Mike's Home Inspector BlogMichael Burfitt |
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I once wrote a blog post which is currently my third most popular about signs of a Marijuana grow house. I mentioned briefly about so called “meth houses” that while very rare are very dangerous, so this week is a great opportunity to look at them. Like most home inspectors I have never seen one in person and hope I never will but I am always on the lookout for the signs. Given the highly illegal nature of this drug it goes without saying that there is no public database of current and former meth houses!  Meth 101 Methamphetamine is known as meth, ice, chalk, and other street names and is a highly addictive stimulant. It is illegal in most of the world and as a result, this is not an item that can be bought at the local corner store, hence the presence of houses where meth and other similar drugs are illegally manufactured. There are numerous negative health effects and our focus as home inspectors is not law enforcement but on identifying dangers located on properties that were formerly used as meth labs. Is it REALLY That Dangerous? I have heard stories of homes that were so contaminated they had to be demolished and I found that hard to believe at first. Can’t you just spend a few hours using some bleach and call it a day? Unfortunately, is usually not enough. Methamphetamine production uses a lot of dangerous chemicals that, unlike in a hospital or medical lab environment, does not use sterile environments and expensive fume hoods to keep occupants and the community safe. I won’t bore you with the list of common ingredients and how dangerous they are but let’s just say you do not want to touch or breathe in most of them! These toxic substances can leech into walls, floors, toys and furniture and can contaminate the entire property, leading to too many potential health problems to list. Meth Causes a LOT of Waste It is estimated that 1 pound of meth creates 5-7 pounds of waste by-products. Rarely is a meth cook careful to follow all waste disposal laws and they can be dumped throughout a property, including behind the walls and down the plumbing. Some of this waste is toxic to human health. Signs of a Former Meth Lab While doing environmental testing is beyond the scope of a home inspection, there are a few signs that home inspectors are trained to look for when suspecting a former drug lab. They include:
While I hope nobody ever has to deal with buying a former drug lab, with many buyers waiving home inspections or buying sight unseen over the past couple of years this remains a concern. The biggest symptom is unusual, unexplained and recurring health problems, and an environment air quality company should be contacted for further testing. Remember nobody will ever hang a sign saying “METH LAB!” and various levels of effort are made to hide homes with nefarious pasts.  This is a typical meth lab, but it usually isn't this obvious to outsiders!  Being a professional home inspector means there is never a time where you can say that the learning stops and you know everything. If I haven't made it clear through my credentials, I have an insatiable appetite for growing my understanding of all things home related that was fostered both through my late Grandfather (possibly the most skilled carpenter I have ever known) and 14 years at working with NSCC. My education continues to this day as can be seen clearly in the photo above: I especially like to learn more about topics that are only lightly touched upon in the formal home inspector programs: one such topic is marijuana grow-ops.
As everyone is well aware, marijuana has been legal in Canada for a while now and while still technically illegal throughout the entire United States, in reality as of 2021 only 5 out of 50 states have a full ban on it. One of the consequences of this is a drastic decrease in the black market and a corresponding drop in houses that are used to grow large quantities of cannabis illegally. It goes without saying that former growers generally do not advertise what the home was used for in the past and it can be difficult to identify a house that was used as a grow-op. There are a number of reasons why it is critical to know if the home was used as a grow house aside from insurance and mortgage issues:
I remember way back when I worked in home improvement retail how it was emphasized over and over that there is no ‘profile’ of a shoplifter, and the 'average' thief could look like literally anyone from any background, culture, gender or age. This is a good analogy for grow-ops: contrary to the stereotype that drug houses are run down, dirty and scary looking they can just as easily be your neighbour with a clean, well-maintained property. Grow-ops were generally designed to blend in to not attract attention and this is the reason it is important to know the signs and keep an eye out for clues that a home might have been used for nefarious purposes in the past. These are numerous and include:
I should point out that a house can have all these signs and more and simply have nothing more than easily fixable insulation problems. Even poor electrical or plumbing work is merely a clue that causes me to look closer not loudly and immediately proclaim that I found a drug house. It can be extremely difficult to identify a former grow-op that has been covered up but an inspector can point out many areas that suggest a high likelihood of a past that is far from advertised. |
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Inside Edge Home Inspections Ltd.
Halifax, NS 902-209-9921 [email protected] Proudly Serving the HRM & Central Nova Scotia |
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