missing completely, especially in homes more than 50 years old. Sometimes these homes have the original single-pane casement style windows, single-pane sliding glass doors and wood and glass paneled doors containing non-tempered glass. Today’s homes are also built tighter and are much less “drafty” than homes constructed as recently as 10 or 15 years ago. Of course, many of these very same issues are what give an older home a sense of charm and antiquity. Like the muscle cars of the 1960’s – they were fast, just not so friendly going around the corners at high speed like today’s modern muscle cars. The point is, you’ll need to decide what’s important to you and be willing to accept a few trade-offs.

Just be sure and set two main priorities; the first is safety, the second is structural integrity. Review all disclosure documents provided to you through your real estate agent and by all means, have the home inspected by someone who is qualified, thorough and with a verifiable reputation and experience inspecting older homes. Trust me, this will be money well spent! Please feel free to contact me at (702) 460-5942 if you have any other questions or if you would like to schedule a home inspection in Las Vegas, Henderson, or any of the surrounding areas, and best of luck on your purchase.

Hi Dean-

I was wondering if you could help me out - I'm considering in buying a home but it was built in 1958. Do you inspect homes that old?