This is a picture of the electric range and microwave in the home. The microwave was tested with a cup of water and the range was checked in both the bake and broil mode. All burners were turned on and checked as well. The cord and receptacle were in good condition for the microwave as well.
The article that I read was about pool safety. Pools should have an approved fence or some type of barrier to prevent accidental drowning by small children. Doors and gates should be equipped with locks and/or alarms as well as water alarms for added safety measures.
This picture provided is of the dryer vent pipe. It was hard to get a picture of the entire component as a whole, but its a great example of how it actually exits and vents out of the house through the roof. It doesnt vent into the house, for example the attic or basement; this is exactly what I want to see when inspecting dryer vent pipes and their exit location. Measurement wise, the venting pipe also meets requirements. In total vent pipe length it should not exceed past 25 feet. This specific venting pipe makes one 90degree bend so we have to deduct 5 feet for that. The venting pipe in length still only amounts to 18 feet in total, so even due the 90degree bend and a max of 20 feet instead of 25 were still ok and within the limit. Everything checks out ok with this dryer vent pipe.
Looking at all exterior components involved with a house, a chimney is one of the heaviest and most vulnerable structurally. A chimney detaching and collapsing from the house could cause serious damage as well as injury; or even death. There are many reasons for faulty chimneys; from installing it poorly, to many unfriendly environmentally related causes. Poor building and installation obviously creates an issue from the get go which doesnt help with any environmental issues that may occur. When inspecting, youll want to check the chimney footing to make sure thats sufficient in size, mortar damage, any tilting, and mechanical damage that might have been from falling trees, etc. There are a handful of precautions that can be taken. Obviously, first, you should always contact your local building departments for permits before demolition or making any changes. You can strengthen and repair the weak areas of the chimney, attach plywood panels above the ceiling joints to be a barrier between falling masonry and the roof, or tear down the chimney and replace it with a better chimney. Until the issue is fixed instruct family, friends, etc. to stay away from that area especially if its not fixed yet.
this dishwasher is about 7 years old and has been mounted on uneven flooring surfaces so it leans in on the bottom as well as this there are many nicks in the covering on the racks and are showing rust .
the use of drones in the inspection business is beneficial for several reasons ,some of which include less liability from not having to walk roofs as well as the benefits of having a video recording of the entire structure including the surrounding land
The image above depicts the most common dishwasher installation defect.The number one defect is that the drain is connected to the sewer side of the trap. The water that always sits in the bottom of the P-trap is what prevents sewer gases from coming in to the house. The dishwasher drain must be connected before the P-trap, not after it, which is what was done here. With this improper installation, sewer gases have the potential to come back in to the dishwasher.
Built-in appliances include those kitchen appliances that are incorporated into the cabinet design as opposed to those that are free-standing. Common built-in appliances include wall ovens, cook-top ranges and dishwashers. Such appliances can be hard-wired into your electrical system or plugged into an outlet beneath the counter.The combination of water and electricity in the kitchen needs to be dealt with carefully. Because of this, kitchen appliances should have GFCI outlets. If the dishwasher is built-in, it needs to be connected securely to the water supply. If not, it could cause water to leak beneath the cabinets, rotting the floor boards. In addition, many appliances, like stoves, require a higher-voltage, dedicated outlet as opposed to a standard wall outlet. You also don’t want too many appliances on the same electrical circuit, both for convenience and safety.
The refrigerator is not to be plugged into a GFCI electrical outlet. The refrigerator takes the heat from the interior and expels it to the exterior. The refrigerator is normally plugged into a outlet that is 15 to 20 amps.
It is possible to figure the amount of water is in a pool. hot tub, or spa. The inspector is not required to fill a pool, hot tub, or spa with water. There are a couple of different calculations used to figure the amount of water it can hold.
Placed a cup of water and tested that the microwave would bring the water to a boil (it did). The inside of the microwave and outside were in good opperating condition at the time of the inspection. Microwavr was in operational form.
What are AFCIs?
Arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are special types of electrical receptacles (or outlets) and circuit breakers designed to detect and respond to potentially dangerous electrical arcs in home branch wiring.
Do they work? An indicator, by contrast, creates waveforms that are not true arcs but are characteristic of them and are thus not a completely reliable measure of an AFCIs functionality. As a result of this distinction, an indicator might not cause a perfectly functional AFCI to trip. Although commonly called testers, it is more appropriate to refer to them as indicators, despite terminology that often appears in AFCI tester user guides.
This photo shows a range stove with a defective control knob. Knobs and other items on appliances need to be in working condition at the time of inspection, or the home inspector should make a note of any defects in his/her report.
Anti-tip brackets are normally attached to the legs of the range or screwed into the wall behind it. A range that is not equipped with these devices may tip over if enough weight is applied to its open door. A falling range can crush, scald, or burn anyone standing too close.
A dishwasher air gap is an egg-sized device that gets mounted above the sink to help prevent contaminated water from draining back into the dishwasher. It’s placed above maximum sink full water level to prevent siphoning grey-water from the sink into the dishwasher if the P-trap ever gets plugged and you try to empty a full sink
Septic Tank:
As wastewater flows from the house into the septic tank through the inlet baffle, heavy solids settled to the sludge layer on the bottom of the tank. Lighter materials float to the top forming the scum layer. The clear liquid in the middle is known as effluent. The effluent flows through the outlet baffle into the next component of the system. If your system does not already have one consider installing an outlet baffle filter these filters fit into the outlet baffle of your septic tank and add an extra barrier that prevents solids from moving into the drain field. Remember to clean your filter every 6 to 12 months.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This is a picture of a gas stove which is a built-in appliance. The first thing I noticed was there was no range hood. There is a ceiling fan in the kitchen but would recommend installing range hood of some kind. The stove does have an anti-tip device and a gas shut-off valve. All burners operate using normal operating controls. There is a main gas shut-off located outside the house. The light inside the oven works. I chose not to operate the self-cleaning feature of the oven.
Research & Writing Assignment:
I read the article titled: Real Estate Home Inspection and Appliances. Home inspectors are expected to inspect all permanent appliances that are part of the home. Microwaves not included in the selling of the home need not be inspected. 3 common items to inspect include the garbage disposal, cooking surfaces, and the dishwasher. Each can be operated using normal working conditions. Garbage disposals can be turned on to look for leaks, vibrations, or missing splashguards. Inspectors can run the dishwasher and stop it by unlocking the door prior to playing with the timer. Look for leaking, too much water, and proper function of the spray arms. Cooking surfaces will either be gas or electrical. With gas you will want to turn on all the burners to make sure the flame is blue and responds quickly. If you smell gas investigate further.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Dishwasher- Frigidaire Model: FGID2466QF6A Serial: TH80687596 Manufactured Date: February 2018. The dishwasher was installed properly and operated properly through a normal cycle. It was plugged in to a dedicated electrical receptacle under the sink. Typical life expediencies for dishwashers is nine years. This should be used as a guideline only, and not relied upon as a guarantee or warranty.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Creating a Home Inspection Brochure
The article had great information about what your brochure is, what should be included, what should not be included, format, structure, and style. The key items I learned were:
Sell yourself
Don’t waste space on unneeded words/graphics
Impressive headlines
Professional- not a novice