Essay to conclude the appliances inspection part of the course.
The home inspector observed no gas shut off in the kitchen at the stove and no cap on a the basement gas dryer connection. Both items are unsafe as gas can leak out and lead to a major safety concern. Further review by a qualified HVAC technician.
Research essay to complete the course on Appliance inspections. The article I chose was on anti tip brackets for free standing stoves.
Brackets to secure a stove may be floor or wall mounted and prevents freestanding stoves from tipping over. A falling range can crush, scald, or burn anyone caught beneath. Some bottom drawers open allowing for an easy inspection - but if you’re not able to see it - make sure to alert your client to this and it will help to cover you for lawsuits for negligence in your home inspection. A simple try to tip it (assuming you’ve cleared everything off that could fall and break) is all that’s needed to see if there’s an anti-tip bracket in place. More than 35 people have died and hundreds injured according to the CPSC.
For this writing assignment I took a picture of a pool pump. The pool pump was bonded however the connection to the pump itself was at question. Recommendation is to have the repair done by a qualified repair technician.
My research article that I read was “Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and Detectors
by Nick Gromicko”
This article was quite informative. I did not realize that 480 U.S. residents died between 2001 and 2003 from non-fire-related carbon-monoxide poisoning. This is a good reminder to me that I should include information to my clients about CO and the importance of having a detector in their home. I live in the Central Florida area and gas heat, stoves, water heaters, or even fire places are not that common. However I feel that because it is not so common the reporting about CO and its effects are scarce. That does not diminish the danger though. In fact I think it is all the more reason to make sure that my clients are informed of the danger.
Inspected a Frigidaire Side-by-side Refridgerator. No damage. 38 degrees fridge side. 30 degrees freezer. No icing or rust. No vibrations. Quiet unit. Coils clean. Light operates. Water and Ice Maker both functioning properly. Only suggestion would be to vacuum dust the
base of the fridge once a month to increase efficiency.With all the media coverage and environmental concerns about sources of power I thought I’d read, Electricity: Origins, Consumption, and Costs for this assignment.
The statistics, although perhaps dated (2008) gave me a pretty good idea of where most electricity comes from. I knew coal played a role in generating power, but I did not realize how big of a roll it played.
The origins were as follows
Coal - 44.9 %
Natural gas - 23.4%
Nuclear power - 20.3%
Hydroelectric power - 6.9%
Generation of electricity from the sun, wind, and other renewable sources - 3.6%
“Petroleum produces the least, at 1%. While it meets nearly half of the U.S.’s energy needs, petroleum is rarely used to generate electricity.”
I inspected the range in this home. I tested all 6 burners and both ovens for operation. I also verified that there was a gas shut off valve. The inspection revealed no issues with the range and it would definitely pass inspection.
I chose to do research on central vacuums. A central vacuum system (sometimes called a whole-house vacuum system) is a cleaning device installed throughout a building. Located in the garage or basement, a canister receives dust and debris sucked by the force of a motor from wall outlets, which are located for the homeowner’s convenience.
My Inspection and Writing Assignment:
This is an image of microwave that is permanently installed in a kitchen. The microwave operates normally. The tray spins. A cup of water heats up. The light comes on. There is adequate vent space on the top. No repair needed.
My Research Writing Assignment:
I read the article entitled Pool Alarms by Nick Gromicko. My summary of the article is that while pool alarms help lower the response time for drowning victims, they are not fool proof. Sub surface disturbance sensor type alarms are considered the most accurate pool alarms and have fewer false alarms than the wristband or wave sensor type alarms. However, even if a pool alarm is present it should not be the only means of safety for a pool.
Inspecting a clothes dryer and it’s connections are essential parts of the appliance inspection if offered as part of the base inspection or as an ancillary offer as an add on inspection for a fee. The dryer inspected for this post is electrically powered. It is connected in the garage outside of the main house on this property. The dryer has a separate breaker with appropriate power supplied. The duct is directed out of the exterior wall, but the lack of a cover was noted in the report and suggested as a repair for the homeowner. There were no bends in the ductwork as a professional had installed the system into the garage for the previous homeowners due to allergies. By removing the dryer from the home they reduced allergens and dust particles inside of the homes living space.
The clothes dryers exhaust is to be expelled outside of the home beyond the exterior wall with a cover to keep rodents from entering the duct work. Exhaust ducts shall not be connected with sheet-metal screws or fastening means which extend into the duct as they could collect lint being expelled, which would set up a condition for a possible fire. A screen cannot be used in place of a proper cover either as it will set up conditions for a possible fire as well due to the fact that lint and other particles can accumulate there against that screen and with a spark quickly ignite.
In this course, I learned the basics of appliances, how they work and how appliances apply to a residential home inspection.
In this course. I learned the basics of home appliances, how home appliances work and how home appliances apply to residential home inspections. From the interworking of pluming, to electrical troubleshooting for in home appliances.
There appears to be a problem with the seal that is allowing outside air into the unit which may be cause the frost that is noted inside. Defrost the appliance and monitor it. If the frost continues, call the applicable appliance repair personnel for further evaluation and exact cost to cure.
This image is a fully functional microwave. It was tested using the method of heating up a cup of water. The microwave oven was not tested for radiation leaks.
I had never heard of a bump key before. This is when a key is designed to bump the pins in a lock above the shear line and allow the cylinder to turn. Bump keys are manufacturer specific to the lock used but can be effective depending on the skill of the user. Bump proof locks are rare and more expensive but could improve the security of your home. Another option would be a home alarm system.
In the above photo, you can see a picture of a microwave installed above a range. The microwave is plugged into a 3-prong grounded outlet. It has a ductless hood that does NOT exhaust to the exterior, which is common in many homes. However, you can also see remnants of an old ducting system in the top of the open cabinet that does exhaust upwards and towards the exterior, and should be sealed off to prevent points for intrusion of moisture, vermin or insects, or energy loss. When the roof is replaced, the penetration in the roof will not be replaced.
For this research exercise, I chose to read an article from the library titled “Dryer Vent Safety.” These are often neglected to be properly installed, cleaned, or the exhaust is kinked/obstructed in some way which prevents proper operation and is a huge issue. In fact, the National Fire Protection Agency says that in 2005, approximately 13,775 house fire resulted in issues with Dryer Vents. This led to an estimated 418 injuries, 15-deaths and $196M in property damage. And all of this was preventable. Please be sure to inspect these items for proper installation and maintenance/cleanliness.
Image shows sprinkler system zone valve obviously leaking. Sprinkler system was turned to the ‘ON’ position, however, the zone valve did not function as designed. The valve did not select the zones as designed. Mention will be made in the report of the leak and zone valve malfunction. Recommend a qualified technician check the sprinkler system.
