The following articles outline the common construction defects found during inspections in the Houston area.  Due  to the nature of some defects you should recognize that in some cases it is difficult to detect certain defects even when looking for them and they may not be readily apparent until some degree of failure has occurred.  Often early dectection would require disassebly also known as "destructive testing" which most inspection companies do not perform during a visual inspection if at all.

In each article I will try to help you to detect these problems and understand a possible solution.  You should always consult a professional to best understand specific problems since the best method of repair in any situation is most often dictated by the actual configuration of the construction being assessed.