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Structural assessors find spiders, skulls and more under houses

Los Angeles company posts odd finds on Reddit

(imgur)
(imgur)

Structural assessors in California have a very important job, but they sometimes find more than cracked foundations or dry rot.

“We’ve seen anything you can imagine under or inside a home,” structural assessor Kyle Tourje told the Los Angeles Times.

Companies like Alpha Structural that specialize in engineering and constructing foundation repairs go under hundreds of homes every year to look for structural problems. And sometimes the unexpected things they find are worth sharing.

At least the company’s marketing vice president Ben Reinhart thinks so. In 2016, he had the idea to start a Reddit account to share pictures of some of the more interesting things found under homes. The subreddit is called “Things seen this week during structural assessments!”

The sub and other social media accounts are fed by Alpha’s director of promo and design Franchesca Hernandez. There, she shares photos and videos showcasing some of their weirdest finds, like mummified animal carcasses, mouse fights or even human remains.

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Tourje, who has been digging under houses professionally for more than a decade, has found himself in the middle of Black Widow spider nests, had to complete inspections quietly so he wouldn’t wake sleeping animals under the house and found hidden rooms.

In one instance Tourje found a human skull and had to call the police, which delayed the owner’s ability to sell the house. Ultimately no charges were filed and the home was able to sell with no problems.

One of the hidden rooms Tourje found ended up leading to an underground spy bunker complete with a 10-foot-tall rack of computer servers and eight large cargo crates, nailed shut, with Czech military markings.

Alpha’s subreddit serves as a cautionary tale, warning homeowners of the dangers associated with landslide damage, termite infestations and retaining wall issues as well as entertaining readers by showing them some of the fun items found.

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— Victoria Pruitt

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InspectionsLos Angeles