The US and Canada have strict building codes and they get more strict every year. Some of these are probably quite old buildings, some have been repaired without the required inspections, and some are just a force of nature problem - enough to keep the phone ringing off the hook for home inspectors like myself!
"We Were Called To Do This Assessment For Something Completely Unrelated But When We Pointed Out This Wall To The Homeowners They Said, “Yeah, No, It’s Been Like That For Years. It’s Fine.”"
The US and Canada have strict building codes and they get more strict every year. Some of these are probably quite old buildings, some have been repaired without the required inspections, and some are just a force of nature problem - enough to keep the phone ringing off the hook for home inspectors like myself!