This week I began taking down the paneling in our finished basement. We purchased the early 70's split-level about a year and a half ago but allowed the sellers to stay in the house and rent for four months.
We are now "discovering" the finished basement is merely paneling nailed to randomly placed 1"x3" furring strips nailed to the concrete.
We also found white powdery mold growing on the ceiling band joists and musty moisture stained concrete walls that were hidden by the paneling.
The most horrific thing we found was they actually bored out the concrete to fit in the electrical boxes. Each hole in the concrete is nearly 4"x3"x3" deep!
Another scary find was the fluorescent fixture was hanging only by the suspended ceiling and the wiring was loosely extended perpendicular to the ceiling joists.
So before I continue with this mess any further..... does anyone thing I have any recourse against the previous owners?
Obviously most of the work wasn't done to local codes and I doubt that any building permits were obtained to do the work.
Am I stuck with the mess or is it worth going after the previous owners since that likely did not have a permit?
Thanks for any feedback.
Bill S.