Pre-existing Damage

Phoenix Business Group
Consumer Advocacy Services

Generally there are clues as to whether damage is pre-existing or not. You may wish to consider the following visual cues:

Concrete and brick wear with age. Sharp cracks or "islands" of concrete which can be lifted out and replaced by hand or with a pocket knife are evidence of new damage. Weathered cracks filled with dirt, grease or weeds suggest old damage. Many cracks are a combination of old and new damage. If a crack was one foot long before the earthquake, the crack almost always extended during the earthquake unless the slab was only a foot wide.
Wood framing discolors with exposure to air and moisture. Splinters will fall off the wood. Exposed nails will rust. Unrusted nails, sharp splinters and white wood are usually signs of new damage. Gray or dark wood, and rusted nails may evidence older damage. Cobwebs are inconclusive. A spider can make a cobweb in less than a month.
Sap in cracks indicates old damage.
New settlement of the foundation can be verified by removing the molding. If the foundation was sloped at the time of construction, the bottom of the dry wall will be staggered to match the foundation slope.
Look at paint patterns, including overspray patterns. Gaps in paint where concrete has separated from adjoining finishes or where rafters protrude from the wall suggest damage occurred since the last paint job.

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