I encountered a new thing during my inspection today; a downward facing door. The house is 1996. It appears the stairs to the attic have been altered and the upper space has been finished out. A door has been placed at the top of the stairs, but its a trapdoor style. Does anyone having any verbiage to address this situation? I don’t know what correct name/style of door this is. It’s a simple hollow core door that opens upward and latches with a hook. My current statement reads:
“The door to the upper room is improperly installed. The door presents a hazard to anyone climbing the stairs as there is no auto-opening, or door assist measure. The door also presents a hazard as it could prevent egress in the event of a fire. Recommend evaluation by a qualified contractor for repair or removal.”
There’s plenty of hazards with the situation. The stair tread depth is 7-3/4 inches while the rise is 11 inches. Here’s a photo of the first step at the bottom:
No light switch at the top of the stairs. The switch at the bottom is behind the door. The thermostat and air return for the downstairs is in the stairwell at the bottom of the stairs so if you close the door at the bottom it messes up the HVAC.
Hey Bob, there’s no window in the upper room (second story). The client wanted to use it for his kids bedroom. I explained that when the door was closed it looked like a stable platform to jump onto, however, since it’s just a hollow core door, the kids would come right through. I agree with you on the stairs, that was my first thought too; they’re backwards. I don’t know, maybe if we flip the house 90 degrees everything will work out right.
Can’t do that. Don’t know your location but in maryland it would be hot as H, E, double hockey sticks! With no ventilation to boot. All that carpet is fairly useless because it is only suitable for storage space.
I would strongly recommend that the Client verify with the local AHJ / Bldg. Dept. / and Tax Assessors-Auditors Office… that 1) any necessary Permits have been obtained, 2) all inspections have been performed as required, 3) including the FINAL being signed-off for the CO… prior to the close of Escrow and change of ownership!!
First if you can walk on it then it need to support normal floor live load of 40psf. I am sure in the case of a fire the weight of a solid wood door likely exceed something in the fire code as well.
Fire code requirements: Interior swinging egress doors (manually operated and not fire-rated) should require no more than 5 pounds (22 N) of force to push or pull open.
Hey guys, Thanks for all the input. It was definitely a strange one. Yet, the client is still considering it.
Lon, there is a lot of bizarre stuff down here in the Heart O’ Dixie. All you need is a redneck, HGTV, and a couple of beers. It’s one of the reasons I love my job, it’s full of humor.
