This is a picture of a residential chimney. Notice the cracks in the crown. This will only get worse if not repaired properly. It will allow water to penetrate and further deteriorate the chimney.
I read the article Commercial Real Estate Terms Inspectors should know. This article was not quite what I was expecting but overall it was a great article if you were planning on leasing a building or office space. I was expecting more of terms from an inspector standpoint not from a lessee standpoint.
This is a picture of the natural gas meter on the side of the building. There was no problems with the meter or any of the connections. It was functioning properly. Main shut-off is located at the bottom of the meter near the ground. All gas operated systems functioned properly.
I reviewed a gallery illustration in the Commercial album entitled “Building”. This building was unique in the sense that it has an outdoor fire escape access with stairs down the side of the building leading to the ground. Not many buildings in my area have this type of fire escape and this is what made it interesting to me.
I inspected a forced air furnace in a bay of a commercial shop. The piping and connections appear to be completed correctly. One recommendation i would have for this unit heater is to have screws put into the venting connections.
I researched defects of steel siding. Siding that has a wavey or buckled appearance is often caused by thermal expansion or screws can be too tight as well. You will want to check the siding around the building to ensure that it is adequately attached to the building, especially siding higher up on the building as it would be a safety concern as well as it would create quite a bit of noise if it was loose enough to flap in the wind. Corrosion is also another defect of steel siding. It is often identified by dark spots in the siding which are spots that are significately weakend which may allow pest or rodents into the building. Dents and scratches can be considered defects, over time these dents and scratches rust which causes the steel to loose its strengh.
Fire extinguishers are required to be present in commercial buildings. The inspector is required to report on the presence of fire extinguishers. They have to be present within so many feet of the cooking appliance.
The article I chose from the article library is: “Commercial Office Checklist”
by Nick Gromicko and Kate Tarasenko.
I find this article very interesting and very resourceful. What it does is allow an inspector to have a plan of action when they get on the scene. It is particular helpful for the novice inspector who needs to present a show of professionalism that presents an image that he or she knows what they are doing. It gives a “done for you” checklist for the inspector.
In this photo I am pointing to a natural gas pipe. The natural gas piping is improperly supported. The piping should be properly supported every five feet. Stress can be detrimental to piping joints and poses a potential leak.
I approached the fireplace which was easily accessible. As I looked around the room I noticed there was no carbon monoxide or smoke detectors. Back to the fireplace I looked for any combustible material closer than twelve inches above the fireplace opening. the hearth extension was a sufficient height, length and width and no deterioration was observed. The damper was manually operated and was found to be in properly working order, no corrosion or rust was observed and the damper was well within eight inches from the fireplace opening. In the report I noted the lack of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
I read and will be reviewing, “Performing Commercial Inspections.” Since I am just beginning to explore the option of performing commercial inspections and taking this course in order to be competent and feel confident to offer this service I thought this article would help weigh out whether performing commercial inspections are worth scheduling the inspection service. Section one of the article reveals that most inspectors that perform commercial inspections tend to promote themselves as residential home inspectors. Section two describes commercial investors as being more factual and logical, eliciting InterNACHI to create the Commercial Standards of Practice. Section three the reader learns that inspecting Commercial property comes with obligations that can make the job last from a few days to a few months versus a residential inspection’s single day contract. Section four finishes with a helpful plug to ComInspect, which is a company that works with inspectors to facilitate commercial inspections. This article made me more interested in performing commercial inspections because I would enjoy in extensively working for clients on jobs that would last long than a few hours.
Inspector performed inspection of a commercial space currently and planned to be, used as a catering kitchen designed to supply outside venues, both within their company and for outside clients, with food for special events. Inspector observed the commercial cooking space was clean, orderly and appeared to comply with regulations regarding same. Automatic fire suppression was in place, though not inspected as its inspection exceeds the SOP of this inspection. Ancillary fire suppression, including manually operated extinguishers were in place within 30 feet of the cooking area. Cooking exhaust hood appears of sufficient size and capacity and grease screens were in place to prevent exhausting without first being filtered through them.
As a requirement of this course, I reviewed an image from the InterNACHI gallery. The image was that of a commercial property from the exterior. It showed a vague view of the parking spaces which appeared to contain the appropriate number of accessible spaces in proper ratio with total number of spaces. Though the client did not request this service, it was provided in excess of the SOP as a courtesy. The exterior of the building appears in good condition. The brick facing is determined to be a veneer in good condition. Flashings are in place and the number of downspouts appears to be adequate.
logging into commercial inspection course
signing out for the day
logging into course
still logged in
logging out
logging in
rebooted and back again